Chris Wiest

Practices

• Environmental

Professional Experience

Chris is an associate in the firm's Environmental practice group. He focuses his practice on litigation, permitting, administrative practice, counseling concerning environmental, health and safety matters, and counseling on environmental aspects of corporate and real estate transactions.

Prior to joining the firm, Chris worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Ohio Attorney General's Office, Environmental Enforcement Section, where he handled civil and criminal enforcement matters, administrative appeals, and environmental bankruptcy. He has significant experience in civil and criminal environmental air enforcement cases, compliance counseling, and permitting matters involving Title V, FESOP, PTI and PTO permit violations, MACT compliance, including matters involving failing to obtain a PSD permit, failing to obtain a Non-Attainment New Source Review Permit, improper reduction in existing sources to allow for the installation of new sources and plants ("netting out"), and related matters. He also has handled de novo hearings and administrative appeals before the Environmental Review Appeals Commission and the Ohio EPA hearing examiner.

Before his work with the Ohio Attorney General's office, Chris worked as a law clerk for a Cincinnati firm and as an extern for the Honorable William O. Bertelsman, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Chris is licensed to practice in Ohio and Kentucky. He is also licensed to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and all federal district courts in Ohio and Kentucky.

Education

• University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D., 2004, Order of the Coif, University of Cincinnati Law Review, Editorial Board 2003-04, Associate Member 2002-2003
• University of Cincinnati College of Business Administration, B.A., 2000

• Successfully negotiated numerous administrative settlements for clients via Director's Findings and Orders with Ohio EPA.
• Successfully appealed numerous permits, orders, and other actions on behalf of clients before the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission.
• Regularly counsels clients and develops permitting strategies, often with parallel pending enforcement matters, with respect to state permits to install and operate, Title V permits, FESOPs, PSD and Non-attainment NSR issues, permits to install, state permits to operate, permits by rule, and general permits.
• Served as lead counsel on an appeal to the Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals in General Electric Lighting v. Koncelik, 2006-Ohio-1655 (March 30, 2006) defending the Ohio EPA's authority to insert operational restrictions into Title V air permits under the Clean Air Act and Ohio law. Was primarily responsible for the drafting of the brief, and argued the case before the Tenth District Court of Appeals.
• Served as counsel in State ex. rel. Sierra Club v. Koncelik, 2005-Ohio-6477 (Dec. 6, 2005) defending the Director of the Ohio EPA in a writ of prohibition action filed by the Sierra Club in the Tenth District Court of Appeals to prevent the issuance of a Permit to Install for a coking plant.
• Represented the Director of the OEPA in a de novo hearing before the Environmental Review Appeals Commission in Old River Valley Foundation v. Koncelik, 2005 Ohio ENV LEXIS 4 (Nov. 15, 2005), regarding Director's findings and orders directing closure and water monitoring for a solid waste and C&DD landfill.
• Served as counsel in a white collar criminal environmental case against a corporation and its officers and employees involving improper hazardous and solid waste handling and dumping, resulting in felony convictions for the corporation and convictions against the corporate officers.
• Counseled and assisted utility in Title V reporting, CAMR rule applicability, and assisted with compliance with the ICI boiler MACT.
• Handle multiple Superfund matters across the United States for various Fortune 100 clients, negotiating and participating in RI/FS, investigations, allocation issues, ROD challenges, Superfund litigation and negotiate settlements.
• Assisted large solid waste handling company with Ohio's background check requirements for landfill owners and operators, and negotiation of a waiver from some of those requirements.
• Regularly counsels utilities and other clients on whether upgrade projects triggers new source review permitting requirements.
• Successfully defended Fortune 100 company in ammonia leak incident from threatened civil and criminal enforcement by an Ohio municipality, resulting in the matter being dropped.
• Regularly counsels and assists several large manufacturing clients in development and implementation of their comprehensive nationwide environmental, health, and safety audit programs.
• Represented indigent client in landlord-tenant matter, Schwab v. Lattimore, 166 Ohio App. 3d 12, 2006-Ohio-1372, 848 N.E.2d 912 (Mar. 24, 2006).

• "Shareholders Beware! When Individual Shareholders May Be Left Holding the Bag for Environmental Liability" · Journal of Taxation of Investments, Spring 2007
• "New Air Law & Court Decision Provide Needed Relief to Regulated Companies" (co-authored) · Cincinnati Business Courier, 2006
• Editorial Note, Justice Behind the Labels: How Political Affiliation and Gender Influence the Decisions of the Ohio Supreme Court, 72 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1159 (Spring 2004), (co-authored).
• Comment, The Netsurfing Split: Restrictions Imposed on Internet and Computer Usage by those Convicted of a Crime Involving a Computer, 72 U. Cin. L. Rev. 847 (Winter 2003).

• "A Proactive EHS Audit Program: The Company's Shield or the Government's Sword", Business & Industry's Environmental, Health and Safety Symposium, March 26, 2009
• Boot Camp for EH&S Managers, Terex Corporation, February 16, 2009
• "Engaging & Managing Environmental Consultants", Business & Industry's Environmental, Health and Safety Symposium, March 27, 2008
• "Air Permits - Nuisance Provisions, Compliance and Enforcement", Business & Industry's Environmental, Health and Safety Symposium, March 26, 2008
• "Strategies for Effectively Handling Dual- Track Enforcement & Air Permitting", Business & Industry's Environmental, Health and Safety Symposium, March 26, 2008
• "Ohio Senate Bill 265: Challenges and Opportunities", Ohio State Bar Association Environmental Law Conference, April 27, 2007
• "Deflecting Agency Nuisance Enforcement", Business & Industry's Environmental, Health and Safety Symposium, March 26, 2007