Brian is a Partner in the Environmental & Land Use Practice Group, where he focuses his practice on environmental law, with expertise in all aspects of water, air, natural resources, and land use regulation.
Brian provides cost-effective, strategic advice on project permitting, enforcement matters, appeals of agency decisions, regulatory compliance, and legislative issues for property developers and owners, trade associations, utilities, construction companies, and industrial and manufacturing facilities. He regularly appears before federal, state, and local boards and agencies to assist clients in navigating the complex and often overlapping array of environmental and land use regulations.
Brian is experienced in all aspects of state and federal water law, ranging from assessing jurisdictional issues under the Clean Water Act to developing effective strategies for obtaining regulatory approvals for complex projects. Recent projects include:
- Wetland and vernal pool permitting for multiple developments, including shopping centers, piers, subdivisions, and transmission lines
- Wastewater and stormwater permitting for facilities such as pulp and paper mills and municipalities
- Oil spill planning for an oil storage facility and a bottled water plant
- Negotiating a consent agreement to resolve an enforcement action at a saw mill for stormwater issues
Brian's land use practice covers a broad range of development projects, and includes advice on issues such as takings, variances, vested rights, and contract zoning that frequently arise under state and local rules. Recent projects include:
- Site plan and shoreland zoning approvals for transmission lines and substations
- Subdivision approvals for residential developments
- Wharfing out approvals for piers and docks
- Assisting a construction company with the creation of a wetland compensation site
Brian's air practice includes all aspects of air permitting, including obtaining Title V and New Source Review permits. Recent projects include:
- Participating in state and federal rulemakings on various issues involving air toxics and new source performance standards
- Performing due diligence on air issues for significant corporate transactions, including at a food processing plant and a coal-fired power plant
- Assisting a nuclear power plant with obtaining pollution control tax certifications
Brian is the Chair of Pierce Atwood's interdisciplinary Land Use Team and also leads its Recruiting Committee. Prior to joining Pierce Atwood in 1999, Brian was a law clerk for Justice Paul Rudman and Justice Susan Calkins of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Recent Experience
- Represents the Maine Real Estate & Development Association in lobbying at the Maine Legislature on key issues to the development community, including vernal pools and uniform building codes
- Represented a New Hampshire scrap metal dealer in settling an enforcement action brought by the U.S. EPA under the federal industrial stormwater program, including negotiation of a supplemental environmental project
- Led the legal team for local permitting on Central Maine Power Company's Maine Power Reliability Program, a $1.4 billion project across approximately 75 municipalities to ensure the reliability and safety of its high voltage transmission system
- Represented the Electrical Apparatus Service Association, an international trade group, in convincing U.S. EPA not to regulate burn-off ovens in its Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Rule
- Represented a Massachusetts municipality in obtaining a new wastewater permit, including objecting to onerous new nitrogen limits
Honors & Distinctions
Brian is recognized in Chambers USA for Environmental Law and Best Lawyers in America for Land Use & Zoning Law.
In 2011, Brian was named to MaineToday Media's "Forty Under 40" list and co-chaired the recent American Bar Association conference: Key Environmental Issues in U.S. EPA Region 1, September 2011.
Professional Activities
Vice Chair, American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, State and Regional Environmental Cooperation Committee, 2010 – present
Member, Maine State Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education Committee, 2009 – present
Participant in multiple Maine Department of Environmental Protection Stakeholder groups, including on scenic and aesthetic impacts, the Site Location of Development Act, the Shoreland Zoning Act, and industrial stormwater issues
Publications
Author of chapter on Maine water rights, Waters & Water Rights, a national treatise published by Matthew Bender
Regular contributor to two newsletters of the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
Principal editor of Pierce Atwood's Environmental Regulatory Compliance Calendar
Civic Activities
Board of Directors, Biodiversity Research Institute, 2010-2012
Board of Directors for the Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves Law Library, 1999-2007, Treasurer, 2005-2007
Volunteer Coach, youth soccer