MIKE CHILDERS is a Partner in Balch & Bingham’s Atlanta office, practicing in the firm’s Energy Practice Group and Environmental & Natural Resources Practice Group. Mike has a unique combination of experience as an outside attorney representing clients on transactional and environmental matters and experience as an executive manager of the environmental, health and safety (EH&S) function of an international power generation company and a large heavy civil construction company engaged in the business of building roads and bridges.
Transactional
Mike has represented clients on a wide range of transactional matters, with a focus on the power generation industry. Mike’s transactional experience includes drafting and negotiating major equipment procurement agreements, engineering and construction agreements, power purchase agreements, transmission interconnection agreements, coal purchase agreements, rail transportation agreements, and procurement agreements for a wide variety of services for power plants.
As an EH&S executive with a power generation company, Mike also managed the environmental component of many large domestic and international acquisitions and divestitures. As an attorney, Mike has led the environmental legal support on numerous, large transactions covering a wide range of businesses and assets, including power plants, agricultural equipment manufacturers, construction equipment manufacturers, a specialty paper manufacturer, and an automobile carrier company. Mike’s experience includes coordinating due diligence teams, structuring and negotiating solutions to environmental issues, drafting and negotiating the terms of purchase, sale and finance agreements, and environmental insurance.
Project General Counsel
Mike has served an electric utility client in a project general counsel role for the development of a multi-billion dollar electric generating plant. Project legal matters included EPC contracting and major equipment procurement, permitting, water rights, rail agreements, and development agreements with city and county governments.
Renewable Projects
Mike has provided transactional legal support to a major utility client in efforts to develop wind projects and business ventures.
Executive Management
Mike was the Vice President of EH&S for the domestic and international operations of a power generation company with substantial coal, oil, and gas plants. The scope of Mike’s functional responsibility encompassed all aspects of the EH&S function, including compliance, governance, policy and advocacy, strategic planning, asset transactions, permitting and environmental external affairs. Mike also was the Vice President of EH&S for a large heavy civil construction company engaged in road and bridge projects and in this job implemented a significant enforcement agreement with the EPA’s Office of Suspension and Debarment across the company’s construction business, which consisted of over twenty projects in eleven states.
In each of these jobs, Mike developed and implemented the company’s EH&S policy and a comprehensive, written environmental management system consistent with ISO 14001 across all operations. He also managed all EH&S legal issues, including management of outside counsel, and internal investigations concerning EH&S issues. At the power generation company, Mike supervised the development of the company’s first public environmental report, which evolved into a corporate citizenship report.
Environmental
Mike has substantial experience with all major environmental regulatory programs applicable to coal-fired and gas-fired power plants and to construction projects, including laws and regulations governing air emissions, water intake and wastewater discharge, solid and hazardous waste, wetlands, storm water, storage of hazardous materials, and environmental cleanup. Examples include the following:
Mike has provided legal support for obtaining air, water and waste permits for coal-fired and gas-fired power plants and has managed the overall permitting process for new power plants as an EH&S executive. His experience includes permitting programs administered by U.S. EPA and state agencies. With respect to air permitting, Mike’s experience includes preconstruction NSR/PSD permits, Title V operating permits, minor source permits, and NESHAPs. Water permitting experience includes issues associated with water cooling and water intake technologies under sections 316(a) and (b) of the Clean Water Act. Mike also has provided legal review and support for environmental assessments and environmental impact statements under NEPA for siting facilities and for construction projects.
Air: Mike has experience with the Clean Air Act Title V operating permit program and Acid Rain program, state and regional NOx cap and trade programs, and regulation of hazardous air pollutants. He has significant experience with the New Source Review (NSR) regulations under the Clean Air Act, including managing and providing legal support for multiple NSR enforcement matters and developing and implementing a NSR project review program for on-going maintenance and repair projects at power plants to manage NSR compliance.
As an EH&S executive for a power generation company, Mike led strategic planning on emerging air laws and regulations applicable to power plants.
Water: Mike has provided legal counseling and managed issues involving cooling water discharge and intake under sections 316(a) and (b) of the Clean Water Act and also has managed issues associated with “taking of endangered or threatened species” arising from power plant cooling water discharges and intakes. Mike has provided legal counseling on compliance with storm water regulations at power plants and construction projects and has developed storm water compliance programs for construction projects.
Waste/Cleanup: Mike has provided legal counseling and managed issues involving fly and bottom ash storage, disposal and recycling and has provided counseling on hazardous waste and used oil management and disposal. Mike has represented clients on environmental cleanup work under Superfund and various state cleanup laws and brownfields laws, including negotiating consent orders with agencies and private party cleanup and cost recovery agreements.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
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State Bar of Georgia
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Past Affiliation: Past Chairman, Environmental Committee of the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), (January 2002 – December 2003)
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Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2009 - Present
PRIOR EMPLOYMENT
Troutman Sanders LLP: June 1990 – August 1999
Southern Energy, Inc. (subsidiary of Southern Company)/Mirant Corp. (spin-off of Southern Company): September 1999 – June 2004
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Vice President of Environmental, Health & Safety for an international merchant energy company with power plants in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Caribbean and South America during most of job tenure.
Balfour Beatty, Inc.: July 2004 – June 2006