Ms. Carter serves as A native of Pennsylvania, she holds a Master of Science degree in Geological Sciences from Lehigh University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology/Environmental Science (double major) from Allegheny College. Over the course of her 30+-year career in the private and public sectors, she has conducted technical studies involving water-rock interactions and the aqueous geochemistry of surface and ground waters, oil and gas exploration and development, storage reservoir characterization, and most notably, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) opportunities in the Appalachian basin and greater Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. Ms. Carter joined PAGS in 2001 as a petroleum geologist and was a founding member of Pennsylvania’s participation in the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP). From 2003 to 2019, she was involved with every MRCSP phase and task, culminating in her work as the state’s Primary Investigator for the MRCSP Phase III Project efforts. She has also served as Pennsylvania’s Primary Investigator for the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Offshore Carbon Storage Resource Assessment Project (2016-2018) and the Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative Project (MRCI; 2019-present). Ms. Carter served as Project Manager for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)’s Carbon Sequestration Technical Assessment Project in 2008-2009, preparing a statewide assessment of geologic carbon sequestration opportunities for the sedimentary rocks of western and northern Pennsylvania. In addition, she has led Pennsylvania’s CCUS Inter-Agency Work Group, which was established in 2019 and offers industry and stakeholders streamlined access to the technical, regulatory and economic agency professionals committed to supporting emerging CCUS projects and the commonwealth’s climate mitigation goals. Most recently, Ms. Carter was appointed as a member of the Biden-Harris Administration’s CCUS Non-Federal Lands Task Force, where she is working with technical professionals across the country to identify challenges associated with implementing CCUS projects, improve the performance of permitting processes and provide recommendations to the Council on Environmental Quality and the Secretary of Energy on these matters.

Attorney Daniel attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in Philosophy/Pre-law in 2000. Immediately afterwards he attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he obtained a Juris Doctor in 2003, and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar that same year. He is admitted to practice law in all courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Attorney Daniel has a wide range of legal experience, but he has an emphasis in litigation and representing his clients in the courtroom. He has extensive experience in litigating claims of real estate disputes involving gas and oil leases and rights, boundaries, and use of easements; breach of contract and commercial disputes; challenging wills, estate and trusts plans and administration; and election law claims involving ballot access and campaign finance audits. Attorney Daniel has argued multiple cases in front of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Law 360, a nationwide legal news service, has interviewed him and covered his legal work involving reconciling the competing rights of natural gas and coal producers to operate in the same area. Attorney Daniel served as chair of the Indiana County Republican party for eight years, and was a publically elected member of the Pennsylvania State Republican Committee for four more. In 2020, Governor Tom Wolf nominated, and the Pennsylvania Senate confirmed, him to Pennsylvania’s Election Law Advisory Board, a public board created under Act 77 to review and advise the Pennsylvania Legislature on changes to Pennsylvania’s Election Law. Attorney Daniel has been quoted in USA Today and statewide newspapers for his insight into Pennsylvania elections and politics.

Mr. Libuser concentrates his practice on appellate law and complex commercial litigation. Based in Harrisburg, Pa., he represents clients in state and federal trial courts, with a particular emphasis on cases before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He also represents businesses, trade associations, and other clients in state and federal appellate courts. Mr. Libuser earned his B.A. degree, with honors, from Stony Brook University, and his J.D. degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Mr. Mazzocco’s practice focuses on environmental and complex commercial litigation. His environmental litigation experience includes representing businesses in environmental cost recovery cases and federal, state, and local environmental regulatory matters, including large-scale citizen suits and environmental class action cases. Mr. Mazzocco has extensive experience representing clients in trials and hearings in federal and state courts, as well as before administrative bodies and arbitration panels. His complex commercial litigation experience includes representing clients in a wide variety of matters, including toxic tort actions, contract and lease disputes, unfair trade practices claims, shareholder disputes, and personal injury claims. Mr. Mazzocco earned his B.A. in English and a minor in Chemistry, cum laude, from Gettysburg College and his J.D. degree from Duquesne University School of Law.

Ms. Puhnaty assists clients with matters encompassing a broad range of environmental issues, including those related to state and federal permitting, regulatory compliance, and environmental litigation. She devotes a significant portion of her practice to advising clients on issues arising under the Clean Air Act and related state programs regulating air emissions. Ms. Puhnaty handles air permitting matters and appeals and helps clients facing federal and state enforcement actions. Her practice also involves counseling clients on a variety of federal and state regulatory issues related to both coal and noncoal mining operations. Ms. Puhnaty earned her B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Pittsbrugh and her J.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Mr. Whitaker combines expertise in administrative law with extensive litigation, trial and appellate experience. He is the only person to have been appointed chief counsel to both Pennsylvania resource agencies, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. During his nearly 28 years of Commonwealth service, Mr. Whitaker litigated and argued complex cases at trial and on appeal before administrative tribunals and state and federal courts, prosecuted selected criminal matters as a special deputy attorney general, and developed expertise in the defense of Section 1983 actions and in regulatory takings. He currently focuses on appellate and original jurisdiction practice in Pennsylvania and in selected federal courts, using his extensive knowledge of government and the courts to offer sound advice, creative solutions and effective strategies. Mr. Whitaker is a past president of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and a past chair of PBA’s Administrative Law Section. He frequently serves as a planner and faculty member in CLE programs related to administrative law and appellate practice. Mr. Whitaker was law clerk to Joseph T. Doyle, president judge of the Commonwealth Court, as well as Commonwealth Court Judges Bonnie Leadbetter and Renee Cohn Jubelirer. He received his J.D. degree from the Dickinson School of Law and his B.S. degree from the Pennsylvania State University.