Karl Karg's environmental practice includes enforcement defense, litigation, crisis response and management, permitting and compliance counseling, and transactional counseling. He is particularly experienced in the defense of US Department of Justice/EPA and state enforcement actions and citizen suits under the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, the Clean Water Act, RCRA, and a variety of other environmental statutes.

Mr. Karg’s current representations include: 

  • The defense of EPA and state Clean Air Act enforcement actions and citizen suits
  • Negotiations to modify past Consent Decrees under the Clean Air Act for new owners and/or repowered or reconfigured facilities
  • Complex contaminated site and sediment cleanups at NPL and non-NPL sites under CERCLA and other environmental authorities
  • Clean Water Act enforcement and permitting, including multi-party and multi-jurisdictional permitting and waste water disputes
  • The defense of EPA and RCRA hazardous waste enforcement actions
  • Advising on environmental/ESG and Environmental Justice issues and risks associated with mergers and acquisitions, financing, public offerings, and the post-transactional resolution of such issues

Prior to joining Latham & Watkins in 2001, Mr. Karg was an Associate Regional Counsel for the US EPA, Region V (Chicago), where he enforced virtually every major federal environmental law against facilities in the Midwest. While at the EPA, Mr. Karg worked extensively on Clean Air Act matters, including enforcement against the chemical, oil and gas, automotive, and manufacturing sectors.

Mr. Karg is a frequent speaker and writer on environmental topics. He is a member of the Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law Section of the ABA, and the Illinois State Bar Association.

Bar Qualification

  • Illinois

Education

  • JD, Vermont Law School, 1994
  • BS, Arizona State University, 1989