Meet John

John Boyd chairs Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Environmental practice group and focuses in the areas of environmental, regulatory, administrative and general corporate law.

John's environmental practice includes permitting, enforcement, due diligence and risk assessment, real estate transactions, environmental audits, voluntary cleanup contracts, brownfield redevelopment and traditional issues surrounding toxic substances, hazardous and solid waste management, air emissions and water quality.

John works in the renewable energy sector, assisting clients on state and federal
incentives, permitting issues, regulatory matters and electric service agreements. He provides advice and counsel on wide array of electric utility matters and appears before the South Carolina Public Service Commission.

EXPERIENCE:

• •  Served as lead environmental counsel for a significant solid waste enforcement matter with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for a global manufacturer that resulted in favorable settlement and remediation plan
• •  Negotiated a responsible party voluntary cleanup contract with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for a facility acquired as part of a 500+ million dollar acquisition  and assisted the client with an administrative settlement compliant with the National Pollution Contingency Plan
• •  Advised a client on the 22-million-dollar purchase of 259 acre heavy industrial site that involved the negotiation and implementation of a non-responsible party voluntary cleanup contract and detailed work plan and remedial measures 
• •  Served as lead environmental counsel for a global manufacturing company in responding to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency request for information related to a Superfund Site near a facility formerly owned by a wholly owned subsidiary
• •  Assisted with environmental and regulatory due diligence on numerous mergers and acquisitions including review and analysis of waste disposal, permit transfer and on-going enforcement actions
• •  Negotiated land purchase options and leases for utility scale solar developments
• •  Advised a municipality named in a Clean Water Act citizen’s suit for alleged stormwater management violations

Prior to joining Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, John worked as an environmental consultant for ICF Consulting in D.C. where he provided regulatory research and support for government agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Federal Aviation Administration, Housing and Urban Development and Department of Justice.

• University of South Carolina, J.D., 2004
• University of Michigan, M.S., 1999
• Sewanee: The University of the South, B.S., 1995

• South Carolina, 2004

• Columbia Business Monthly "Legal Elite of the Midlands" Environmental Law (2019-2021) and Energy and Utilities Law (2019, 2021-2022)
• South Carolina Super Lawyers® “Rising Stars” Environmental 2014
• Southeastern Environmental Law Journal, Associate Editor
• John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court

• Nickelodeon Theatre, immediate past President, Board of Directors
• Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors
• South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, Environmental Technical Committee
• South Carolina Clean Energy Business Alliance, founding Board Member
• City of Columbia Climate Change Commission
• South Carolina Bar, former member of the Environment and Natural Resources Section Council
• South Carolina Biomass Council, former Chair
• Leadership Columbia, Class of 2013
• American Bar Association

• “Site Design & Environmental Planning,” ULI South Carolina – Midlands Development 360 Series, August 6, 2020
• "Property Assessed Clean Energy: Pushing Clean Energy Forward in South Carolina," SC Chamber of Commerce Environmental Energy Forum, June 20, 2017