With three decades of experience in environmental law, Henry “Speaker” Pollard, V can help clients sort through the vast range of environmental and regulatory issues, including those related to water quality, wastewater, sewage, stormwater management, wetlands, water rights, solid and hazardous waste, Superfund, petroleum and chemical storage, air pollution, cultural resources and species protection at federal, state and local levels.
With three decades of experience in environmental law, Henry “Speaker” Pollard, V can help clients sort through the vast range of environmental and regulatory issues, including those related to water quality, wastewater, sewage, stormwater management, wetlands, water rights, solid and hazardous waste, Superfund, petroleum and chemical storage, air pollution, cultural resources and species protection at federal, state and local levels.
Speaker has assisted his clients with a broad range of representations, including enforcement defense (administrative, civil, criminal), permitting, real estate and corporate transactions, due diligence investigations, financing risk management, litigated matters and regulatory and legislative affairs. In particular, Speaker has responded to the mounting concerns associated with greater frequency and severity of flooding in coastal communities and has increased his focus on coastal flooding and resiliency planning issues.
His clients have ranged from financial institutions to power plants, from the government to the private sector, as well as trade groups and individuals. He also has experience working for the Virginia Department of Waste Management/Environmental Quality as an enforcement specialist, where he led and coordinated statewide hazardous waste enforcement actions, developed administrative cases and conducted administrative enforcement proceedings, prepared enforcement policy and assisted with civil litigation and criminal enforcement and prosecution of environmental cases.
Speaker has been recognized as a leading environmental attorney in the U.S. by Chambers USA (2016-present). He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for Environmental Law (2018-present), and he has been named among Virginia's "Legal Elite" for Environmental Law by Virginia Business (2015-present).
Speaker earned an M.B.A. and J.D. from the University of Richmond. He also participated in a summer studies program in marine policy at the Duke University Marine Lab. In addition, he has a B.S. in chemistry from Hampden-Sydney College.
- Assisted and represented growing regional airport in a variety of environmental matters, including a major petroleum storage tank closure and remediation and tank fund reimbursement; stormwater discharge permitting, compliance, and enforcement defense; drafting and negotiation of wetland mitigation banking agreement; and groundwater remediation from past military uses of site.
- Assisted and represented growing solid waste business in the acquisition and operation of a construction debris landfill, including environmental due diligence; amendments to local land use permits and transfers of all related permits; negotiation of environmental insurance coverage; application for permit modifications to expand landfill area; and providing ongoing assistance regarding compliance and permitting matters.
- Assisted and represented publicly traded real estate investment trust in environmental issues associated with several large-scale acquisitions of convenience store/gas station chain locations, including drafting and negotiating purchase agreement terms; performing large-scale multi-site due diligence review; negotiating environmental insurance coverage; and drafting and negotiating leases.
- Assisted and represented European-based company in acquisition of older and dormant rubber product manufacturing facility, including negotiation of environmental terms of purchase agreement; coordinating environmental and occupational safety due diligence and agency issuance of “Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser” letter; and transfers of environmental permits.
- Assisted and represented major city as local sponsor of navigation channel dredging project in historically contaminated river bottom, including negotiation with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concerning scope of project and environmental protective measures for dredging operations; negotiation of acquisition of and land use and environmental permitting for a very large dredged materials placement site; ongoing environmental compliance and permitting assistance and representation with federal and state agencies; and lobbying before members of General Assembly and Congress and their staff for support and appropriate funding of project.
- Assisted and represented energy company in acquisition of fuel and chemical bulk storage and marine/rail/truck terminal facility, including coordinating and reviewing due diligence efforts; drafting and negotiating complex purchase agreement; transfers of environmental permits; and ongoing environmental compliance and permitting issues.
- Assisted independent power producers in various environmental issues, including development of application for and negotiation of Title V air pollution permit and amendment of river water withdrawal permit to account for drought conditions.
- Assisted and represented business in major asbestos abatement project at third party disposal site.
- Assisted and represented landowners regarding impacts of petroleum releases to their property and use thereof.
- Assisted homebuilder regarding environmental and lot development issues affecting viability of underlying development project.
- Assisted developer and homebuilder regarding potential residual effects of historical agricultural pesticide applications to development property.
- Assisted and represented construction companies regarding contractual and regulatory liability for hazardous wastes discovered onsite and a stormwater retention facility failure.
- Assisted lenders with various environmental liability issues posed by financing and crafting loan documents to address same and with liability issues associated with petroleum products abandoned on defaulting borrower’s properties.
- Assisted a city in defense of federal investigation of indoor environmental and design matters related to city jail operations.
Representative Water Supply Matters
- Assisted and/or represented major municipal public water supplier in water supply and contract issues; sale of reservoir property; water supply planning regulatory issues; permitting for groundwater supplies; and compliance concerning water treatment plant discharges.
Representative Municipal Wastewater Matters
- Assisted and represented large city in defense of agency enforcement actions related to sewer overflows, including the negotiation of two multi-party consent orders with agency and regional wastewater service district; the coordination of engineering consultants as to system investigation and reporting of results pursuant to consent order; the defense of city for EPA inspection of city’s sanitary sewer system; and ongoing counsel concerning compliance with current consent order.
- Assisted and represented small business in compliance and enforcement defense related to industrial discharge to municipal wastewater sewer system.
-
08.17.2023
131 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®
-
06.29.2023
Environmental Notes - July 2023
-
06.29.2023
Virginia’s Ongoing Construction Stormwater Program Guidance Evolution: Part III - A Recap and a Look Ahead
-
06.02.2023
44 Williams Mullen Attorneys, 14 Practice Areas Recognized in Chambers USA 2023
-
05.09.2023
Guide for Foreign Companies Establishing Operations in the United States (Checklist)
-
11.30.2022
65 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite for 2022
-
10.19.2022
Speaker Pollard Quoted in Bloomberg Law Article on 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act
-
08.26.2022
VA DEQ’s 2022 Flood of Stormwater-Related Guidance - Part II: Proposed Technical Memorandum
-
08.18.2022
123 Williams Mullen Attorneys Listed in 2023 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©
-
08.16.2022
DEQ's 2022 Flood of Stormwater-Related Guidance for VA - Part I
-
06.02.2022
39 Williams Mullen Attorneys, 14 Practice Areas Recognized in Chambers USA 2022
-
06.02.2022
Williams Mullen Represents Large Propane and Refined Fuels Distributor in Sale
-
04.18.2022
Virginia DEQ Issues Implementation Framework for its Recent Stormwater Memorandum for Solar Projects
-
04.18.2022
Speaker Pollard Quoted in NewsBreak Solar Panel Article
-
03.31.2022
Virginia DEQ Issues More Stringent Stormwater Management Policy for Solar Projects
-
03.25.2022
Environmental Notes - March 2022
-
03.25.2022
Sackett II Wetland Case Brewing Even As “Waters of the United States” Definition Simmers
-
02.02.2022
Williams Mullen Represents Miller Oil Co. Inc. in Sale to Global Partners LP
-
01.20.2022
Environmental Notes - January 2022
-
01.20.2022
Wetland Permitting in Virginia Made Murky by New Federal Rules and Corps District Staffing Shortages
-
12.03.2021
Virginia DEQ Suspends Issuance of Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser, Lender Liability and other Brownfield Program Comfort Letters
-
12.02.2021
48 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite for 2021
-
08.23.2021
124 Williams Mullen Attorneys Listed in 2022 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©
-
07.22.2021
Environmental Notes - July 2021
-
07.22.2021
Revised Tidal Wetlands Guidelines for Virginia: A New Mandate for Living Shoreline Use and Sea Level Rise Adaptation
-
05.26.2021
40 Williams Mullen Attorneys, 12 Practice Areas Recognized in Chambers USA 2021
-
03.15.2021
Environmental Notes - March 2021
-
03.15.2021
Shoreline Protection: Proposed Virginia Regulatory Amendments for Coastal Resiliency and Climate Change Adaptation within Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas
-
01.11.2021
Don’t Slip and Fall into Noncompliance: EPA’s Proposed Criminal Negligence Standard under the Clean Water Act
-
01.11.2021
Environmental Notes - January 2021
-
12.22.2020
Williams Mullen Represents Charles Barker Automotive in Selling its Lexus Dealerships in Hampton Roads
-
12.09.2020
Firm Represents Montana-Based Convenience Store Operator in Sale
-
12.01.2020
61 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite for 2020
-
10.27.2020
Environmental Notes - November 2020
-
10.26.2020
Proposed Definition of “Habitat”: New Ground for Endangered Species Act Regulations
-
08.20.2020
116 Williams Mullen Attorneys Listed in 2021 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©; Most Total Lawyers in Virginia
-
07.16.2020
Environmental Notes - July 2020
-
07.14.2020
Regulatory Prescriptions for COVID-19: Trump Continues Efforts for Regulatory Reform and Expedited Infrastructure Review
-
06.26.2020
Daylight Shines on Nationwide Permit 12, but Dark Clouds Still Loom
-
05.08.2020
Environmental Notes - May 2020
-
05.08.2020
Supreme Court Holds that NPDES Permit Can be Required for Discharges to Groundwater that Reach Surface Waters
-
05.08.2020
End of the Line? EPA and Corps of Engineers Finalize New Definition of “Waters of the United States”
-
04.30.2020
Stop the Pipes? Corps' Nationwide Permit 12 Vacated by Federal District Court
-
04.28.2020
29 Williams Mullen Attorneys, 11 Practice Areas Recognized in Chambers USA 2020
-
01.13.2020
The Endless Dance: Defining “Waters of the United States”
-
01.13.2020
Environmental Notes - February 2020
-
12.04.2019
55 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite for 2019
-
10.29.2019
Environmental Notes - November 2019
-
10.29.2019
Don’t Get Lost in the Storm: A Recap of Virginia’s Renewed, Greatly Amended and Now Effective Construction Stormwater Discharge General Permit
-
08.15.2019
119 Williams Mullen Attorneys Listed in 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©
-
07.18.2019
Environmental Notes - August 2019
-
07.16.2019
Virginia’s Renewed General Industrial Stormwater Discharge Permit Includes a Mix of Tougher and More Flexible Standards
-
06.05.2019
Environmental Notes - June 2019
-
06.05.2019
Virginia’s Draft Chesapeake Bay TMDL Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan: Endgame, or Just Another Episode in a Long Series?
-
04.25.2019
30 Williams Mullen Attorneys, 12 Practice Areas Recognized in Chambers USA 2019
-
04.01.2019
Pack More Than An Umbrella: Minimizing Storm-Related Environmental Liability
-
03.29.2019
Environmental Notes - April 2019
-
12.19.2018
Environmental Notes - January 2019
-
11.30.2018
45 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal Elite for 2018
-
10.01.2018
Fourth Circuit Decision Conveys New Meaning of Clean Water Act “Point Source” for Coal Ash Ponds
-
10.01.2018
Fate of “Waters of the United States” Rulemaking Now Even Murkier
-
10.01.2018
Environmental Notes - October 2018
-
08.15.2018
110 Williams Mullen Attorneys Listed in Latest Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©
-
06.26.2018
Environmental Notes – July 2018
-
06.26.2018
EPA Proposes Increased Transparency For Scientific Studies
-
05.03.2018
29 Williams Mullen Attorneys, 12 Practice Areas Recognized in Chambers USA 2018 Guide
-
05.02.2018
Environmental Notes - May 2018
-
05.01.2018
Courts and EPA Continue to Debate Role of Groundwater in Clean Water Act Jurisdiction and NPDES Permitting
-
02.13.2018
Environmental Notes - March 2018
-
02.13.2018
Recent Court Decision and EPA/Corps Actions Affect Fate of Clean Water Rule
-
12.01.2017
46 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to Virginia Business Magazine's 2017 'Legal Elite'
-
10.20.2017
Environmental Notes - October 2017
-
09.27.2017
Round Two for Virginia’s Proposed Nonpoint Source Nutrient Credit Certification Regulation
-
08.14.2017
114 Williams Mullen Attorneys Listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2018
-
08.08.2017
Two Recent Cases Spotlight Ability of Third Parties to Access Facility Information
-
08.08.2017
Environmental Notes - August 2017
-
05.26.2017
32 Williams Mullen Attorneys, 12 Practice Areas Recognized by Chambers USA for 2017
-
05.16.2017
Environmental Notes - May 2017
-
05.16.2017
Can Discharges to Groundwater Trigger Clean Water Act Liability
-
04.03.2017
Environmental Notes - April 2017
-
04.03.2017
EPA’s Water Transfers Rule Resurrected, but For How Long?
-
02.06.2017
Environmental Notes - February 2017
-
02.06.2017
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Finalizes ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy
-
12.15.2016
Environmental Notes - December 2016
-
12.15.2016
VDEQ Changes Approach to No Further Action Letters and Officially Launches VURAM
-
12.07.2016
50 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to Virginia Business magazine’s 2016 ‘Legal Elite’
-
09.26.2016
Virginia DEQ Proposes to Amend its Enforcement Manual
-
09.26.2016
Environmental Notes - September 2016
-
08.11.2016
Virginia DEQ to Revise Risk Assessment Protocols
-
08.11.2016
Environmental Notes - August 2016
-
07.19.2016
Corps of Engineers Issues Proposal on Nationwide Permits
-
07.19.2016
Environmental Notes - July 2016
-
06.02.2016
26 Williams Mullen Attorneys, 11 Practice Areas Recognized by Chambers USA for 2016
-
05.19.2016
Environmental Notes - May 2016
-
05.19.2016
Air Program Malfunction Exemption Nixed, But Not Agency Discretion
-
04.26.2016
Environmental Notes - April 2016
-
04.26.2016
Feds Spawn New Rules and Policies for Protected Species Habitat and Mitigation
-
03.31.2016
Speaker Pollard Disusses Rising Sea Levels at 2016 Resilient Virginia Conference
-
03.23.2016
Williams Mullen Construction Industry Newsletter - Spring 2016
-
03.17.2016
Environmental Notes - March 2016
-
03.17.2016
EPA Seeks to Add Subsurface Intrusion to CERCLA Hazard Ranking System
-
02.16.2016
Environmental Notes - February 2016
-
02.16.2016
Amendments to Virginia Hazardous Waste Regulations Offer Increased Flexibility
-
01.14.2016
Environmental Notes - January 2016
-
01.14.2016
Water Board Proposes Amendments to Virginia’s Bay Watershed General Permit
-
12.17.2015
Water Board Proposes Amendments to Virginia’s Water Withdrawal and Wetland Regulations
-
12.10.2015
Environmental Notes - December 2015
-
12.09.2015
50 Williams Mullen Attorneys Named to Virginia Business magazine’s 2015 ‘Legal Elite’
-
10.26.2015
Environmental Notes - October 2015
-
10.26.2015
Improvements or Impositions? EPA Proposes Amendments to Hazardous Waste Generator Rules
-
09.23.2015
Revisions to Key Definitions in Virginia Air Pollution Program Add Flexibility
-
09.23.2015
Virginia’s Aboveground Storage Tank Regulations Are Amended
-
09.03.2015
Environmental Notes - September 2015
-
07.17.2015
Channing Martin quoted in Richmond Times-Dispatch about dismissed environmental lawsuit
-
05.13.2015
Virginia’s Draft State Water Resources Plan
-
05.12.2015
Environmental Notes - May 2015
-
03.05.2015
Coastal Flooding and Resiliency: New Challenges and Opportunities for the Commercial Real Estate and Finance Industry
-
02.04.2015
Coastal Flooding & Resiliency practice highlighted in Inside Business
-
12.23.2014
Williams Mullen Announces Coastal Flooding Practice
-
12.05.2014
Williams Mullen Launches Coastal Flooding & Resiliency Team
-
06.26.2014
Williams Mullen Welcomes Veteran Environmental Law Attorney Henry R. “Speaker” Pollard, V
-
08.08.2023
RMA: CLIMATE RISK in the Banking Industry - Part 2
-
05.11.2023
SC Palmetto Chapter SWANA: 2023 Spring Conference
-
05.03.2023
Renewable Energy Webinar Series: Environmental Considerations When Siting and Permitting Renewable Energy Projects
-
04.26.2022
Virginia Solar Summit 2022
-
04.14.2022
Solar Webinar: Environmental Considerations When Acquiring or Permitting Utility-Scale Solar Projects in Virginia
-
01.18.2019
Managing Concurrent Flooding Risk: Challenges and Opportunities
-
09.25.2018
RMA Build a Better Banker Series: Environmental "Gotchas" of Real Estate Lending
-
09.25.2018
Environmental "Gotchas" of Real Estate Lending – Risk Management Association