Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions with the Clean Air Act

Richard Alonso discusses how the Clean Air Act can be used to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in the United States despite the intention of the act when it was formed in 1963. He also shares about his experience in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and his passion for learning.

Richard is a Partner in the Environmental Strategies Group at Bracewell & Giuliani in its Washington, D.C. office, where he advises manufacturers and energy companies on environmental compliance and enforcement issues before state and federal agencies. He has counseled clients through complex Clean Air Act permit processes, has represented large trade associations in EPA rulemaking efforts and legal challenges to EPA actions, has defended companies in national environmental enforcement matters by using technical defenses, and is known for his creativity in settlements with regulatory authorities. Before joining Bracewell, Mr. Alonso was the Chief of the Stationary Source Enforcement Branch at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. In this capacity, he was EPA’s second-ranking official for Clean Air Act enforcement. Mr. Alonso managed and negotiated Clean Air Act enforcement cases involving issues of national significance representing billions of dollars in injunctive relief, including the New Source Review coal-fired power plant enforcement initiative.