ACOEL is an invitation-only association of distinguished lawyers dedicated to maintaining and improving the ethical practice of environmental law through rigorous focus, outreach and education.
ACOEL fellows value collegiality, balanced and objective perspective, integrity and rigor in expertise. Our diverse practices, viewpoints and backgrounds help us understand how environmental laws can advance common goals.
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News from ACOEL
ACOEL Announces Newly-Elected Fellows for 2026
ACOEL welcomes the class of 2026 to the College with the election of 19 new fellows, each a prominent environmental practitioner in private practice, academia, a not-for-profit organization, or the government.
Recent Insights from our Fellows
North Carolina’s New Water Safety Act: What Environmental Attorneys Should Know About Statewide PFAS Studies
by Sean M. Sullivan
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein recently signed the State’s budget act (Senate Bill 257) into law, which includes the State’s new Water Safety Act. It authorizes a sweeping, two-phase sampling effort designed to identify sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) discharges into North Carolina’s surface waters, along with a companion study on PFAS in […] 
The Great Power Secession: Texas Air Permitting and the Data Center Boom
by Tracy D. Hester
Appalachia Invites NEPA Along Its Country Roads, Again
by Kathy G. Beckett
Oregon Wants Better Buildings
by Patty Dost
ACOEL Topic Focus
There has been a lot of discussion on artificial intelligence, data centers, and the environment in the news recently. Read about what ACOEL Fellows have been focusing on and discussing.
Artificial Intelligence & Data Centers
Are State Legislatures Artificially Intelligent or Humanly Thinking?
by Kathy G. Beckett
The Clean Power Plan—And Around We Go
by F. William William Brownell
