E. Fitzgerald Veira

Fitzgerald is a partner in the firm’s environmental practice group with 30 years of experience representing local, national, and international clients on a broad range of environmental and nuclear regulatory matters, transactions, and in litigation. His practice primarily focuses on wastewater and water resource issues. Fitzgerald has successfully defended industrial and municipal clients against EPA and state enforcement and citizen suits brought under the Clean Water Act.

Fitzgerald represents clients in discharge permitting, water withdrawal permitting, and permit appeals. He also assists clients navigating and responding to environmental crises. Throughout his legal career, Fitzgerald has combined his engineering background and technical understanding water quality science with practical legal solutions. He also serves a member of the firm’s Policy Committee.

• Representing a water and wastewater utility on regulatory and litigation matters regarding PFAS.
• Represented a large food processing facility in negotiating a consent order for operating a land application system without a permit.
• Representing a poultry facility in a CWA enforcement action.
• Representing a local government in an enforcement action brought by EPA and EPD alleging failure to report spills under CWA.
• Lead counsel to an electric utility on CWA programs including NPDES permitting, § 404 permitting, § 316(a) thermal variance, rulemakings related to the steam electric effluent guidelines and 316(b) requirements for cooling water intake structures, state water quality standards, spill prevention control and countermeasure plans, storm water discharge permitting, and total maximum daily loads.
• Lead counsel to a local government in negotiating and implementing a $600 million consent decree to address sanitary sewer overflows in an action brought by the U. S. Department of Justice on behalf of EPA and the Georgia Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
• Ongoing representation of clients on 316(b) impingement and entrainment studies.
• Lead counsel to a nuclear power plant operator in obtaining surface water withdrawal permit.
• Ongoing representation of clients regarding § 404 permitting related to transmission line construction and maintenance.
• Counsel to local governments regarding Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), green infrastructure, and erosion and sediment control issues.
• Ongoing representation of clients in developing and implementing cutting edge capacity, management, operation and maintenance (CMOM) programs.
• Ongoing representation of clients on water resource and water supply issues.
• Conducted environmental audits of water utilities.
• Performed environmental due diligence in support of purchase and sale of electric generating units and pulp and paper mills.
• Ongoing representation of pulp and paper mills regarding water quality issues.
• Counsel clients in hydroelectric power relicensing.
• Counsel clients addressing environmental justice issues.
• Defended clients in citizen suits alleging RCRA and CWA violations.
• Counsel clients named as potentially responsible parties in connection with superfund sites.
• Assisted in the representation of a major railroad in connection with one of the largest railroad mergers in history. Responsibilities included commenting on environmental issues before the surface transportation board and drafting motions in connection with NEPA litigation.

• Law360 MVP Award, Environmental Law (2022)
• Chambers USA: Environmental, Georgia (2021-2025)
• Best Lawyers in America®: Environmental Law (2023-2026); Litigation – Environmental (2024-2026)
• Legal 500 United States: Environment: Litigation (2021-2023); Environment: Transactional (2021-2022); and Environment: Regulatory (2021-2025)
• Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine, “Super Lawyer” (2007-2016)
• Georgia Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2005)