Sheldon A. Zabel
Partner
Chicago
312.258.5540
E-mail

Jane E. Montgomery
Partner
Chicago
312.258.5508
E-mail

Stephen J. Bonebrake
Partner
Chicago
312.258.5646
E-mail

Kathleen C. Bassi
Of Counsel
Chicago
312.258.5567
E-mail

Air Experience

Schiff Hardin LLP has long been preeminent among law firms for its handling of complex air issues. Our wide range of expertise will assist you in managing your air emissions under federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as managing the permitting, compliance, and non-compliance issues associated with air emissions.

Permits and Permit Appeals

We assist utilities, independent power producers, manufacturers and others to:

• Obtain Title V, federally enforceable state operating permit (FESOP), and state operating permits for major, minor or area sources
• Obtain construction permits
• Change permit conditions due to process, equipment or other changes at their facilities
• Obtain regulatory flexibility in operating permits

Schiff Hardin understands that a good permit must reflect what you do, so we take the time to learn about the process being permitted. We then work with you to be sure that the permit language reflects legal requirements, can be implemented practically and provides you with the flexibility necessary to compete in today's marketplaces.

Our capabilities include:

• Representing individual utilities and independent power producers in crafting language that accurately and unambiguously reflects legal requirements and operational capacities and practices and ensures that permittees can comply with permit conditions.
• Representing a group of utilities in Illinois (13 coal-fired generating stations) challenging overbroad and unwarranted imposition of specific requirements common to each of the Title V permits issued by the State of Illinois.
• Representing numerous clients in assessing and appealing construction permits to ensure that the permits impose only those conditions required by law and that the clients can comply with permit conditions.

Schiff Hardin attorneys counsel numerous manufacturing, utility and independent power-producer clients regarding compliance with existing laws and regulations and changes in the applicable laws or regulations that will affect operations or impose new requirements. These include:

• Maximum achievable control technology (MACT) rules;
• Volatile organic emission reduction and trading programs;
• Reporting of exceedances, deviations, malfunctions;
• Assistance with stack tests or audits;
• Assistance with rule interpretation.

Schiff Hardin attorneys have significant experience in New Source Review (NSR) compliance under the 2002 and 2003 revised rules, including:

• Methods for calculating emissions increases
• Monitoring facilities for potential "modifications" that "increase emissions"
• Identifying and assessing appropriate baseline and projection periods to predict whether emission changes will occur (comparing future-to-future scenarios)
• Training in the precise use of language in describing projects to make proper emission comparisons and to avoid the inadvertent or inaccurate use of regulatory terms of art
• Pre-project and post-project submissions under the Revised Rules
• Record keeping requirements
• Modeling
• Maintaining production projection confidentiality in required submissions
• More

Schiff Hardin Environmental attorneys assist clients in responding to requests for information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the broad discovery authorities granted by Section 114 of the Clean Air Act. We are particularly skilled at distinguishing "information gathering" from civil or criminal discovery.

We have extensive experience in limiting the scope of and reviewing complex engineering, construction, operations and financial records for production to respond to Section 114 Information Requests. This includes identification of, and litigation to protect from broad public disclosure, trade secrets, other confidential business information, and privileged documents.

Our attorneys assist companies in the development of goals, procedures and management reporting for internal company environmental compliance audits. This includes:

• Investigating a continuous emissions monitoring system issue after repeated audit findings. We discovered systemic problems with system management, training, and data calculation and notified the regulator of systemic issues. No action — civil or criminal — was taken against the company.
• Assisting in the development of audit protocols for operational, permit, and recordkeeping compliance and routinely review findings on internal company audits.
• Investigating and helping implement continuous emission monitoring system procedures and protocols after quality control issues arose.

Schiff Hardin attorneys investigate allegations of violation using traditional discovery or informal discovery methods, respond to notices of violation, negotiate agreements of compliance and/or penalties, and try enforcement matters in administrative or judicial hearings.

We participate on behalf of clients in national and state rulemakings, including the preparation and submission of written and oral testimony of both fact witnesses and experts.

We work with statistical, environmental, and economic modelers to prepare useful data for rulemakings, permit issues, enforcement actions or other compliance purposes. We work with companies to protect confidentiality of information generated by business models.

Schiff Hardin attorneys have counseled clients concerning various trading program issues with respect to:

• Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• Volatile organic material (VOM) as precursor to ozone non-attainment
• Mercury
• "Green credits," "sustainable credits," "environmental attributes" or the like
• Carbon dioxide
• Verifiable methane emission reductions

We have advised clients regarding compliance with federal general and transportation conformity requirements and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regarding air quality issues and helped in the defense of local objectors' multi-faceted challenges to the project in question.