Alex P.

Prochaska

Position: Special Counsel
Office: Lafayette

Alex Prochaska is special counsel in the Corporate and Litigation practice groups, where he focuses his practice on environmental law.

Alex defends clients in enforcement actions brought by state and federal agencies alleging violations of environmental laws including the Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Coastal Zone Management Act, and their state counterparts. Alex also counsels clients in responding to information requests from government agencies and provides guidance on self-reporting releases under federal, state, and local requirements.

On the project development side, Alex counsels clients on all aspects of permitting industrial projects involving chemical and petrochemical manufacturing, bulk liquid storage terminals, grain terminals, solar and wind renewable energy projects, carbon capture and sequestration, and crude, natural gas, and carbon dioxide pipelines. His practice includes providing strategic advice on the public interest reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and associated alternative site analysis, historic and cultural surveys, and other state environmental review requirements.

On the M&A transactions side, Alex advises lenders, buyers, and sellers of industrial facilities and commercial real estate regarding permitting and compliance, environmental due diligence, remediation requirements, and overall environmental liability risk. Alex also drafts environmental indemnifications, releases, and representations and warranties provisions in transactional documents.

The regulatory experience Alex gained while working at both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) gives him first-hand knowledge of the decision making process of environmental regulatory agencies. This experience allows him to accurately advise firm clients as to the appropriateness of information submitted to the agencies and the proper timing and presentation of such information.

He routinely assists clients in obtaining and maintaining individual and firm professional licenses, including contractor and engineering licenses throughout the United States. Alex also provides counsel to clients in responding to inquiries from licensing boards and defends clients in disciplinary and enforcement actions.

Prior to joining Jones Walker, Alex spent six years at the LDEQ with the last two as Special Counsel to the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Environmental Services. In this role, he represented LDEQ in dealings with CAA, CWA, and RCRA permit applicants and consultants from the initial pre-permit meetings and through other stages of the application review process, decisions, and defense of judicial challenges to LDEQ permit decisions.

Prior to his work at LDEQ, Alex served as a law clerk for the Honorable James P. Doherty, Jr., in the 27th Judicial District Court in Opelousas, Louisiana.