David G. Mandelbaum co-chairs the firm's national environmental practice. He often represents clients faced with problems under the environmental laws that have no conventional solution, or for which the conventional solution would yield an unacceptable result. While he regularly represents clients in lawsuits, he does not restrict his practice to litigation and has helped clients achieve satisfactory outcomes through regulatory negotiation or private transactions. As highlighted below, Mr. Mandelbaum has represented clients in some of the Superfund - particularly contaminated sediment and natural resource damage - matters that the government considers its most significant. He represents natural gas exploration and production companies, midstream providers, and landowner coalitions in connection with development of the Marcellus Shale and other natural gas resources. He regularly handles permit appeals and citizen suits under the water pollution, air pollution, and solid waste laws. He has represented clients in litigation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and several disputes among private parties following failed or unsatisfactory transactions. Mr. Mandelbaum was one of the original appointments to the Pennsylvania Statewide Water Resources Committee, which is responsible for the State Water Plan. He has advised clients in water supply matters, and has appeared before water supply agencies such as the Delaware River Basin Commission. Mr. Mandelbaum teaches Superfund, Climate Change, and Oil and Gas Law in rotation at the Temple Law School. He has taught Land Use Law and Administration to graduate planning students, and he is a regular writer and speaker.
Areas of Concentration
ˇ Air, water, and waste regulation
ˇ Superfund and contamination
ˇ Climate change
ˇ Oil and gas development
ˇ Water rights
Significant Representations
ˇ Represented industrial clients in wastewater, solid waste, and air permitting matters; administrative appeals; and enforcement actions.
ˇ Represents natural gas development clients in litigation over access to publicly owned lands, accidents, regulatory disputes, and neighbor complaints; represents a leading landowner coalition in connection with development of the Delaware River Basin Commission regulation of natural gas development.
ˇ Advised and litigated matters involving application of the National Environmental Policy Act to public projects and approvals of private activities.
ˇ Advised clients on environmental issues presented by hundreds of transactions; litigates misrepresentation, breach of contract, and statutory claims concerning environmental conditions arising after acquisitions and divestitures.
ˇ Advised clients and litigated matters involving environmental aspects of land use, such as public trust, wetlands regulation, erosion control, "sprawl," "environmental justice," and complex urban brownfields.
ˇ Represented clients in prosecuting and defending common law environmental tort actions.
ˇ Served as lead counsel for different industrial clients in two natural resources damages and contaminated sediment remediation matters that the federal government considers among its most significant.
ˇ Represented clients in scores of Superfund matters, including one of the only multigenerator landfill cases to be tried to judgment.
ˇ Advised clients on sustainability and climate change, risk management, and disclosure policies.
ˇ Acted as counsel in numerous matters. Among those resulting in opinions or resolved by judgment or settlements approved by the tribunal are:
- American Electric Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut, No. 10-174 (U.S. June 20, 2011)(on the brief for amicus curiae Business Round Table in public nuisance case by state attorneys general against emitters of greenhouse gases)
- Appleton Papers Inc. v. George A. Whiting Paper Co., No. 2:08-CV-16-WCG (E.D. Wis. summary judgment granted Dec. 16, 2009, and Feb. 28, 2011) (allocation of costs of Superfund response actions and natural resource damages for the Lower Fox River and Green Bay Site in Northeast Wisconsin)
- Sunoco, Inc. (R&M) v. Department of Environmental Protection, No. 2007-237 (Pa. EHB settlement Oct. 9, 2008) (resolution of RCRA and CAA dispute over permit to burn hazardous waste in boiler)*
- Appleton Papers Inc. v. George A. Whiting Paper Co., 572 F. Supp. 2d 1034 (E.D. Wis. 2008) (motion to dismiss in Superfund allocation case)*
- United States v. P.H. Glatfelter Co. ("Lower Fox River and Green Bay OU-1"), No. 2:03-CV-949-LA (E.D. Wis. consent decree entered April 12, 2004 and agreed supplements filed May 7 and Nov. 13, 2007, and amended consent decree entered Aug. 13, 2008)*
- Hanna v. ARE Acquisitions, Inc., 929 A.2d 892 (Md. 2007) (private tort arising from biopharma wastes left by tenant in vacated space)*
- Reynolds v. Rick's Mushroom Service, Inc., Civil Action No. 01-3773 (E.D. Pa. consent decree entered Dec. 1, 2006 and work plan approved July 30, 2007) (Clean Water Act citizen suit over management of spent mushroom substrate management facility)*
- BP Products North America, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Protection, No. 2005-032 (Pa. EHB consent adjudication approved April 12, 2007) (stormwater NPDES appeal)*
- Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. v. Department of Environmental Protection, No. 2005-261 (Pa. EHB consent adjudication approved Aug. 17, 2006) (new source review appeal concerning natural gas pipeline compressor station engines)*
- Sunoco, Inc. (R&M) v. Department of Environmental Protection, No. 2005-269 (Pa. EHB settlement June 12, 2006) (Clean Air Act permit appeal)*
- Seneca Resources Corp. v. Department of Environmental Protection, No. 2004-010 (Pa. EHB consent adjudication approved April 28, 2006) (forest land stream encroachment and erosion and sediment control enforcement appeal)*
- National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. v. Department of Environmental Protection, 2005 Pa. Environ. LEXIS 65 (Pa. EHB Oct. 26, 2005) (Air Pollution Control Act permit appeal involving natural gas pipeline compression station engines)*
- United States v. Atlantic Richfield Co. ("Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Ship Canal "), No. 2:04-CV-348-RL-APR (N.D. Ind. consent decree entered Jan. 31, 2005) (resolution of contaminated sediment Superfund response action and natural resource damages claims)*
- Collins & Aikman Products Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 847 So. 2d 1143 (Fla. App. 2003) (private action concerning asserted contamination at transferred manufacturing sites)*
- Collins & Aikman Products Co. v. Sermatech Engineering Group, Inc., 297 A.D.2d 248, 746 N.Y.S.2d 698 (2002) (private action concerning asserted contamination at transferred manufacturing sites)*
- Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group v. P.H. Glatfelter Co., 128 F. Supp.2d 747 (M.D. Pa. 2001), and (M.D. Pa. consent decree entered Oct. 26, 2001) (Clean Water Act citizen suit and permit appeal)*
- United States v. Aluminum Co. of America ("Moyer's Landfill"), Civil Action No. 89-7421 (E.D. Pa. consent decree entered Mar. 1, 2000) (Superfund action)*
- P.H. Glatfelter v. Department of Environmental Protection, 2000 E.H.B. 1204 (Pa. EHB Oct. 13, 2000) (Clean Water Act permit appeal)*
- Collins & Aikman Products Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 728 So. 2d 233 (Fla. App. 1998) (private action concerning asserted contamination at transferred manufacturing sites)*
- Gillen v. City of Neenah, 219 Wis.2d 806, 580 N.W.2d 628 (1998) (citizen suit to enforce the Wisconsin Public Trust Doctrine)*
- Teleflex, Inc. v. Collins & Aikman Products Co., 961 F. Supp. 368 (D. Conn. 1996), aff'd mem., 125 F.3d 845 (2d Cir. 1997) (Superfund claims in private action concerning asserted contamination at transferred manufacturing sites)*
- United States v. Atlas Minerals & Chemicals, Inc. ("Oswald/Dorney Road Landfill"), 41 Env't Rep. Cas. (BNA) 1417 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 22, 1995), aff'd mem., No. 95-2030 (3d Cir. July 30, 1996) (Superfund allocation as among "arrangers" and "transporters" of waste at municipal co-disposal landfill)*
- Franklin Township Board of Supervisors v. Department of Environmental Resources, 1992 E.H.B. 266 (Pa. EHB Mar. 20, 1992) (appeal of landfill expansion permit)*
- Bridgeview, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Resources, 1991 E.H.B. 1949 (Pa. EHB Dec. 17, 1991) (appeal of solid waste permit for medical waste incinerator)*
- Raymark Industries, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Resources, 1990 E.H.B. 1653 (Pa. EHB Dec. 18, 1990), and 1991 E.H.B. 186 (Feb. 7, 1991) (appeal of enforcement action under the solid waste laws concerning asbestos landfill)*
- P.H. Glatfelter Co. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 921 F.2d 516 (4th Cir. 1990) (petition for review of individual control strategy for dioxin under section 304(l) of the Clean Water Act)*
- Raymark Industries, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Resources, 1990 E.H.B. 1165 (Pa. EHB Sept. 20, 1990), and 1990 E.H.B. 1181 (Sept. 24, 1990)*
- Pennsylvania Urban Development Corporation v. Golen, 708 F. Supp. 669 (E.D. Pa. 1989) (private Superfund claim arising from transferred site)*
* Some of the matters listed were handled by David prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig.
Professional & Community Involvement
ˇ Vice-Chair and former Chair, Subcommittee on Policy and Integration, Pennsylvania Statewide Water Resources Committee
ˇ Former Member, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, 2007-2011; Vice-Chair 2009-2010
ˇ Adjunct Professor, teaching oil and gas law, environmental law, Superfund litigation, or global climate change, Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, 1990-present
ˇ Past Chair, Section on Environment, Energy and Resources, Special Committee on Smart Growth and Urban Policy, American Bar Association; Member, Planning Committee, Section's 2009 Annual Conference on Environmental Law
ˇ Past Chair, Environmental, Mineral, and Natural Resources Law Section Pennsylvania Bar Association
ˇ Maryland State Bar Association, Environmental Section
ˇ Florida Bar Association, Environmental and Land Use Law Section
ˇ Chair Elect, Delaware Valley Environmental American Inn of Court
ˇ Course Planner, Pennsylvania Environmental Law Forum
Awards & Recognition
ˇ Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, 2006-2012
- Environmental Law - Litigation
- Water Law
ˇ Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, 2004-2012
ˇ Named, Environmental Law, "Top Band," Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2003-2011
ˇ Listed, International Who's Who of Environmental Lawyers, All Editions
ˇ Rated, AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5
Clerkship
ˇ Hon. Louis H. Pollak, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Articles, Publications, & Lectures
ˇ Speaker, The Sixth Annual Advanced Conference on Litigating Natural Resource Damages: New Developments and Best Strategies, Law Seminars International, Santa Fe, NM, July 12-13, 2012
ˇ "Regulation of Unconventional Natural Gas Development," 25 Probate & Property No. 5, September/October 2011
ˇ "Anticipating Environmental Issues in an Economic Downturn," Natural Resources & Environment (American Bar Association), Volume 24, Number 1, Summer 2009
ˇ Co-author, "The Growth Of 'Green' Claims," Law360, April 22, 2009
ˇ "Seeing Green: Environmental Friendliness as a Business Strategy," 40 Franchising World No. 11 at 56, November 2008
ˇ "What All This About Climate Change Means for Domestic Businesses Right Now," 22 Toxics L. Rep. (BNA) 24, June 21, 2007
ˇ "Corporate Sustainability Strategies," 26 Temple J. Sci. Tech. & Envtl. L. 27, 2007
ˇ "Cooper Industries v. Aviall Services a Year Later," 51 Chem. Waste Litig. Rep. 320, February 2006
ˇ "Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act," Temple Journal of Science, Technology and Environmental Law Symposium, 2005
ˇ "Contribution after Cooper Industries v. Aviall Services," 49 Chem. Waste Litig. Rep. 137, January 2005
ˇ "The Timing Provisions of CERCLA for Natural Resource Damage Claims," 19 Toxics L. Rep. (BNA) 22, January 1, 2004
ˇ "Thoughts on the Bush Clean Air 'Strategy' So Far, and a Suggestion for What Might Work," 21 Temple Envtl. L. & Tech. J. 1, 2002
ˇ "Land Use Regulation and the Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution," The Business Of The Environment: Sprawl, Environmental Justice, The Environmental Rights Amendment To The Pennsylvania Constitution & Other Environmental Wild Cards In Land Use Proceedings, Pa. Bar. Inst. No. 2001-2955 at 11, 2001
ˇ "Does the Section 107/Section 113 Choice Affect Allocation in CERCLA Actions?" 13 Toxics L. Rep. (BNA) 979, January 6, 1999
ˇ "Toward a Superfund Cost Allocation Principle," 3 Envtl. Lawyer 117, 1996
ˇ "Superfund Reform and Old Industrial Sites," 3 J. Envtl. Regul. 369, 1994
ˇ "Professional Responsibility Issues in Pennsylvania Environmental Practice: 1. Conflicts in Superfund and 2. Dealing with Former Government Lawyers," 12 Temple Envtl. L. & Tech. J. 57, 1993