Ryan D. Elliott

Ryan is a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the energy and environmental group.  He counsels clients in all aspects of environmental law, including administrative appeals, litigation, transactional, and federal and state air, water and waste regulatory compliance and permitting matters.  Ryan has experience handling matters involving the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Emergency Planning, and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  He has successfully defended clients’ environmental permits that were administratively appealed by organizations opposed to the permitted activity, and he also assists clients with environmental and regulatory issues associated with the development of the Utica Shale.

Ryan received his J.D. cum laude from Capital University Law School, where he was member of the Order of the Curia and the Order of the Barristers.  He received his B.A. from Miami University.

Prior to beginning his legal career, Ryan was a Teach For America Corps member in Atlanta, GA where he taught high school social studies for two years.  He also had an integral role in the successful implementation of the small-school model at a comprehensive underperforming high school, where he co-founded one of four curriculum-themed small schools that replaced the comprehensive high school.

Career highlights include:

Regulatory

• Extensive experience counseling clients in Vapor Intrusion matters, including investigation, risk assessment, and remedial design and implementation
• Representing clients engaged in PCB cleanups under TSCA
• Negotiating multiple administrative orders with state and federal environmental agencies for RCRA corrective action sites, as well as the cleanup of contaminated sites under Ohio’s Voluntary Action Program (VAP)
• Advising a client in the PSD permitting of a $9 billion ethylene cracker plant
• Representing the Ohio Oil and Gas Association in various environmental and regulatory matters, including participating in state and federal rulemakings and providing counsel on compliance and permitting matters in connection with oil and gas exploration and production operations
• Assisting clients prepare for and navigate agency compliance inspections and enforcement actions, implement voluntary multimedia environmental audits, and secure environmental audit privileges
• Representing Ohio trade association comprised of convenience store and wholesale fuel supply businesses in various state regulatory compliance and rulemaking actions governed by the Ohio Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR) and Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Release Compensation Board (PUSTRCB)
• Advising clients engaged in operating Construction & Demolition Debris (C&DD) landfills and recycling facilities in regulatory compliance and permitting matters

Litigation

• Served as co-defense counsel in Ohio Valley Jobs Alliance, Inc. v. Butler and Southfield Energy, ERAC Case No. 16-6886.  The case involved the Ohio Valley Jobs Alliance’s (OVJA) appeal of the air permit issued by Ohio EPA for Southfield Energy’s new natural gas power plant.  The defense obtained dismissal of the appeal at the hearing before the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission (ERAC).
• Served co-defense counsel in Ohio Valley Jobs Alliance, Inc. vs. Butler and Harrison Power, LLC, ERAC Case No. 18-6960.  ERAC granted summary judgment in favor of Harrison Power in an appeal filed by the Ohio Valley Jobs Alliance (OVJA), where OVJA sought to revoke the air permit issued by the Ohio EPA for Harrison Power’s new $1 billion, 630-megawatt natural gas power plant.
• Assisting in the successful defense of a RCRA citizen suit which also involved multiple tort claims against a Fortune 100 Company
• Negotiated the settlement of landowner’s appeal of an air permit issued for a natural gas compressor station

Transactional

• Conducting environmental due diligence, assessing environmental risks and developing strategies for mitigating risks and negotiating contractual provisions in business and commercial real estate transactions
• Managing Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments and remedial activities in connection with business and real estate transactions, including Vapor Intrusion
• Advising developers, sellers and lenders in transactions involving brownfield re-development

Honors & Recognitions

The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, Environmental Law, 2025

Columbus CEO, Best Lawyers, Environmental Law, 2023-2024

Professional & Community Activities

Columbus Bar Association, Member

American Bar Association, Member

Ohio State Bar Association, Environmental Law Committee, Member

Ohio Oil and Gas Association, Member

St. Paul School, School Advisory Board

Association of Vapor Intrusion Professionals (AVIP), Member