Gregory Dutton

Greg represents landfills throughout the Commonwealth. His experience includes:

• Negotiation of host agreements with local 109 boards.
• Oversees local and state negotiations and permitting processes for development and siting of new special waste landfill.
• Negotiates and processes local and state applications to modify applicable permits to allow for landfill expansion.
• Environmental enforcement defense originating from governmental and third-party organizations related to odors, surface water discharge, air emissions, and accidental disposal of radioactive material (including TENORM).

Greg has advised on the following areas of data center development:

• State/local/federal environmental permitting, including on brownfield and reclaimed mine sites.
• Corporate structure to avoid regulation by the Kentucky Public Service Commission and/or violation of the Kentucky Energy Territory Act.
• Strategy for de-risking energy projects that may ultimately sell energy into wholesale energy markets, such as PJM/MISO/TVA.
• State and local siting approvals, including strategy for securing zoning approvals for data centers and supporting energy generation facilities (including solar, wind, natural gas, combined-cycle natural gas).

Greg also advises and represents the manufactured housing industry on a wide range of issues. This includes community and/or portfolio transactions, interactions with various Kentucky regulators, such as those from the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet’s Division of Housing, Buildings, and Codes; the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (KDEP); the Kentucky Human Rights Commission; and various Planning and Zoning Commissions across the Commonwealth.

Greg has represented clients in disputes with KDEP over a variety of issues, including:

• Appeal of KDEP decision to require industrial facility to secure general stormwater permit coverage where the facility held an individual permit for many years.
• Appeal of final stormwater permits containing arbitrary discharge limits and monitoring requirements.
• Defense of enforcement action concerning lapse of permit effectiveness.
• Negotiation of settlement and agreed order on wide variety of issues.
• Negotiation of agreed order to allow flexible operations white facility comes into compliance with permit limits.
• Termination of long-term Corrective Action Plans or Agreed Orders.

Greg has extensive experience dealing with APCD regulations, permitting, and enforcement defense. He is a regular attendee at the monthly APCD Board of Directors Meetings in order to stay abreast of any developments within the APCD. Examples of his experience with APCD include:

• Revisions to Title V permits and Construction Permits.
• Enforcement defense for issues related to odors, PSM, excess emissions, monitoring and recordkeeping violations, and a wide variety of other issues.
• Administrative appeals against APCD concerning permitting and enforcement issues.
• Negotiation of Agreed Board Orders on penalties and other issues.

Greg has assisted developers, buyers, sellers, public and private companies, and private equity groups on transactions involving properties, companies, or portfolios where environmental concerns are present. Representative experience includes:

• Assist both sellers and buyers in transactions involving property historically utilized by heavy industry.
• Negotiating contract provisions concerning environmental liability and indemnity.
• Coordinating the transfer of environmental permits in both private and public company transactions.
• Assist developers in investigating brownfield properties and securing all available environmental liability protections, including those available through the Kentucky Brownfields program.
• Collaboration with other FBT attorneys to assist developers and investors in purchasing or refinancing  and developing/renovating blighted properties in opportunity zones.

• Successful appeal of Clean Water Act enforcement decision to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
• Successful representation of superfund site owner in avoiding enforcement action while negotiating preferred remediation plan.
• Representation of Kentucky League of Cities in numerous cases before the Kentucky PSC, resulting in millions of dollars in savings for Kentucky Municipalities and new city-centric cooperative programs with local energy utilities.
• Representation of City of Louisville before Kentucky PSC in a challenge to the long-standing interpretation of Kentucky Constitution provisions dealing with municipal franchise fees.