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Robert "Bob" E.
Holden

Position
Partner
Office
New Orleans

Bob Holden is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group and is co-team leader of the firm’s environmental litigation team. He counsels clients on environmental regulatory compliance, enforcement actions, and related commercial litigation.


With his deep understanding of the law and decades of experience in the field, Bob assists clients in developing practical, compliance-oriented solutions to environmental and related legal challenges. Bob represents businesses in the energy, chemicals, manufacturing, and other industries with significant operations across the southeastern United States and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Bob leads the firm’s environmental litigation team. He regularly counsels clients on a broad range of environmental and regulatory requirements in relation to air (including Clean Air Act Title V, Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT), and New Source Review (NSR) Standards); wastewater (including the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) and Gulf of Mexico General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit programs); hazardous waste (with a particular focus on generator issues); and solid-waste (including permitting and closures). He also provides advice to OCS operators on Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) operational rules. Bob has represented numerous clients in enforcement proceedings before EPA headquarters, EPA Regions 6 and 8, and before the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ).

Among his representative matters, Bob currently represents a major chemical company on Clean Air Act and Louisiana air control matters related to the acquisition of a Louisiana neoprene plant, and on post-acquisition claims against the former owner. In 2010 to 2013, he led a firmwide team of attorneys on behalf of BP in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He has in-depth experience with the Oil Pollution Act, similar state statutes, and Oil Spill Financial Responsibility requirements. He has also worked on major oil spills caused by Hurricane Katrina and other pipeline spills. 

Among noteworthy engagements, Bob serves as lead industry counsel at the Combustion and Dutchtown Superfund sites. Bob had a lead role in preparing industry comments on the EPA's PVC MACT rulemaking in 2012. He served as lead environmental counsel for the permitting of chemical plants in St. James and Iberville Parishes and of a commercial hazardous waste incinerator located in St. Mary Parish. He also was lead environmental counsel of permitting under the Deep Water Port Act of the Freeport Main Pass Energy Hub in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

In his litigation practice, Bob represents natural resources, petrochemical, and industrial companies facing high-exposure environmental litigation, including environmental enforcement and regulatory matters, oil spills and oil-spill insurance claims, and energy litigation. Numerous international, national, and local corporations alike rely on his keen legal insights and network of industry and government contacts to provide effective responses to disputes that arise in relation to their operations in Louisiana and on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Noteworthy

  • The Legal 500 United States, Environment – Environment: Transactional (2024)
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Administrative/Regulatory Law (2010–2025); Environmental Law and Litigation – Environmental (listed annually since 2010)
  • Best Lawyers in America®, "Lawyer of the Year," Administrative/Regulatory Law, New Orleans, Louisiana (2017); "Lawyer of the Year," Environmental Law, New Orleans, Louisiana (2011, 2023)
  • New Orleans Magazine, "Top Lawyer," Administrative/Regulatory Law and Environmental Law (2012–2016)
  • Louisiana Super Lawyers, Environmental (listed annually since 2009)
  • Chambers USA, Environment (listed annually since 2006)

Publications

  • "A Hitchhiker's Guide to What's New in All Appropriate Inquiries," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, January 6, 2022
  • "Hurricane Ida and OPA's Acts of God," Jones Walker LLP Maritime Newsletter, September 2021
  • "Will Dutch Carbon Ruling Against Shell Be Followed in the United States?" Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, August 24, 2021
  • "US Army Corps of Engineers Revises Nationwide Permit 12," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, January 27, 2021
  • "Enforcement Trends Leading Up to the Election," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Law and the Election - Environmental Client Alert, October 16, 2020
  • "NEPA: RE-ANIMATED or is it WEE-ANIMATED?" Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, August 11, 2020
  • "OCS Air Quality in the 21st Century: The Sky Will Not Fall," Jones Walker LLP Maritime Newsletter, May 28, 2020
  • "EPA Region 6 Promulgates New General Permit for the Western Gulf of Mexico," Jones Walker LLP Energy Client Alert, November 10, 2017
  • "Audio Books for the Daily Commute," Senior Seasonings, LSBA Senior Section, 2016

Presentations

  • "Best Available and Safest Technology under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act," Offshore Operators Committee, July 2016
  • "Environmental Considerations in Business Transactions," ExxonMobil, March 2015
  • "Environmental Issues for OCSLA Compliance," Chevron, 2014
  • "The Lawyer's Role in Oil Spill Planning," Houston Bar Association, Environmental Luncheon, Houston, Texas, October 9, 2013
  • "NPDES Upset and Bypass Defenses," ExxonMobil, 2010 Water Workshop, Houston, Texas, June 2, 2010

Memberships

  • Air and Waste Management Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Louisiana Bar Foundation
  • Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Adjunct Professor, Clean Air Act Seminar (2006–2008)
  • Louisiana State Bar Association, Chairman, Environmental Law Section (1991–1992)
  • New Orleans Bar Association
New Orleans
201 St. Charles Ave
New Orleans, LA 70170-5100
D: 504.582.8139
F: 504.589.8139
Emailbholden@joneswalker.com

Education

  • University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law
    JD, cum laude, 1978
    Order of the Coif; Member, University of Florida Law Review
  • Florida State University
    BS, Engineering Science, 1972

Bar Admissions

  • Florida
  • Louisiana
  • Texas

Court Admissions

  • US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
  • US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
  • US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana

Related Practices

  • Energy & Natural Resources
  • Energy Litigation
  • Environmental Criminal Defense
  • Environmental Enforcement & Litigation
  • Environmental Regulatory
  • Environmental Transactional
  • Water Law
  • Offshore Energy

Related Industries

  • Energy, Environmental & Natural Resources
  • Industrial, Petrochemical & Advanced Manufacturing
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