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J. Wayne Cropp

Of Counsel

J. Wayne Cropp is a member of the Business Department at Baker Donelson with a focus on environmental law, public policy and economic development.

Professional Biography


Wayne is a recognized author and lecturer on air quality, climate change, Superfund and brownfield redevelopment. He is a former chairman of the Tennessee Bar Association's Environmental Law Committee. Wayne also has deep political experience and relationships and brings unique experience on emerging environmental policies and advanced manufacturing initiatives.

J. Wayne Cropp, a member of the Business Department at Baker Donelson, focuses on a full range of environmental law, with extensive experience in new source permitting, air quality, brownfield redevelopment and hazardous waste issues. Mr. Cropp is a recognized author and lecturer on Clean Air Act issues. During his government tenure as Executive Director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau (1979 – 1990), Mr. Cropp developed the implementation strategies that brought worldwide recognition to Chattanooga's environmental initiatives.

Included among his many activities are service on the national level as president of the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO) (1983 – 1984), now known as the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA), and participation in the development of the National Air Toxics Strategy, as codified in the 1990 Clean Air Act, through his tenure as chairman of ALAPCO's Air Toxics Committee (1983 – 1990). He also served as project manager for an International Environmental Research Symposium for the World Health Organization in 1986, and chairman of the Chattanooga Summit in 1996. Mr. Cropp is the former chairman of the Environment Committee for the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association, a position he held for 15 years.

Mr. Cropp is also a member of the Air and Waste Management Association; Section of Environmental, Energy, and Resources Committee of the American Bar Association; and Environmental Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association (chairman, 2004 – 2005). He received the Air Conservationist of the Year Award from the Tennessee Conservation League in 1986.

Professional Honors & Activities

  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Attorney (1978 – 1979) and Executive Director (1979 – 1990) – Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau
  • President – Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO), 1983 – 1984
  • Chairman – ALAPCO's Air Toxics Committee, 1983 – 1990
  • Chairman, Environment Committee – Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association, 1990 – 2005
  • Member – Air and Waste Management Association, 1980 – 2015
  • Chairman – Environmental Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association, 2004 – 2005
  • Chairman – Hamilton County Republican Party, 2003 – 2005
  • Executive Committee Member – Tennessee Republican Party, 1997 – 2002
  • President – Tennessee Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1985 – 1986
  • Legal Counsel – U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1986 – 1987
  • Campaign Chairman – U.S. Congressman Zach Wamp, 3rd District Tennessee, 1996 – 1999
  • Air Conservationist of the Year Award, Tennessee Conservation League, 1986

Admissions

  • Tennessee, 1978
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 1980

Education

  • Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, J.D., 1977
  • Bryan College, B.S., 1974
  • Served as lead environmental counsel for a government agency redeveloping the former Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant (VAAP) as an industrial park, which involved BRAC and RCRA issues.

  • Advised a nationally recognized Tennessee affordable housing group on environmental remediation and the development of Brownfield Voluntary Agreements for multiple sites.

  • Serving as environmental counsel for a nearly $2 billion joint venture in the development and construction of a commercial EV battery cell manufacturing plant in the Southeast.

  • Secured a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) air permit on behalf of one of the largest automotive manufacturers in relation to its $800 million facility expansion.

  • Provided the lead environmental guidance on the initial development of a multibillion-dollar Enterprise South automotive mega-site in Tennessee, which ultimately became the Volkswagen automotive facility in Chattanooga.

  • Developed a comprehensive legal and community relations strategy for the management of radiological material in an environmental justice community, including preparing an application that was supported by a citizen-led Community Action Panel and approved by a government agency.

  • Represented a major oil and gas company in its environmental response and remediation efforts related to a $200 million Tennessee project.

  • Assisted numerous manufacturers and developers in negotiating voluntary cleanup agreements to allow for efficient remediation of Superfund and RCRA sites.

  • Represented a Fortune 500 company in environmental matters related to a $50 million project in an environmental justice community.

  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell (for more than 20 years)
  • Recipient – Corridor Champion Award, Tennessee Valley Corridor, 2016
  • Attorney (1978 – 1979) and Executive Director (1979 – 1990) – Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau
  • President – Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO), 1983 – 1984
  • Chairman – ALAPCO's Air Toxics Committee, 1983 – 1990
  • Chairman, Environment Committee – Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association, 1990 – 2005
  • Member – Air and Waste Management Association, 1980 – 2016
  • Chairman – Environmental Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association, 2004 – 2005
  • Member – American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources; Subcommittees-Nuclear Law Committee and Renewable, Alternative and Distributed Energy Committee
  • President – Tennessee Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1985 – 1986
  • Legal Counsel – U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1986 – 1987
  • Air Conservationist of the Year Award, Tennessee Conservation League, 1986
  • Co-presenter – "From Moonscape to Museum: Transforming and Preserving a Portion of the Copper Basin Superfund Alternative Site," Tennessee Environmental Network Show of the South (May 2025)
  • "Regulatory Analysis and Green Building Trends," Association of Vapor Intrusion Professionals Conference, Nashville, Tennessee (October 2022)
  • "Environmental Stewardship in the Biden Administration," Southern Section, Air and Waste Management Association Annual Meeting (September 2022)
  • "Environmental Stewardship in the Biden Era," Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association (November 2021)
  • "Environmental Phoenix: The Chattanooga Story," Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's Environmental Show of the South (May 2017)
  • "Is the Past Prologue: Environmental Regulation in the New Trump Administration," 84th Annual American Foundry Society's (AFS) Southeastern Regional Conference, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (March 2017)
  • "Implications of EPA's 'Waters of the U.S.' Regulations," Tennessee Association of Manufacturers 2015 Environment, Health & Safety Summit (November 2015)
  • "Recent Developments in Environmental Issues Related to Real Estate Transactions: Environmental Due Diligence and Vapor Intrusion," Chattanooga Bar Association (October 2015)
  • "From Gritty City to Green – Manufacturing Hub," Society of Environmental Journalists 23rd Annual Conference, Chattanooga, Tennessee (October 2013)
  • "Chattanooga: The Gig City – How Chattanooga Because the First City in the Western Hemisphere to Use 1 Gigabit-per-Second Fiber Internet Service to Grow its Economy," University Economic Development Association Summit (October 2012)
  • Keynote Speaker – U.S. Department of Energy Asset Revitalization Workshop (June 2012)
  • Moderator – "Creating a National Model for Energy Innovation and Independence," Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit (May 2011)

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