Eric Groten

Senior Partner

Environmental & Natural Resources

P +1.512.542.8709 • F +1.512.236.3272 • M +1.512.669.3283

“Some days, I’m in federal district court defending enforcement cases, or in dialogue with EPA and DOJ and NGO lawyers to resolve them. Some days, at clients’ operations, working through their permitting strategies in support of development plans, or investigating compliance issues. So I get to do most things lawyers do, but with a focus on obligations imposed by the laws governing air quality.”

Overview

Eric Groten is an accomplished Clean Air Act practitioner with nearly 40 years of experience navigating state and federal air quality laws. His work covers the full array of legal work generated by air quality laws, including defending enforcement actions, applying for the permits they require, transacting emissions rights, counseling clients on compliance and lobbying to change rules and the laws themselves. He has represented upstream, midstream and petrochemical facilities, power generators, and extractive industries in enforcement actions brought by EPA, by state agencies and by citizen groups.

Experience

Counsel to lead petitioner organization in DC Circuit and Supreme Court judicial review proceedings challenging U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiatives to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act
Successful contested case prosecution of air permits for various industrial sectors in Texas, including coal- and natural gas-fired power generation, chemical manufacturing, nonferrous smelting, waste disposal, and rock quarrying and crushing
Defended challenges to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) permitting decisions in Travis County District Court and Texas Court of Appeals related to power plants and other industrial facilities
Defended enforcement actions brought by the TCEQ against many industrial sectors, including upstream, midstream, power generation, and petrochemical facilities
Defended citizen suit brought in Ohio federal district court against gas pipeline company, with mediated resolution
Assisted client in obtaining a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit for GHG emissions from EPA Region 6 for a proposed 400 MW power project in Texas
Defended EPCRA enforcement actions brought by EPA against a polymer manufacturer and a steel equipment fabricator
Defended allegations of emission limit violations brought against power company in New Mexico District Court
Defended claims brought by State of Ohio in State court alleging violations of nuisance prohibitions and related requirements by client’s compressor station
Defended citizen suit brought against a power company in U.S. District Court alleging noncompliance with MACT requirements, including Fifth Circuit appeal and Supreme Court petition for certiorari
Obtained issuance of PSD permit for hydrogenous fertilizer manufacturing facility in Idaho following contested case
Defended EPA enforcement action against oil terminal operator in California
Defended EPA civil actions alleging violations of fugitive emissions and other requirements applicable to upstream and midstream operations
Defended nationwide enforcement action brought by the EPA to enforce rules governing industrial use of CFCs
Developed permitting strategies to enable cost-effective modernization of a Pennsylvania refinery and conducted negotiations with EPA to implement same
Filed first notices of audit and disclosures under Texas Environmental Health and Safety Audit Privilege Act, and continued active participation in audit programs and policies
Developed legislation authorizing cross-border, cross-pollutant emission trading, as well as the rules to implement the legislation, and then obtained governmental approval of the first trade under those rules
Negotiated first-ever multiparty emissions trades with Area Emission Credit Organization in Texas
Developed and negotiated first-ever single property agreement approved by State of Texas
Negotiated EPA MACT standards for the copper smelting industry
Developed PM-10 SIP for an industrial area in Arizona
Prosecuted property tax use determination for a gas-fired power plant in Texas
Obtained emergency orders authorizing the reconstruction of chemical processes affected by accidental damage
Advised clients on risks associated with environmental issues in M&A transactions

Capabilities

Credentials

Education

University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1985
Baylor University, B.A., Chemistry and Environmental Studies, 1981

Admissions

Arizona
Texas
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Second, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits
U.S. District Courts for Texas, Arizona, and Colorado

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Texas Bar Foundation – Sustaining Life Fellow
Board of Directors: Zachary Scott Theatre (President, 2005–2007); Ballet Austin, 2005–2006; Austin Lyric Opera, 2005–2006; Texas Lyceum Association, 1991–1996
Fellow: Texas State Bar College, 1993–present; Texas Bar Foundation, 1998–present; Austin Bar Foundation (Life Fellow)
Coordinating founder of TCEQ Environmental Assistance Program for pro bono defense of TCEQ enforcement cases (established 2016)
Coach to University of Texas School of Law National Environment Law Moot Court Team (2016-17)

“New EPA Greenhouse Gas Rule Takes Aim at Fossil-Fueled Power Plants,” The Journal of Federal Agency Action, Volume 2, No. 5, September–October 2024 (co-author)
“Unwinding the Finding,” Texas Lawyer, December 5, 2017 (author)
“Environmental Citizens’ Suit Defense: Preparing for “Private Attorneys General” in the Trump Administration,” V&E Houston Office, February 7, 2017 (speaker)
“Recent EPA Actions Open Windows of Project Permitting Opportunity in Houston and Dallas Areas,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, November 22, 2016 (co-author)
“Oil and Gas Beware, Regulations Are in the Air,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, November 10, 2016 (co-author)
“As EPA Pursues Existing Sources, Could Well and Pipeline Blowdowns Be Next?: EPA’s Plan to Expand Regulations of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Oil and Gas Sector,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, October 17, 2016 (co-author)
“The Clean Air Act for Power Project Developers,” University of Texas School of Law (Guest Lecture, September 27, 2016)
“A New Slew of Oil and Gas Regulations: What You Need to Know,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, May 18, 2016 (co-author)
“Protecting Environmental Consultant Work: A Cautionary Tale,” Law360, March 10, 2016 (co-author)
“EPA Announces Expanded National Enforcement Priorities For 2017-2019,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, February 25, 2016 (co-author)
“Pennsylvania Court Ruling on Discovery of Private Air Monitoring Program Provides Cautionary Tale on Protecting the Work of Consulting Experts,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, February 8, 2016 (co-author)
“Environmental Enforcement and Next Gen Enforcement Tools: Views from Enforcement Defense Counsel,” Air and Waste Management Association, December 8, 2015 (speaker)
“EPA Proposed Rule Could Resurrect Confusing Test for Air Permitting,” Texas Lawyer, September 16, 2015 (co-author)
“New Methane Regulations Proposed for the Oil and Gas Sector: What You Need to Know,” V&E Shale Insights — Tracking Fracking E-communication, August 26, 2015 (co-author)
“High Court Overturns EPA Air Toxic Rule for Coal-Fired Power Plants,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, June 30, 2015 (co-author)
“Texas Legislature Re-Reforms Contested Case Permit Process(1),” Law360, June 10, 2015
“The Frack Pack Strikes Back: Hydraulic Fracturing Legislation in the 114th Congress,” V&E Shale Insights — Tracking Fracking E-communication, May 11, 2015 (co-author)
“Here Be Dragons: Legal Threats to EPA’s Proposed Existing Source Performance Standards for Electric Generating Units,” Environmental Law Reporter, February 2015 (author)
“Clean Air Act Regulation of GHG: EPA’s Adventures in Wonderland,” Texas Public Policy Foundation Energy-Climate Summit, Houston, Texas, September 25, 2014 (speaker)
“U.S. Supreme Court Issues Long-Awaited Decision on EPA GHG Permitting Authority,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, June 26, 2014 (author)
“BSEE’s Voluntary Confidential Near-Miss Reporting System,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, April 29, 2014 (author)
“Another Texas Case Affirms TCEQ’s Authority to Deny Hearing Requests,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, April 11, 2014 (co-author)
“Scope of TCEQ Actions Subject to Judicial Review Clarified by Third Court of Appeals,” V&E Environmental Law Update E-communication, March 20, 2014 (co-author)
“Roadblocks Ahead for EPA’s Stationary Source GHG Permitting?,” Zephyr Currents, January 2014 (co-author)
“The U.S. Energy Policy Agency?: EPA Uses the Clean Air Act to Redirect Our Electricity Future,” Kiewit Power Technical Workshop, San Diego, California, April 20, 2012 (speaker)
“(Un)Defining Compliance: Forgotten Lessons from Leviticus to Leventhal,” Lecture to the Source Evaluation Society 36th SSSAAP Conference, March 7, 2012
“EPA: Environmental Protection or Employment Prevention?,” Texas Public Policy Foundation’s 10th Annual Policy Orientation For The Texas Legislature, Austin, Texas, January 12, 2012 (panelist)
“EPA Settlement and Penalty Provisions,” Edison Electric Institute Tax Committee Conference, Dallas, Texas, November 14, 2011 (speaker)
“EPA Regulation of ‘Greenhouse Gases’: Using the Clean Air Act to Control a Constituent of Clean Air,” The University of Texas at Austin Forum, November 5, 2010 (invited lecture)
“Treatment of Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act,” LexisNexis Global Climate Change Special Pamphlet Series, 2010 (co-author)
“An Inconvenient Suit: Challenges Facing U.S. Regulation of Greenhouse Gases,” International Soda Ash Industry Conference, London, England, June 24, 2010 (speaker)
“The Intersection of Law and Technology,” Utility Executive Leadership Conference, Santa Fe, New Mexico, August 7, 2008 (invited panel presentation)

Recognitions

Chambers USA, Environment (Texas), 2004–2026
The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), “Lawyer of the Year,” Litigation−Environmental (Austin), 2024
The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), Litigation−Environmental (Austin), 2001−2027
Lawdragon, Leaders in Environmental Law, 2024
Texas Lawyer, “Lawyer of the Year,” Litigation Environmental, 2024
International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (Law Research Business, Ltd.), Environmental Law, 2011
Who’s Who Legal: Texas, (Law Business Research Ltd.), Environmental Law, 2007−2011, 2016 and 2017; Climate Change, 2023; Environment, 2023
Selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) 2003−2019
Euromoney‘s Project Finance, Sandy Creek Coal Power Project Financing, “North American Single Asset Power Deal of the Year,” 2008
de Novo magazine, “Legal Innovator,” 2003
Legal 500 U.S, Environment: Regulatory, 2019–2023 and 2026; Environment: Litigation, 2020, 2022, and 2023
Selected to the Lawdragon Green 500: Leaders in Environmental Law, 2023, 2025 and 2026
Selected to the 500 Leading Energy Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2023–2025

Insights

Client Alerts

Build Now, Permit Later? What EPA’s Air Permitting Proposal Means for Data Centers and Major Projects

Last fall, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) gave project developers a valuable thing in Clean Air Act permitting: a usable …

May 14, 2026

May 14, 2026 • 6-minute read

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Client Alerts

EPA Draws the Line: What Can You Build Before Getting an Air Permit?

What can project developers actually build before securing an air permit?

September 18, 2025 • V&E Environmental Update

September 18, 2025 • 4-minute read

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Client Alerts

EPA Proposes to Repeal Biden-era Regulations Governing Air Toxic Emissions from Coal- and Oil-Fired Power Plants

On June 17, 2025 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a proposed rule to repeal the amendments to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) adopted by the Biden administration in 2024.

June 17, 2025 • V&E Energy Update

June 17, 2025 • 5-minute read

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Enterprise Prices $1.75 Billion Aggregate Principal Amount of Senior Notes Background Image

Client Alerts

Power Move: EPA Proposes GHG Rules Repeal

On June 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a proposed rule that, if finalized, would repeal all greenhouse gas (“GHG”) standards for the power sector.

June 17, 2025 • V&E Energy Update

June 17, 2025 • 8-minute read

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Event Recaps

Powering Texas: Obtaining and Defending Air Quality Permits

Vinson & Elkins attorneys discussed how to obtain and defend key air quality permits for power plants.

October 15, 2024

October 15, 2024 • 1-minute read

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Eric Groten

Overview

Experience

Capabilities

Credentials

Recognitions

Insights

News & Achievements

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