Jacob joined McDermott in August 2013 from the EPA Region 2 where he served for 19 months as the Office of Regional Counsel’s Acting Air Branch Chief—the region’s highest ranking Clean Air Act attorney. At the EPA he handled or supervised more than 70 Clean Air Act investigations and enforcement actions. Before that, Jacob was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York and a commercial litigator at another highly-regarded Am Law 100 firm. Jacob has worked with the Clean Air Act, Superfund, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and the Energy Independence and Security Act, among other statutes. Jacob’s matters, in and out of government, have involved many different types of facilities, equipment and regulatory products, including: engines, power plants, refineries, chemical plants, landfills, solar installations, waste-to-energy operations, renewable fuel identification numbers and tradeable emission credits.

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• Represented the EPA in GenOn REMA LLC v. EPA, 722 F.3d 513 (3rd Cir. 2013), a precedent-setting victory for the EPA involving the Clean Air Act Section 126
• Helped the EPA and New York resolve several environmental investigations, enforcement actions and permitting matters, including New York v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., et al., No. 02-cv-2s (W.D.N.Y.), a Clean Air Act enforcement action involving NSR, Title V and public nuisance claims in which Jacob was New York’s lead litigation counsel and which resulted in a favorable settlement for New York
• First chaired a federal Clean Air Act on behalf of five states (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland)

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• Upon leaving EPA to join McDermott, received a Certificate of Commendation from the US Department of Justice for “outstanding performance and invaluable assistance in support of the activities of the Environment & Natural Resources Division”

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Courts / Agencies
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
US District Court for the Western District of New York
US District Court for the District of Columbia

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