Current Employment Position(s)

Shareholder

Lawyer Overview

Since 1987, my law practice has concentrated in environmental law.

From 1994 to the present, I have represented clients on a wide variety of matters before the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  My clients consist of industrial, municipal and agricultural clients who require guidance on environmental compliance, counsel to appeal permit conditions or require professional lobbying services concerning legislation and rulemaking matters.  Other clients require legal counsel to defend civil enforcement actions brought by MDNR, EPA, and citizens' suits brought under the auspices of federal environmental laws. 

In my previous position at Premium Standard Farms, I served as Assistant General counsel for Environmental Affairs.  As counsel to the nation's second largest pork producer, I represented the company in a wide variety of issues ranging from EPCRA/CERCLA reporting, to water and air permitting matters to environmental litigation issues.

I have been intimately involved in the promulgation of numerous environmental regulations.  I participate in the rulemaking process before the Missouri Clean Water Commission, Air Conservation Commission, Hazardous Waste Management Commission, Dam & Reservoir Safety Council and the State Soil and Water Districts Commission.  I attend meetings of the Clean Water Commission and the Air Conservation Commission to monitor rulemakings and policies which affect my clients and communicate my clients' comments during the rulemaking process.

I have handled several matters before the Missouri Supreme Court, the Missouri Court of Appeals and prosecuted a Petition for Review before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the Environmental Protection Agency-Region VII's rulemaking authority.

From 1995 to present, I have served as General Counsel to the Missouri Agribusiness Association.  On behalf of Mo-Ag, I have lobbied for environmental and agricultural laws and regulations that are favorable to Missouri agribusiness.  I have also represented the grain and agrichemical industry in permit appeals affecting grain handling and agrichemical facilities.

From 1987 through 1994, I served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Environmental Division of the Missouri Attorney General's Office where I handled both civil and administrative litigation matters.  I prosecuted numerous civil enforcement actions before circuit courts all over the state.  These matters involved enforcement of Missouri's Hazardous Waste Management Law, Solid Waste Management Law, Clean Water Law, Air Conservation Law, Dam and Reservoir Safety Law and Public Drinking Water Law.

As an Assistant Attorney General, a sizeable part of my practice consisted of administrative work before various environmental commissions and councils.  For instance, I handled numerous appeals of NPDES operating and storm water permits, air construction permits, solid waste management permits, and RCRA Part B permits.  In addition to permit litigation, I litigated appeals of administrative orders before various commissions.  Finally, I served as General Counsel to the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Commission, the Missouri State Soil and Water Districts Commission and the Missouri Dam & Reservoir Safety Council.  I also served as Assistant General Counsel to the Missouri Clean Water Commission and the Missouri Land Reclamation Commission.

During my tenure at the Attorney General's Office, I was the first attorney to successfully try and gain a conviction under Missouri's Clean Water Law.  I also was one of the first attorneys to prosecute, try and obtain a verdict against a polluter for causing a fish kill and recover damages and investigation costs.  Finally, I was the first Assistant Attorney General to prosecute before a jury and win natural resource damage for air pollution in Missouri.

Areas of Practice

• Environmental Law 95%
• General Litigation 5%

Representative Clients

• Doe Run Company
• North Pacific Lumber
• City of Moberly
• Premium Standard Farms
• Trenton Sand Company
• Missouri Agribusiness Association
• Moark Egg Productions, Inc.
• Missouri Pork Association
• City of Bolivar

West Practice Categories

Administrative Law, Administrative Hearings & Adjudication, Administrative Rulemaking, Regulatory Enforcement, Agriculture Law, Agribusiness, Agrochemicals, Crops, Farms & Ranches, Livestock, Environmental Law, Clean Air Practice, Hazardous Waste, Permits, Regulatory Compliance & Auditing, Solid Waste, Water Pollution, Wetlands & Wild Lands, Natural Resources Law, Fisheries & Wildlife, Logging & Timber, Minerals & Mining, Water & Riparian Rights

Bar Admissions

• Missouri, 1986
• U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri, 1989
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1998

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Chair, Environmental and Energy Law Committee, 2005 - Present (Missouri Bar Association)
• Member, Environmental and Energy Law Committee, 1987 - Present (Missouri Bar Association)
• Conservation Federation of Missouri, 1990 - 2002 (Board of Directors)
• American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
• Cole County Bar Association
• American Agricultural Law Association
• Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity, 1985 - 1986 (Justice)
• Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity, 1983 - 1984 (Treasurer)

Honors and Awards

• Top Grade Environmental Law, 1985
• Top 10 Brief Writers in First Year Class, Board of Advocates
• Eagle Scout

Classes and Seminars

• TMDLs -- Heading Into Uncharted Waters, Midwest Region Environmental Conference, Kansas City, 2005
• Emerging Issues from Existing Water Regulations, Region VII Environmental Symposium, Kansas City, 2003
• Environmental Laws on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations - Water Issues, The Seminar Group, Kansas City, 2002
• Air Permitting for Grain Handling Facilities, Show-Me Ag Classic, 1999
• Permitting and Regulation of Agrichemical Facilities, Show-Me Ag Classic, 1998

Past Employment Positions

• Premium Standard Farms, Inc., Princeton, Missouri, Assistant General Counsel for Environmental Affairs, 1999 - 2003
• Newman, Comley & Ruth, P.C., Associate Attorney, 1998 - 1999
• Missouri Agribusiness Association, Jefferson City, Missouri, General Counsel and Director of Environmental Affairs, 1995 - 1998
• The Law Office of Robert J. Brundage, Jefferson City, Missouri, 1994 - 1998
• Office of the Attorney General, Jefferson City, Missouri, Assistant Attorney General, Environmental Unit, 1987 - 1994

Education

• University of Missouri Columbia School of Law, Columbia, Missouri, 1986
  J.D.
• University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA, 1983
  B.S.
  Honors: cum laude
  Major: Fisheries and Wildlife Management

References

• Jerry Schulte, General Counsel, Premium Standard Farms
• Bill Bryan, Deputy Attorney General, State of Missouri
• Jim Russell, President, Missouri Agribusiness Association

Address

601 Monroe Street
Suite 301
P.O. Box 537
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Phones

(573) 634-2266

Faxes

(573) 636-3306

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.ncrpc.com