Daniel Schulson applies the insight and experience he gained from working in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clients’ challenges on a broad array of issues.
He assists clients with many aspects of environmental and administrative law, including compliance counseling, permitting, due diligence, audits, commenting on agency rulemakings, administrative enforcement defense, and litigation.
Examples of Dan’s experience include:
- Providing counsel to the U.S. government-appointed Independent Compliance Monitor and Auditor in conjunction with the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” plea agreement and consent decree.
- Resolving issues for automotive manufacturers including those involving vehicle and engine certification, and compliance with EPA and California Air Resources Board requirements for obtaining Certificates of Conformity and Executive Orders.
- Advising original equipment manufacturers on vehicle import regulations as well as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration motor vehicle safety standards, emissions, and fuel economy requirements.
- Advising clients on mobile source compliance, including both on-road and non-road requirements.
- Counseling companies on a wide range of stationary source permitting and compliance issues under the Clean Air Act and comparable state laws.
- Preparing comments for companies and trade associations on both federal and state proposed air regulations.
- Counseling clients on “voluntary disclosures” under EPA’s self-disclosure policy and similar state-based policies.
- Negotiating favorable administrative settlements with EPA and state regulators for alleged violations of environmental statutes, including the Clean Air Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
- Defending a leading crop-protection company in a multi-million dollar EPA administrative enforcement action.
- Representing leading crop-protection companies in Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and Endangered Species Act federal litigation challenging product registrations.
- Advising companies including a global pharmaceutical company and a major oil and gas company on the environmental aspects of corporate transactions and conducting related due diligence.
- Drafting a successful petition for review and subsequent state supreme court briefs in defense of a solid waste recycling company facing toxic tort claims brought by individuals alleging agricultural operations constituted a nuisance.
While at EPA, Dan formulated effective litigation strategies to defend agency actions and advised senior EPA officials on matters arising under a variety of statutes including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation Recovery Act. Dan was awarded an EPA commendation for outstanding counseling on administrative and regulatory law issues, and a Department of Justice commendation for assisting in the successful defense of EPA’s suite of greenhouse gas regulations.
