Environmental Permitting and Reporting Conference - Speakers

Austin Angeline, Environmental Consultant, Trinity Consultants
Austin Angeline is a Consultant at Trinity's Covington, Kentucky office. He assist clients with local, state, and federal air quality permitting, as well as emissions quantification, compliance reporting such as EPCRA Tier II and TRI, and stormwater permitting compliance. Mr. Angeline has experience serving a variety of industries including specialty chemicals manufacturing, refining, polymer manufacturing, and printing.

John Paul Beard, Environmental Scientist, Stormwater Section, Surface Water Permits Branch, Kentucky Division of Water
John Paul Beard,  graduated from the Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Program at the University of Kentucky and has worked with the Department of Environmental Protection for 4 years. He serves as a Permit Writer with the Surface Water Permit Branch of the Division of Water. He works with a wide variety of stormwater permits from coal mining to industrial stormwater discharges. He has worked alongside Amy Van Horne and Rebecca Graves to craft the new draft of the KYR00 general permit.

Kyle Burns, Senior Engineer, Beam Suntory
Kyle has over 20 years of experience working as an engineer in many different fields. As an  Environmental Engineer, he works closely with Beam Suntory’s two Kentucky distilleries to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations. Kyle is also responsible for capital projects pertaining to the aging warehouse construction and remediation.

Jennifer Cave, Partner, Stites & Harbison PLLC
Jennifer Cave has over 20 years of experience working as an environmental consultant and attorney across the United States. As a member of the firm's Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Service Group, she works closely with businesses to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations. Ms. Cave advises clients on air quality, storm water, wastewater, and solid and hazardous waste permitting and compliance requirements.

John Colebrook, Principal Consultant, Trinity Consultants
John Colebrook is the Manager of Consulting Services for Trinity Consultants’ Northern Kentucky office. He provides a wide array of support and solutions to clients including greenfield facility siting support, state and federal air quality permitting, NSPS and MACT compliance assistance, emission inventory development, and dispersion modeling.

Ric Federico, PG, CHMM, CMQ/OE, Associate Principal, Ensafe Inc.
Ric has 29 years of environmental consulting experience, the last 22 of them in the Bowling Green, Kentucky office of EnSafe where he serves as an Associate Principal and corporate Quality Manager.  Ric’s practice specialties include soil and groundwater investigation & remediation; merger and acquisition support including environmental site assessment and due diligence; and vapor intrusion assessment.

Rebecca Goodman, Secretary of Energy and Environment, Energy and Environment Cabinet
Rebecca Goodman was appointed as the state’s top environmental officer in December 2019 by Governor Andy Beshear.  Secretary Goodman has spent more than four decades in service to the Commonwealth.  She most recently advocated on behalf of Kentucky utility ratepayers as the executive director of the Office of Rate Intervention within the Office of the Attorney General.  Through her work on both state and federal cases, Secretary Goodman regularly dealt with social and environmental justice issues that frequently involved low income, disadvantaged and residential customer needs. She has served as general counsel for the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission and the Kentucky Electric Generation and Transmission Siting Board. Secretary Goodman also has served as the executive director of the Office of Legal Services at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet after beginning her career as a staff attorney for the Kentucky Public Service Commission.  Secretary Goodman earned her Juris Doctor from Salmon P. Chase College of Law, and her Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, Magna Cum Laude, from Kentucky State University.

Rebecca Graves, Environmental Scientist Advisor, Stormwater Section, Surface Water Permits Branch, Kentucky Division of Water
Rebecca Graves, Environmental Scientist Advisor, has been working with the Department of Environmental Protection for 8 years.  She serves as a technical advisor in the Surface Water Permit Branch of the Division of Water providing expertise related to implementation of the Kentucky Pollution Discharge Elimination System. She acts as a technical advisor to both fellow government employees as well as permittees and consultants.

Rachel Hamilton, Director, Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District
Rachael Hamilton is the Director of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (APCD), where she works with a dedicated group of air pollution control professionals to continue the agency’s work for more than 70 years improving Louisville’s air quality. She holds a B.A. in biology from Salem College and a J.D. from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.

William Harshaw, PE, Senior Engineer, Linebach Funkhouser, Inc.
Mr. Harshaw has over 20 years of industrial and consulting experience.  He possesses in-depth knowledge of Title V permitting requirements, MACT standards, the PSD/NSR process, SPCC regulations, and NPDES requirements. Mr. Harshaw has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Villanova University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Kentucky.

Tony Hatton, Commissioner, Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection
Mr. Hatton is Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection. Mr. Hatton has held a variety of positions in the public and private sector, including key positions overseeing environmental cleanups at Superfund, Department of Defense and Department of Energy sites. He holds a Master of Science in geology from Eastern Kentucky University.

Tammi Hudson, Director, Division of Waste Management, Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection
Tammi Hudson is the Director of the Division of Waste Management. She previously served as a consultant for the Division of Water, and for the past 12 years Tammi has held multiple engineering positions within the Energy and Environment Cabinet. Her experience also includes 10 years as project manager for compliance, permitting, and sustainability at a manufacturing company; and 6 years at a consulting firm. Tammi works closely with regulated entities to find solutions for complex issues and emerging environmental concerns. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Kentucky and is a licensed Professional Engineer. Tammi lives in Frankfort with her husband, and has two children who are studying at the University of Kentucky.

Sarah P. Jarboe, Partner, English Lucas Priest & Owsley, LLP
Sarah Jarboe is an experienced environmental attorney practicing at English Lucas Priest & Owsley, LLP.  Her practice includes environmental permitting, enforcement matters, regulatory interpretation, environmental litigation, and negotiations. She has advised clients on various environmental matters, including the Clean Water Act sections 402 and 404, the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund), and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.  Sarah is an active member and has served in various leadership capacities on the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources and the Kentucky Bar Association’s Environment, Energy and Resources law section.  She is a frequent speaker on environmental law topics and a published author on the topic of the Clean Water Act section 404 program.

Carey Johnson, Director, Division of Water, Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection
Carey Johnson is Director of the Division of Water within the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection in the Energy and Environment Cabinet.  Originally hailing from Boone County in northern Kentucky, he received a BS and MS in Soil Science from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.  For the past 19 years, he has led Division efforts to meet Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Act goals, manage and enhance resilience to natural hazards, and in  developing and utilizing digital tools.  He serves as the state lead for Kentucky Silver Jackets collaborative efforts with the US Army Corps of Engineers and is a current member of the Technical Mapping Advisory Council (TMAC); a federal advisory committee established to review and make recommendations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on matters related to the national flood mapping program.  He represents the Division as an Ohio River Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) Commissioner proxy, as a steering committee member of the Ohio River Basin Alliance (ORBA) and on the Kentucky State Hazard Mitigation Council.  Since June 2020, Carey has served as chairperson of the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) – a scientific and educational nonprofit organization with over 7000 members dedicated to reducing flood losses across the nation.

Bill Johnston, Principal Geologist, Linebach Funkhauser
Mr. Johnston provides project management leadership/direction for environmental assessment and remediation projects.  He has 36 years of experience in assessing and remediating petroleum and chlorinated solvent contaminated soils and groundwater associated with underground storage tanks (USTs) and commercial/industrial sites in numerous states across the country. He has worked on multi-phase site assessments including RCRA, CERCLA and dry cleaning plant related projects. He also has successfully obtained Notice of Eligibility and Notification of Concurrence letters for numerous sites that have submitted applications and been approved by the Kentucky Brownfield Redevelopment Program that was established by regulation on February 1, 2014. Mr. Johnston has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Geology from North Carolina State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana University Southeast. He is a registered Professional Geologist in Kentucky, Indiana and Georgia.

Michael Kennedy, Director, Kentucky Division for Air Quality
Michael Kennedy rejoined the DAQ as the Environmental Engineering Consultant for Permit Review Branch in October 2017 and became Branch Manager in March 2019. He has been with the Energy and Environment Cabinet for almost 10 years. He started his career with DAQ in source sampling and followed by a year in Permit Review Branch. Prior to his return to DAQ, Michael was an Assistant Director for what is now the Office of Energy Policy.    Prior to working for the DAQ, he worked in the private sector as an engineer for a small but diverse manufacturing company located in his hometown of Manchester, Kentucky.  He graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor’s degree in Bio-systems and Agricultural Engineering. He holds a PE in environmental engineering.  Michael is an alumni of KSPE’s LeadershipPE. He lives in Lexington with his wife, Heather, three daughters, and a son.

Matt King, PE, Industrial Permitting Manager, Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District
Matt King has over 20 years of air pollution regulatory experience. After receiving an engineering degree from the University of Kentucky, he worked as a permit engineer with the Kentucky Division for Air Quality. He has held several roles at the Louisville Air Pollution Control District in both the permit section and the compliance and enforcement section including serving in the role of Air Pollution Control Officer.  Much of his work has involved permitting and compliance related to the District’s Strategic Toxic Air Reduction (STAR) Program that has helped to significantly reduce the health risks associated with Hazardous Air Pollutants in Jefferson County.

Clay Larkin, Partner, Dentons
Clay is a partner in the Lexington office. Recognized in the fields of Environmental and Energy & Natural Resources Law by Chambers and Super Lawyers magazine, Clay has devoted a significant amount of his practice to representation of energy clients in the coal, oil and gas and electricity generation industries. Clay also regularly represents clients in environmental litigation and compliance counseling matters under SMCRA, the Clean Water Act and other environmental statutes, and also has experience in general litigation and transactional matters in the energy and natural resources field.

Amanda Lefevre, Deputy Commissioner, Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection
Amanda LeFevre serves as the Deputy Commissioner for the Department for Environmental Protection. She previously served as the Director of the Division of Compliance Assistance (DCA). Amanda specialized in enhancing the educational offerings in DCA and its programs which include compliance assistance, brownfields and the state’s environmental leadership program, KY EXCEL. She serves as the Chair of the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials’ (ASTSWMO) Brownfield Focus Group and the Vice-Chair of the CERCLA and Brownfields Subcommittee. Amanda earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Brescia University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Kentucky. Amanda is a Kentucky native originally from Falls of Rough, Ky. She resides in Lexington with her husband, John.

Stewart McCollam, PE, Kentucky Office Leader, ALL4
Mr. Stewart McCollam is a licensed professional chemical engineer with over 12 years of experience in all aspects of air quality regulation. As a practitioner, he focuses on preconstruction air permitting, dispersion modeling, litigation support, and compliance management. Mr. McCollam assists clients with complex air permitting and strategic compliance solutions in a multitude of industries including: chemical manufacturing; distilled spirits production; flat glass manufacturing; industrial printing; municipal solid waste landfills; and cement manufacturing. Prior to being a consultant, Mr. McCollam was a permit engineer with the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District. His professional experience as both a regulator and consultant provide Mr. McCollam a unique perspective on regulatory policy and a comprehensive understanding of its impacts to businesses.

Brian Otten, Senior Consultant, Trinity Consultants
Mr. Otten has over eight years of experience in environmental consulting. He actively supports a wide array of industries including power production, plastics manufacturing, non-metallic minerals, and municipal waste landfills. The work Mr. Otten has conducted providing environmental consulting services has included work in preparation of Title V operating permits, Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) applications, and complex air dispersion modeling analyses using the AERMOD, BLP, CAL3QHC, CALINE3, DEGADIS, SCREEN3, and VISCREEN modeling programs. His work has also included evaluation and quantification of process emissions, regulatory analyses, and preparation of Best Available Control Technology (BACT) analyses. With an in-depth understanding of air regulations and air permitting processes, he helps industrial clients develop and execute strategies for addressing environmental permitting and reporting requirements.

Kate Shanks, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Kentucky Chamber
Kate Shanks is Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the Kentucky Chamber. She has been with the Chamber for more than six years and focuses her work on energy, environment, small business, and competitiveness issues. She is a lifelong resident of Kentucky and earned both a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Conservation and Management and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kentucky. Prior to joining the Chamber, Kate spent nearly 12 years working for state agencies focused on energy and environmental policy and regulation and has held multiple positions relating to communications, outreach, policy analysis and design, and legislative affairs.

Joye Beth Spinks, Associate Attorney, English Lucas Priest & Owsley, LLP
Joye Beth Spinks is an associate in the Environmental Law Practice Group at ELPO Law. Joye Beth has helped defend clients in Clean Water Act and KNDOP enforcement actions and has assisted clients operating under or applying for KNDOPs. She also handles general civil litigation issues, as well as zoning issues. Joye Beth graduated from Western Kentucky University and Boston University School of Law. She taught high school environmental science prior to law school.

Bradley Strait, Associate, Dentons
Bradley is an associate in the Firm’s Environment and Natural Resources practice. More specifically, his practice consists of aiding clients in a variety of environmental law related issues including permitting and regulatory compliance matters under federal, state and local laws, as well as transactional due diligence. Prior to joining the Firm, Bradley was an attorney at a Lexington law firm where his practice focused primarily on general civil litigation.

Robin Thomerson, Partner, Dentons
Robin is a partner in the Lexington office where she focuses her practice on environmental law issues that arise regarding permitting and compliance with the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Robin has represented various entities, including utilities and manufacturing companies, in maintaining compliance with environmental laws. In a complex and ever-evolving regulatory environment, she is up to date on all current permitting issues and requirements.  She is experienced in working with state and local environmental permitting agencies. Robin’s experience with regulatory agencies gives her a unique perspective as she works with clients to address their needs. She served as an attorney with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, where she represented the Kentucky Divisions of Waste and Water, and she served as the lead attorney for the Kentucky Division for Air Quality, where she handled compliance, permitting and programmatic matters.

Gary Thompson, Partner, Walters Richardson PLLC
Gary W. Thompson is a partner at Walters Richardson, PLLC, Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Thompson is an AV preeminent peer rated attorney, receiving his law degree from the Mississippi College School of Law, summa cum laude. Licensed in Tennessee and Kentucky, Mr. Thompson has a diverse litigation and consulting practice advising individuals, businesses, and agricultural clients on various regulatory matters that include environmental law and permitting, professional licensure, insurance regulatory compliance, and related industries and disciplines.

Amy Van Horne, P.E., Stormwater Section Supervisor, Kentucky Division of Water
Amy Van Horne, Professional Engineer, has been working for the Department of Environmental Protection for 11 years. She is currently the Stormwater Section Supervisor in the Surface Water Permit Branch of the Division of Water. She oversees the regulation of all industrial stormwater discharges throughout the state including all surface mining facilities. Amy, along with her staff just expanded the scope of the KPDES stormwater general permit (KYR00) that became effective on August 1, 2023.

Chris Wathen, Vice President, Kenvirons, Inc.
Mr. Wathen is a Vice President of Kenvirons, LLC, a full service environmental and civil engineering firm established in 1975 and located in Frankfort, Kentucky.  As a Principal of Kenvirons, he has specialized in environmental consulting since 1990 and oversees air quality permitting activities, regulatory compliance assistance, air quality modeling, air emissions testing, and solid waste/hazardous waste assessments for numerous types of industrial and municipal clients.  In addition to his air quality experience, he has also specialized in environmental audits, environmental due diligence assessments, and environmental education.  He is a member of the stakeholder’s group for the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers’ Chemical Industry Council and has served as the Chair of the Kentucky American Consulting Engineer’s Council Air Quality Subcomittee.  He has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Kentucky.

John West, Attorney, English Lucas Priest & Owsley, LLP
John joined ELPO's environmental team in 2022. He is an environmental litigator with over thirty years of experience, primarily with Kentucky's Energy and Environment Cabinet. He has litigated many DEP cases, including water, waste, and air. He was lead attorney on several novel agricultural environmental issues. He has also tried numerous natural resource cases for DNR. John is also a labor arbitrator listed with Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services and hears disputes throughout the country.