Stites & Harbison, PLLC

William L. Penny

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Bill Penny is a member of the firm's Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Service Group. He has more than 30 years experience in environmental law. His practice concentrates on environmental law, including NEPA, water quality and stormwater issues, air pollution, RCRA, CERCLA, Brownfield Redevelopment, water law and low level radioactive waste and environmental litigation.

He is named in The Best Lawyers in America^®(2005-2013) in the categories of Administrative / Regulatory Law, Environmental Law, Environmental Litigation, Government Relations Practice and Water Law, and Chambers USA, "America's Leading Lawyers in Business" (2010-12). He has also been selected multiple times as "Best of the Bar" (2006-12) by the Nashville Business Journal and was named in the Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine (2006-10, 2012). He is active in the American Bar Association's Section of Environment Energy and Resources. Bill is the Section's Chair-Elect for 2012-13, and will become the Section Chair for 2013-14.

Recent Assignments

• Defended surface coal mining company in antidegradation permit appeal by citizens group
• Defended municipal authority in third party citizen group challenge to individual stormwater permit (one of only three in Tennessee)
• Represented City of Cleveland in Stormwater Enforcement by TDEC and EPA
• Represented City of Knoxville as the MS4 in EPA lawsuit on Stormwater
• Represented chemical company in developing successful defenses to EPA RCRA enforcement
• Represented manufacturing company in enforcement action by municipality for waste water pretreatment
• Represented EnergySolutions in negotiating a brownfield agreement to buy radioactively contaminated property out of bankruptcy, eliminate past liability for the site and negotiate payments from the State for cleaning up the site for productive industrial use
• Represented developers in Clean Water Act Citizen Suit challenging definition of waters of the United States
• Represented manufacturing company in mitigating enforcement for air permit violations
• Represented site developers in Region IV EPA Stormwater enforcement action
• Represented developers in successfully appealing an overbroad "waters of the state" determination by Water Control Board which resulted in the revocation of developer's acquatic resource alteration permit
• Led PRP groups in negotiating complete release with TDEC for all present and future claims at the respective sites
• Represented City in an appeal of conditions contained in its NPDES permit before the Water Quality Control Board. Included in the appeal was a challenge to the placement of the receiving stream on the state's 303(d) list. He was successful in getting the Davidson County Chancery Court to strike down and invalidate the list.
• Represented home builders in appeals of enforcement actions taken by Tennessee and/or Metropolitan Nashville as a result of stormwater runoff
• Developed numerous brownfield agreements for property transfers
• Represented hospital trade organization in recent TennCare litigation related to reduction of TennCare enrollees

Speaking Engagements and Publications

Recent Publications and Events:

• "Environmental Issues in Real Estate Transactions," Real Estate Law: Advanced Issues and Answers, National Business Institute seminar, Nashville, Tenn., December 3, 2012
• "Update on Recent EPA Litigation," Tennessee Mining Conference, Gatlinburg, Tenn., October 28-30, 2012
• "Current Issues in Storm Water Regulation," Lorman Education Services seminar, Nashville, Tenn., October 23, 2012
• "Environmental Panel and Compliance Issues," Panelist, 4th Annual Transportation Construction Law and Regulatory Forum, Washington, D.C., October 25, 2012
• "Environmental Issues in Advanced Real Estate Transactions," 2012 Tennessee Real Estate Law Conference, Nashville, Tenn., October 19, 2012
• "Current and Emerging Legal Issues on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining," webinar presented by BloombergBNA, February 28, 2012
• "Tennessee Stormwater Management," HalfMoon Seminars, Nashville, Tenn., May 14, 2011
• "Current Issues in Storm Water Regulation," Lorman Education Services, Nashville, Tenn., April 14, 2011
• "Lessons from EPA's Office of Inspector General: Better have a lawyer review Phase I Environmental Site Assessments," Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Client Alert, February 21, 2011
• Blog: "Tennessee Environmental Law Blog," co-author with Corinne E. Martin
• "Environmental Aspects of Advanced Real Estate Transactions," National Business Institute, June 14, 2010
• "Understanding Federal and State Rules on Stormwater Management," Tennessee Stormwater Management, HalfMoon Seminars, Nashville, May 14, 2010
• "Environmental aspects of Green Building laws and initiatives," 39th Annual Conference on Environmental Law, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 18-21, 2010
• "Why Build Green and How to Do it Property," Moderator, ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources 39th Annual Conference on Environmental Law, Salt Lake City, UT, March 18-21, 2010
• Legal implications of EPA's Policy on Appalachian Surface Coal Mining," 2010 Tennessee Mining Conference, Tennessee Mining Association, Gatlinburg, Tenn., March 8-9, 2010
• "Legal implications of EPA's Policy on Appalachian Surface Coal Mining," 2010 Tennessee Mining Conference, Tennessee Mining Association, Gatlinburg, Tenn., March 8-9, 2010
• "Key Water Quality Issues Related to Surface Mining," 2010 Tennessee Mining Conference, Gatlinburg, Tenn., March 8-9, 2010
• "The Battle Over Regulation of Coal Combustion Products as Waste," ABA Waste and Resource Recovery Committee Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 1, January 2010 (co-author with Christina B. Davidow)
• "Land Use Law: Current Issues in Subdivision Development, Annexation and Zoning," National Business Institute, Nashville, June 11, 2009
• "Environmental Crime," Solid and Hazardous Waste Conference, Gatlinburg, Tenn., May 1, 2009
• "Regulated Waters," Solid and Hazardous Waste Conference, Gatlinburg, Tenn., May 1, 2009
• "A Practical Guide to Tennessee's Construction General NPDES Permit," November 2007
• "In the Eye of the Regulatory Storm," Tennessee HomeBuilder, September 2007
• "What are Waters of the United States after Rapanos? The Murky Answer," Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Environmental Committee seminar, October 27, 2006
• "Fundamentals of Water Law in Tennessee," National Business Institute, Nov. 3, 2005
• "Stormy Weather and the Construction Site—A New Day," ABA Section on Environment, Energy and Resources, Region 4 Conference, April 2005
• "Ethics and Water Law," CLE International, May 2005
• "EPA Issues New Guidelines Federal Enforcement in CSO/SSO Cases" and "Use of Tennessee's Brownfields Law in Facilitating Deals," Tennessee Bar Association, Environmental Law Newsletter, July 2005
• "Hidden Dangers, Often Overlooked Wastestreams," 34th Annual Conference on Environmental Law, Keystone, Col., March 2005
• ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting, Spoke on Brownfield Redevelopment, Nashville, Tennessee, June 2005
• Principal Author, A Practical Guide to Tennessee Environmental Law, 2nd Edition, published by the Tenn. Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2000 

Before Stites & Harbison

From 1998 to 2005, Bill was with the Nashville office of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs LLP, Nashville, Tenn.  He served as Partner in Charge from 2003-05. Prior to that, he was a shareholder (1992 to 1998) with Mainer, Herod, Hollabaugh & Smith PC, also in Nashville. He served as General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (1990 to 1992) and for the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment (1984 to 1990). He first joined the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment as Assistant General Counsel for Environment (1982 to 1984).

More Than Stites & Harbison

Bill is a board member of the Nashville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2000 to present. He also teaches Environmental Law (1999 to present) and Administrative Law (2005 to present) at The Nashville School of Law. He also has been appointed by Tennessee's Governor to the Public Health Emergency Advisory Committee. 

Besides Stites & Harbison

Bill is an avid bluegrass fan and has placed second in the Smithville Fiddlers Convention in the guitar competition. Both he and his wife are rabid University of Tennessee football fans where their son is a recent graduate.