Timothy J. Poche

Taylor Porter Partner Tim Poché’s practice focuses on advising and defending clients on environmental issues across a broad range of industries including energy, petrochemical, wastewater, public utility, transportation, and solid and hazardous waste treatment and disposal.

Tim counsels clients on a variety of compliance and permitting issues, with special emphasis on waste and water compliance and permitting, environmental remediation, and due diligence. He has extensive experience counseling and defending clients in regulatory enforcement actions before federal and state regulatory agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources/Office of Conservation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Louisiana Department of Health. Tim has experience defending zoning challenges to exploration and production activities and industrial operations.

He has also represented clients in complex civil litigation involving environmental damage and remediation claims in both state and federal courts and has successfully defended clients against citizen suits under both federal and state environmental laws.

Tim is ranked by his peers and clients in Best Lawyers in America and also in Chambers USA as “Leaders in their Field” in Environmental Litigation.

Tim received a B.S. in geology from Louisiana State University in 1988 and his J.D. from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1992. He served as chair of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section. He is admitted to practice in all Louisiana state courts, the United States District Courts for the Middle, Eastern, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

• Lead environmental counsel in successful 404 and drilling permitting effort for controversial hydraulic fracturing oil and gas project in St. Tammany Parish.
• Successfully negotiated abandonment in place for subsurface pipeline crossing Atchafalaya River, resulting in substantial cost savings for client.
• Negotiated settlement of USEPA air/radiation enforcement actions against state university system through development of Beneficial Environmental Projects.
• Negotiated settlement of compliance issues cited in USEPA RCRA compliance audit of state research facilities.
• Obtained post-trial dismissal of class action claims against national waste management company involving landfill operations and significant financial exposure.
• Obtained summary judgment dismissal of over 300 personal injury claims asserted against national remediation contractor client arising from remediation of chemical release at a major Louisiana refinery.
• Obtained favorable cost-of-defense settlement of class action groundwater contamination suit against national waste management company.
• Successfully prosecuted environmental remediation cost recovery claim on behalf of Louisiana shipyard, obtaining full recovery.
• Lead counsel in representation of major waste company in CERCLA/Louisiana mini-Superfund cost recovery litigation.
• Lead counsel in both federal and state courts in successful defense of state permitting and operation of emergency debris sites developed to address environmental disasters.
• Extensive experience in solid and hazardous waste, and water discharge permitting.
• Environmental counsel for seller in sale of chemical manufacturing facility.
• Environmental counsel for chemical manufacturing complex in the leasing of portions of manufacturer’s property and production units to third party lessee.
• Environmental counsel for chemical manufacturing complex in acquisition of utility production units from adjacent chemical plant.

• Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, J.D.,1992
• Louisiana State University, B.S., Geology, 1988

• Louisiana, 1992

• Louisiana State Bar Association (Past Chairman, LSBA Environmental Law Section)
• Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA)
• Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel (LADC)

• Best Lawyers in America – Environmental Law; Litigation – Environmental
• Chambers USA – Environment Litigation