Chuck Knauss

Chuck Knauss, co-head of Katten’s Environmental Practice, is a nationally recognized authority on the Clean Air Act (CAA) who represents companies and trade associations in environmental permitting, rulemaking, litigation, commercial and legislative matters. He has more than 30 years of experience addressing all aspects of the CAA, including several years as counsel to the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, where he figured prominently in the development of the comprehensive 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.

Mr. Knauss is described as “‘the best air lawyer in D.C. today’” in the 2010 Chambers USA guide, which added that he is “widely recognized as ‘a leader in the field, with the breadth of experience to ensure that he will always be able to find a solution.’” US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Leavitt appointed him to serve on the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC), a senior-level policy committee established to advise the agency on issues related to implementing the Act.

Mr. Knauss represents clients in the manufacturing and energy sectors, including automotive, aerospace, pharmaceutical, chemical, paper, refinery, conventional and renewable power generation and utilities. He has an accomplished record of providing strategic advice to achieve negotiated settlements with governmental regulatory and enforcement authorities and other stakeholders. His negotiation approach grounds legal and policy arguments on a sound analysis of technical and engineering facts, coupled with a fair and principled recognition of the core goals of all parties. For example, Mr. Knauss obtained a consensus among EPA headquarters, EPA regional officials, state regulators and community groups on plant-wide, 10-year air permits recognized by many as the most innovative ever issued. He has also settled a New Source Review enforcement action against a utility, and obtained a “no action” enforcement decision for a large industrial facility after enforcement authorities had issued a notice of violation. Mr. Knauss is often selected by large ad hoc industry coalitions reflecting diverse interests to coordinate the group and present its views to other stakeholders and EPA.

Mr. Knauss founded and is counsel to the Air Permitting Forum, a group of Fortune 100 companies that develops practical and effective advice for all aspects of the permit process, including applications, negotiations, permit terms, certifications, appeals, revisions and remedies. He also maintains a broad practice beyond air quality issues, involving risk assessment and characterization, data quality, sediments remediation and improvements to environmental statutes and regulations generally. He founded the National Sediments Coalition, a public policy advocacy group composed of companies interested in finding and implementing better approaches to addressing contaminated sediments.

Mr. Knauss has been cited in a number of surveys of private sector lawyers, including Chambers USA (ranked tier one), Legal 500, The Best Lawyers in America (2007–2013) and Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers (2008–2013), and has received the highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Publications

• “EPA's Missed Opportunity to Ground Its GHG Tailoring Rule in the Statute: What the Situs Argument Would Mean for the Future of the PSD Program,” Environmental Law Reporter, Vol. 42, p. 10424 (May 2012)
• “The Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program: A Handbook for Counsel, Environmental Managers, and Plant Managers” (ABA)
• “Life After Title V Permit Issuance: You’ve Received Your Permit, Now What Do You Do?” The Clean Air Act Handbook, 2nd ed. (ABA)
• White Paper for EPA Climate Change Workgroup: "Scope of the PSD Problem to Be Addressed: Why There Is No Automatic PSD Trigger or 'NAPT' Simply Because GHGs Become Regulated Under the Clean Air Act" (January 2010, updated February 2010)

Speeches and Presentations

• “Clean Air: Law Policy and Practice (Title V Permitting),” Washington, D.C. (December 2010)
• “Understanding the New Air Pollution Rules,” Environmental Law Institute's Fall Practice Seminar, Washington, D.C. (October 2010)
• Senior Practitioners Forum on Climate Change Law, Cambridge International Forums, Charlottesville, Va. (May 2010)
• “Understanding the Renewable Fuels Standard Program and What it Means for You,” National Ethanol Conference, Tucson, Arizona (February 2007)
• Clearing the Air, 36th Annual Conference on Environmental Law, Keystone, Colorado (March 2007)
• “Shaping a Secure Energy Future,” NPRA Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas (March 2007)

Education and Bar Admissions

Mr. Knauss received his BA from Brown University and his JD from University of Michigan Law School. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, and before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Seventh Circuits, the US Tax Court and the US Supreme Court.