Byron R. Brown is a senior counsel in the Washington D.C. office. He is in the firm’s Government Affairs and Environment & Natural Resources groups. Byron has almost two decades of experience working at the intersection of law and policy and has experience negotiating legislation, drafting regulations, managing congressional investigations, preparing regulatory comments, and developing and executing government affairs strategies before Congress and the executive branch. Earlier in his career, Byron worked for more than a decade as an attorney in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of General Counsel, including several years as associate deputy general counsel during both the Bush and Obama administrations. After leaving EPA, Byron served as senior counsel and director of oversight and investigations for the Committee on Natural Resources for the U.S. House of Representatives and then as senior counsel for the Committee on Environment and Public Works in the U.S. Senate. He also has experience as a legislative fellow in the personal office of a U.S. Senator. Prior to joining the firm in August 2018, Byron served as deputy chief of staff for policy at the EPA, where he coordinated the agency’s work on infrastructure and led several rulemaking initiatives.
Regulatory Policy and Administrative Law
In advising clients about their legislative and regulatory strategies, Byron is able draw from his unique experience as a congressional staffer who drafted legislation establishing a new regulatory program and as well as his work as a senior appointee with responsibility for implementing that authority, including overseeing development of new regulations and securing congressional funding to stand up the new program. Byron has experience on all aspects of the regulatory process, from an agency’s collection of data from the regulated community, to the development of regulatory options, to preparing comments on proposals, to negotiating with the White House Office of Management and Budget and other stakeholders on the provisions of a final rule, and working with the Department of Justice on the defense of an agency’s action. In addition to his experience handling matters under the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Byron also regularly advises clients on general Administrative Procedure Act matters, including advising and litigating on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and confidential business information issues.
Infrastructure and Project Development
Byron is a member of the firm’s cross-practice infrastructure team and advises clients on legislation, regulatory, and permitting issues affecting the development of infrastructure projects and the mitigation of environmental impacts. As EPA’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Byron led EPA’s involvement in the executive branch’s infrastructure initiative, including developing policy proposals to promote investment in water infrastructure and the cleanup and reuse of contaminated sites. Byron also represented EPA on the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, which was established under Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 to streamline the environmental review and permitting process for major infrastructure projects. Byron also has experience working on litigation, rulemakings, and permitting actions under the Clean Air Act for gas-fired electric power plants in Indiana and California and treatment of biomass as a carbon-neutral energy source.
As senior counsel for the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Byron oversaw all legislative matters involving the cleanup of contaminated sites under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Brownfields reauthorization, recycling, and mining issues and also negotiated compromise legislation concerning tax incentives for waste-to-energy and recycling facilities among diverse industry stakeholders.
Government Investigations
In advising private sector clients about how to prepare for congressional hearings or to respond to demands for documents or other information, Byron is able to draw on his experience as a congressional staffer leading investigations into both the private sector and government actions as well as his experience as an in-house government attorney managing responses to numerous high-profile investigations into executive branch activities. As senior counsel and director of oversight and investigations for the House Natural Resources Committee, Byron led investigations into the Department of the Interior’s moratorium on oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico, its compliance with scientific integrity and ethics rules, and government funding for construction projects, rural development, and non-profit organizations. Byron also served as the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s lead oversight counsel, responsible for conducting investigations and hearings into the executive branch’s climate change policies, Waters of the U.S. rulemaking, and the Gold King Mine blowout, among other matters.
As EPA’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Byron advised senior officials on strategies for responding to congressional investigations and prepared nominees and other officials for both confirmation hearings and oversight hearings. Earlier in his career, Byron oversaw EPA’s response to investigations by multiple congressional committees, the Government Accountability Office, and the agency’s inspector general on a range of topics.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, Massachusetts
Speeches & Presentations
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"Biden First 100 Days: A Look at the Laws Impacting the New Administration’s Regulatory Priorities," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(January 22, 2021).
Presenters: Amanda Shafer Berman, Daniel W. Wolff, S. Starling Marshall, and Byron R. Brown.
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"Is Congress likely to pass another COVID stimulus bill and what is the latest thinking on what that may mean for companies?" Crowell & Moring Webinar
(December 9, 2020).
Presenters: James G. Flood, S. Starling Marshall, Byron R. Brown, W. Scott Douglas, and Tim Shadyac.
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"Infrastructure In Focus: A Deep Dive Look at Water Infrastructure Opportunities and Risks - Part 2," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(December 7, 2020).
Presenters: David Chung, Evan D. Wolff, Byron R. Brown, and Paul Freeman.
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"Infrastructure In Focus: A Deep Dive Look at Water Infrastructure Opportunities and Risks - Part 1," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(December 2, 2020).
Presenters: Robin Baillie, James G. Flood, Byron R. Brown, Michelle D. Coleman, and W. Scott Douglas.
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"Election 2020: Environmental Law and Policy," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(October 28, 2020).
Presenters: David Chung, Robert Meyers, Byron R. Brown, Paul Freeman, Amanda Shafer Berman, Elizabeth B. Dawson, and Amy Symonds.
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"Legislation in the Time of the Coronavirus,” 11th Law of Shale Plays Conference
(September 9, 2020).
Presenter: Byron R. Brown.
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Election 2020 and the Implications for Your Business
(September 3, 2020).
Presenters: Byron R. Brown, Robert A. Burton, Jodi G. Daniel, James G. Flood, Thomas P. Gies, Ambassador Robert Holleyman, S. Starling Marshall, and W. Scott Douglas.
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"Managing Environmental Compliance and Exposure to Liability During the Coronavirus Crisis," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(April 8, 2020).
Presenters: David Chung, Peter Gray, Robert Meyers, Kirsten L. Nathanson, Byron R. Brown, and Paul Freeman.
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"EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard Agenda for 2019," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(March 7, 2019).
Speakers: Paul Freeman, Robert Meyers, Thomas A. Lorenzen, Byron R. Brown, Elizabeth B. Dawson, and Preetha Chakrabarti.
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"Divided Government: What the Democrats’ Control of the House of Representatives Means for Congressional Investigations and Business in 2019," Crowell & Moring Webinar
(January 31, 2019).
Speakers: Kelly T. Currie, James G. Flood, Paul M. Rosen, Byron R. Brown, and Danielle Rowan.
Publications
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"Undoing Trump Rules Using Congressional Review Act Has Pros, Cons," Bloomberg Law
(January 29, 2021).
Author: Byron R. Brown.
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"Congressional Review Act Gets its Quadrennial Time in the Spotlight," ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Trends, Vol. 52 No. 1
(August 31, 2020).
Author: Byron R. Brown.
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"Partisan Overtones Dominate Senate Confirmation Hearing for CPSC Chair Nominee Dr. Nancy Beck," Crowell & Moring's Retail & Consumer Products Law Observer
(June 17, 2020).
Authors: Matthew Cohen and Byron R. Brown.
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"The CARES Act And Lessons From The Past: What Prior Investigative Responses To Crises Tell Us About The Future," Westlaw
(April 27, 2020).
Authors Rebecca M. Ricigliano, David B. Robbins, Byron R. Brown, and Tiffany Wynn.
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"How Environmental NGOs Are Targeting Plastic Pollution," Law360
(March 2, 2020).
Authors: David Chung, Kirsten L. Nathanson, Byron R. Brown, and Elizabeth B. Dawson.
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"Government Affairs – A Surprisingly Open Door for Legislation," Crowell & Moring's Regulatory Forecast 2020
(February 26, 2020).
Contributors: James G. Flood, Byron R. Brown, and W. Scott Douglas.
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"Pollution Prevention And Rethinking "Waste"" The Environmental Law Reporter
(June,2019).
Author: Byron R. Brown.
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"Government Affairs – Congressional Influence on Rulemaking is on the Rise," Crowell & Moring's Regulatory Forecast 2019
(February 27, 2019).
Contributors: Jim Flood and Byron Brown.
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"Proposed Climate Bill Would Advance Biden Administration’s Focus on Environmental Justice,"
Environment & Natural Resources Law Alert
(March 4, 2021).
Contacts: Byron R. Brown, Paul Freeman, Eryn Howington
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"Biden Administration Publishes Interim Social Cost of Carbon Values,"
Environment & Natural Resources Law Alert
(March 2, 2021).
Contacts: Peter Gray, Byron R. Brown, Thomas A. Lorenzen, Robert Meyers
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"New Biden EO Keeps Focus on Supply Chain Security for Critical Industries,"
(February 26, 2021).
Contacts: Michael K. Atkinson, Adelicia R. Cliffe, Alan W. H. Gourley, Kate M. Growley, CIPP/G, CIPP/US, Byron R. Brown, Joshua Boswell
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"Don't Sleep on The Social Cost of Carbon,"
(February 23, 2021).
Contacts: Peter Gray, Byron R. Brown, Thomas A. Lorenzen, Robert Meyers
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"Group of Senate Republicans Release $618 Billion Counteroffer on COVID-19 Relief,"
(February 1, 2021).
Contacts: Byron R. Brown, W. Scott Douglas, James G. Flood, Tim Shadyac
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"Biden Day Six – Biden Executive Order - Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,"
Biden First 100 Days Series
(January 27, 2021).
Contacts: Byron R. Brown, Amanda Shafer Berman, Thomas A. Lorenzen
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"Biden Day Three – Additional EOs to Deliver Economic Relief for American Families and Businesses Amid the COVID-19 Crises,"
Administrative Law Alert
(January 22, 2021).
Contacts: James G. Flood, Tim Shadyac, Byron R. Brown, W. Scott Douglas, Stacie Heller, Thomas P. Gies
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"Biden Day Two – Additional EOs to Advance Administration’s National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness,"
Administrative Law Alert
(January 21, 2021).
Contacts: James G. Flood, Tim Shadyac, Byron R. Brown, W. Scott Douglas, Stacie Heller, Thomas P. Gies
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"Biden Day One – Update on Executive Orders and Actions,"
Administrative Law Alert
(January 20, 2021).
Contacts: James G. Flood, Thomas P. Gies, Byron R. Brown, W. Scott Douglas, Stacie Heller, Tim Shadyac
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"Transition 2021: Shining a Light on Midnight Rules and the Biden Regulatory Agenda,"
Biden First 100 Days Series
(January 13, 2021).
Contacts: Byron R. Brown, David B. Blair, S. Starling Marshall, Daniel W. Wolff
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"Transition 2021: Top Transportation Policy Issues Facing the Biden Administration,"
Biden First 100 Days Series
(December 21, 2020).
Contacts: Rebecca Baden Chaney, Scott L. Winkelman, Byron R. Brown, Mary-Caitlin Ray
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"New Executive Order Supports Domestic Sources of Critical Minerals,"
Energy Law Alert
(October 2, 2020).
Contacts: R. Timothy McCrum, Byron R. Brown, Elizabeth B. Dawson
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"Election 2020: The DNC and RNC Conventions Present Stark Contrast on Energy and Environmental Agendas,"
Biden First 100 Days Series
(August 28, 2020).
Contacts: Byron R. Brown, Paul Freeman, Tyler A. O'Connor
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"What to Expect at the Republican National Convention,"
Biden First 100 Days Series
(August 24, 2020).
Contacts: James G. Flood, W. Scott Douglas, Byron R. Brown
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"White House Updates Rules for Environmental Reviews of Federal Actions,"
Administrative Law Alert
(July 17, 2020).
Contacts: Byron R. Brown, Daniel W. Wolff, Thomas A. Lorenzen, Elizabeth B. Dawson, David Chung
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"Preparing for COVID Investigation and Enforcement,"
Government Contracts Bullet Points
(May 4, 2020).
Contacts: Rebecca Monck Ricigliano, Byron R. Brown, Tiffany Wynn
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"President Declares Threat to Electric Power Grid a National Emergency,"
Government Contracts Bullet Points
(May 4, 2020).
Contacts: Alan W. H. Gourley, Larry F. Eisenstat, Caroline E. Brown, Robert Holleyman, Deborah A. Carpentier, Byron R. Brown
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"EPA Considers Updating Federal Procurement Guidelines for Recycled Content,"
Environment & Natural Resources Law Alert
(April 16, 2020).
Contacts: Robert A. Burton, Elliott P. Laws, Byron R. Brown, Jennifer A. Giblin
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"EPA Issues Policy On Conditions For Enforcement Discretion During the Coronavirus Crisis,"
(March 27, 2020).
Contacts: David Chung, Warren Lehrenbaum, Thomas A. Lorenzen, Robert Meyers, Kirsten L. Nathanson, Byron R. Brown, Paul Freeman, Jennifer A. Giblin, Peter Gray, Leland P. Frost
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"Agencies, Plaintiffs Target Ethylene Oxide,"
Mass Tort, Product, and Consumer Litigation Alert
(March 19, 2020).
Contacts: Peter C. Condron, Andrew D. Kaplan, Byron R. Brown
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"Citizen Suit Alert: Environmental NGOs Set Their Sights on Plastics,"
Environment & Natural Resources Law Alert
(February 11, 2020).
Contacts: David Chung, Kirsten L. Nathanson, Byron R. Brown, Elizabeth B. Dawson
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"The Congressional Election and What It Means for 2019,"
Regulatory Alert
(November 20, 2018).
Contacts: James G. Flood, Byron R. Brown, W. Scott Douglas, Tim Shadyac
Media Mentions
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US Agencies Push Ahead On Mine Permitting During Trump Lame-Duck Period
December 1, 2020 — S&P Global
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In A Biden Administration, Navigable Waters Rule Is Likely Target
October 7, 2020 — Agri-Pulse
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Trump Veterans Flock To K Street Despite 'Drain The Swamp' Vow
July 8, 2020 — Politico
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Enviro Attorneys Pivot To Clients' Coronavirus Concerns
March 19, 2020 — Law360
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NEPA Overhaul Won't Be 'Overnight Game Changer'
January 10, 2020 — E&E News
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House Flip Could Mean Oversight 'Frenzy' At Enviro Agencies
January 24, 2019 — Law360
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Industry Shakers: Pruitt Aide Talks EPA Staffing Challenges
August 27, 2018 — Bloomberg
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Crowell & Moring Lands Ex-EPA Enviro, Gov't Affairs Pro
August 22, 2018 — Law360
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Former Pruitt Aide At EPA Lands At Crowell & Moring
August 14, 2018 — National Law Journal
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Top EPA Staffer Jumps To D.C. Law Firm
August 14, 2018 — E&E News
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T-Mobile Hires Hogan Lovells To Lobby On Sprint Merger
August 14, 2018 — Politico