Bruce Pasfield practice focuses on business and environmental law. He regularly advises clients on corporate governance issues and defends against government enforcement actions. Mr. Pasfield comes to Alston and Bird after serving as one of the nation’s top environmental prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). His government litigation background allows him to provide sound compliance advice to clients in a wide variety of industries including, oil and gas exploration, automobile manufacturing, maritime shipping, chemical manufacturing, and mining. Mr. Pasfield regularly represents companies in criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement matters and assists companies in developing compliance programs that meet both corporate governance and government standards. Mr. Pasfield is past chair of the Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee of the American Bar Association. He is a regular lecturer for the ABA and has written numerous articles on environmental and business law topics.
Bruce began his career as a prosecutor in Florida where he successfully tried over 100 criminal jury trials, including a number of high-profile white collar fraud cases. Prior to joining Alston & Bird, Bruce enjoyed a distinguished 15-year career at DOJ, where, as a trial attorney in DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section, he litigated a number of precedent-setting cases.
- Representation of an Oil and Gas Services company in a voluntary self-disclosure of Clean Water violations related to disposal of waste water from hydraulic fracturing. The voluntary self-disclosure resulted in a declination of criminal charges against the company.
- Successful representation of companies and executives in separate investigations of possible RIN fraud violations related to EPA’s Renewables Fuel Program.
- Developed company-wide environmental management system for oil and gas services company as part of company rebranding effort.
- Successfully defended a large chemical manufacturing company under investigation for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for the alleged illegal disposal of hazardous waste that was shown to be exempt from regulations as a recycled product.
- Successfully negotiated an EPA Region VI Consent Decree that allowed a company to use hazardous waste disposal options other than thermal desorption at a cost savings of approximately $3.5 million.
- Part of a national trial team for the defense of asbestos manufacturers in numerous mesothelioma related law suits.
- Brought suit on behalf of eight shipping companies in D.C. District Court seeking relief under the Administrative Procedure Act for U.S. Coast Guard exceeding its authority in security agreements entered into with each company.
- Defense of a city that had received a target letter in a Clean Water Act criminal investigation. Negotiated with the Department of Justice and EPA resulting in no charges being filed against the city.
- Conducted an internal investigation on wetlands compliance issues for a national real estate developer.
- Defended a multinational mining company for citations issued by a local water authority resulting in the citations being rescinded.
- Provided comments on U.S. EPA national rulemaking that ultimately allowed companies to continue sales of remaining stock of certain ozone depleting chemicals being phased out under the Clean Air Act.
- Successful defense of the executive of a pharmaceutical company alleged to have violated regulations pertaining to the handling of ozone depleting substances.
-
Bruce Pasfield, partner in the firm’s Environmental & Land Use Group, was featured in Bloomberg BNA’s “The Week Ahead” video, touching on key messages from his article “EPA’s Enforcement of RIN Fraud Violations Starts to Bring Stability Back to the Market” in which he discusses renewable fuel standards, recent fraud cases surrounding RIN numbers and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed changes addressing fraud in the renewable fuels program.
April 30, 2013
In the Press
-
Bruce Pasfield was interviewed for Lexis Nexis’ Environmental Law and Climate Change Community Podcast and discussed the background to the case Southern Union v. United States.
August 8, 2012
In the Press
-
November 18, 2011
In the Press
-
May 26, 2011
In the Press
-
June 8, 2010
In the Press
-
This advisory discusses the U.S. EPA’s recent prosecution of renewable identification number (RIN) fraud violations and how law enforcement’s reaction to this problem, albeit delayed, has started to bring stability back to the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program and to the market.
February 28, 2013
Advisories
-
"Enviro Cos., Beware Of More EPA Criminal Enforcement," Law360, February 14, 2013.
February 14, 2013
Publications
-
This advisory discusses U.S. v. John Emerson Tuma, a case in which the former general manager of Arkla Disposal Services was sentenced to 60 months in prison, plus a $100,000 fine, by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The sentencing followed a jury conviction earlier this year for violations of the Clean Water Act, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
December 19, 2012
Advisories
-
This advisory discusses Department of Energy (DOE) conservation investigations and how businesses may be facing exposure on the basis of practices believed to be lawful for the last 35 years. In 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) launched a rigorous campaign of regulatory enforcement seeking to impose penalties on manufacturers, distributors and private labelers for perceived failures to satisfy federally mandated energy and water conservation standards and reporting requirements. Now, the DOE may unilaterally enforce its regulations even when it has not received any complaints. Those regulations require compliance with the standards and particularized reporting through a DOE-specific system. Moreover, the DOE is creating testing policies that are inconsistent with many longstanding industry-consensus standards and practices that may require manufacturers to redesign their products and re-evaluate their certification filings.
October 3, 2012
Advisories
-
July 13, 2012
Blog Posts
Past Events
-
November 13, 2012
Seminar
-
March 19, 2011
Seminar
-
March 17, 2011
Seminar
-
March 10, 2011
Seminar
-
September 23, 2010
Seminar
-
April 27, 2010
Seminar
-
April 21, 2010
Seminar
-
January 21-22, 2010
Seminar
-
July 23, 2009
-
May 14, 2009
Seminar
- Past chair of the ABA Environmental Crimes and Enforcement Committee
- Member of the ABA Oil and Gas Committee
- Maritime Legal Association
- Defense Research Institute
- Environment Energy and Natural Resources Section of the D.C. Bar