Robert J. Brundage
Environmental and Agriculture Attorney
Practice Areas
Environmental Law
Agricultural Law
Mr. Brundage has represented clients on a wide variety of matters including litigation, administrative law, permitting, and land use issues. He represents clients in matters before the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His clients include industrial, municipal, and agricultural clients who require guidance on environmental compliance, litigation, permitting, and lobbying the MDNR, the MDA, and the General Assembly. Mr. Brundage also represents clients under enforcement by MDNR, EPA, MDA and citizens’ lawsuits enforcing federal environmental laws.
Expertise
Mr. Brundage formerly served as in-house environmental counsel for Smithfield Hog Production (formerly Premium Standard Farms). As counsel to the nation’s largest pork producer, he represented the company in matters ranging from EPCRA/CERCLA reporting, to water and air permitting matters, to environmental litigation.
Mr. Brundage has been intimately involved in the Missouri Clean Water Commission and the Missouri Air Conservation Commission rulemaking process. He attends Clean Water Commission and Air Conservation Commission meetings to monitor rulemakings and policies which affect his clients and provides regulatory comments during this process.
He has handled matters before the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals, and before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the EPA’s rulemaking actions.
Mr. Brundage serves as counsel to the Missouri Agribusiness Association, Missouri Pork Association, and Missouri Cattlemen’s Association where he lobbies for environmental and agricultural laws and regulations favorable to Missouri agribusiness and the livestock industry. He also represents the grain and agrichemical industry in permitting and enforcement actions affecting grain handling and agrichemical facilities.
Experienced
From 1987 through 1994, he served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Environmental Division of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office where he handled both civil and administrative litigation matters. He prosecuted civil enforcement actions before circuit courts all over the state. These matters involved enforcement of Missouri’s Hazardous Waste Management Law, Solid Waste Management Law, Clean Water Law, Air Conservation Law, Dam and Reservoir Safety Law, and Public Drinking Water Law.
As an Assistant Attorney General, a sizeable part of his practice consisted of administrative work before various environmental commissions and councils. For instance, he handled numerous appeals of NPDES operating and storm water permits, air construction permits, solid waste management permits, and RCRA Part B permits. In addition to permit litigation, he litigated appeals of administrative orders before various commissions. He served as General Counsel to the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Commission, the Missouri State Soil and Water Districts Commission and the Missouri Dam & Reservoir Safety Council. He also served as Assistant General Counsel to the Missouri Clean Water Commission and the Missouri Land Reclamation Commission.
Representative Cases
- Trenton Farms Re, LLC v. Hickory Neighbors United, Inc., 603 S.W.3d 286 (Mo. 2020)
- Friends of Responsible Agriculture v. Bennett, 542 S.W.3d 345 (2017)
- Board of Directors of Richland Township. v. Kenoma, LLC, 284 S.W.3d 672 (2009)
- Missouri, 1986
- U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri, 1989
- U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1998
- University of Missouri Columbia School of Law, Columbia, Missouri
- J.D. – 1986, University of Missouri – Columbia, Columbia, Missouri
- B.S. – 1983
- Honors: cum laude
- Major: Fisheries and Wildlife Management
- Missouri Bar Association, Chair, Environmental and Energy Law Committee, 2005 to 2009
- Missouri Bar Association, Member, Environmental and Energy Law Committee, 2010 to Present
- Conservation Federation of Missouri, Board of Directors, 1990 – 2002, 2010 – Present
- American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
- Cole County Bar Association
- American Agricultural Law Association
- Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity, Justice, 1985 to 1986
- Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity, Treasurer, 1983 to 1984
- Nelson Jackson, Assistant General Counsel, Simmons Foods, Inc.
- Jewell Patek, Jewell Patek & Associates
- Steve Taylor, President, Missouri Agribusiness Association
- Blake Boxley, EHS Manager, Smithfield Hog Production
- Mark Yingling, Retired, VP Environmental, The Doe Run Company
- Water Permit Appeals – Common Pitfalls, REG Form Water Seminar
- Environmental Legislation, Missouri Bar Association Environmental Committee meeting, Jefferson City
- EPA Rulemaking – Waters of the U.S., Environmental Conference Lake Ozarks
- Forest Products Legal Challenges – When Should You Consult an Attorney, Mo Forest Products Association
- Flow Regimes for Missouri Stream Systems Policy, Missouri Water Seminar
- TMDLs — Heading Into Uncharted Waters, Midwest Region Environmental Conference, Kansas City
- Emerging Issues from Existing Water Regulations, Region VII Environmental Symposium, Kansas City
- Environmental Laws on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations – Water Issues, The Seminar Group, Kansas City
- Air Permitting for Grain Handling Facilities, Show-Me Ag Classic
- Permitting and Regulation of Agrichemical Facilities, Show-Me Ag Classic
- Newman, Comley & Ruth, P.C., Associate Attorney, 1998 to 1999, 2003 to 2021
- Premium Standard Farms, Inc., Princeton, Missouri, Assistant General Counsel for Environmental Affairs, 1999 to 2003
- Missouri Agribusiness Association, Jefferson City, Missouri, General Counsel and Director of Environmental Affairs, 1995 to 1998
- The Law Office of Robert J. Brundage, Jefferson City, Missouri, 1994 to 1998
- Office of the Attorney General, Jefferson City, Missouri, Assistant Attorney General, Environmental Unit, 1987 to 1994