Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

William Pence represents utilities, municipalities, manufacturing facilities, bulk fuel pipeline and terminal facilities, developers and property owners in connection with the management of environmental risks and liabilities associated with contaminated properties. He also provides counsel on compliance with a broad range of environmental regulatory programs. Mr. Pence has significant experience managing the investigation and remediation of former manufactured gas plants; prosecution and defense of private party cost recovery actions under state and federal laws; and defense of enforcement actions under CERCLA, RCRA, CWA and similar state regulatory programs, including those regulating current and former landfills. He also regularly counsels bulk fuel pipeline, storage and terminal facilities in connection with compliance with federal and state regulatory programs, including Coast Guard, PHMSA and USEPA regulations governing such facilities. He has also represented municipalities and developers in their efforts to redevelop environmentally impacted properties under state and federal Brownfield programs.

Mr. Pence has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2007-2009, listed in Florida for Environmental Law), Chambers USA (2007-2008, ranked in Florida for Environment), The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (2008, recommended for Environment) and Guide to Leading American Attorneys (ranked in Florida).

Representative matters from throughout Mr. Pence’s legal career include:

• Representation of a municipality in connection with a $13 million assessment and remediation of waterfront property impacted by former operations of a manufactured gas plant under streamlined USEPA EE/CA process, resulting in one of the fastest site cleanups in USEPA Region 4. Representation included identification of former owner/operator and negotiation of cost sharing agreement with former owner/operator resulting in reduction of client’s share (as current owner) for costs of cleanup to less than 10 percent.
• Representation of numerous utilities, municipalities and current property owners in connection with the investigation and remediation of over 20 former manufactured gas plant sites. This work has included negotiation of scope of investigation and remedial design with USEPA and state and local environmental regulatory bodies; negotiation of administrative orders and consent decrees with such regulatory bodies; negotiation of applicable clean up criteria; solicitation and management of environmental consulting and construction firms; identification of other potentially responsible parties; negotiation of cost allocation agreements with such parties and, on occasion, litigation with such parties on allocation and access issues; and assistance with the redevelopment of such sites following, or in connection with, remedial action at the sites.
• Representation of numerous aerospace and high technology industries in connection with solid and hazardous waste compliance issues, RCRA closures and Superfund cleanups with emphasis on chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination. Representation includes mitigation of penalties exceeding millions of dollars in RCRA solid and hazardous waste enforcement actions. Such representation has also included negotiation of consent orders with USEPA and state regulatory bodies providing for closure of hazardous waste management units, as well as selection and management of consultants contracted to design and implement the final remedy.
• Representation of Florida manufacturing facility in connection with corrective action under RCRA to address presence of Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) associated with chlorinated solvent spill. Representation included obtaining clean closure at one of the very few DNAPL sites ever successfully remediated in the United States.
• Representation of a large pharmaceutical firm in defense of RCRA enforcement action for hazardous waste management in which the Florida Department of Environmental Protection sought penalties in excess of $2 million. The case was settled for less than $30,000 in penalties.
• Representation of municipalities and private parties in Brownfield redevelopment projects, prosecution and defense of cost recovery actions under Superfund and prosecution and defense of property damage lawsuits.
• Representation of bulk petroleum terminal, storage and pipeline facilities in connection with regulatory compliance matters, applications to PHMSA for special permits, and management of assessment and remediation of petroleum contamination at such facilities. Representation includes assistance with preparation of Facility Response Plans, SPCC Plans, Terminal Facility Operations Manuals, Pipeline Facility Operations Manuals, Integrity Management Plans, and Operator Qualification Plans, including representation of such facilities during federal and state inspections.
• Representation of numerous entities identified as potentially responsible parties under Superfund and similar state programs. Representation has included serving on Superfund Steering Committees and negotiation of allocation agreements with other responsible parties.

Mr. Pence is a frequent speaker on environmental topics at national and international conferences. He is a member of the American (Environment, Energy and Resources Law Section), Florida (Environmental and Land Use Law Section) and Orange County Bar Associations. He is a member of the Florida Natural Gas Association and a former member of the Governor’s Transition Task Force on the Environment. From 1979-82, Mr. Pence served as Law Clerk to the Honorable George C. Young, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Areas of Practice

• Environmental Law
• Agribusiness
• Automotive
• Banking and Financial Institutions
• Chemistry and Materials Science
• Technology and Communications

Representative Clients

• Central Florida Gas Company
• Chesapeake Utilities Corporation
• City of Clearwater
• City of Gainesville
• City of St. Augustine
• Clearwater Gas System
• Florida Public Utilities Company
• Gainesville Regional Utilities
• Kentucky Fried Chicken
• Key West Pipeline Company
• Peoples Gas System
• Pepsico
• Rockwell Automation
• Tampa Electric Company

West Practice Categories

Environmental Law, Agribusiness, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Defense, Commercial Banks, Credit Unions, Savings & Thrifts, Banking & Finance Law, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Science & Technology Law, Communications & Media Law

Bar Admissions

• Florida, 1980
• U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Florida Bar Association (Environmental and Land Use Law Section)
• American Bar Association (Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law)
• Orange County Bar Association (Member)
• Florida Petroleum Marketers Association (Member)
• Florida Natural Gas Association
• Governor’s Transition Task Force on the Environment, 1990 - 1991

Honors and Awards

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Environmental Law
• Listed in Leading American Attorneys (Florida)

Past Employment Positions

• Honorable George C. Young, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Law Clerk, 1979 - 1982

Education

• Syracuse University College of Law, Syracuse, New York, 1979
  J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
  Honors: magna cum laude
• London School of Economics University of London, London, England, 1983
  LL.M.
• Berry College, Mount Berry, Georgia, 1976
  B.A.
  Honors: cum laude

Address

SunTrust Center, Suite 2300
200 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801-3432

Phones

(407) 649-4095

Faxes

(407) 841-0168

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.bakerlaw.com