Biography

Mary Ellen Ternes’ practice encompasses all facets of environmental law and related aspects arising in energy law, including regulatory, enforcement, and transactional matters, as well as federal and state litigation. Her experience and expertise includes State and Federal compliance, enforcement, administrative hearings and litigation involving the Clean Air Act and air regulation, climate change issues arising from emissions of greenhouse gases in Clean Air Act permitting, corporate disclosures and transactions, hazardous and solid waste regulation, Clean Water Act and discharge regulation including wetlands and stormwater issues, Safe Drinking Water Act and water quality protection regulation as well as groundwater and surface water use permitting, Toxic Substances Control Act, and TSCA application to nanotechnology manufacture, emergency planning, voluntary cleanups, Brownfields, Superfund, NEPA, Homeland Security, underground storage tank regulation, “All Appropriate Inquiry” and other due diligence issues.

Mary Ellen is a frequent author and speaker on environmental issues. Through her leadership roles in the American Bar Association and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, she frequently provides continuing legal and policy education on these issues as well as models for adapting to a carbon-constrained world, carbon tracking, carbon sequestration regulation and developing environmental applications of nanotechnology.

Prior to entering law school, Mary Ellen worked as a chemical engineer for the Environmental Protection Agency in Superfund emergency response/site characterization and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) incinerator permitting, and then as an environmental project officer for a commercial hazardous waste incineration company overseeing RCRA, Toxic Substances Control Act and Clean Air Act permitting and compliance. During law school, she worked as a law clerk for the EPA Office of General Counsel Air and Radiation Division.

Since its debut in 2004, the International Who's Who of Environment Lawyers has named Mary Ellen to its prestigious list of pre-eminent environmental lawyers worldwide each year. Her achievements in the area of environmental law have also earned her inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America.

In 2007, her comprehensive publication entitled "Basic Practical in Nanotechnology" won a competitive, peer reviewed "Best Paper Award" at the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy and Resources fall meeting.

In 2008, Mary Ellen was granted early election as a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, a professional association of private sector environmental lawyers recognized by their peers as pre-eminent in their field.

Recently, Mary Ellen accepted nomination for the role of Master Programming Chair for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers 2010 Spring National Meeting which will provide engineering, environmental and energy educational programming for several thousand industry engineers.

Representative Experience Provides counsel to applicants for air, hazardous waste, and water/stormwater, wetlands permits and NEPA review. Representation of parties to environmental real estate transactions and corporate acquisitions. Representation of affected parties in state and federal enforcement actions, rulemaking, and  adjudicatory proceedings pursuant to state and federal air, hazardous waste, solid waste, water/stormwater, underground storage tank, wetlands and voluntary remediation regulatory programs. Representative clients include:    Metal fabrication and coatings facilities     Weapons destruction contractors for the Department of the Army    Ethanol manufacturing plants    Oil and natural gas exploration and development    Oil field services facilities    Construction sites    Concentrated animal feeding operations    Hazardous waste fuel waste blenders    Hazardous waste combusting cement kilns and incinerators    Oil and other hazardous material recyclers    Power plants    Steel mills    Petroleum marketers, distributors and bulk storage plants    Developers of contaminated property under voluntary cleanup        regulations and Brownfields    PRP entities for Superfund sites (remediation plan development        and liability allocation)    Automobile, pulp and paper, specialty chemical,        pharmaceutical, pesticide, and fertilizer manufacturers    Wood treaters    Metal, solid waste, and chemical recycling facilities    Quarry operations and gravel mills    Demolition contractors    Hospitals    Bakeries    Real estate developments    Convenience stores    Underground storage tank owners and operators    Wind turbine manufacturers    Waste tire recyclers

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