Stites & Harbison, PLLC

 

W. Patrick Stallard

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". . . an exceptional lawyer who always does a good job."

  - ChambersUSA 2010

Pat Stallard chairs the Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Service Group of the firm. His practice concentrates in the air, water and waste programs, both counseling and litigation.

Recent Assignments

• Represented several potentially responsible parties (PRPs), including two of the largest contributors, in a Superfund removal action initiated by USEPA, at a former hazardous waste incinerator site that had operated from the 1950’s through 2003. The removal action consisted of removal and disposal of containerized chemical waste, and demolition and disposal of the large commercial incinerators and incinerator buildings. Stites & Harbison served on the Negotiating Committee, the Steering Committee, and the Allocation Committee for various PRPs from the initial negotiations with USEPA leading to a consent decree for the removal, through the takeover of removal work by the PRPs at the site, through negotiations with the state agency regarding a permanent remedy.

• Represented a large bulk chemical transporter named as a generator at a Superfund site that was formerly a recycling, storage and disposal facility covering 150 acres that operated from 1964 through 1997. Contaminants of concern include acid and caustic compounds, solvents, and gasoline and crude oil tank bottoms. The remedial investigation and feasibility study have been completed, as well as a treatability study documenting solidification and landfilling of the source material can be an effective remedy.

• Represented several companies among 87 Superfund PRPs named as generators at a site that was purportedly a nonhazardous waste transfer facility covering nine acres that operated from late 2002 to April 2004 when the operator abandoned approximately 13,000 drums and totes, tanker trucks and other containers at the site. Initial removal activity by USEPA included hazard categorization sampling that indicated that much of the containerized waste was hazardous. The PRPs entered into a consent decree and completed the removal action in 2008. In 2010, USEPA named additional PRPs, including other Stites & Harbison clients, in an effort to collect its past costs that were not charged to the initial PRP group.

• Represented a large manufacturer of chemical additives for the rubber and plastics industries in complying with the requirements of the RCRA program, including RFA/RFI, corrective action and the preparation of a comprehensive risk management plan

• Represented a chemical company in the decommissioning of a large chemical manufacturing plant that had operated for 100 years; assisted in the remediation and ultimate redevelopment of the plant site under the state Brownfields program

• Represented two large bourbon distillery companies that had releases into adjoining waters of hundreds of thousands of gallons of bourbon resulting from warehouse fires; assisted with immediate response actions and negotiations with state and federal enforcement agencies

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

• "Kentucky's Solid Waste Report Card," Annual Meeting of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Louisville, Ky., October 7, 2011
• "The Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Liability Limitation: Haven or Trap," Louisville Bar Association, August 2011
• "Solid Waste Brief," Kentucky Infrastructure Report Card - 2010, American Society of Civil Engineers
• "Site Remediation and Brownfield Redevelopment in Kentucky: Environmental Covenants," Louisville Bar Association, October 8, 2009

Before Stites & Harbison

Prior to joining Stites & Harbison in 1983, Pat had an active general civil practice beginning in 1978 with an emphasis on litigation in the Frankfort, Kentucky, law firm of Prichard, Stallard & Shepherd. From 1974 to 1978, he was an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General of Kentucky handling environmental, anti-trust and consumer protection litigation.

More Than Stites & Harbison

Civic and community involvement includes the Speed Art Museum. New Art Collectors, 1998 - present; House of Ruth, Board of Directors, 2004 - present; and The New Center for Contemporary Art (Board of Directors, 2004 - 2008). Pat is listed in The Best Lawyers in America^® (2001-2012) for Environmental Law and was named Best Lawyers' 2012 Louisville Environmental Law Lawyer of the Year.  He is also listed in Kentucky Super Lawyers magazine (2010) and ChambersUSA, "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" (2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011).