Paul M. Bohannon
Partner
Paul's environmental experience dates back to 1975. His principal focus is on contested matters. His jury experience includes sewer discharges, ambient air releases, groundwater contamination, surface water contamination and landfill matters.
He has substantial jury experience in enforcing environmental indemnities, having secured a $61,000,000 jury award on behalf of his corporate client (consisting of $50,000,000 punitive damages and $10,000,000 actual damages) for fraudulent inducement in the contractual context on the sale of a pipeline, which amount was netted in settlement to $57,000,000. He also has enforced over a billion dollars of environmental insurance contracts. His litigation includes oil and gas frac issues, riverine and estuarine environments, as well as various habitat issues. In the groundwater context, he has successfully defended and prosecuted JP-4, gasoline, crude oil and other claims.
He has worked with ASTM committees in the development of environmental standards, and served as a panelist for the Lovelace Inhalation Toxicology Institute. He has defended efforts to secure cohort studies in toxicology disputes, challenged many rulemakings, and served as industry counsel in national rulemaking measures, leading negotiations at the headquarters level.
Publications
- Top 10 Do's & Don'ts of Environmental Crisis Response (pdf) Law 360 (June 8, 2010)
- EPA Issues Final “Tailoring” Rule for Greenhouse Gas Emissions (May 24, 2010)
- EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rules Expanded to Oil and Gas, Enhanced Oil Recovery (March 31, 2010)
- Developing Frac Issues – Newly Proposed Completion Rules for Wyoming & Pennsylvania (March 29, 2010)
- EPA Rulemaking Hotline (March 3, 2010)
- EPA Issues New Renewable Fuels Standard (February 12, 2010)
- Stricter Smog Standards to Burden Municipalities and Industry (January 26, 2010)
- Increased Governmental Scrutiny on Oil and Gas Development (January 11, 2010)
- EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Starts January 2010 (November 16, 2009)
- EPA Moving Ahead with Regulation of Greenhouse Gases (September 25, 2009)
- "Is the Polluter Pays Principle All There is to Allocating Environmental Liability?" 37 BNA Environment Reporter 1870 (2006)
- "Polluters & Protectors: Combined Sewer System Authorities and Urban Waterway Restorations" 45 Natural Resources Journal 539 (2005)
- "Project Development & Finance: Environmental Permit Opinion" Legal Opinion Letters Formbook, Jr. Aspen Publishers (2003)
- "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Policy: From the Beginning to the Millennium" 19 SETAC Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry 781 (2000)
- "Regulatory Compliance and Litigation Impacts for Pipelines" Annual Oil & Gas Program, Railroad Commission of Texas (1993)
- "Superfund and the Banking Industry" Texas Bar Journal (December 1987)
Events
Seminar
- “Citizen Involvement Plans & Negotiation Techniques in Mongolia -- A Workshop,” Conference on Environment and Human Rights, FK Norway and Center for Human Rights and Development, Ulaanbataar, Mongolia (2009)
- "Enforcing Environmental Indemnities," 55th Annual Program on Oil & Gas Law, Institute for Energy Law (2004)
- "Environmental Law in the Oil & Gas Industry," South Texas School of Law Annual Environmental Symposium (2002)
Speeches - "Environmental Regulation of Pipeline Rights-of-Way," Annual Convocation of the International Right-of-Way Association (1991)
Panelist - "Topical Conference on Traditional and Non-Traditional Air Contaminants," Lovelace Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute (1987)
Professional Recognition
- Profiled as one of the leading Environmental lawyers in Texas, Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers (2005-2011)
- The Best Lawyers in America, Environmental Law (2010-2012)
