Spotlighting T 16 ENVIRONMENTALLY
SPEAKING Vincent M. Gonzales BY PATRICK FOLLIARD
California is widely known for its bold environmental policies, and rightfully so. For decades, the southern part of the state has been subject to the strictest air regulations in the country.
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his same carefully monitored region with its millions of residents is served by the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), requiring the 140-year- old utility to keep abreast of ever changing compliance and regulatory issues. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas (a wholly owned subsidiary of Sempra Energy) is the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility, provid- ing service to 20.9 million consumers connected through nearly 5.8 million
meters in more than 500 communities. “In addition to bringing gas to California and serving millions of custom- ers,” says Hector Madariaga, director of environmental affairs at SoCalGas, “we are heavily involved in looking at air quality regulations at every level, particularly those that impact customers. Meeting standards is a real chal- lenge. A lot of pollutants come from transportation, and there are strict controls on burning natural gas. “My group’s role is to look ahead and get involved
with regulatory air quality planning and proposed regulations,” continues Madariaga. “Because of the complexity of the regulatory issues and need to under- stand compliance we rely heavily on our air quality attorney and expert Vincent Gonzales. He’s tenacious on issues and is able to see the overall picture. He has a deep understanding of how things work. His counsel is invaluable to the company.” In a phone call from his downtown Los Angeles office, Gonzales acknowledges the complexity of the job, and explains the rigors of his practice area: “If you think tax law is esoteric, try read- ing environmental regulations. It has ten times as many acronyms, and involves more layers of regulation—fed- eral, state, and regional. Few environmental lawyers file lawsuits, he adds. “Mostly what we do is try to explain rules and regulations to their clients. We’re sort of like interpreters.” Gonzales stresses that most companies want to comply but do not always comprehend what that requires. “Compliance is constantly evolving. Environmental law involves an element of translation.” A fondness for the arcane did not draw Gonzales to envi-
ronmental law. It happened over time, somewhat by chance. He got his start as an associate in O’Melveny &
Myers’ Los Angeles office where he worked mostly on corporate transactions. Looking back, he says, “Almost instantly I felt the firm track wasn’t for me. I had doubts that I’d ever make partner. Still, I worked hard and did my best to make the most of it.” At the firm, Gonzales typically assisted a partner and
senior associate with transactions and by default became responsible for all the environmental issues related to the work. When there was a transaction involving facilities
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