Our Team

Byron Chan

Supervising Senior Attorney Community Partnerships Program

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Media Inquiries

Keith Rushing
National Communications Strategist
(757) 897-2147
krushing@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

CA

Byron Chan is a senior attorney in Earthjustice’s Community Partnerships Program, where he works with communities to fight for a safe, just, and healthy environment.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, Byron was a litigation associate with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in Los Angeles, where his practice focused on complex commercial litigation in federal and state court.

Byron received his J.D. from NYU School of Law, and his B.A. in History and Peace & Conflict Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

The Latest from Byron Chan

April 30, 2024

In the News: Los Angeles Times

This SoCal hazardous waste facility could get a new permit despite past violations

Quoted: Byron Chan

“You’ll see a pattern of violating the law, paying a penalty, and then violating the law again.”
July 14, 2022

In the News: LAist

A Burning Question: Trash Incinerator In Long Beach Faces Uncertain Future

Quoted: Byron Chan

“We're not going to have a zero-waste economy tomorrow …in two, three or four years. But it's a process and a commitment that we have to make today to build toward that.”

February 10, 2022

In the News: Spectrum News

Proposed California legislation would discourage Long Beach incinerator-use for trash disposal

Quoted: Byron Chan

“Because of that incentive, you have this idea that burning waste is just as beneficial as recycling and reuse and composting. The consequence is that significant amounts of waste from all over the state are going to incinerators in communities that are bearing the brunt of this loophole.”
January 27, 2022

In the News: Los Angeles Times

As climate crisis worsens, this California city wants to build a gas plant

Quoted: Byron Chan

“There was this belief that Glendale Water & Power would go back and look at clean energy options. We’ve seen hardly any momentum in that direction. We fully believe that Glendale does not need any more gas.”
December 13, 2021

In the News: Sacramento Bee

Stanislaus has one of state’s two biomass incinerators. How residents are impacted.

Quoted: Byron Chan

“Wealthy communities, for example … claim that they are diverting waste from landfills — they’re diverting the impact away from their communities and into the two communities surrounding the two last incinerators.”
November 10, 2021

In the News: Grist

After years of delays, Southern California’s new smog regulation promises to save lives

Quoted: Byron Chan

“They’ve barely done anything for the past 30 years. It’s like if you never went to the dentist, and the first time you went to the dentist you were 55 and racked up a super expensive charge — but if you had been going to the dentist every six months for your entire life, you wouldn’t have had to be put in this situation in the first place.”
The Aliso Canyon gas and oil field, photographed from Mission Point.
June 20, 2019

Report: Utility’s Negligence to Blame for Los Angeles Methane Disaster

By Byron Chan

A pattern of deception and neglect led SoCalGas to disregard obvious safety measures that could have prevented the largest methane leak in U.S. history.
Three years after a massive leak at the Aliso Canyon underground gas storage facility in Southern California, residents of nearby Porter Ranch, shown here, continue to experience severe health conditions.
October 25, 2018

The Lessons We Didn’t Learn from the Largest Gas Leak in U.S. History

By Byron Chan

Three years after the Aliso Canyon leak, agencies and underground gas storage operators are still failing to regulate and share information about the toxic pollutants in stored gas.