David counsels clients through the lens of a former in-house attorney to provide insightful and practical advice. He understands a client’s business and the unique policies related to environmental, health and safety (EHS) legal issues associated with permitting, compliance, transactional negotiations, due diligence, regulatory development, enforcement defense and related litigation.

David’s practice focuses on EHS matters, especially those involving the Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). He has nearly 20 years of experience working with energy clients, including oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) companies, pipelines and utilities, manufacturers, banking institutions, and other public and private institutional clients. In addition to a myriad of matters related to environmental permitting, transactional negotiation, compliance, enforcement defense and related litigations, David provides experienced corporate counseling for institutional clients regarding issues associated with environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns, including internal assessments and auditing, reporting and disclosure concerns, with a focus on climate change. David has led environmental legal due diligence and transactional negotiations for asset and equity transactions and brownfield redevelopments, EHS related incident investigations, and has coordinated response and remedial actions for hazardous environmental releases. His work with clients on permitting, compliance and enforcement defense matters has led him to regular interaction with agency staff at US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and equivalent state agencies and historic preservation officers. Prior to joining Hunton Andrews Kurth, David was lead in-house environmental counsel for a Fortune 500, diverse midstream energy company.

Relevant Experience

• Representation of a leading international drug discovery, non-clinical development, and manufacturing company with respect to the licensing, permitting, timing, and consent requirements at the federal, state and local level in connection with species management concerns associated with biomedical research and development operations.
• Extensive experience with siting, permitting and compliance counseling for energy facility and linear projects, including but not limited to pipeline projects, associated compressor and/or boosting stations, natural gas/NGL processing plants and fractionation facilities, and onshore wind power generation projects.
• ESH transactional negotiations and related legal due diligence in support of corporate equity and debt issuances, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and asset transactions, and the drafting and review of environmental related matters in corporate financial filings, including Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
• Provide oversight and counsel for companies with EHS and ESG focused audits and assessments, incident investigations, reporting documents, and resolution of associated legal concerns.
• Specific project involvements include, but are not limited to, legal advice and consultation on the following: New Source Review (NSR) (including Prevention of Significant Deterioration and/or Non-Attainment NSR) and/or Title V Permitting under the Clean Air Act and related state statutes/regulations; National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) matters involved with both Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and unregulated pipeline construction projects, including pursuit of Department of State Presidential Permits for international boundary crossings; wetlands and waterways permitting under the CWA and related regulations, including federal Nationwide Permits; endangered species permitting, compliance and consultation under federal and state endangered species acts and regulations; and cultural resource compliance under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and related consultations between federal, state and tribal authorities.
• Litigated and/or mediated complex hazardous waste, compliance and wetlands matters before state and federal courts under CERCLA, RCRA, CAA, CWA, state analogues and common law causes of action.
• Defend state and federal enforcement actions related to hazardous materials or waste compliance under the CERCLA, RCRA and management of related sites under state law for releases into air, soil and water.
• Lead outside counsel to corporations on various regulatory compliance issues, including service as counsel to a Fortune 500 speciality vehicle manufacturer and one of the largest banking institutions in the United States.
• Project and compliance counsel on a variety of environmental issues for one of the nation’s largest natural gas utility companies.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, Vermont Law School, 2002Master of Studies in Environmental Law (MSEL), Vermont Law School, 2002BA, Trinity College, 1997

• Massachusetts Races to Decarbonize the Peak, The National Law Review
• Heading Down Different Paths: An Update on PFAS Regulatory Developments in Northeastern States and at the Federal Level, Environmental Law Institute
• Legal Considerations in ESG Investment Disclosures, Bloomberg Law
• Corporate Financial Disclosures and Environmental, Social, and Governance Concerns: Evolving Issues, American Bar Association’s Natural Resources and Environment Publication, Vol. 35, No. 2
• The untapped potential of blue carbon credit markets, Transition Economist