Jonas serves as Deputy Chair of B&D’s Natural Resources and Project Development (NRPD) Group, including its Endangered Species Act (ESA), NEPA, and Wetlands Practice. He has experience avoiding and mitigating triggers that may delay a project’s completion or increase litigation exposure.  Project development regulatory triggers are ever-evolving. Under the ESA, the listing of a single species could create new obligations and liabilities for large regions of the country. As part of the B&D NRPD team, Jonas tracks these developments and minimizes foreseeable client setbacks. 

Jonas has both administrative and civil litigation experience, working to advance business and industry interests. He has challenged unlawful regulations and defended permits from environmental NGO opposition on behalf of various industry sectors.

Jonas’ experience includes:

• Serving as the lead species associate for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a $7.2 billion pipeline where B&D served as lead regulatory counsel for ESA compliance.
• Advising nine of the world’s top tire manufacturers and distributors in a novel ESA citizen suit alleging unauthorized take of 24 salmonid species across the western U.S.
• Serving as the lead associate defending a leading biomedical company against a citizen suit alleging unauthorized take of protected species from endotoxin test production which is critical to maintaining global supply of medical injectables.
• Advising Fortune 500 telecommunications companies on NEPA, ESA, NHPA, MBTA, and CWA compliance.
• Representing Fortune 500 natural resources companies challenging royalty demands before the Office of Natural Resources Revenue and the Interior Board of Land Appeals.

Before joining Beveridge & Diamond, Jonas served as an Attorney-Advisor for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Chief Counsel, where he counseled Federal agencies on Pipeline Safety Act enforcement actions. He was also a natural resources associate with a boutique environmental firm, where he counseled various private, government, and investment clients on development and water issues in the Pacific Northwest.

Jonas is an active associate within Beveridge & Diamond, serving as co-chair of the firm’s Associates Committee. He also maintains a steady pro bono practice involving immigration and renewable energy project development.