Kristy brings decades of experience to bear in helping clients address complex regulatory, permitting and enforcement issues under the Clean Water Act and other environmental statutes at the federal and state levels. 

Kristy is a partner on the Environmental Law team at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. Working from the firm’s Washington, DC office, Kristy coordinates a group of lawyers who work on matters under the Clean Water Act and related natural resources and energy laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Kristy serves as general counsel for a group representing the interests of the power industry on Clean Water Act regulatory issues and resulting litigation. In that role, she provides strategic, forward-thinking advice on environmental matters of national significance to a wide range of industries. As a result of her work, Kristy has been involved in every major Clean Water Act rulemaking of importance to the power industry for the past 36 years.

In addition to her experience on a wide range of CWA rule-related matters, Kristy also represents clients in CWA-related government and citizen enforcement matters and NPDES permitting matters, including permit appeals. She provides compliance advice and counseling on complex CWA issues such as § 316(b) issues for cooling water intake structures; § 316(a) thermal variance applications; and fundamentally different factors variances.

Kristy is recognized as a thought leader in the environmental arena and writes and speaks frequently on these and other topics. She is a vice-chairperson of the Environmental Law Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section on Infrastructure and Regulated Industries and a member of the ABA’s Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, in which she has in the past held a variety of leadership positions.

Kristy earned her JD, cum laude, from the Boston University School of Law in 1982 and her BA, summa cum laude, from the University of Detroit in 1979. She is a member of the Jesuit honor society Sigma Alpha Nu. She is admitted to the bars of Virginia and the District of Columbia, multiple federal circuits, and the US Supreme Court.

Relevant Experience

• Lead counsel for a major industry group, guiding the group’s participation in every key CWA administrative proceeding affecting the industry for the past 35 years.
• Provided legal analysis, drafting and strategic support to electric utility industry trade associations in connection with industry participation in the legislative matters involving CWA and other water-related statutory initiatives.
• Ongoing representation of clients on complex thermal discharge and cooling water intake structure demonstrations.
• Advising numerous clients on obtaining, revising and complying with state and federal NPDES permits.
• Defended corporate clients against administrative penalty assessments and government and citizen suits alleging violations of CWA requirements.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, Boston University, cum laude, Editor, Legislative Services, 1982BA, University of Detroit, summa cum laude, Alpha Sigma Nu, 1979