Mr. Scott Porter

Scott Porter is a Kentucky native who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Cincinnati in 1981 and his law degree from Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 1988.  Upon passing the bar exam, Scott began a career in public service as an attorney with the then Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet where he handled cases involving water, air, solid and hazardous waste and coal mining violations.  In 1994, he was hired by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office where he handled civil and criminal environmental litigation and served as General Counsel for the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.  While representing Fish and Wildlife, he successfully resolved two of the largest fish kill cases in Kentucky (the Wild Turkey bourbon fire and the Martin County coal spill).  In addition to litigating on behalf of the Department, Scott played a key role in the historic elk re-introduction and black bear restoration programs negotiating leases and drafting enabling and protective regulations for these initiatives as well as all of the Department’s regulatory programs.  After leaving state government in 2008, Scott served as Deputy General Counsel for the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District overseeing the compliance efforts required by a federal consent decree and MSD’s state-regulatory permits along with handling property, contract and zoning cases and issues.  From 2018-2020, Scott was in private practice with the Vaughn Petitt Legal Group and provided representation and defense for county and city officers, employees, agencies, departments and other public officials.  Subsequently, Scott returned to Fish and Wildlife in 2020 and assumed the role of Legal Staff Supervisor.  In this position, Scott continued to litigate on behalf of the Department and its employees but primarily was responsible for providing legal representation to the Stream and Wetland Mitigation program and assisting the Department with all property related issues including management and acquisitions. This culminated with the acquisition of the 54,000-acre Cumberland Forest conservation easement in 2023, which is the largest in Kentucky history.

Throughout his career, Scott has represented public interests and concerns in environmental, conservation and social issues and has had the opportunity to work with many public interest groups, non-profit organizations, local and state government agencies and the legislature in the formulation and implementation of public policy.  Scott and his wife Sherry live in Louisville and they are members of St. Bernadette Parish where he is member of the Bishop Flaget Council of the Knights of Columbus. They have two sons, Logan and Lucas, who attended and graduated from St. Mary and Trinty and a daughter, Maddie, who also attended St. Mary and graduated from Assumption.