Ken Gray joined Pierce Atwood's Environmental Group in 1987 after practicing with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C. Ken has practiced environmental law since his graduation from law school in 1979. Ken concentrates on counseling and enforcement issues related to hazardous substance and hazardous waste management, cleanup, and liability, including toxic tort matters; chemical safety requirements under a variety of laws including the Occupational Safety and Health Act; product regulation including toxic substance manufacturing and processing; emergency planning, response, and community right-to-know requirements; groundwater and drinking water regulation; and transactional matters related to environmental concerns. Ken is co-author of the Maine PFAS Tracker, which provides the latest news and updates on Maine standards and proposed actions on PFAS. At the EPA, Ken advised the Agency on matters arising under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (the hazardous waste law); Safe Drinking Water Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation, and Liability Act ("Superfund"); Clean Water Act; and the Toxic Substances Control Act. He received two bronze medals for his work. Much of Ken's practice involves addressing and resolving environmental issues in a cost-effective manner before they become environmental problems. Ken has counseled manufacturers in a wide variety of businesses, Superfund PRP groups, water companies and districts, municipalities, trade associations, and homeowners' associations. Ken has advised business and real estate owners and purchasers, commercial enterprises of all types, banks and lenders, and drinking water suppliers. Because the purchase and sale of businesses and property must address the possibility of environmental contamination, Ken has been involved in numerous transactions of virtually all sizes. Ken and Pierce Atwood were selected as counsel for the Portland, Maine Brownfields Project, one of the EPA's flagship projects. He was instrumental in Maine's adoption of the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, and has spoken nationally on the topic.
Email:
kgray911@msn.com
EPA Region:
Region 1 – (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT)
Regent status:
Regent
Year of induction:
2010
Degrees:
Santa Clara University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude (1979)
College of William and Mary, B.A. (1976)
Admissions:
Maine-Inactive
Massachusetts-Inactive
New Hampshire-Inactive
Court Admissions:
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
New Hampshire Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Professional Societies and Organizations:
Member, New Hampshire and Maine State Bar Associations' Environmental Law Sections, 1987-2020
Past Chair, Maine State Bar Association Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section, 2005
Other Environmental Career Experience:
Fellow, American College of Environmental Lawyers
Board of Regents, American College of Environmental Lawyers
Listed since 1995 in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Environmental Law
Recognized by Chambers USA in Band 1 for Environmental Law
Recognized from 2007 in Super Lawyers of New England for Environmental Law
Recognized by Who’s Who Legal for Environmental Law
Representative Publications:
Co-author, Maine's Wicked Good Voluntary Cleanup Program, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (2018)
Co-author, A Practical Guide to Land Use in Maine, MCLE New England, 2016
ABA's Implementing Institutional Controls at Brownfields and Other Contaminated Sites, June 2012
ABA's Institutional Controls, Maine Chapter, 2011
Maine Bar Journal, The New Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, Summer 2006
ABA's Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee Newsletter
Illustrative Projects:
Major Brownfields developments in several Maine locations; Defense of numerous federal and state hazardous waste administrative actions; Defense of simultaneous federal and state hazardous waste criminal complaints; Led adoption of Uniform Environmental Covenants Act in Maine; Toxic tort defense.
Citations of Major Published Cases:
No case citations from private practice as I don't litigate; Pierce Atwood LLP has a superb litigation group.