Zach Pilchen

Zach Pilchen is an environmental and regulatory attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office and a member of the firm's Public Policy & Regulation Group. Mr. Pilchen has experience with nearly every major statute administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but he focuses his practice on the Clean Air Act (CAA), American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, and other federal, state and local laws regarding air emissions, air quality, greenhouse gases and climate issues.

Mr. Pilchen's deep regulatory experience was shaped by years in EPA's Office of General Counsel, where he served as both a career lawyer and a political appointee, advising bipartisan policymakers in the executive branch and U.S. Congress on major environmental matters. Mr. Pilchen combines his deep regulatory insights with a practical, goals-oriented approach, helping clients navigate complex environmental requirements.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Pilchen served as senior legal counsel in EPA's Office of General Counsel, where he advised senior agency officials on high-profile, complex initiatives and congressional oversight matters touching every major EPA program office. Mr. Pilchen's most recent EPA role built on his earlier experience as a career attorney during the first Trump Administration and Obama Administration, where he focused extensively on air pollution and climate matters arising under the CAA. Mr. Pilchen advised bipartisan EPA policymakers on dozens of rulemakings addressing state and federal dynamics under the CAA, including with respect to nonattainment area designations, state implementation plans (SIPs), the "Good Neighbor" provisions regarding interstate air pollution and other actions related to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Mr. Pilchen also advised on air permitting matters, including source determinations (i.e., assessing when multiple emission units should be aggregated as a single source for permitting) and EPA Administrator orders addressing citizen petitions that challenge the legitimacy of state-issued Title V operating permits. He also served as lead EPA counsel for a novel "atmospheric trust" constitutional lawsuit and was the youngest lawyer assigned to EPA's team developing the technical and legal basis for the first-ever federal greenhouse gas regulations for the power sector. In addition to his CAA work, Mr. Pilchen served as lead EPA counsel for all Takings Clause litigation filed against the agency, including physical and regulatory takings alleged to result from actions taken under the CAA, Clean Water Act (CWA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

During his early tenure as an EPA air and climate lawyer, Mr. Pilchen was also detailed to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, where he provided legal advice on bipartisan environmental legislation, oversight matters and regulatory reform.

Previously, Mr. Pilchen served as deputy chair of the air and climate practice group in the Washington, D.C., office of a leading environmental boutique firm. In private practice, he advised major corporations and trade associations across the transportation, chemical, technology, manufacturing, retail and construction sectors. His work included representing companies in high-stakes matters involving rulemaking advocacy, compliance counseling, investigations, enforcement actions and government negotiations.

Mr. Pilchen's legal career began with hands-on training in environmental enforcement and regulatory litigation during law school with multiple EPA headquarters clerkships in EPA's Office of Civil Enforcement, Office of Administrative Law Judges and Office of Compliance. He gained further environmental enforcement experience in Washington, D.C., as a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) legal intern assisting with power sector litigation under the CAA's complex New Source Review provisions, and as a clinical law student, supporting assistant U.S. attorneys and EPA special agents with civil and criminal enforcement matters under the CAA and CWA.