Kevin S. Minoli

Clean Air Act and Climate Change

• Served as senior EPA counsel in Juliana v. United States, involving claims that the government had violated the U.S. Constitution for failing to combat climate change.
• Provided oversight and strategic direction for the pending repeal of the Clean Power Plan.
• Developed strategy for pending litigation allowing the EPA to revise its implementation of the New Source Review program.
• Provided legal advice to the EPA on petitions relating to Title V operating permits.
• Provided legal review of the President’s Executive Order on energy independence.

Clean Water Act (CWA) and Safe Drinking Water

• Served as the assistant general counsel for the EPA CWA Scope and Implementation Group.
• Served as one of the EPA’s two lead drafters of the Bush Administration’s Guidance on the Scope of CWA Jurisdiction after Rapanos and had significant involvement in all post-Rapanos litigation, including in the Supreme Court.
• Lead drafter of the Federal Register notice implementing the Clean Water Act Executive Order.
• Oversaw litigation strategy for the Steam Electric Power Generating Effluent Limitation Guidelines.
• Led agency negotiations in the settlement of litigation regarding the EPA’s actions in Bristol Bay.

Chemicals and Pesticides

• Developed the legal grounds for the EPA’s action addressing a petition to revoke tolerances for chlorpyrifos.
• Provided legal advice and support for new EPA rules issued under the updated Toxic Substances Control Act.
• Served as the lead EPA staff attorney for the re-registration of older pesticides and the agency’s successful initiative to complete this process by a statutory deadline.

Kevin Minoli leads Alston & Bird’s Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group in Washington, D.C. Before joining Alston & Bird, Kevin spent 18 years with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), most recently serving as acting general counsel and principal deputy general counsel—the highest-ranking career attorney position in the EPA. In this role, Kevin served as legal counsel on the EPA’s programs nationwide. Kevin also worked extensively with the EPA’s regional offices and spent several years as the EPA lead on congressional oversight matters, including preparing senior agency officials for hearings and other engagements with congressional committees. Kevin’s responsibilities at the EPA extended to working with a number of other agencies, including the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, Army Corps of Engineers, and Department of Agriculture. 

Kevin has substantial experience with a number of environmental laws and the regulations that implement them, including those related to clean air, climate change, clean water and safe drinking water, chemicals, pesticides, and toxic substances. Through the knowledge, relationships, and experience he gained during his tenure at the EPA, Kevin effectively represents and advocates on behalf of clients before the EPA, Department of Justice, and other federal and state government agencies. 

Bar Admissions

• Oregon
• District of Columbia

Education

• Lewis & Clark College (J.D., 2000)
• Stonehill College (B.A., 1997)