Fuels Services

Representative Matters:

• Assist clients in registering fuels and fuel additives.
• Advise fuel industry clients on environmental liabilities and indemnifications in commercial transactions, including product transportation, distribution and blending services.
• Assist with nationwide audit of fuel regulation compliance by oil storage and distribution company.
• Advise biodiesel and gasoline producers on compliance with the renewable fuel standard (RFS and RFS2) regulations, including issues related to Renewable Identification Number (RIN) transactions and use of the EPA Moderated Transaction System (EMTS).
• Advise on the management of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids.
• Prepare Federal filings for submission to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for production strains used in the manufacture of fuels and fuel additives, including microbial commercial activity notices (MCANs), TSCA Environmental Release Applications (TERA), and Tier I and Tier II filings.
• Counsel on research and development compliance for production strains under TSCA, as well as on other aspects of the coordinated Federal Framework such as Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) clearance needs, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), import/export, and transportation safety requirements for energy production strains.
• Assist in addressing state requirements for aquaculture and biomass safety such as state animal feed control requirements.
• Advise on new chemical substance notification and related requirements under TSCA and counterparts in jurisdictions around the world.
• Defend owner/operator in leaking underground storage tank case (LUST) involving gasoline contamination and represent petroleum company in another LUST case securing a seven-figure indemnity from insurance carrier.
• Advise fuel industry clients on emergency management issues, including compliance with requirements concerning risk management plans (RMP), spill prevention control and countermeasures (SPCC), facility response planning, and chemical site security.

Related Experience:

• Represent chemical and oil and gas industry clients in enforcement actions and negotiated settlements under the Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program.
• Defend industrial and utility clients in toxic tort litigation, including claims of groundwater and air contamination, personal injury and property damage, medical monitoring, and related statutory violations. The firm`s lawyers have handled everything from class actions and mass tort suits to claims filed by individuals.
• Extensive experience conducting regulatory advocacy. Our lawyers regularly advise major industry trade associations on the development and implementation of strategies to effectively protect industry interests during federal and state rulemakings, including the development of cost-benefit analyses, drafting comments, and filing petitions for reconsideration before regulatory agencies and petitions for review in the courts.
• Regularly advise clients on facility permitting and environmental regulatory compliance issues, including those arising under the CAA, CWA, RCRA, and state/local programs.
• Represent companies in Superfund cost recovery and contribution actions, and insurance cost recovery activities. Negotiate voluntary cleanup efforts with regulatory authorities.
• Counsel clients on global regulatory issues affecting renewable and alternative energy development.
• Advise shippers and carriers of bulk fuel and specialty chemicals on compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) hazardous materials regulations. Secure letters of interpretation, special permits, and competent authority approvals.
• Assist oil and natural gas companies and other energy clients in obtaining necessary radio station authorizations from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to support exploration, production and distribution activities in the U.S.