Bracewell's environmental strategies group helps corporate leaders shape the impact of laws and policies to their organizations' competitive advantage by providing advocacy before federal departments and agencies, congressional relations support, and media outreach services.

Our longstanding experience shaping public policy and established working relationships with key government officials gives us particular insight into the political and policy underpinnings of complex energy and environmental issues such as air quality, climate change, national energy policy, waste management, New Source Review (NSR), renewable energy, and new power generation.

Our strategic communications media specialists have trusted relationships with national, regional, and sector-specific outlets in print, radio, television, and online media. This enables us to present a unified, effective environmental governance message to build support within the public, legislative, and regulatory arenas.

Selected Representations

• Managed a multi-faceted response to the EPA's sector-wide NSR initiative, under which utilities faced enforcement on a huge financial scale. We formed a coalition of energy, natural resources, and transportation interests, through which we managed public and press relations and formulated and implemented regulatory and litigation strategies to mitigate NSR's effects on industry and ensure the availability of reliable, affordable, and clean power.
• Represented the developers of a unique energy transmission link from Long Island to Connecticut, Cross Sound Cable, which faced complex political and regulatory hurdles in bringing the completed infrastructure project to sustained operation. Our team launched an integrated strategy involving public advocacy, energy regulatory negotiations, and permitting strategy at the federal and state levels to dismantle the hurdles and bring the project online.
• Managed cutting-edge air and emissions issues on behalf of refineries, utilities, and manufacturers, including Clear Skies legislation, the Clean Air Mercury Rule, and the Clean Air Interstate Rule.
• Handle strategic media advice and counsel on environmental matters for major energy trade associations and companies, including utilities, refineries, and wind developers.
• Prepared an amicus brief on climate change to the U.S. Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA on behalf of Unions for Jobs and the Environment.