Kerry has 15 years of wide-ranging experience handling novel and complex energy, environmental, and administrative law issues. She regularly assists applicants in obtaining and defending federal permits and navigating environmental reviews for complicated energy and development projects. Clients leverage Kerry’s thorough legal analysis to build comprehensive regulatory and compliance strategies tailored to their business objectives.

Kerry is a key member of our energy transition team and serves as project counsel for a number of carbon capture and sequestration, new wind and solar generation, and battery storage projects. She has extensive experience not only advising clients on federal permitting and compliance for linear infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines and electric transmission lines, but also with federal litigation, including litigation related to administrative rulemakings and defense of major federal environmental permits. Kerry’s clients derive from a variety of industry sectors, including utilities, mining, oil and gas, renewables, agriculture, consumer products, housing and development, and related trade associations and industry coalitions.

Kerry has extensive experience with matters related to the Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program, Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and other environmental statutes.

As counsel on many recent significant water cases and regulatory proceedings, Kerry has been able to offer clients smart judgment and practical advice to guide their short-term decision making and long-term planning. She represents major industry groups on important CWA issues, such as the scope of federally regulated “waters of the United States,” functional equivalent discharge and groundwater issues, and requirements for utilities and manufacturers under EPA’s section 316(b) rule for existing facilities.

Kerry often serves as a speaker and panelist at legal and industry conferences and seminars around the country and is a frequent author on environmental, natural resources, environmental justice, and regulatory issues, including through contributions to the firm's environmental law blog, The Nickel Report. She has also helped develop training programs for companies on key regulatory issues.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, The George Washington University Law School, with honors; Dean’s Fellow; Editorial Board, George Washington Law Review, 2009

BA, Political Science and with honors in English, Vanderbilt University, magna cum laude, 2006

• Counsels clients on Clean Water Act (CWA) compliance and permitting requirements.
• Analyzes and advises clients on new and emerging climate-change-related laws and regulations.
• Advises clients on the scope and regulatory requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other environmental laws.
• Represents coalition of national agricultural and industry associations in litigation challenging rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) under CWA Section 404.
• Prepares comments on EPA and Corps rulemakings under the CWA.
• Prepares amicus briefs on behalf of coalition of industry and agricultural groups for cases at the U.S. Supreme Court involving CWA issues.
• Represents land developers on jurisdictional determinations and the use of general permits under Section 404 of the CWA.
• Prepares comments on US Fish and Wildlife (FWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries rulemakings under the ESA.
• Advises electric utilities and other energy companies on permitting electric transmission and other structures across federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Forest Service (FS), and the Minerals Management Service (MMS).
• Counsels interstate natural gas pipeline company on interplay between EPA, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) regulations.

• Member, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, American Bar Association
• Member, Women’s Energy Network

• 2017 Chambers USA Environment Law Firm of the Year
• Benchmark Under 40 Hotlist 2017

• October 2020 Nickel Report Post Summary

  By Kerry McGrath, John R. Bobka |November 2020

• Supreme Court to Evaluate Critical Habitat Limits as Services Ramp up ESA Reform Efforts

  By Kerry McGrath |July 2018

• Court Upholds Water Intake Rule, Offering Some Certainty for Power Plants, POWER Magazine
• Catching Our Balance: Opportunities for ESA Reform, Law360
• The ESA Today: Eco-Pragmatism and State Conservation Efforts, Environmental Law Institute
• The Shifting NEPA Landscape and Implications for Project Development, Practical Law
• Final Critical Habitat Rules and Policy May Result in Substantial Impacts to Land Use Without Commensurate Wildlife Benefits, American Bar Association Trends
• Preparing For Increased Focus on Environmental Justice in Project Permitting, Pratt’s Energy Law Report
• EPA and US Army Corps Seek to Expand Jurisdiction Under the Clean Water Act, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, Engage
• Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About NEPA, But Didn’t Know to Ask, Hart Energy
• Navigating Environmental Justice Issues in Federal Permitting, Natural Resources & Environment, Volume 36, Number 2
• Update on the EPA and Corps Unlawful Attempts to Expand Their Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Without Following Proper Rulemaking Procedures, Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association
• A Wider View of the Impacts of Critical Habitat Designation, Environmental Law Reporter, Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review
• “Insight: Court Says Water Rule Unlawful; Patchwork of Rules Left,” Bloomberg Environment
• 9th Circ.’s Take On A Recent Trend Of Enviro Groups, Law360