L. Preston Bryant, Jr. Sr. VP, Infrastructure and Economic Development McGuireWoods Consulting LLC

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Preston Bryant is a senior vice president at McGuireWoods Consulting where he works in the firm’s Infrastructure and Economic Development group. He has served in local, state, and federal elected and appointed office. His expertise lies in waste, wastewater, and energy generation projects, and he advises clients on project site selection and regulatory affairs.

He also represents numerous public and private colleges and universities. In addition, Preston works with private equity investors and portfolio companies to help them understand the implications of state-level environmental policy decisions and market trends for their investment and business decision.

For the past 25 years, Preston’s experience in environmental, energy, infrastructure, and higher education matters has developed from his work in the public and private sectors. Preston was a partner for a decade in a Virginia-based civil engineering, surveying, and planning firm.

Preston served for two years on Lynchburg (Va.) City Council. He served for 10 years (1996-2006) in the Virginia House of Delegates, where he focused on environmental and capital infrastructure matters. He passed landmark environmental legislation leading to billions of dollars in investments in water quality infrastructure. He also played a key role in passing Virginia’s nationally recognized public-private partnership procurement statute, which also has led to billions of dollars invested in public infrastructure.

In 2006, Preston was appointed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to serve as Virginia’s secretary of natural resources, where he led the state’s six environmental, recreational, and historic resources agencies. He also helped write Virginia’s first statewide energy plan.

President Obama appointed Preston in 2009 to serve as chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, the U.S. government’s central planning agency for all federal-owned lands and buildings in Washington, DC, and its Virginia and Maryland environs. Preston served in this role for nine years (2009-2018).

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McGuireWoods Consulting LLC (“MWC”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the McGuireWoods LLP law firm. From time to time, various McGuireWoods lawyers provide non-legal services to MWC clients, but MWC cannot provide legal services or advice. Therefore, any work MWC performs for a client does not give rise to an attorney-client relationship or privilege. Should you require legal services from McGuireWoods, as well as consulting services from MWC, you must engage the law firm separately.

Experience

  • Provided government relations and lobbying services to the City of Lynchburg (Va.) in successfully obtaining $25 million state appropriation of American Rescue Act Plan funds to support combined sewer overflow projects.
  • Provided government relations and lobbying services to Alexandria Renew Enterprises (aka, Alexandria Virginia Sanitation Authority) in successfully obtaining $50 million state appropriation of American Rescue Act Plan funds to support combined sewer overflow project.
  • Provides government relations and lobbying services to the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, focusing on legislative and appropriations support for 27 private non-profit colleges and universities.
  • Provides government relations and lobbying services to the Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies.
  • Provides government relations and lobbying services to the Virginia Municipal Drinking Water Association.
  • Provides government relations, regulatory advising, and lobbying services to Fairfax County (Va.) Water Authority.
  • Provides legislative services to the Virginia Resources Authority, an independent state financing agency supporting local government infrastructure projects.
  • Provided mediation services in August-November 2017 to Virginia Governor’s Office and Department of Environmental Quality on rulemaking among energy, environmental, industrial, and local government stakeholders for proposed carbon-trading regulations and Virginia possibly joining the nine-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
  • Provided government relations, regulatory advising, and negotiation
    support over a two-year period to E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company in a
    $50 million Natural Resources Damages Act settlement with the Commonwealth
    of Virginia and the U.S. Department of Interior on legacy mercury
    contamination of more than 100 miles of rivers. This was the largest NRDA
    settlement in Virginia history and the eighth-largest in the nation.
  • Provided government relations consulting services to Duke Energy in
    Virginia on matters relating to its 2014 coal ash spill in the Dan River.
  • Provide ongoing government relations services to Virginia Commonwealth
    University before the Governor’s Office and General Assembly.
  • Provided consulting services to HDR Engineering (and to the Hampton Roads
    Planning District Commission) on a year-long feasibility study on
    wastewater collection system consolidation of some 15 local governments;
    consulting team identified potential savings of more than $900 million over
    30 years.
  • Provide ongoing government relations and regulatory advisory services to
    James City Service Authority before the General Assembly and state
    regulatory agencies on groundwater and surface water permitting, including
    for a potential new $130 million water treatment facility.
  • Provided Virginia and federal government relations and regulatory
    advising to Hampton Roads (Va.) Sanitation District on a proposed $1.2
    billion, 120 MGD Potomac Aquifer injection/recharge project that also may
    reduce wastewater discharge into surface waters by some 90 percent.
    Represented HRSD before the General Assembly, Governor’s Office, and state
    regulatory agencies.
  • Provided government relations and regulatory permitting consulting
    services to Apex Clean Energy for Virginia’s first utility-scale wind power
    generation project (85 MW, up to 25 turbines).
  • Provided government relations consulting services to a major East Coast
    cell tower developer; successfully sited on government-owned property more
    than a dozen towers in Virginia localities; included private-to-public
    revenue sharing agreements.
  • Provided representation to Virginia Municipal League before the General
    Assembly and Governor’s Office on environmental legislative and policy
    matters.
  • Provide ongoing government relations and environmental policy consulting
    services to a major environmental consulting firm on public-private
    partnerships to design and construct municipal stormwater infrastructure.
  • Provide ongoing government relations and legislative advisory services to
    the Virginia Water and Waste Authorities Association, comprised of more
    than 40 water, wastewater, and stormwater public service authorities.
  • Provide ongoing government relations consulting services to Hampton Roads
    (Va.) Planning District Commission (comprised of 16 local governments),
    focusing on stormwater and other environmental matters.
  • Provide government relations and advisory services to a major developer
    on federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits on a $175 million
    residential and commercial development in Fairfax County, Va.
  • Provide ongoing general government relations and strategic advisory
    services to the Virginia Resources Authority, a state financing entity to
    local governments for infrastructure projects.
  • Provided government relations and economic development incentives
    negotiations consulting services to Vireol Bio Energy, establishing the
    largest ethanol manufacturing facility on the East Coast; secured nearly $5
    million in state and local economic development support.
  • Provided government relations and environmental policy consulting
    services to the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond
    (Va.) on a potential new minor league baseball stadium in downtown
    Richmond.
  • Provided strategic advice to a major national bank on federal and state
    environmental policy (in six states) regarding coal mining operations,
    focusing on the Clean Water Act.
  • Provided government relations and environmental policy consulting
    services to Columbia Gas of Maryland (NiSource) on the design and
    construction of an approximately 25-mile natural gas transmission line in
    Maryland.
  • Provided government relations consulting services and assisted in
    economic development incentives negotiations to Lumber Liquidators for a
    new distribution center in Henrico County, Va.
  • Provided government relations services to Louisa County (Va.) Water
    Authority in securing a $1.6 million state grant for a wastewater treatment
    facility expansion.