Colin Harris is a legal and business advisor on mission critical environmental, regulatory and governmental enforcement matters in industry sectors focusing on energy, oil and gas, pipelines, agriculture and manufacturing. He partners with his clients in courtroom, regulatory, investigative and boardroom settings to solve problems and crises in a pragmatic, responsive and cost-effective way, so that his clients can sleep well at night. Colin is especially proud of his many years of service to and experience with companies in the upstream, midstream and downstream “oil patch” sector.

High-Impact, High-Risk Matters Requiring Multidisciplinary Expertise

Clients trust Colin with their most high-value and business sensitive matters. For example, in 2015, two pipeline companies hired Colin to represent them in separate nationally-publicized pipeline ruptures impacting waterways. He leads the response, agency negotiations, internal investigations, legal defense and board-level strategy. The tasks include crisis management, claims by multiple state and federal agencies, pipeline safety issues, business interruption matters, insurance, and natural resource damage matters. Colin’s in-depth knowledge of the upstream and midstream business sectors and his broad environmental legal expertise brings a unique multi-disciplinary focus to these and similar cases, allowing for quick and efficient organization of a short- and long-term strategy and vigorous defense.

Air Quality Expertise With Longstanding Energy Industry Business Acumen

As a recognized stalwart of the air quality regulation and enforcement bar, with significant litigation and permitting experience, Colin is actively engaged on behalf of several companies seeking to minimize exposure to high-profile government enforcement and rulemaking initiatives. For example, two major producers in the Bakken shale play hired Colin in 2015 to counsel and defend them in separate investigations and agency negotiations concerning the national energy extraction air quality enforcement initiative. They trust his business-savvy legal advice in the face of difficult operating conditions posed by commodity price declines and volatility. By way of further example only, Colin handles air quality matters for a major refiner, is active in EPA’s ozone initiatives and has specialized expertise in air quality on Indian Reservations.

Midstream Business Leader at the Forefront of Issues Impacting Pipeline Operators

Colin is at the forefront of environmental law and policy in other areas that will challenge industrial clients in 2016 and beyond. For example, he is a leading lawyer for the pipeline industry, which faces strong headwinds from regulators and citizen groups. Colin represents pipeline operators in regulatory compliance and administrative hearings arising under the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and state oil and gas commission rules. In 2014, he won modifications to a PHMSA final order by appealing the order to a federal court. In 2015, he resolved noncompliance allegations against a distribution pipeline resulting in no penalties and assisted a gathering line operator in negotiating an agreement to re-start after a leak. He has successfully resolved multiple Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act cases arising out of pipeline leak incidents.

‘Waters of the United States’ Experience

Colin has long-standing litigation and regulatory experience involving EPA’s controversial “Waters of the United States” rule published in 2015. In one case, EPA and the Department of Justice alleged that Colin’s client operated tank storage facilities in multiple locations in two states without spill prevention plans required by the Clean Water Act. Using spill modeling techniques and common sense advocacy, the case was resolved without any enforcement or penalty.

Crisis Management, Response, Legacy Liability

Colin’s clients trust him with the management and defense of high-profile spills, releases and other incidents, as well as the multi-faceted claims that can arise. For example, Colin is on the cutting edge of the next generation of environmental risks associated with spill events and “legacy” operations, an area of law known as “natural resource damages” or “NRDA.” He is presently handling matters in three states involving NRDA claims arising out of alleged ecosystem and species harm arising from spills or legacy mining operations. Colin helped settle a fourth matter in 2015 for an amount about 75 percent less than originally estimated.