Experience

• Representation of SoCore Energy in gaining approval for its potential acquisition of equity interests in 22 community solar garden development projects in Minnesota, subject to certain conditions, which upon completion will produce up to 140 megawatts of renewable energy. The projects are being acquired as part of bankruptcy proceedings for renewable energy company SunEdison.
• Kevin works with clients to address legal issues associated with new and existing energy generation and production facilities, with a particular focus on facilities designed to recover energy and resources from municipal solid waste. For example, he recently assisted the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Board in acquiring a privately-owned refuse-derived fuel facility in Newport, MN, including assistance in negotiating multiple agreements and addressing permitting and other transactional issues. He also advises many other local governments on solid waste management legal issues.
• He also assists clients in overcoming permitting and other regulatory challenges. Kevin assisted one of the largest egg production operations in the U.S. in overcoming state and federal regulatory and permitting issues in the siting and development of their largest facility in Iowa.
• Kevin helps clients to resolve soil and groundwater contamination issues. He currently assists one of the largest food production companies in the U.S. in addressing past environmental contamination at several sites around the country. He also assisted a Twin Cities district energy project in expanding its underground piping infrastructure through a former Superfund site with multiple owners.
• He also provides assistance to clients in resolving enforcement actions brought by federal, state and local regulators. Kevin has handled major environmental enforcement cases brought against clients by the U.S. EPA as well as state agencies, such as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. He helps clients negotiate resolutions to enforcement actions that meet their needs and are acceptable to regulators. He also provides advice to industries on the EPA’s recently promulgated Clean Power Plan.
• Kevin provides guidance on environmental due diligence matters in mergers and acquisition transactions. He recently assisted a company in acquiring mining operations in several states, addressing due diligence, permitting, and enforcement matters leading to successful completion of the transaction.
• Kevin also served as the Office Managing Partner for the Firm’s Minnesota office for five years (2010-2014), overseeing significant growth of the office during his tenure.

Honors & Activities

Professional Honors and Activities

• Member; Environment, Energy and Resources Section; American Bar Association
• Member; Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law Section; Minnesota State Bar Association
• Member, Environmental Law Committee, Hennepin County Bar Association
• Member, Environmental Initiative, a Minnesota non-profit environmental and energy issues organization
• Member, Minnesota Brownfields, a non-profit brownfields redevelopment organization
• Member, Recycling Association of Minnesota
• Member, Solid Waste Association of North America

Civic Activities

• Board of Directors, Great River Greening, a Minnesota non-profit habitat restoration organization, 2010–2016
• Past president, Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Volunteered as a youth hockey and baseball coach

Insights & Presentations

• Co-author, “INSIGHT: Waste-to-Energy Projects Not Immune From Covid-19,” Bloomberg Law Environment & Energy Report, April 6, 2020
• Presenter, “Minnesota Brightfields: Solar Opportunities on Closed Landfills Legal Considerations,” MnSEIA Gateway to Solar Conference, Bloomington, MN, November 12, 2018
• Presenter, “Energy Generation and the Role of Bioenergy,” Maplewood, MN, May 16, 2018
• Presenter, “Environmental and Regulatory Update: Opportunities and Challenges for the Renewable Industry in the Midwest,” Minneapolis, MN, October 3, 2016
• Presenter, Minnesota Brownfields “Legal Considerations for Renewable Energy on Brownfields,” St. Paul, MN, February 3, 2016
• Presenter, “Environmental and Regulatory Update: Opportunities and Challenges for the Renewables Industry in the Midwest,” Minneapolis, MN, October 8, 2015
• Moderator, Minnesota Real Estate Journal, Brownfields Panel, June 12, 2015
• Presenter, Energy & Environmental Law CLE, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN, April 25, 2014
• Co-author, Minnesota Chapter of Brownfields Law and Practice, “The Cleanup and Redevelopment of Contaminated Land,” Lexis Nexis, Publication 438, Release 33-10, 2014
• Presenter, Renewable Energy from Waste Conference, West Palm Beach, FL, November 18–19, 2013
• Presenter, Annual Waste-to-Energy Development & Finance Summit, Chicago, IL, January 23–24, 2013
• Presenter, “Waste-to-Energy Public/Private Partnership Legal Issues,” 2nd Annual Waste Conversion Congress West Coast, Long Beach, CA, November 28, 2012
• Seminar Moderator, “Natural Gas and Minnesota’s Energy Future,” Environmental Initiative Policy Forum, St. Paul, MN, September 21, 2012
• Summit Chair, Moderator, “Financing Industry Growth,” Waste to Energy Development & Finance Summit, Chicago, IL, March 29, 2012
• Moderator, “Municipalities’ Plans for Future Waste to Energy Projects,” Waste to Clean Energy Finance & Investment Summit, Newport Beach, CA, July 13, 2011
• Presenter, “Carbon Management and the Law Conference: The EPA in 2011,” William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN, February 10, 2011
• Presenter, “Enforcement Issues in Stormwater Regulation,” RAM/SWANA Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, October 7, 2010
• Presenter, “Greening the Economy: Future Policy and Investment Trends,” Great River Greening Business Forum, Roseville, MN, September 21, 2010
• Presenter, “Key Issues in Successful Project Development,” Waste-to-Fuels Conference, Jacksonville, FL, April 20, 2010

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