Member • Co-chair, Energy & Environmental
Scott focuses his practice entirely on environmental law and has done so for over 35 years. He regularly counsels business and industrial clients on all aspects of environmental compliance and sustainability, including permitting, remediation, and compliance auditing. Scott’s experience equips him to offer solution-oriented advice on complex compliance, remediation, and transactional matters.
Scott has extensive experience across all regulatory programs. He regularly counsels clients on clean water, solid waste, air quality, wetlands and encroachments, storage tanks, surface mining, and oil and gas exploration, production, and transportation matters. Scott also provides counsel on the remediation and reuse of environmentally impacted properties. He has been lead counsel on dozens of remediation projects under state land recycling and federal RCRA corrective action matters, ranging from simple to very complex, including large chlorinated solvent and petroleum cleanups. He has considerable experience relating to emerging contaminants, including PFAS and microplastics. Scott works with business and real estate/land use attorneys to address and effectively manage the environmental implications of business and real estate transactions, as well as land use matters ranging from stormwater and wetlands to alleged health impacts of proposed development.
Scott is also a skilled trial attorney who litigates before state and federal courts and administrative hearing boards on matters including defense of compliance actions, permit appeals, and private actions for property damage and remediation. He also regularly defends clients in toxic tort actions alleging personal injury, increased risk of disease, or wrongful death as a result of environmental exposures. Scott is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an exclusive invitation-only honorary society of trial lawyers representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.
Scott brings decades of experience to the energy production and fuel transportation space, as well as renewable energy matters. He has worked on projects as wide-ranging as permitting facilities for reclamation of flowback and produced water from natural gas production using mine-impacted water for makeup water well completion, linear project permitting, compliance, and enforcement matters, wetland and streambank restoration banking, and endangered and threatened species issues.
Scott is also deeply involved with industries that are regularly at the forefront of governmental environmental compliance matters. He represents a large swath of food industry clients, ranging from vegetable and fruit processing to meat and poultry processing to snack food manufacturing. He advises on the management of food processing waste and wastewater, as well as water supply issues. He represents developers of data centers, warehousing and distribution facilities, and other large-scale developments in all environmental matters. He also regularly works with automobile dealerships on business sales and acquisitions, property transactions, and regulatory compliance matters.
Scott has longstanding relationships with regulators at the local, state, regional, and federal levels, and is regularly engaged in matters relating to river basin commissions as well. His broad experience and extensive relationships provide clients with complete and well-rounded advice on all environmental regulatory matters. Scott is also involved in the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Environmental & Energy Law Section, serving on its council for over a decade and as its Chair from 2024 through 2025. Scott is the co-editor of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Environmental Law and Practice treatise.
Scott’s leadership of the environmental practice has led the firm’s Environmental Group to be recognized by Chambers USA as a preeminent environmental practice in Pennsylvania and the United States.
Explore recent thought leadership, news, and other updates.
On April 30, 2026, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Borough of West Chester v. Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, holding that the Borough’s stormwater charge is a tax — not a valid fee for service — and therefore cannot be collected from a state university immune from taxation. The ruling has immediate […]
by Scott Gould, Terry Bossert, Errin McCaulley, Brigid Khuri In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) took two actions regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), or so-called “forever chemicals,” that could have far-ranging implications. Drinking Water Standards First, USEPA established the first enforceable drinking water standards for PFAS chemicals. USEPA established Maximum Contaminant Levels (“MCL”) for […]
by Kevin Sunday – McNees GR, Scott Gould and Errin T. McCaulley, Jr. – McNees Wallace & Nurick The saga over enacting the Pennsylvania state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year has concluded, including some of the most significant permitting changes the state has enacted in years. Among the bills signed on November 12, Governor […]
McNees announces that 46 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Among those honored, seven attorneys have been named “Lawyer of the Year” in their respective practices and regions, the highest distinction the publication offers. In addition, 41 attorneys were named to The Best Lawyers […]
Advises businesses and institutions in energy regulation. Supports complex transactions, renewable energy, regulatory compliance, and market strategies.
Serves large commercial and industrial clients in the Energy and Environmental Law Group. Supports clients with state and federal regulatory and litigation matters.
Represents organizations in environmental and occupational safety and health regulatory matters, including mergers and acquisitions and real estate development.
Guides businesses through environmental regulations, permitting, and land use appeals. Litigates at all levels of Pennsylvania’s judiciary.
