Ali Abazari

• Served as counsel to BP America, Inc. at the Unified Area Command Post for the Deepwater Horizon incident
• Secured TPDES wastewater discharge permit in contested case proceeding involving opposition by local governmental bodies and environmental advocacy group
• Defended water district in a complex contested water and sewer rate matter challenging district’s budget data and cost allocation methodology, among other challenges
• Represented major U.S. energy company in evaluating environmental conditions at several refineries, remediation of the sites, and transfer of assets

Areas of Focus

• Mine and reclamation permitting and compliance
• Obtaining Clean Water Act permits, including NPDES/TPDES permits, and providing compliance counselling
• Multi-media environmental auditing
• Brownfields redevelopment
• Environmental assessment and remediation projects
• Transactional matters involving sale and acquisition of contaminated properties
• Management of environmental risks in business transactions
• Analysis of federal and state environmental reviews, wetland jurisdiction, endangered species, cultural resources, and permitting issues for the siting of new projects
• Water and sewer utility certificates of convenience and necessity (CCN) and rate matters
• Defending environmental enforcement actions before various federal and state agencies, particularly the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Railroad Commission of Texas
• Waste permitting, management and compliance counselling
• Underground Storage Tank compliance and remediation
• Permitting of underground injection disposal wells
• Emerging legislative and regulatory requirements for the management of coal combustion residuals, carbon capture and sequestration, and related matters

• Rising Star, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2006-2010

• Speaker, “CCR Rule Update,” 2020 Coal Combustion Residuals Conference (August 10, 2020)
• Co-Author, “U.S. Supreme Court Finds That Clean Water Act’s Permitting Requirements Can Extend to Discharges Through Groundwater,” Jackson Walker Insights (April 24, 2020)
• Author, “EPA Issues Temporary Policy on Enforcement Discretion for Noncompliance Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Jackson Walker Insights (March 31, 2020)
• “The Admissibility of Scientific Expert Witness Testimony in Environmental Litigation,” SETAC Conference (November 2003)
• “Landowner Liability Defense and Funding under Brownfields Act of 2002,” Lloyd Gosselink Seminar (November 2003)
• “Understanding Environmental Enforcement in Texas: Practical Tools for Navigating the TCEQ Process” (March 2004; July 2004; and October 2004)
• “Brownfields Redevelopment—A Municipal Perspective,” Texas City Attorneys Association Seminar (June 2006)
• “Defending Against Environmental Enforcement Actions and Negotiating Favorable Settlements, Administrative Law in the Environmental Practice,” Austin Bar Association (June 2006)
• “Accommodating Resource Protection Laws in Construction,” Design Law for Texas Architects and Engineers Conference (March 2008)
• “Natural Resources Protection Laws,” Land Law for Civil Engineers and Surveyors (September 2008)
• “State and Federal Site Contamination Law,” Land Law for Civil Engineers and Surveyors (September 2008)
• “Water Law,” Texas Land Law Seminar (May 2009)
• “Handling Your First (or Next) Environmental Law Matter: Finding Your Niche,” Texas Bar Association CLE on Administrative and Civil Enforcement (December 2019)

• State Bar of Texas – Environmental & Natural Resources Law Section
• Austin Bar Association – Administrative Law and Environmental Law Sections
• American Bar Association – Environment, Energy, and Resources Section