Stites & Harbison, PLLC

". . . busy technical lawyer . . ."

- ChambersUSA 2005

Bill Gorton is national counsel to numerous clients on natural resource, environmental regulatory and land and water resources matters. He has been counsel in the development of over 10 power plants. He has been Lead Counsel to numerous surety companies regarding close to $2 billion in financial guarantees on mining operations, hazardous waste facilities and solid waste disposal facilities throughout the United States. He also counsels on large natural resource, business or corporate transactions, assessing and mitigating risks associated with site conditions.

Before embarking on a law career, Mr. Gorton managed many projects as an environmental consultant on projects throughout the U.S.

Recent Assignments

• Advised and developed the state and federal reclamation financial assurance replacement program ($150 million) including permit transfer, owner/controller notice and collateral releases associated with Montana and Wyoming Powder River Basin Coal Company sales.
• Acted as national counsel in coordinating matters for the New York Department of Insurance as Rehabilitator of Frontier Insurance Co. regarding surety exposure on over $1 billion for hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities, underground and surface coal mines, gold mines and processing facilities, solid waste disposal facilities, recycling facilities and other regulated industries throughout the United Sates.
• Counsel to major Timber Investment Management Organizations in the acquisition of large Appalachian timer tracts and surface rights.
• Lead counsel to largest thoroughbred race tract facility operator in the United States in federal CAFO rulemaking process with the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act.
• Lead counsel to major U.S. surety industry client with the United States Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining in federal rulemaking regarding “owner/controller” liability under the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act.
• Led a team of lawyers on behalf of a major surety company in the bankruptcy of Horizon Natural Resources, the largest coal company bankruptcy in U.S. history.  The team developed strategies to assure land reclamation on over 400 mines under federal and five state regulatory programs while mitigating over $125 million in surety exposure.
• Environmental counsel in development and/or financing of numerous independent power plant.
• Acted as national counsel in coordinating matters for the New York Department of Insurance as Rehabilitator of Frontier Insurance Co. regarding surety exposure on over $1 billion exposure for hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities, underground and surface coal mines, gold mines and processing facilities, solid waste disposal facilities, recycling facilities and other regulated industries throughout the United States
• Counsel to a major Timber Investment Management Organization in the acquisition of 44,000 acres of surface rights in southern Appalachia
• Lead counsel to Magna Entertainment, largest thoroughbred race track facility operator in the United States in federal CAFO rulemaking process with the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act
• Lead counsel to major U.S. surety industry client with the United States Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining in federal rulemaking regarding "owner/controller" liability under the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act
• Led a team of lawyers on behalf of major surety company in the bankruptcy of Horizon Natural Resources, the largest coal company bankruptcy in U.S. history in developing strategies to assure land reclamation on over 400 mines under federal and five state regulatory programs while mitigating over $125 million in surety exposure
• Environmental counsel in development and/or financing of numerous independent power plants

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

• "Current and Emerging Legal Issues on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining," webinar presented by BloombergBNA, February 28, 2012
• “Waters of the United States: Federal Jurisdiction Over Activities on My Land?,”  Kentucky Bar Association Bench and Bar, November 2011
• “Understanding Waters of the United States and Federal Jurisdiction on Private Property,” presented at University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, November 2011
• “The Law of Commercial Surety and Miscellaneous Bonds (Second Edition), Chapter:  Reclamation Bonds; American Bar Association, Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section, 2011
• "Waters of the United States: Following Clean Water Act § 404 Jurisdiction Upstream," Kentucky Water Laws and Regulations, HalfMoon Seminars, Lexington, Ky., March 31, 2011
• "'Green' marketing under FTC scrutiny," Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Client Alert, November 24, 2010
• "Environmental/Reclamation Financial Assurances:  Back to the Future," 56th Annual Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Baanf, Alberta, Canada, July 24, 2010 (click here to view paper)
• "Coal Industry Land Law," HalfMoon Seminars, Lexington, Ky., January 22, 2010
• "Understanding the Reclamation Surety Relationship Before and After Operator Default," Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Special Institute on Mine Closure, Financial Assurance and Final Reclamation, Westminster, Colorado, November 2009
• "The Suretys Perspective: Deja Vu All Over Again?," U.S. Department of Interior Office of Surface Mining Appalachian States Annual Meeting, June 2009
• "EPA Issues Final CAFO Rule," University of Kentucky Economic and Policy Update, June 2009
• "Primer for Engineering and Technical Professionals regarding Reclamation and Environmental Surety Bonds," published Nov. 2004, Mining Engineering and presented to the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Annual Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, 2003
• "Surety Bonds and Trouble in the Mining Industry," Conference of Government Mining Attorneys, Knoxville, Tennessee, 2003
• "Optimizing Land Reclamation and Environmental Protection: Making the Most Out of Surety Agreements," Interstate Mining Compact Commission 2002 Annual Meeting
• "Regulation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and the Horse Industry: EPA is Mucking About!" 16th Annual National Conference on Equine Law, Lexington, Kentucky, 2001
• "Legal Considerations Pertaining to Use and Disposal of Coal Combustion By-Products," presented to the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation, 1999
• "Replacing Nationwide Permit 26 - The Next Battle Over Wetland Development," W.T. Gorton, 1998, The Construction Lawyer (Journal of the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry), Vol. 18, No. 1

Before Stites & Harbison

Mr. Gorton practiced law with Buchanan Ingersoll in Philadelphia. Prior to attending law school, he was the manager of the Kentucky office of Skelly & Loy Engineers-Consultants and had managed natural resource development and environmental remediation projects throughout the United States. At Skelly & Loy, he developed the mine land reclamation programs under the Title IV of the Surface Mine, Control and Reclamation Act for Alaska and Virginia. He also managed technical projects for the U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Bureau of Mines, U.S. EPA, Appalachian Regional Commission and numerous state agency and private sector clients.

More than Stites & Harbison

He is Chair of The Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeways Commission which was developed by the Kentucky Legislature to advise the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet regarding cycling issues and advocate for the cycling public.  He has also advised the Kentucky Rails to Trails Council, Inc. on a pro bono basis, formed as part of the nationwide movement to develop abandoned rail beds into trails for recreation use. Bill is Assistant Professor/Adjunct at the University of Kentucky in the Natural Resource and Environmental Science Program teaching Environmental Law and Regulation. He is also a Trustee to the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation. Bill has acted as a member of the Board of Directors of PlanGraphics, Inc., a geographic information systems development and consulting firm. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America^® (2007-2012) for Energy Law, Environmental Law, Mining Law and Natural Resources Law in 2012, and Chambers USA, "America's Leading Lawyers for Business."

Besides Stites & Harbison

Bill is an avid cyclist and spinning instructor at the Lexington YMCA.

• "Lexington men follow dream to the Tour de France," Tom Eblen, Lexington Herald-Leader, August 8, 2010

Bill Gorton at Tour de France.  In 2010, Bill joined a group of amateur cyclists who participated in six legs of the Tour de France.  Here, Bill (right) is shown completing one leg of the race.