Go-To Firm for Environmental Matters
Bracewell has one of the largest and most highly respected environmental practices in the United States. We were named a Law360 Environmental Group of the Year in 2020, and our practice and its lawyers are consistently ranked in the top bands in Chambers USA, Legal 500 US and other leading legal publications.
Our team combines legal and policy depth with knowledge in media relations and lobbying, all focused on energy, environmental and natural resources issues faced by companies across the United States. This comprehensive and holistic approach enables us to advise clients facing severe challenges that arise simultaneously in litigation, legislative debates, agency actions and public discourse. Air Liquide, Baker Hughes, Cheniere Energy, The Dow Company, Equinor and Kinder Morgan are some of the companies that regularly engage our team on environmental matters.
We provide a uniquely informed perspective based on decades of experience working at the forefront of issues facing companies in the oil and gas, refining, power generation and transmission, chemical, manufacturing, technology, mining and construction sectors. Team members include lawyers with extensive experience working in house at Fortune 100 companies, as well as lawyers who have served in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Department of the Interior, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Army Corps of Engineers, the White House, the US Congress, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the US Attorney’s Office.
Clients turn to us for advice and guidance on policy matters at the top of the national agenda, including:
- offshore wind development
- renewable fuels standards
- regulation of greenhouse gases
- carbon capture utilization and sequestration (CCUS)
- Clean Water Act, Section 401 reform
- Infrastructure development
- NSR reform
- renewable energy policies
- hydrogen development
- onshore and offshore royalty disputes
- oil and gas leasing and decommissioning
- Chemical Safety Board reform
- NEPA reform
We handle regulatory matters for energy and energy-related companies before a myriad of federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Transportation (DOT), Customs and Border Protection, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the EPA, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Fish and Wildlife Service, the US National Park Service and the Surface Transportation Board.
In addition, our environmental litigation group — in collaboration with our market-leading white-collar defense, appellate and energy regulatory practices — handles some of the largest and most complicated environmental litigation matters in the nation. For example, we represented Halliburton in the federal criminal investigation that arose from the Deepwater Horizon explosion — perhaps the most significant criminal environmental investigation in a generation. More recently, we represented Kinder Morgan in connection with regulatory and litigation issues surrounding the development of the Permian Highway Pipeline, as well as RES in the negotiation and execution of an innovative fixed-price restoration agreement with Klamath River Renewal Corporation in connection with the largest dam removal in the United States.
Areas of Focus
- Litigation & Enforcement Defense
- Natural Resource Protection
- Permitting & Regulation
- Pipeline Safety & Regulation
- Transaction Diligence & Support
Litigation & Enforcement Defense
As Chambers USA (2021) observes, “[Bracewell] is very involved in climate change rulemaking litigation and other sophisticated proceedings.” We represent companies in complex litigation, enforcement proceedings and incident investigations, including parallel civil and criminal actions.
As companies face growing pressure to comply with federal and state mandates, our team helps these companies develop, implement and continuously improve strategies for cost-effective compliance.
Meet the teamNatural Resource Protection
Legislators, investors and the public have turned an intense spotlight on corporate strategies related to natural resources. Leading companies in energy, waste management, chemicals, technology and manufacturing have made sustainability initiatives and disclosures a priority.
Bracewell is “a top-tier firm, known for its environmental and energy expertise,” according to Chambers USA (2020). We have advised Equinor Wind on environmental and leasing issues related to its flagship offshore wind projects in the United States, as well as The Electric Reliability Coordinating Council on regulatory and legislative matters under various environmental statutes.
We help our energy and environmental clients align their strategies with government priorities and regulations with an array of integrated services, including policy development, regulatory counseling, corporate governance and internal audits, and disclosure issues around natural resources.
Meet the teamPermitting & Regulation
We represent applicants in the entire range of the environmental permitting process, from the initial project planning stages (scoping regulatory and permitting requirements across all media and disciplines) to pre-application counseling and application development.
As projects proceed, we help clients negotiate reasonable settlements with permitting agencies during the administrative review process. We proactively focus on strengthening permit applications and bolstering the administrative record to help safeguard project permits against potential challenges, including contested case proceedings, administrative and judicial appeals, and pushback from organizations and communities that seek to slow or derail the permit process.
Bracewell is a recognized leader in this space. As one client tells Chambers USA (2021), “We couldn’t ask for better representation; they are always helpful, timely and accurate.”
Meet the teamPipeline Safety & Regulation
As Legal 500 US (2020) notes, quoting one of our clients, our “team is deeply knowledgeable in the oil and gas refining industry and provides stellar legal advice tailored to our needs.”
We represent companies on environmental and safety issues across a range of disciplines, including regulatory counseling; project siting and permitting; rulemaking, such as pre-proposal advocacy, comment development and appellate challenges; administrative, civil and criminal enforcement; auditing; internal investigations; accident response and crisis management; and transactional due diligence.
Meet the teamTransaction Diligence & Support
Environmental risk and liability represent major concerns for our clients when assets or companies are bought or sold, or when our clients seek or offer financing. We apply a thorough understanding of the business — be it energy, chemicals, refining, heavy manufacturing, or technology — to provide practical, up-to-date insight and counsel. We approach transactions with a thorough technical knowledge of the subject at hand, finding creative approaches to controlling risk.
Meet the teamAs Chambers USA (2021) observes, “[Bracewell] is very involved in climate change rulemaking litigation and other sophisticated proceedings.” We represent companies in complex litigation, enforcement proceedings and incident investigations, including parallel civil and criminal actions.
As companies face growing pressure to comply with federal and state mandates, our team helps these companies develop, implement and continuously improve strategies for cost-effective compliance.
Meet the teamLegislators, investors and the public have turned an intense spotlight on corporate strategies related to natural resources. Leading companies in energy, waste management, chemicals, technology and manufacturing have made sustainability initiatives and disclosures a priority.
Bracewell is “a top-tier firm, known for its environmental and energy expertise,” according to Chambers USA (2020). We have advised Equinor Wind on environmental and leasing issues related to its flagship offshore wind projects in the United States, as well as The Electric Reliability Coordinating Council on regulatory and legislative matters under various environmental statutes.
We help our energy and environmental clients align their strategies with government priorities and regulations with an array of integrated services, including policy development, regulatory counseling, corporate governance and internal audits, and disclosure issues around natural resources.
Meet the teamWe represent applicants in the entire range of the environmental permitting process, from the initial project planning stages (scoping regulatory and permitting requirements across all media and disciplines) to pre-application counseling and application development.
As projects proceed, we help clients negotiate reasonable settlements with permitting agencies during the administrative review process. We proactively focus on strengthening permit applications and bolstering the administrative record to help safeguard project permits against potential challenges, including contested case proceedings, administrative and judicial appeals, and pushback from organizations and communities that seek to slow or derail the permit process.
Bracewell is a recognized leader in this space. As one client tells Chambers USA (2021), “We couldn’t ask for better representation; they are always helpful, timely and accurate.”
Meet the teamAs Legal 500 US (2020) notes, quoting one of our clients, our “team is deeply knowledgeable in the oil and gas refining industry and provides stellar legal advice tailored to our needs.”
We represent companies on environmental and safety issues across a range of disciplines, including regulatory counseling; project siting and permitting; rulemaking, such as pre-proposal advocacy, comment development and appellate challenges; administrative, civil and criminal enforcement; auditing; internal investigations; accident response and crisis management; and transactional due diligence.
Meet the teamEnvironmental risk and liability represent major concerns for our clients when assets or companies are bought or sold, or when our clients seek or offer financing. We apply a thorough understanding of the business — be it energy, chemicals, refining, heavy manufacturing, or technology — to provide practical, up-to-date insight and counsel. We approach transactions with a thorough technical knowledge of the subject at hand, finding creative approaches to controlling risk.
Meet the teamGlobal Recognition for Excellence
The strength and experience of our environmental strategies practice is nationally recognized by Chambers USA, Legal 500 and other legal publications. In 2020, Law360 honored us as an Environmental Group of the Year.
- Chambers USA – Nationwide Climate Change; Nationwide Environment; Texas Environment (Band 1); Washington, DC Environment
- Legal 500 US –Environment Litigation; Environment Regulatory; Environment Transactional; Government Relations
- U.S. News – Best Lawyers – National Environmental Law (Tier 1); National Environmental Litigation (Tier 1); Austin Environmental Litigation (Tier 1); Austin Water Law (Tier 1); Houston Natural Resources Law (Tier 1); Washington, DC Environmental Law (Tier 1); Washington, DC Environmental Litigation (Tier 1)
a leading practice in the transactional and regulatory spheres.
Chambers USA, 2022

Market-Leading Engagements
Our team represents leading energy and energy-related companies on some of the most critical issues that they face in the marketplace.
- Air Liquide Large Industries LP and Airgas USA in negotiating a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice and US EPA regarding alleged violations of the Clean Air Act risk management program
- The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity on a challenge to the Clean Power Plan, acting as one of the leading firms in the litigation in both the DC Circuit and the Supreme Court
- Ascend Performance Materials with a significant risk management plan, water and hazardous waste enforcement actions brought by the US EPA
- Cheniere Energy on all environmental and safety regulatory, permitting and compliance matters in connection with the construction and operating of its LNG export facilities in Sabine Pass, Louisiana, and Corpus Christi, Texas, as well as the development of related pipelines
- The Electric Reliability Coordinating Council on a wide range of regulatory and legislative matters that arise under various environmental statutes
- Equinor Wind on environmental and leasing issues related to its flagship offshore wind projects in the United States
- Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. on various investigations that arose from the Deepwater Horizon incident, including President Obama’s Special Task Force, the US Congress and the CSB. Bracewell’s team brought the matter to a very successful resolution for Halliburton — one that included no criminal charges related to the explosion, the oil spill or the environmental impacts
- Kinder Morgan, Inc., Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline LLC and Permian Highway Pipeline LLC on permitting and litigation surrounding the construction of the Permian Highway Pipeline