Defending Against Environmental Citizen Suits: Litigation Challenges, Recent Developments, Parallel State Proceedings

With a combined decade of experience working as a trial lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Environmental Enforcement Section and in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of General Counsel, Mr. Boer uses his government experience to effectively counsel clients as they navigate complex environmental enforcement actions and compliance issues. He represents companies, municipal utilities, and individuals in federal and state environmental litigation in defense of environmental enforcement actions and citizen suits, in response to catastrophic environmental emergencies and chemical releases, and in connection with site cleanup and cost recovery. He has advised clients on the vast array of environmental statutes in the U.S.

Mr. Showalter 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. While much of his recent work involves disputes arising under environmental statutes including CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act, Mr. Showalter has represented parties involved in commercial, class action, toxic tort, and regulatory litigation in courts throughout the U.S. He defends parties against "citizen suits" brought by private parties and non-governmental organizations alleging that their activities have violated federal or state law. Successes include securing the dismissal with prejudice – upheld by the Ninth Circuit – of a case alleging that a West Coast utility's use of hundreds of thousands of telephone poles was illegal, and securing the dismissal of air-related claims at the federal and state level against a Midwestern utility