Jennifer J. Cave

Jennifer J. Cave


Stites & Harbison, PLLC

Recognized since 2017

Louisville, Kentucky

Practice Areas

Environmental Law

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2020 - Environmental Law
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Jennifer Cave has over 20 years of experience working as an environmental consultant and attorney across the United States. Serving as Chair of the firm's Environmental, Energy & Sustainability Service Group, she works closely with businesses to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations. Ms. Cave advises clients on air quality, storm water, wastewater, and solid and hazardous waste permitting and compliance requirements and defends clients in administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement actions. Ms. Cave also regularly counsels equipment manufacturers on the importation and sale of mobile sources under the Clean Air Act and guides clients through transactions involving the purchase and sale of contaminated properties.

Recent Assignments

  • Negotiated a coverage settlement on behalf of an excess insurance carrier in a matter involving claims made in connection with contaminated sediments at the Portland Harbor Superfund site.
  • Conducted a Clean Air Act audit and negotiated penalty amnesty with state air agency for a large, coal-fired power plant.
  • Obtained hardship relief from U.S. EPA for a manufacturer of non-road equipment following supply chain shortages of compliant engines resulting from the 2011 tsunami in Japan.
  • Evaluated state and local air permitting requirements for a nationwide product recall by a Japanese automotive manufacturer.
  • Prepared a combined PSD/Title V Permit Application for a proposed coal-fired power plant.
  • Counseled museum with respect to assessment for possible toxic mold growth inside museum building.
  • Defended a major oil company against CERCLA liability in federal court relating to an accidental release of product from a rail car.
  • Advised telecommunications company regarding state air permitting requirements for emergency generators at cell tower sites.
  • Defended an insurance company in coverage action resulting from the release of radioactive materials into a city sewer system by a manufacturer of aircraft engine parts.
  • Advised client with respect to assessment, remediation, and potential sale of a former electric transformer manufacturing facility.

Recent News, Articles & Speaking Engagements

  • Jennifer Cave appointed to chair Stites & Harbison’s Environmental, Energy & Sustainability Service Group, by editor, The Lane Report, February 9, 2024
  • Jennifer Cave Appointed Chair of Stites & Harbison’s Environmental, Energy & Sustainability Service Group, by editor, Attorney At Law Magazine, February 8, 2024
  • People on the Move: Jennifer J. Cave, by editor, Louisville Business First, February 9, 2024
  • Kentucky Begins Implementation and Possible Expansion of Medical Cannabis Program, Stites & Harbison Client Alert, January 9, 2024
  • EPA Finalizes Long-Awaited PFAS Reporting Rule, Stites & Harbison Client Alert, October 10, 2023
  • Responding to Environmental Conditions Resulting from Recent Tornadoes, Floods, and Lightning Strikes (It Can Happen to You too….), co-speaker, 26th Annual Kentucky Environmental Permitting and Reporting Conference, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, August 9-10, 2023
  • A Vapor Mitigation Case Study Under the Brownfields Redevelopment Program, co-speaker, 26th Annual Kentucky Environmental Permitting and Reporting Conference, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, August 9-10, 2023
  • Kentucky Becomes 38th State to Legalize the Use of Medical Cannabis, Stites & Harbison Client Alert, April 3, 2023
  • Latest Trends in Inspections, Enforcement, and EJ, Speaker, 21st Annual Kentucky Environmental Conference, Lexington, KY, March 9-10, 2023
  • Vapor Mitigation Case Study, co-speaker, 2022 Kentucky Commercial Real Estate Conference, October 18, 2022
  • Beshear announces 17 members of Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee, by staff writer, Northern Kentucky Tribune, June 15, 2022
  • Gov. Beshear names members of Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee, by staff reporter, The Lane Report, June 14, 2022
  • Permitted Vices: Ordinary and Extraordinary Requirements for Expanding Industries, Panelist, Virtual SEER 28th Fall Conference: Webinar Series, American Bar Association, October 21, 2020
  • 20 People to Know in Law, Louisville Business First, May 11, 2020
  • Four Important Environmental Law Changes Since You’ve Been Home, with W. Blaine Early III, William T. Gorton III, Robert C. Moore, Mary Lucille Noah (Mary Lu), and W. Patrick Stallard, Stites & Harbison Client Alert, May 5, 2020
  • Environmental Compliance Considerations for Kentucky Businesses in the Wake of COVID-19, Stites & Harbison Client Alert, March 31,2020
  • EPA Suspends Enforcement Activities at Regulated Entities Impacted by COVID-19, Stites & Harbison Client Alert, March 27, 2020
  • New and Emerging Issues: Chemical Regulatory Developments, U.S. EPA's Implementation of the Amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and Coping with California Proposition 65, 29th Annual Business & Industry's Sustainability & Environmental, Health and Safety Symposium, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 24-25, 2020
  • Information You Need on the COVID-19 Coronavirus, Stites & Harbison, PLLC, March 2020
  • Expansions and New Facilities - Permit Planning and Strategies to Stay on Track, 22nd Annual Kentucky Environmental Permitting and Reporting Conference, Kentucky Chamber, Lexington, KY, August 14-15, 2019
  • Odors - Air Quality Issues Beyond the Four Corners of Your Permit, 22nd Annual Kentucky Environmental Permitting and Reporting Conference, Kentucky Chamber, Lexington, KY, August 14-15, 2019
  • Best Practices to Avoid Environmental Enforcement in an U.S. EPA Era of Power Rebalance, 28th Annual Business & Industry's Sustainability & Environmental, Health and Safety Symposium, Cincinnati, OH, March 26, 2019
  • Environmental Enforcement - What You Need to Know in 2019, 17th Annual Kentucky Environmental Conference, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Lexington, KY, March 14-15, 2019
  • The X Factor . . . Pathways to Plant Security in the New Millennium, 27th Annual Business and Industry's Sustainability and Environmental, Health & Safety Symposium, Cincinnati, OH, March 27-28, 2018
  • Caveat Emptor? Strategies to Avoid Environmental Enforcement in a New U.S. EPA Era, 27th Annual Business and Industry's Sustainability and Environmental, Health & Safety Symposium, Cincinnati, OH, March 27-28, 2018
  • Developments in Federal and Kentucky Environmental Law, Engineering Law and Ethics, HalfMoon Seminars, Lexington, KY, January 18, 2018

Community Involvement

  • Kentucky Horse Park Commission (2023-27)
  • Greater Louisville, Inc., Environment and Energy Committee, Chair
  • Greater Louisville, Inc., Public Policy Committee
  • Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Board (2022-present)
  • Louisville Regional Science and Engineering Fair, Vice President of Legal & Business Affairs (2018-21)
  • Kentucky Air and Waste Management Association, Board of Directors
  • Louisville Air Pollution Control District Multi-Pollutant Stakeholder Group
  • Women Environmental Leaders of Louisville (WELL), Co-Founder
  • Leadership Louisville, Class of 2019

More Than Stites & Harbison

Ms. Cave joined the firm after working as an environmental consultant specializing in due diligence investigations and hazardous waste compliance in New England and the Pacific Northwest. In the past, Ms. Cave has served on the Board of Directors of the Lexington Humane Society, the Louisville Energy Alliance, and the KMAC Museum and the Steering Committee of Leadership Lexington. In 2017, she co-founded Women Environmental Leaders of Louisville (WELL), a networking group of over 100 women working in the environmental, health and safety, and sustainability fields in Louisville. Ms. Cave is an avid horsewoman who enjoys competing in the sport of eventing. She also assists her two rescue dogs, Mason and Malcolm, with managing the family farm in Shelby County.

Contact & Links
Location
  • 400 West Market Street, Suite 1800
    Louisville, KY 40202-3352
Education
  • Seattle University, J.D., magna cum laude, graduated 2004
  • University of Kentucky, B.S., Biology, cum laude, graduated 1997
Bar Admissions
  • Kentucky, United States
  • Washington, United States
Affiliations
  • Kentucky Bar Association - Environmental, Energy, and Resources Law Section, Past Chair
  • Louisville Bar Association - Member
  • Air & Waste Management Association - Member
Court Admissions
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
Regulatory Agencies
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Office of General Counsel

Stites & Harbison, PLLC
Headquarters: Louisville, Kentucky

99 The Best Lawyers in America® awards

27 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America awards

Best Law Firms Badge Visit Website View Firm Profile

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2020 - Environmental Law
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
  • Environmental Law, Louisville (2020)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024 for work in:
  • Environmental Law
Special Focus:
  • COVID-19
Awards:
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent Peer Review Rated
  • ChambersUSA, "America's Leading Lawyers for Business," Environment, Natural Resources & Utilities: Environment (2021-present)

  • The Women We Admire, Top 100 Women Leaders in Law of 2021

  • Business First of Louisville, 20 People to Know in Law (2020)

  • Kentucky Super Lawyers, Rising Star (2013-16)
  • Leadership Lexington Distinguished Leader Award (2013)
Additional Areas of Practice:
  • Energy Regulatory Law
  • Administrative / Regulatory Law
  • Litigation - Environmental
  • Energy Law

Publications

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