PHOENIX, Ariz., May 31, 2002 -- James "Jim" Derouin, a partner and the environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group Leader in the Phoenix office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, was named as a member of the Superfund Subcommittee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT). NACEPT was established in 1988 to provide advice to the EPA on issues relating to environmental management and policy. It has published more than fifty major reports containing more than 1,000 recommendations to the EPA Administrator.
Derouin is one of 30 individuals nationwide and the only lawyer in a private law firm selected by the EPA to reflect Superfund stakeholders' perspectives on the new high-profile federal work group. He has practiced environmental compliance and defense law for 31 years, representing clients nationally on a broad range of environmental and natural resource issues, including environmental liability, groundwater contamination, surface water discharges, solid and hazardous waste disposal, mining, toxicology, endangered species, civil and criminal enforcement and complex project planning.
"I am honored to be asked to serve on this extremely important federal advisory group," Derouin said. "It is an honor to be asked to participate in the evaluation of the federal Superfund program."
The mandate of the Superfund Subcommittee is to assist in identifying the future direction of the Superfund program in the context of other federal and state waste clean-up programs including the status and use of the National Priorities List as a mechanism to further the program's objectives.
The subcommittee will make recommendations to the EPA Administrator and other senior EPA officials over a 12 to 18-month period. The group's first meeting has been set for June 17th to 19th in Alexandria, Virginia.
Derouin has extensive environmental regulatory experience, including representing private and public clients in 14 states and seven EPA regions on sophisticated environmental and natural resource matters. Since 1987, he has chaired a steering committee managing the remediation of a Superfund site involving more than 100 parties.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Derouin has negotiated more than two dozen environmental and natural resource laws with governmental agencies and environmental interests. He was the primary negotiator of landmark groundwater legislation in Wisconsin and Arizona.
The new Superfund Subcommittee member received an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, is a member of the State Bar of Arizona and is admitted to practice before state and federal courts in that state as well as before the United State Supreme Court. He has presented more than 50 lectures nationwide including one at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.
He is scheduled to speak next week at an environmental conference cosponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources on the topic of "Environmental Compliance: Why it is Important to Corporate America and How it Can be Achieved." He will deliver a keynote address to the Arizona Hydrologic Association at its annual meeting in Tucson, Arizona on June 7th entitled: "Corporate Environmental Compliance."
Derouin also has recently published an "Executive and Municipal Manager's Survival Guide for Environmental Compliance and Defense" which explains 9 proven strategies for environmental compliance and defense; 24 ways to avoid problems with regulators and prosecutors; plus tips on criminal investigations, document retention policies, hiring outside consultants and lawyers, and more. To request a complimentary copy of Derouin's Survival Guide, call 602-257-7719 or e-mail [email protected].
Jim Derouin is Senior Environmental Partner in the Phoenix office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP. With nearly 400 attorneys, Steptoe provides counsel and representation in virtually every area of the law. In more than 50 years of practice, the firm has gained a national and international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration and creative and practical advice in guiding business transactions. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
