Andrew N. Sawula brings a wide range of experience and a broad perspective to counseling his clients through the often complex maze of state and federal environmental and natural resources laws.

He is at home in state and federal courts and before administrative hearing boards on matters such as Superfund cost recovery and contribution actions, contract disputes and trade secret claims. In addition to lawsuits between private parties, his litigation experience includes defending clients against enforcement actions, such as actions under the Clean Air Act and Superfund.

Mr. Sawula routinely counsels clients on compliance and permitting issues arising under numerous environmental laws. He has particularly significant experience designing and implementing procedures to comply with the New Source Review and New Source Performance Standards programs, and also is well versed in assisting clients with the remediation and redevelopment of contaminated sites, including complex urban river sediment sites.

In addition to litigation and compliance counseling, Mr. Sawula’s practice also includes responding to government information requests, representing clients’ interests in administrative rulemakings, and representing buyers, sellers and lenders in a variety of transactional settings.

Experience

Illustrative New Source Review Litigation

• Represents the operator of several coal-fired power plants in Illinois in the defense of an enforcement action, filed in federal district court, premised on alleged violations of New Source Review, the Illinois opacity standards, and Title V of the Clean Air Act. The New Source Review claims, which were dismissed by the district court, are currently on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.
• Represents the operator of a coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania in defense of a New Source Review enforcement action. The district court dismissed the action, and the case is currently on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.
• Represented the operator of a coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania in defense of a class action complaint, alleging New Source Review violations and additional claims under the state Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act and common law. The district court dismissed the action.

Illustrative Cost Recovery Litigation

• Represents two companies in defense of a cost-recovery suit related to the Passaic River and the broader Newark Bay Complex, which is pending in New Jersey state court. He serves on the Management Committee of a joint defense group of over 100 third-party defendants.
• Represented two companies and a municipality in defense of a cost-recovery suit, filed in federal district court, related to alleged contamination at a former auto pound in Chicago, Illinois. The litigation resulted in a settlement.
• Represented a company in defense of a cost recovery action (premised on statutory, common law and contractual claims related to alleged groundwater contamination) in federal district court in Ohio and a related declaratory judgment action (in which the client sought a declaration of contractual rights and obligations) in Illinois state court. The litigation resulted in a settlement.

Illustrative Site Remediation

• Represents a client engaged in the Lower Passaic River Restoration Project, the pilot project for the Urban Rivers Restoration Initiative, which may become a national model for the remediation and restoration of other contaminated urban rivers. The Project involves the study and, potentially, the remediation and restoration of the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River in New Jersey. This is a technically complicated, tidally influenced urban river with a history of contamination dating back centuries. He has actively participated on the Steering Committee for the PRP group since the group formed in 2004.
• Represented a company that remediated creek sediments that had been impacted by historic discharges from a manufactured gas plant in Indiana. He prepared the company’s response to the government’s information request, negotiated an administrative order on consent for the performance of the work, negotiated access agreements, and guided the company through the investigation and clean-up until it received a completion letter from U.S. EPA. He also negotiated an agreement with another responsible party regarding contribution for clean-up costs.
• Represents a client that performed a clean-up of a site in West Virginia, including clean-up of creek sediments. He negotiated an administrative order on consent for the performance of the clean-up, negotiated access agreements with the current property owners, drafted public relations messages, worked with consultants performing the investigation, and negotiated the scope of the ultimate clean-up on favorable terms. He also represented the client in litigation related to the site, which resulted in a settlement.

Other Illustrative Experience

• Represents the owner and operator of two power plants in Illinois in defense of two class action complaints, pending in state court, asserting common law claims related to alleged air emissions.
• Routinely represents clients requiring assistance with responding to numerous government information requests, including requests under Section 114 of the Clean Air Act, Section 104(e) of CERCLA, and Sections 308 and 311 of the Clean Water Act. His experience includes asserting, substantiating and litigating confidentiality claims to protect confidential business information and trade secrets that clients are required to submit to the government.
• Represented a company in connection with two permit appeals concerning facilities that the company operated in Indiana. The Indiana permitting authority had issued permits authorizing the performance of physical changes to two of the company’s facilities, and was in the process of issuing a permit authorizing similar changes to a third facility. The company, however, had completed those changes prior to the issuance of the permits, with the understanding that none of the changes required a permit. Mr. Sawula successfully appealed the two permits that had been issued, securing the State’s agreement to rescind the permits and not to issue a similar permit for the third facility, by persuading the State that none of the changes triggered those permitting requirements.

Speeches and Presentations

"The New NSR Rule: Will Your Emissions Increase?" (October 2005)

Pro Bono Activities

Mr. Sawula currently volunteers with the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, Edward J. Lewis II Lawyers in the Classroom program. He also has represented clients through the Center for Disability and Elder Law, and the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Clinic.