Kevin D. Johnson

Experience

Kevin Johnson is a partner practicing in the Environment, Land Use and Natural Resources group, and is the office managing partner of the firm's Minneapolis office. Kevin focuses on the areas of environmental, energy, land use, agricultural and municipal law. He advises and represents companies, local governments, and individuals on such issues as development, siting, and financing of major facilities, environmental regulatory compliance, federal, state, and local permitting and licensing, resolution of and funding for property contamination issues, and corporate, limited liability, cooperative, and joint powers board formation and finance.

Kevin has extensive experience assisting clients in resolving legal issues related to renewable energy projects, including biomass (waste-to-energy) facilities, biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) facilities, and wind energy projects. He is also a regular presenter at various seminars on environmental compliance and development and permitting of renewable energy facilities.

Representative Work

• Kevin works with many local governments on facilities designed to recover resources from solid waste such as waste-to-energy facilities and waste composting facilities. For example, he recently assisted two counties in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in negotiating a six-year agreement for the processing of municipal solid waste generated in the counties into refuse derived fuel to be combusted for the generation of electricity.
• He also assists developers of ethanol and biodiesel projects in overcoming regulatory hurdles. For example, he recently assisted an ethanol facility in overcoming challenges to its state air permit, both in administrative proceedings and litigation in Minnesota courts. He also assisted an egg production company in overcoming legal challenges to its confined animal feeding operations permit in Iowa.
• Kevin also assists clients in resolving environmental contamination issues in merger and acquisition transactions. For example, he recently assisted a restaurant developer in resolving historic petroleum contamination issues caused by an adjacent gas station at a site to be acquired by the developer.
• He also provides assistance to companies in resolving enforcement actions brought by federal, state or local environmental regulators. For example, he recently assisted an aluminum recycling company in resolving alleged violations of its federal air permit and county waste management ordinance provisions.

Professional Honors & Activities

• Member, Environment and Natural Resources Section, Minnesota State Bar Association
• Member, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, American Bar Association
• Member, Environmental Law Committee, Hennepin County Bar Association
• Member, Solid Waste Association of North America
• Named Rising Star in Minnesota Law, MSP Communications

Presentations

• Presenter, "Integrating Renewable Energy: A Roadmap to Scaled Application," 2010 Business and Environmental Series, Minnesota Environmental Initiative, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 18, 2010
• Presenter, "Key Issues in Successful Project Development," Waste-to-Fuels Conference, Jacksonville, Florida, April 20, 2010
• Presenter, "Carbon Management and the Law," William Mitchell College of Law, Jan. 14, 2010

Civic Activities

• Past president, Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Association in Minneapolis for two terms totaling four years
• Active in neighborhood issues by serving on the BMNA Land Use Committee
• Volunteered as a youth baseball and hockey coach

Education

• William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., 1993
• Hamline University, M.A., 1989
• University of Minnesota, B.A., 1983

Admissions

• Minnesota

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