Bill Lane serves as the Deputy Secretary for Policy and Legal Affairs/General Counsel. His responsibilities include strategic policy initiatives at the Department level and oversight of the Divisions of Coastal Management and Marine Fisheries and legal matters for the agency. He joined DEQ as general counsel in February 2017.
Lane is often the first point of contact in litigation, acting as the service agent for all contested cases, tort claims, and other lawsuits involving the department. He supervises the rulemaking coordination process and provides advice on new policy initiatives, legislation, contracts, conflicts of interest, and dispute resolution.
Prior to joining DEQ, Lane worked for Kilpatrick, Townsend, and Stockton in Raleigh, where he represented many business and governmental clients on issues related to energy, air quality, waste management, and water quality. Lane is known as a team-oriented counselor with substantial experience in environmental regulatory programs administered by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Lane earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.