John Fortuna is an associate in King & Spalding’s Tort & Environmental Litigation Practice Group. He has a general environmental practice with a focus on water law and water resources. He also has substantial experience with the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, permitting under the Georgia Coastal Marshlands Protection Act, and in complex litigation involving air quality permits issued under the Georgia Air Quality Act and the federal Clean Air Act.
Mr. Fortuna served as a law clerk to Judge Beverly B. Martin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and to Judge Richard W. Story in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Before becoming an attorney, Mr. Fortuna was a research biologist focusing on marine fisheries management, biophysical oceanography, and coral reef ecology. He has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed scientific articles, technical papers and a book chapter, and his research has been presented at numerous scientific meetings.
Memberships
- American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
- State Bar of Georgia, Environmental Law Section
- Editor, Georgia Environmental Law Section Newsletter
- Atlanta Bar Association
Selected Publications & Presentations
- The Hidden Costs of New Federal Air Quality Regulations: Information Collection Requests and What You Can Do About Them. The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. 2011.
- State of Florida and Others Sue to Block EPA Rule Setting Numeric Nutrient Limits under the Clean Water Act. Eastern Water Law & Policy Reporter. 2011.
- The Litigation Alternative: Allocation of Water Resources in the Courts, North Carolina Water Conference, Raleigh, NC. 2009.
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Issues Legal Analysis Concluding It Has Authority to Meet the Water Supply Needs of Metropolitan Atlanta. Eastern Water Law & Policy Reporter. 2009.
- Coastal Permitting in Georgia, Southeast Water and Wetlands Conference. Atlanta, GA. 2009.
- Eleventh Circuit Rules State Penalty Action Does Not Bar Citizen Suit Under Clean Water Act, Eastern Water Law & Policy Reporter. 2009.
- Obama's EPA: Changing The Regulatory Environment. Law360. 2009.
- Eleventh Circuit Affirms U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion on Corps’ Everglades Operations—Rejects Habitat-Based Incidental Take Statement. Eastern Water Law & Policy Reporter. 2009.
- Internal US EPA Memo details Clean Water Act Enforcement Problems: Congress Asks Questions. Eastern Water Law & Policy Reporter. 2008.
- Water Resources in Georgia in a Time of Drought: Availability, Management, Storage and Conservation, King & Spalding Seminar Series. 2008.
- Army Corps of Engineers Proposes Changes to Interim Operating Plans for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Reservoirs. Eastern Water Law & Policy Reporter. 2008
- EPA Exercises Veto Authority Under the Clean Water Act: Kills Controversial “Yazoo Pumps Project” in the Mississippi Delta, Eastern Water Law & Policy Reporter. 2008
- Water Rights, Public Resources, and Private Commodities: Examining the Current and Future Law Governing the Allocation of Georgia Water, 38 Ga. L. Rev. 1009(2004).
