Michael Brown

Supervising Senior Attorney

Fossil Fuels Program

Bar Admissions

LA, TX

Michael Brown

Supervising Senior Attorney Fossil Fuels Program

Dustin Renaud
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
drenaud@earthjustice.org

Michael Brown joined Earthjustice in 2019 and is a supervising senior attorney based in New Orleans, Louisiana. His focus is representing communities and non-profit groups in Louisiana and Texas that are on the frontlines of pollution from expanding petrochemical and oil-and-gas industry infrastructure.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, Mike worked for over five years at Waltzer, Wiygul & Garside, LLC, a New Orleans-based, public-interest environmental law firm. There, Mike litigated cases on behalf of Louisiana environmental groups and communities on matters including coal and oil-and-gas projects, destruction of coastal wetlands and fisheries, and the BP oil spill.

Mike was a law clerk for Judge Stephen A. Higginson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for Judge William K. Sessions, III of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont. He’s a graduate of Yale Law School and Princeton University.

Dustin Renaud
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
drenaud@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

LA, TX

Quoted in the News

January 23, 2024

The Guardian

Louisiana court upholds air permits for petrochemical complex in Cancer Alley

“The Clean Air Act forbids any new source from tipping the area into a violation or contributing to a violation.”

Latest Press Statements

The sun rises over Matagorda Bay in Texas.
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Court Blocks Oil Export Project in the Gulf of Mexico

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Sharon Lavigne of RISE St. James is an Earthjustice client and partner in a case against the “Sunshine Project” — a plant proposed by the Formosa Petrochemical Corporation.
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Groups Sue Over Formosa Plastics’ Permit Extensions

Suit challenges the fourth extension of air permit based on an outdated analysis
Sharon Lavigne of RISE St. James is an Earthjustice client and partner in a case against the “Sunshine Project” — a plant proposed by the Formosa Petrochemical Corporation.
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Formosa Plastics Must Follow New Federal Pollution Rules Designed to Keep People Healthy

Stricter rules on soot pollution could put Formosa Plastics in danger of losing its permits to operate
A chemical fire burns at a facility during the aftermath of Hurricane Laura Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, near Lake Charles, LA.
May 30, 2023

Gulf Groups File Petition To Correct Louisiana and Texas’ Violation Of Air Pollution Permitting Standards

States are unlawfully allowing more air pollution in already overburdened communities, violating federal public health standards and creating “sacrifice zones”