John Byl is involved in virtually all aspects of the Firm's environmental practice. He has extensive experience in redevelopment financial incentives, air compliance and permits, CERCLA and state mini-Superfund matters, underground storage tank issues and other regulatory and enforcement matters. John is Chair of the Firm's Environmental Practice Group.

Representative Experience

• Successfully pursued and administered numerous redevelopment financial incentives, including brownfield redevelopment grants, site reclamation grants, tax increment financing, single business tax credits, brownfield revitalization loans and waterfront grants; including the largest brownfield project in the state. Clients have received benefits totaling over $400 million.
• Obtained clean closure certification from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) for a commercial hazardous waste disposal facility, which was the first ever received in the State of Michigan
• Responsible for the management and handling of major, complex CERCLA litigation involving numerous novel legal issues relating to a Superfund site with an estimated cleanup cost of $100 million. Litigation and subsequent appeals occurred over a ten-year period, and included a four-week trial in the Western District of Michigan in 1991 and a hearing before the United States Supreme Court in 1998. Favorable decisions, titled U.S. v Cordova Chemical Company, et al., were issued by the Sixth Circuit in 1995 and 1997. A decision was issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, 1998. The U.S. Supreme Court decision, U.S. v Bestfoods, is the controlling decision on CERCLA liability of shareholders, officers and directors, including parent corporations. This was one of the few CERCLA cases that has gone through trial
• Has represented automotive manufacturers and suppliers on several transactions and regulatory matters, including air enforcement and underground tank matters
• Selected to be allocation mediator at large Superfund site near Chicago, Illinois, in which we prepared an opinion allocating responsibility among 22 parties involved at the site
• Successfully negotiated and obtained numerous environmental permits for proposed developments and expansions

Honors And Awards

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America
• Named a Super Lawyer in the 2008 edition of Michigan Super Lawyers
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Kinney Award, granted to outstanding Senior in Business and/or Economics
• Certificate of Merit in Writing and Advocacy

Bar Associations

Teaching and Lecturing

• Frequent lecturer on a wide variety of environmental topics at state bar-related functions, state and local chamber activities, trade association meetings, privately sponsored seminars and other business group functions

Publications

• Author of numerous articles about environmental statutory and regulatory developments
• Authored or edited chapters of several environmental books and treatises
• Co-author, "Allocation Under CERCLA: How it Works and How it May Change," J. Envtl. L. & Prac., May/June, 1995
• "Financial Incentives Available for Contaminated Property," West Michigan Commercial Development, Real Estate Quarterly, Vol. 1 Number 1, Febuary 1 - April 30, 2002
• "Turning Dumps Into Dollars," Michigan Real Estate Journal
  

• Brownfield Incentive Changes Spur Development
• Despite Budget Woes, Michigan's BF Programs Still a Model for Other States

Professional Affiliations

• West Michigan Air and Waste Management Association
  West Michigan Chapter, Chair, 2002-03 and Board of Directors, 1999-2004
  
• Information Network for Superfund Settlements
  
• National Brownfield Association
  Michigan Chapter, Member Executive Committee, 2005-present; Policy and Legislative Committee, Chair, 2005-present
  

News

• 45 Warner Norcross Partners Rated Best Lawyers in America
• 47 Warner Norcross Attorneys Recognized as Super Lawyers