Ken joined Pierce Atwood's Environmental Group in 1987 after practicing with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C. Ken has practiced environmental law since his graduation from law school in 1979.
Ken concentrates on counseling and enforcement issues related to hazardous substance and hazardous waste management, cleanup, and liability, including toxic tort matters; chemical safety requirements under a variety of laws including the Occupational Safety and Health Act; product regulation including toxic substance manufacturing and processing; emergency planning, response, and community right-to-know requirements; groundwater and drinking water regulation; and transactional matters related to environmental concerns.
At the EPA, Ken advised the Agency on matters arising under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (the hazardous waste law); Safe Drinking Water Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation, and Liability Act ("Superfund"); Clean Water Act; and the Toxic Substances Control Act. He received two bronze medals for his work.
Much of Ken's practice involves addressing and resolving environmental issues in a cost-effective manner before they become environmental problems. Ken has counseled manufacturers in a wide variety of businesses, Superfund PRP groups, water companies and districts, municipalities, trade associations, and homeowners' associations.
Ken has advised business and real estate owners and purchasers, commercial enterprises of all types, banks and lenders, and drinking water suppliers. Because the purchase and sale of businesses and property must address the possibility of environmental contamination, Ken has been involved in numerous transactions of virtually all sizes. Ken and Pierce Atwood were selected as counsel for the Portland, Maine Brownfields Project, one of the EPA's flagship projects. He was instrumental in Maine's adoption of the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, and has spoken nationally on the topic.
Honors & Distinctions
Ken has been listed for more than 12 years in
The Best Lawyers in America in the practice of environmental law in Maine, including the 2011 edition. He is recognized by
Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers in Band 1. Ken is also a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and has been recognized in the
2012 Super Lawyers Business Edition.Professional Activities
Vice Chair, American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, Committee on Science and Technology, 2010-present
Member, New Hampshire and Maine State Bar Associations' Environmental Law Sections, 1987-present
Past Chair, Maine State Bar Association Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section, 2005
Publications
Ken has spoken and written widely on environmental law matters, and regularly chairs seminars, including several recent ABA seminars. Ken serves on the Advisory Board of Environmental Counselor. He is a regular contributor to the American College of Environmental Lawyers's award-winning environmental law blog.
ABA's Implementing Institutional Controls at Brownfields and Other Contaminated Sites, June 2012
Maine Bar Journal, The New Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, Summer 2006
ABA's Natural Resources and Environment, Maine the Bellweather State, 2010
ABA's Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee Newsletter
Environmental Law Institute's Two-Volume Treatise, Law of Environmental Protection, Chapter on Drinking Water, 1990-present
ABA's Institutional Controls, Maine Chapter, 2011
Civic Activities
Community Campaign, Pine Tree Council Boy Scouts of America.
Triathlon for Preservation, Cape Elizabeth Land Trust.