Ryan D. Elliott
Practice Areas
Industries
Education
- Capital University Law School, J.D., 2010, cum laude
- Miami University, B.A., 2005
Bar & Court Admissions
Ryan is an associate in the 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 and representative experience:
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
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.
Professional and Community Activities
- Ryan is a member of the Columbus, Ohio and American Bar Associations and serves on the Ohio State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Committee. He is also a member of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.
- Ryan is a member of the School Board for United Schools Network’s Columbus Collegiate Academy.
News
- 9/15/2020Sherwin-Williams Names Vorys as a Key Partner for its New Global Headquarters and R&D Center ProjectThe Sherwin-Williams Company today announced the key external partners it selected to build its new global headquarters in downtown Cleveland and its new R&D center in the Cleveland suburb of Brecksville. Vorys was named as legal counsel and economic development counsel.
- 12/5/2018The Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission recently granted summary judgment in favor of our client, Harrison Power, LLC, in an appeal filed by the Ohio Valley Jobs Alliance.
Events
- 11/4/2015Vorys attorneys Ryan Elliott and Dick Schwartz were speakers at the OOGA Technical Conference on November 4-5, 2015.
- 5/14/2015Vorys attorneys Ryan Elliott, Tom Fusonie, Pete Lusenhop and Tim McGranor were speakers at the Shale Drilling Disputes and Litigation Seminar on May, 14 2015, hosted by HalfMoon Education.
Insights
- Winter 2021On December 7, 2021, Governor DeWine issued Executive Order 2021-16D authorizing the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) to adopt temporary rules for the Brownfield Remediation Fund (the “Brownfield Program”) and the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program (the “Demolition Program”).
- 12/9/2021
- 5/20/2021Ohio EPA has proposed rules that will require additional Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emission controls for certain manufacturing and industrial operations located in the Cincinnati and Cleveland 2015 ozone nonattainment areas.
- 1/26/2021On January 20, 2021, the Ohio EPA’s Division of Air Pollution Control (DAPC) hosted a “Program Advisory Group” (PAG) meeting via Microsoft Teams to inform interested stakeholders of recent and upcoming DAPC activities.
- 10/23/2020Yesterday, on October 22, 2020, USEPA finalized the “Project Emissions Accounting” Rule for the New Source Review (NSR) permitting program.
- 10/5/2020This provides an important update to our January 2018 Client Alert regarding U.S. EPA’s ‘Once In, Always In’ policy for major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs).
- 8/17/2020On August 13, 2020, U.S. EPA issued two final rules amending the 2012 and 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry.
- 4/23/2020On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that a permit is required for either “a direct discharge of pollutants from a point source into federally regulated navigable waters, or when there is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge.”
- 4/13/2020On April 10th, U.S. EPA published an interim guidance memorandum titled “Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19."
- 3/23/2020As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve day by day, we recommend carefully reviewing each of your facilities’ environmental-related permits, orders, and other compliance obligations.
- 10/1/2019On September 24, 2019, U.S. EPA proposed amendments to the 2012 and 2016 New Source Performance Standards for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry under 40 CFR (“2012 NSPS” and “2016 NSPS”, respectively).
- 4/22/2019On April 12, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued an interpretative statement concluding that all releases of pollutants from a point source to groundwater are excluded from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program pursuant to Sections 301 and 402 of the Clean Water Act (Act). USEPA’s interpretative statement clarified that such discharges are excluded from NPDES permit requirements even where pollutants are conveyed to jurisdictional surface waters via groundwater.
- 3/1/2019Ryan Elliott, an attorney in the Vorys Columbus office, recently wrote an article for the Oil & Gas Association’s OOGA Bulletin titled, “The WOTUS Saga Continues.”
- 5/10/2018On May 4, 2018, U.S. EPA released an updated draft audit program agreement that will be available to new owners of oil and natural gas exploration and production facilities.
- 2/5/2016On January 29, 2016, USEPA proposed amendments to the petroleum and natural gas systems source category of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, 40 CFR Part 98, subpart W (GHG Reporting Rule).
- 10/7/2015In September 2015, U.S. EPA published a Compliance Alert addressing compliance concerns regarding emissions from controlled storage vessels at oil and natural gas production facilities.
- 12/1/2014On November 26, 2014, U.S. EPA proposed a more stringent national ambient air quality standard for ozone. The Clean Air Act requires U.S. EPA to establish two air quality standards for ozone: a primary standard, to protect public health with an “adequate margin of safety”; and a secondary standard, to protect the public welfare. U.S. EPA’s proposal reduces the current primary and secondary ozone standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to a level that is proposed to be between 65 and 70 ppb.
- 11/14/2014On November 13, 2014, Ohio EPA issued draft amendments to the rules in OAC Chapter 3745-31 governing the Permit-to-Install New Sources and Permit-to-Install and Operate Program, including a new permit-by-rule (PBR) provision for emissions from horizontal well completion operations (OAC 3745-31-03(C)(2)(m)).
- 3/14/2014On March 10, 2014, U.S. EPA published proposed revisions and confidentiality determinations for the petroleum and natural gas source category of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Rule, 40 CFR Part 98, Subpart W. The proposed revisions to Subpart W include amendments of general applicability, revised calculation methods and reporting requirements for specified emission sources within the source category, and confidentiality determinations for the new and substantially revised data elements associated with the proposed amendments to the rule.
- 9/19/2013House Bill 59, which becomes effective on September 29, 2013, amended several sections of Ohio law governing the disposal of waste substances generated from oil and gas production operations. On September 16, 2013, Ohio EPA released three draft Guidance documents to facilitate the implementation of the new oil and gas-related waste management requirements.
- 6/2013Ryan Elliott, an associate in the Vorys Columbus office, authored an article for the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section’s RPTE eReport.
- 5/15/2013On May 1, 2013, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency published notice of proposed revisions to its Best Available Technology (BAT) program.
- 3/26/2013On March 14, 2013, Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced a bill (H.R. 1154) to amend the Clean Air Act (CAA) to eliminate the exemption for aggregation of hazardous air pollutants from oil and gas sources. CAA § 112(n)(4) currently prohibits the aggregation of emissions from "any oil or gas exploration or production well (with its associated equipment) and emissions from any pipeline compressor or pump station."
- November/December 2011