These are documents for the EPA: Full Throttle in 2024 Seminar, December 5, 2023
Download your certificate of attendance here
The agenda is here.
Presentation Slides
8:00 a.m. Inside D.C. View of the Biden/Regan EPA and Ramifications for 2024
PETER WRIGHT, Environmental Advisor, Strategist and Attorney
8:25 a.m. Environmental Justice: New Perils for Permitting, Enforcement, and Application of Cumulative Risk
J. MICHAEL SHOWALTER, Partner, ArentFox Schiff
ARI LEWIS, Gradient
9:05 a.m. PFAS: Breakneck Speed on a Ubiquitous (but not Fully Understood) Chemical
JAMES PRICE, Partner, Spencer Fane
ED GALBRAITH, Barr Engineering
9:45 a.m. Air Overload: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
BRITTANY BARRIENTOS, Partner, Stinson
JANET SCHEIER, Trinity Consultants
10:30 a.m. Environmental Case law and Impact on EHS Directors and FacilitiesJ. MICHAEL SHOWALTER, Partner, ArentFox Schiff
10:55 a.m. WOTUS
ED GALBRAITH, Barr Engineering
AIMEE DAVENPORT, Partner, Stinson
11:35 a.m. Compliance and Enforcement Focus 2024
DAVID COZAD, Director, OECA, EPA Region 7
Speaker Bios
Brittany Barrientos, Stinson
brittany.barrientos@stinson.com
Brittany’s deep understanding of environmental, health and safety laws across the regulatory, transactional and litigation spectrums allows her to find well-rounded and practical solutions to complex issues. She has significant experience assisting clients with environmental, health and safety regulatory requirements arising under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, solid and hazardous waste laws, Superfund, OSHA and PHMSA, as well as state and local environmental laws and regulations. Brittany’s broad experience gives her the ability to issue-spot across media and type of issue, in a way that provides both continuity and efficiency for her clients. She has worked extensively with municipalities and electric-generating utilities, mobile sources, and clients in the chemical, manufacturing and real estate industries. Her journalism background and endless curiosity also serve her well as she navigates FOIA issues, inspections and information requests, and investigations across sectors. Brittany is also a recent graduate of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s esteemed two-year Centurions Leadership Program, and she is excited to continue to “Learn. Serve. Lead.” in the Community.
David Cozad, US EPA
cozad.david@epa.gov
Dave Cozad is the Director of the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division for EPA Region 7 in Kansas City. He started in that position in October 2019. Prior to that, he was the Regional Counsel for EPA Region 7 for twelve years, where he was responsible for leading the Region’s 45-person legal office. He recently three six-month temporary details at EPA HQ in Washington, D.C., serving in senior leadership positions during the last two presidential transitions. Dave has been with EPA Region 7 for thirty-one years, and prior to that, he worked with the Department of Justice in Washington D.C., on environmental enforcement matters. Dave has a B.B.A. in Economics from James Madison University and a law degree from the College of William and Mary.
AIMEE DAVENPORT, Stinson
Aimee assists public and private clients in energy, environmental and administrative law matters to help them manage new requirements and to resolve issues with governmental agencies and third-parties. Aimee’s practice involves an in-depth knowledge of administrative agencies and the legal authority under which they operate.
Prior to entering private practice, she served as deputy general counsel to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources where she advised the department in governance, contract, environmental, employment and other matters as assigned. Prior to her time with the department, Aimee served as an attorney for the Missouri Public Service Commission where she advised the commissioners and chief law judge in tariff and rate cases. Her experience representing public bodies and serving as in-house counsel for governmental agencies gives her an intricate understanding of how agencies function in areas of rulemaking, permitting/licensing and enforcement.
Ed Galbraith, Barr
egalbraith@barr.com
Ed Galbraith has over 30 years’ experience in environmental regulatory matters, including two decades with the Missouri DNR, most recently as Director of the Division of Environmental Qualtity. He now helps manufacturing, mining, power, and municipal clients achieve successful outcomes with their water and hazardous waste compliance challenges, including permitting, compliance assistance, planning, evaluations, and studies.
Michael Harris, EPA Region 5
harris.michael@epa.gov
Michael Harris is the Director of the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division for U.S. EPA, Region 5 in Chicago. He started in that position in October 2019. Michael has over 26 years of experience working for EPA, Region 5. Prior to this role, he has served as the deputy director of the Land and Chemicals Division where he provides leadership and oversight of clean-up activities at RCRA hazardous sites and leaking underground storage tanks; the use of toxic chemicals; and material conservation. Michael has also served as branch chief of the Enforcement and Compliance Branch in the Superfund Division where he led the reorganization and, ultimate creation, of the branch. He also served as section chief for the Emergency Response program where he served as the Emergency Support Function 10 (ESF 10) Representative for the region with FEMA. Michael started his career in the Superfund Division’s Emergency Response Program as an on-scene coordinator. Michael has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Northern Illinois University and has a Master of Science degree with an emphasis on Environmental Management from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Ari Lewis, Gradient
alewis@gradientcorp.com
Ms. Lewis is a Principal with expertise in toxicology and risk assessment. She has led and contributed to a variety of projects, including product safety evaluations, regulatory comments, green chemistry assessments, and technical support for the utility and mining industries. She has particular expertise in cumulative risk assessment issues, including the consideration of non-chemical stressors (i.e., social factors) in vulnerable populations. In this capacity, Ms. Lewis has both published and presented on the intersection of human health risk assessment and EJ issues. In particular, she was the lead author on the paper examining the relationship between non-chemical stressors and the traditional human health risk assessment paradigm (Lewis et al., 2011). Since then, she has worked with industry clients to understand available EJ screening, exposure, and risk tools, and most recently served on USEPA’s science advisory board (SAB) for the development of EJScreen.
Kevin Perry, REGFORM
kperry@regform.org
Kevin is Assistant Director at REGFORM, a Missouri association focused entirely on State and Federal environmental regulations & policies. He is a registered lobbyist & holds a BS degree in biology. He has over 25 years of experience, including work as a biologist at US EPA Office of Water. He sings in the choir at church.
James Price, Spencer Fane
jprice@spencerfane.com
Jim Price is a partner and co-chair of the Environment and Energy practice group at the Kansas City, Missouri, office of Spencer Fane LLP, where his practice concentrates in environmental law, regulation, litigation, and business transactions. Jim represents clients in environmental compliance, environmental management, transactions, and disputes. He frequently writes and speaks on environmental law and has contributed to several books on environmental law. Jim has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for many years and has been named one of the Super Lawyers and Best of the Bar in Kansas City. Jim received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and he graduated with honors from Harvard Law School.
Janet Scheier, Trinity Consultants
jscheier@trinityconsultants.com
Janet Scheier is a Managing Consultant with over 20 years experience assisting clients in the Midwest with various permitting, regulatory, legal, and compliance issues. She has extensive experience in state construction permitting, Federal Title V and PSD permit applications and negotiations, and regulatory applicability analyses for a wide variety of clients across multiple industrial sectors. In her limited spare time, she coaches an elementary school FIRST Robotics team.
J. Michael Showalter, ArentFox Schiff
j.michael.showalter@afslaw.com
Mike is a litigator focusing on business and public policy disputes. He is well-versed in decades-old statutes and regulations that govern rapidly evolving issues such as fracking, superfund remediation, and carbon capture sequestration. Mike has extensive experience leading litigation teams in cases involving routine business disputes to bet-the-company disputes spanning multiple courts.
While much of his recent work involves disputes arising under environmental statutes including CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act, Mike has represented parties involved in commercial, class action, toxic tort, and regulatory litigation in courts throughout the United States. His past clients span individuals; municipalities; trade associations; non-governmental organizations; and businesses engaged in industries including manufacturing, power generation and transmission, and the financial and insurance sectors. Mike has worked with hundreds of experts in fields ranging from history and economics to environmental engineering and risk assessment. He has resolved claims where no complaint has ever been filed, clear through managing issues related to the implementation of decades-old consent decrees.
Kelly Thompson, IERG
kthompson@ierg.org
Roger Walker, REGFORM
rwalker@regform.org
Roger has a private legal practice focusing on permitting, compliance, and enforcement, but spends most of his time managing REGFORM, a business association in MO that works on numerous regulatory matters. He has a JD from UMKC and LLM from Lewis & Clark School of Law.
Peter Wright
pcw9@mac.com
Peter is a former senior leader at EPA, a long-time in-house environmental lawyer and has practiced as an environmental lawyer in private practice. As the Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management, Peter led career staff in working to accelerate the pace and accountability for Superfund, RCRA and UST cleanups. He conceived of and started the Office of Mountains Deserts and Plains. As in-house counsel for Dow Chemical, Peter assumed a leading role in successfully resolving long term and highly controversial environmental issues, while managing a very large and broad array of other environmental matters. Peter has provided counsel to clients on compliance, enforcement defense and auditing for RCRA, CERCLA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and TSCA, ESG, corporate disclosures and sustainability.