International Environmental Practice

When environmental issues arise at these U.S.-based clients’ overseas operations, those clients face the difficult task of coordinating environmental compliance practices in foreign jurisdictions with environmental policies and procedures that are based upon compliance with U.S. environmental laws. In addition, a number of foreign environmental regulatory programs look toward U.S. laws and regulations for guidance on issues including remediation goals, cleanup technologies, and compliance methodologies, making MGKF’s experience with U.S.-based practices, as applied in foreign jurisdictions, of critical importance.

When working on these matters, we team with local counsel and consultants to develop an efficient strategy that facilitates compliance with foreign environmental regulations as well as consistency with domestic environmental regulations and policies. We have a robust network of local environmental professionals with whom we team to provide high-quality assistance in many foreign jurisdictions.

_{Photo ©2013 Avi Loren Fox Photography}

• Negotiated an agreement with local German environmental officials to remediate groundwater underneath an industrial site contaminated with volatile organic compounds using in-situ chemical oxidation technology (ISCO). This ISCO project was only the second approved use of ISCO in Germany.
• Provided counseling on implementation of a risk-based cleanup of groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds and heavy metals at an industrial site in Italy. The criminal prosecution of a former owner for other on-site contamination, plus frequent changes in the Italian cleanup program complicated discussions with local and national environmental regulators.
• Coordinated the investigation of a former industrial site in Manchester, England, where extremely elevated levels of arsenic in groundwater threatened a nearby river.
• Represented a client in the investigation and cleanup of petroleum, heavy metal, and volatile organic compound contamination of soil and groundwater at an industrial site in Saudi Arabia.
• Evaluated a screening level environmental and human health risk assessment for an industrial site in France as part of an effort to determine what, if any, response actions were necessary to address heavy metal groundwater contamination.
• Performed assessment of what investigation and cleanup may be necessary at an industrial site in Brazil.
• Participated in a mediation over claims associated with a leaking underground storage tank at an industrial facility in Canada.
• Assisted a battery manufacturer with indemnity and insurance claims associated with industrial operations in Poland, the United Kingdom, and Mexico.
• Completed environmental due diligence for multi-million-dollar transactions involving multiple international facilities.