Edward V.A. Kussy

Edward Kussy has unparalleled legal experience in the areas of highway transportation law and environmental law, with a national reputation in both fields. He spent nearly four decades in the public sector, most recently at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as the deputy chief counsel – the agency's top career lawyer.

Mr. Kussy has been instrumental in directing national transportation policy and funding decisions. He was a key participant in the drafting and implementation of the laws that currently govern the federal aid highway program. He has helped develop and implement the innovative federal policies that support public-private partnerships (PPPs), such as the U.S. Department of Transportation's policies on PABs, TIFIA and SEP-15.

Mr. Kussy has extensive expertise in dealing with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other environmental laws applicable to transportation planning and construction. He has worked on hundreds of NEPA cases and other litigation, including several cases that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Kussy's comprehensive understanding of national transportation law and exemplary service have earned him numerous awards including presidential level service awards.

He speaks German fluently.

Representative Work

Implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Advising local governments, state transportation agencies, and other clients about the transportation related provisions in ARRA. Work includes both advising on funding opportunities in the statute and procedural compliance with the law and federal agency requirements.

California, Oregon and Washington Departments of Transportation – Alternative Fuels Corridor. Advising three departments jointly on authorization, including obtaining the necessary approvals from the Federal Highways Administration, for the development and implementation of an alternative fuels corridor along interstate 5 from Baja California to British Columbia.

Georgia Department of Transportation. Providing a variety of services to Georgia's PPP program, including advising on environmental streamlining, NEPA compliance for several projects, and opportunities to create PPPs to operate highway safety rest areas and information centers.

City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii – Honolulu High Capacity Transit Corridor Project. Advising on compliance with federal environmental requirements relating to planning, financing, design, construction, and operation of a new 20-mile elevated rail line.

Village of Oak Park, Illinois. Advising on federal law issues related to implementing various transportation projects in the Village.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Prepared an in depth study of enforcement and toll collection issues associated with implementing an all electronic tolling system.

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Advising on issues related to the enactment of new federal surface transportation legislation and other federal transportation law issues.

Marin County Transportation Authority, California. Provided advice on the applicability of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to campaign of public service messages.

Oregon Department of Transportation. Advised on the applicability of NEPA requirements to a high-speed rail project.

HOV/HOT Lanes. Advising on the applicability of federal highway tolling provisions and federal environmental law to HOV/HOT lane proposals in several states.

Texas Department of Transportation. Advising on a wide array of federal transportation law issues, including transportation planning, eligibility for federal aid highway funding, federal environmental requirements, and other matters.

Lennar Communities/Wilson Meany Sullivan - Treasure Island Community Development. Provided advice regarding the federal highway bridge program that qualified a $100 million ramp project for federal bridge replacement funds eligibility.

ABC Companies. Advised on matters relating to federal vehicle size and weight requirements.

Federal Highway Administration – Deputy Chief Counsel. Served as senior career attorney and frequently served as acting chief counsel from 1989 to 2008 to an agency that administers the $40 billion Federal Aid Highway Program. Prior FHWA positions included deputy and assistant chief counsel for Right of Way and Environmental Law. Worked on the following projects, among others, while Deputy Chief Counsel:

• Intercounty Connector, Montgomery County, Maryland. Worked with top level state and federal transportation officials to develop an approach to project implementation strategy, environmental documentation, and administrative record for the project that resulted in environmental approvals and a successful Federal Court decision. This controversial $ 2.2 billion highway project is now under construction.
• Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Guided the legal work on all phases of the project and contributed substantially to the project's success. Legal work involved myriad complex environmental issues: difficult funding, oversight, and audit issues; right of way acquisition issues; contracting questions, and labor issues. The new, twin span, 12-lane bridge and associated interchanges are among the most complex highway construction projects in the United States. Both bridge spans are now open to traffic, and the whole project was delivered on time and within budget.
• Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel, Boston, Massachusetts ("The Big Dig"). Early legal work on this $15 billion project included overseeing the legal sufficiency review of the environmental documentation and resolving federal funding issues on environmental mitigation features. The project is now completed and has transformed downtown Boston.
• Affirmative Action Civil Rights Litigation. Worked with other senior lawyers at the US DOT, assisted the Office of the Solicitor General in forming the government's position in Adarand Constructors v. Peña, 515 U.S. 200 (1995). Following the Supreme Court's 1995 decision, which resulted in the application of strict scrutiny to federal affirmative action programs, worked to help implement President Clinton's charge to "mend, not end" affirmative action. This effort resulted in five successful U.S. Court of Appeals decisions, as well as a successful outcome in the U.S. Supreme Court when the Adarand case came before the Court again (the Court decided to deny certiorari (that is that Writ of Certiorari was improvidently granted) after the case was argued).
• SEP-15 Oversight. Oversaw and participated in the negotiation, review, and approval of every SEP-15 application filed with FHWA between the inception of SEP-15 in 2003 and my retirement from federal service on 2008.
• Alameda Corridor Loan. Oversaw the federal legal reviews and negotiation of a $400 million loan provided by the US DOT to the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority in 1997. This loan enabled construction of a project that greatly improved rail access to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. The loan was repaid with interest in 2004, a testament to the success of the project.

George Washington University Law School – Professorial Lecturer. Adjunct faculty, teaching environmental law from 1984 to 2000.