Overview

Thomas Braun is a leading environmental and natural resources attorney and the Office Managing Partner of Stoel Rives’ Minneapolis office. For nearly 15 years, he has counseled companies, developers, and investors on high-stakes environmental matters, from multimillion-dollar Superfund litigation to large-scale renewable energy project development.

His clients include Fortune 500 manufacturers, national renewable energy developers, real estate investors, and industrial operators facing complex regulatory challenges at the federal and state level. Thomas regularly handles contaminated site liability and remediation matters, enforcement actions, and PFAS-related issues. He also serves as primary environmental counsel to major solar, wind, and battery storage developers, managing site diligence and permitting strategies for project portfolios throughout the country. In corporate transactions, Thomas conducts environmental due diligence and negotiates allocation of cleanup liabilities and long-term environmental risks.

Prior to joining Stoel Rives, Thomas worked at the United States Department of Justice and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Education

University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 2012, magna cum laude

University of Minnesota, B.A., Political Science and History, 2009, summa cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

Minnesota

United States District Court for the District of Minnesota

Experience

Contaminated Sites & Remediation

  • Lead counsel for multiple industrial clients in CERCLA, RCRA, and state Superfund matters involving soil and groundwater contamination, vapor intrusion, and PFAS-related impacts.
  • Advises national clients on cleanup strategies, liability allocation, natural resource damages claims, and long-term site management.
  • Represents clients in negotiations with EPA and state agencies, including MPCA, WDNR, and other Midwest regulatory bodies.
  • Coordinates the enrollment, management, and closure of sites in state voluntary cleanup programs.

Energy Project Development

  • Serves as environmental counsel to solar, wind, and distributed-generation developers, managing permitting and environmental review strategies for projects across the country.
  • Counsels renewable energy clients on wetlands, wildlife, cultural resources, stormwater, and construction-phase compliance.
  • Advises clients on qualifying projects for the energy community tax credit adder in the brownfield category via safe harbors.

Compliance, Enforcement & Regulatory Counseling

  • Represents companies in federal and state enforcement matters involving hazardous waste, air emissions, and wastewater discharges stormwater.
  • Develops compliance programs and risk-management strategies tailored to manufacturing, energy, and logistics operations.

Transactional Support

  • Conducts environmental due diligence and negotiates risk-allocation provisions for mergers, acquisitions, real estate transactions, and financing of contaminated properties.
  • Advises on brownfield redevelopment, voluntary cleanup programs, and institutional controls.

Litigation & Administrative Proceedings

  • Handles environmental litigation and administrative appeals involving site liability, permitting disputes, and enforcement orders.

Client Successes

Insights

Insights & Presentations

  • Panelist, “From Brownfields to Brightfields: Sustainable Land Use for Renewable Energy”, RE+ Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, September 10, 2025.
  • “A path to clean electricity by 2040” (co-author), Bench+Bar of Minnesota, Minnesota State Bar Association, January 23, 2025
  • “PFAs use places firms ‘in the target for the EPA,’ attorney says” (quoted), Minnesota Lawyer, May 6, 2024
  • “Are Farmers Protected From PFAS?” (quoted), Brownfield Ag News, April 24, 2024
  • “EPA Designates PFOA and PFOS as Hazardous Substances Under CERCLA” (co-author), Stoel Rives LLP, April 23, 2024
  • “New Minnesota Law Expands Discharge Notification Obligations for Publicly Owned Treatment Works,” Central States Water, Fall 2023
  • “What Minnesota’s ban on ‘forever chemicals’ means for manufacturers” (quoted), Manufacturing Dive, August 17, 2023
  • “State at ‘forefront’ in curbing PFAS” (quoted), Minnesota Lawyer, June 14, 2023
  • “Permitting and Land Use” (co-author), Chapter 6 of The Law of Solar Energy: A Guide to Business and Legal Issues, Stoel Rives LLP, Sixth Edition, 2022
  • “Siting and Permitting Wind Projects” (co-author), Chapter 3 of The Law of Wind: A Guide to Business and Legal Issues, Stoel Rives LLP, Ninth Edition, 2022
  • “Minnesota is primed to turn a page on the conflict between solar growth and farmland preservation” (co-author), pv magazine, May 14, 2021
  • “Three Key Energy Land Use Issues to Watch in 2021,” Bloomberg LawEnvironment and Energy Report, December 18, 2020
  • Presenter, “Solar Dealmaking 101: Finance, Due Diligence, PPAs, RFPs,” Minnesota Brightfields 2020, Minneapolis, Minn., February 20, 2020
  • “Balancing solar development and preservation of agricultural lands in the Midwest” (co-author), pv magazine, August 27, 2019
  • “Legal Considerations Around Brownfield Remediation” (quoted), Waste360, August 13, 2019
  • Presenter, “Basic Environmental Issues in Business Transactions,” 2019 Minnesota Environmental Institute, Minneapolis, Minn., April 11, 2019
  • “Environmental Transactions and Brownfields” (co-author), 2018 ABA Environment, Energy, and Resources Law: The Year in Review
  • Presenter, “Vapor Intrusion: Understanding and Managing the Risk,” Stoel Rives LLP and Bay West LLC presentation, Duluth, Minn., April 11, 2017
  • Presenter, “Zoning and Permitting Challenges for Community Solar Gardens,” MSBA CLE, Minneapolis, Minn., October 18, 2016
  • “Brownfields Law and Practice: Minnesota” (co-author), 2014

Speaking Engagements

Special Reports

Recognition

  • Named by Best Lawyers® as Land Use and Zoning Law “Lawyer of the Year,” Minneapolis, 2025
  • Included in The Best Lawyers in America® (Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law), 2023–present
  • Included in Minneapolis/Saint Paul Business Journal’s “40 Under 40,” 2023
  • Charles N. Nauen Award for Outstanding Achievement in Environmental and Energy Law, University of Minnesota Law School

Affiliations

Professional

  • Minnesota State Bar Association’s Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law Section, Section Council
  • ABA Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation Committee Newsletter, Contributor
  • American Bar Association, Member
  • Minnesota State Bar Association, Member
  • Federal Bar Association, Member
  • Hennepin County Bar Association, Member

Civic

  • Great River Greening
  • Minneapolis Club
  • Minneapolis Storm Youth Hockey
  • Linden Hills Neighborhood Council
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