Craig Pritzlaff

Contact Information

(214) 270-1419
[email protected]

Practice Emphasis

Craig’s practice focuses on environmental law and litigation. He regularly counsels clients concerning “day-to-day” compliance and permitting issues relating to environmental and natural resource issues. He assists companies with internal audits and investigations, due diligence associated with corporate transactions or the purchase/sale of property; and interactions/negotiations with government agencies. He routinely defends administrative and civil enforcement matters before state and federal agencies. He also defends and prosecutes civil cases involving complex environmental issues and related commercial disputes.

Craig’s legal experience is supplemented by his prior professional experience as a scientist and regulator with state, local, and federal agencies, including the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, wherein Craig was selected as Employee of the Year in 1998), the City of Austin, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Craig also teaches Introduction to Environmental Law at Texas Christian University (TCU) and is a Commissioner on the Planning and Zoning Commission in his hometown of Coppell, Texas.

Representative Matters

  • Assisted in defending and settling several common law toxic tort lawsuits and contribution actions brought under CERCLA (Superfund) and the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act.
  • Assisted with resolving USEPA and USDOJ enforcement proceedings concerning alleged EPCRA, CAA, RCRA, and CERCLA violations and involving millions of dollars in proposed penalties.
  • In an action brought in federal court involving contaminated groundwater, was instrumental in obtaining a motion to dismiss in favor of client General Cable Industries, Inc. v. Zurn Pex, Inc., et al. (ED Tex. 2006).
  • Dismissed litigation brought by the Bureau of Land Management concerning reclamation issues at a mine in Idaho.
  • Assisted lenders in the sale of foreclosed properties with environmental concerns.
  • Resolved claims made by a public interest group for alleged Clean Water Act violations.
  • Assisted clients in the purchase, sale, shut-down, and decommissioning of manufacturing facilities.
  • Part of the legal team involved in complex multiparty litigation concerning alleged contamination and damages to natural resources within a river and estuary system in New Jersey.
  • Assisted various clients concerning general regulatory and permitting matters and negotiated the resolution of various state and federal enforcement actions, including actions brought under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Texas Water Code, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and other local state and federal laws.
  • Assisted clients in the following industries: oil and gas exploration and production, coal, plywood manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, hazardous and solid waste disposal, automotive services, telecommunication services, food preparation production and distribution, real estate development and construction, remediation and consulting services, hard rock mining, and other clients in the energy and heavy industrial sectors with due diligence projects, administrative enforcement, litigation, defense of citizens suits, and compliance matters.

Publications and Speeches

  • “Introduction to the Clean Water Act,” Clean Water Act Forum, sponsored by Environment Texas at Texas Wesleyan School of Law in Fort Worth, April 2012.
  • “Environmental Compliance in the Real World, Strategies for Avoiding Liability,” throughout 2011 and 2012: CTT Seminars, DFW Society of Texas Environmental Professionals, DFW Society of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers, DFW Air and Waste Management Association, City of Grand Prairie Industry Group; Texas A&M Bar Association’s Annual Conference.
  • “If a Tree Falls Into a Landfill, Does Anyone Have to Pay?,” throughout 2011: DFW Society of Texas Environmental Professionals, DFW Society of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers, DFW Air and Waste Management Association.
  • “Environmental Compliance Lessons Learned The Hard Way,” April 2010 Dallas Chapter of the Society of Texas Environmental Professors Professionals; June 2010 Dallas Chapter Semiconductor Environmental Safety and Health Association; May 2010 Curran Tomko Tarski LLP Seminar; August 2010 Fort Worth Chapter of the Society of Texas Environmental Professionals; July 2010 DFW Chapter Air and Waste Management Association; August 2010 DFW Chapter Certified Hazardous Materials Managers Association.
  • “Environmental Enforcement: The Government Strikes Back,” Dallas Bar Association Headnotes, April 2010.
  • “The Tragedy of Another Minute: IWBC Minute 308’s Failure to Mend the Rio Grande River,” 9 Law and Business Review of the Americas 617 (2003).
  • “2004 Texas Environmental Case Law Update,” co-presented to Dallas Bar Association Environmental Law Section (December 2004).
  • “Legal Implications of Sleep Deprivation,” (with Daniel W. Shuman and Alexander McCall Smith), in Sleep Deprivation: Clinical Issues, Pharmacology, and Sleep Loss Effects, 363 (Clete A. Kushida ed., 2005).
  • “Enforcement and Compliance Issues in Construction Storm Water Programs in Texas,” Lorman Education Services Conference on “Current Issues in Storm Water Regulation,” (February 15, 2007).
  • “Natural Resource Damages: Legal Issues,” presented at the South Central Regional Conference of the Auditing Roundtable in Austin, Texas (August 6, 2008).
  • “Natural Resource Damages: Legal Issues,” presented at the Twentieth Annual Texas Environmental Superconference in Austin, Texas (August 8, 2008).

Organizational Involvement

  • Commissioner, City of Coppell, Planning and Zoning Commission (2012-Present).
  • City of Coppell, Keep Coppell Beautiful Board (2008-2010) 2008-2009 Member; 2009-2010 Chairperson.
  • City of Coppell, Park and Recreation Board (2006-2008).
  • Certified Hazardous Material Manager (CHMM), Master Level.
  • Secretary, Dallas Air and Waste Management Association.
  • Treasurer and Program Chair, Dallas Bar Association, Environmental Law Section.
  • State Bar of Texas, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section; SMU Liaison.
  • American Bar Association, Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources Law Section.
  • Vista Ridge United Methodist Church, Board of Trustees.

Education

  • J.D., cum laude, Southern Methodist University, 2004; Editor, SMU International Law Review; Phi Delta Phi.
  • B.S., Bioenvironmental Sciences, Texas A & M University, 1996; Alpha Zeta.

Admitted to Practice

  • State of Texas.
  • U.S. Northern District of Texas.
  • U.S. Eastern District of Texas.
  • U.S. Southern District of Texas.
  • U.S. Western District of Texas.