Ankur K. Tohan

Ankur Tohan is a partner in the firm’s Seattle office and practice group coordinator for the firm's global environment, land and natural resources practice group. His practice focuses on energy infrastructure, natural resource development, compliance counseling, and defense of governmental and citizen enforcement actions. Mr. Tohan also advises clients on a range of sustainability and greenhouse gas matters ranging from policy and planning to permitting and development.
Mr. Tohan assists clients with complex regulatory, permitting, and enforcement matters under a range of environmental statutes, including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and Model Toxic Control Act (MTCA).

His recent work includes:

• Advising clients on biogas development projects;
• Ran environmental due diligence on a complex real estate and asset transaction valued at $140 million for a confidential client;
• Advising clients on environmental due diligence for acquisition of wind, solar, and geothermal projects;
• Counseling clients on state and federal rules, policies and proposals to evaluate and regulate greenhouse gas emissions;
• Supporting all phases of wind and solar project development (siting and environmental permitting under the ESA, BGEPA, and CWA);
• Advising oil and gas companies in state shoreline permitting, SEPA and NEPA process, and CWA permits for crude oil/rail transportation projects;
• Advising electricity transmission line developers on environmental permitting for new projects;
• Advising port terminal developers on environmental due diligence and permitting requirements for coal export facility under the CWA, NEPA, SEPA, and on greenhouse gas issues;
• Supporting clients in negotiating settlements for complex marine sediment cleanup actions under CERCLA and MTCA (including Natural Resource Damage claims);
• Advising wind energy developers with MBTA, BGEPA, and ESA compliance;
• Counseling wind energy developers in the development of Avian and Bat Protection Plans;
• Advising companies on environmental due diligence for purchase of wind farms;
• Defending wind energy developers in civil and criminal enforcement actions;
• Advising wind, oil, and gas energy developers and operators in compliance and permitting issues under the ESA;
• Advising companies in the international and domestic transportation and disposal of hazardous and radioactive wastes under RCRA;
• Counseling industrial power producers and consumers (e.g., data centers) on CAA requirements;
• Negotiating and settling natural resource damage claims – resulting from oil spills – under Washington State law;
• Defending corporate and individual entities in CERCLA and MTCA enforcement actions and litigating allocation and contribution claims;
• Defending landowners and operators in wetland and wastewater enforcement actions under the CWA;
• Defending landowners and operators from governmental and citizen suit enforcement actions under the SDWA;
• Advising timber companies with compliance matters involving the CWA and state wastewater regulations.