E2 Law Blog

Insights and Commentary on Environmental and Energy Issues Worldwide.

David Mandelbaum has been writing for the blog since 2010.

David G. Mandelbaum represents clients facing problems under environmental laws. He regularly represents clients in lawsuits and also has helped clients achieve satisfactory outcomes through regulatory negotiation or private transactions. A Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, David teaches Superfund, and Oil and Gas Law in rotation at the Temple University Beasley School of Law as well as an environmental litigation course at Suffolk (Boston) Law School.

Since United States v. Atlas Minerals, the first multi-generator Superfund contribution case to go to trial in 1993, Mr. Mandelbaum has been engaged in matters involving allocation of costs among responsible parties, especially under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

CERCLA, which stands for “Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act,” is a federal law also commonly known as “Superfund,” that gives the EPA authority to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites, as well as respond to accidents and spills of hazardous substances, by identifying responsible parties and holding them liable for cleanup costs; essentially allowing the government to take action to address environmental contamination and recover costs from polluters.

Key points about CERCLA:

Main function: To clean up hazardous waste sites and hold responsible parties liable for the cleanup costs.
Nickname: “Superfund”
Who manages it: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Funding source: Originally funded by a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, now primarily funded by Congress
Liability aspects: CERCLA allows the EPA to pursue responsible parties, including current and past owners of contaminated sites, waste generators, and transporters, to cover cleanup costs.

He has tried large cases and resolved others as lead counsel. He has written, spoken, and taught extensively on the subject. More recently he also has been engaged to assist lead counsel from this firm and others:

to develop cost allocation methodologies;
to craft expert testimony in support of a favored methodology (given a definition of “fairness,” why one methodology better tracks it than another);
to develop efficient case management approaches; and to assist private allocation as part of the neutral team.

Concentrations

Air, water and waste regulation
Superfund and contamination
Climate change
Oil and gas development
Water rights

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multidisciplinary law firm with approximately 1800 attorneys and governmental affairs professionals in 32 locations across the United States and in Europe and Asia. The firm was selected as the 2007 USA Law Firm of the Year by Chambers and Partners.

See also: David Mandelbaum. Gas Well Fracturing Equipment Exempt from Pennsylvania Sales Tax. 28 Sep 2010. Greenberg Traurig. E2 Law Blog.

Posted in Oil & Gas

Contributed by Marvin A. Kirsner
GT Tax Practice, Boca Raton

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has ruled that equipment purchased by a company that provides fracturing and acidizing services in connection with natural gas wells is exempt from the Commonwealth’s sales and use tax under the mining exemption. The ruling also concludes that materials used in fracturing services (such as gases, sand, and cement) are also exempt from sales and use tax under the mining exemption. For the full text of SUT-10-003 click here.

Tags: Marcellus Shale, natural gas, Pennsylvania, tax