Pittsburgh Environmental Attorney Mary Martha Truschel to Receive PBA Environmental and Energy Law Section Lifetime Achievement Award

HARRISBURG (March 25, 2021) — Pittsburgh environmental attorney Mary Martha Truschel will be honored with the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Environmental and Energy Law Section Lifetime Achievement Award during the virtual Environmental Law Forum,  April 21-22.

The award honors contributions made to the section and general efforts that enhance the development, improvement and furtherance of the practice of environmental law that benefit the community or represent outstanding personal achievement.

Having recently retired, Truschel served as a lawyer at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for her entire 33-year career. In that role, she counseled and represented all of the department’s programs, including mining and miner safety, water law, oil and gas development, emergency response and safe drinking water.

Truschel is described by her colleagues as showing an “unequaled dedication to the practice of law... embracing a larger mission of protecting the natural resources and the public health and safety, strengthening and clarifying the law, and solving some of the most protracted and difficult environmental dilemmas.”

One example of her dedication is that throughout her 15 years of counseling the Deep Mine Safety Program, Truschel arrived at the site of every underground mining accident involving a fatality within a few hours of notification, no matter the day, time or location of the mine.

Truschel tried cases before the Environmental Hearing Board and Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, and argued five cases before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Truschel is a graduate of Allegheny College and the Dickinson School of Law. 

Offering up to 12 CLE credits, the virtual Environmental Law Forum will feature workshops on a variety of timely topics, including NGO litigation; practical considerations for PFAS; Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, major new federal and state legal issues in a Biden administration, Clean Water Act; and more. For more information, visit https://www.pbi.org/Meetings/Meeting.aspx?ID=39411.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access of legal services; and serve the lawyer members of the state's largest organized bar association.