Aaron H. Goldberg
Principal
vCard
- Chemical Weapons Convention
- Hazardous Materials Transportation
- Hazardous Waste/RCRA
- International Environmental Law
- Environmental
- Yale University (B.S., magna cum laude, 1979)
- California Institute of Technology (M.S., 1982)
- Stanford University (J.D., 1985)
- District of Columbia (1985)
- American Bar Association
- American Chemical Society
Aaron H. Goldberg has been actively involved in hazardous waste issues since the beginning of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulatory program in 1980. He started his career as a consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, worked at the Office of Management and Budget, and then joined Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., where he is now a Principal.
Mr. Goldberg represents a number of individual companies and trade associations in a variety of industries, including chemicals, electronics, recycling, consumer products, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, steel, and mining. His practice encompasses the full range of regulatory services, from participating in the development of new laws and regulations to counseling clients on compliance issues, and from applying for permits or variances to responding to EPA and state enforcement actions. He also regularly assists clients on issues relating to product design and stewardship, hazardous materials transportation, international restrictions on shipments of recyclable materials, non-proliferation treaties, and homeland security.
In addition to being an attorney, Mr. Goldberg has a graduate degree in chemistry and extensive training and experience in economics. His varied background enables him to serve as a particularly effective bridge between engineers, business managers, attorneys, consultants, regulators, and other policy makers.
Advocacy Before EPA - Developed, and helped convince EPA to adopt, an interpretation of a Supreme Court decision that effectively neutralized the effect of that ruling on the waste-to-energy industry.
Challenges to Agency Rulemakings - Played a key role in several cases that successfully challenged major elements of EPA's definition of hazardous waste, including the "mixture" and "derived-from" rules, several hazardous waste listings, and the toxicity characteristic as it applies to mineral processing wastes.
Defense of Enforcement Actions - Negotiated a 90% reduction in penalties in a multimillion-dollar enforcement action involving air emissions and process residuals at a Midwestern cement manufacturing facility that burned hazardous wastes as a supplemental fuel.
Response to Citizen Suits - Was instrumental in blocking efforts by a national environmental organization to convince a New England court to interpret a state regulation in a way that would have classified most municipal sludge as a hazardous waste.
Regulatory Counseling - Played a critical role in identifying and evaluating ways for a major chemical production facility in California to recycle various by-products so as to minimize applicable federal and state regulatory requirements.
Product Stewardship - Assisted a leading manufacturer of consumer electronic products develop and market new products and services that significantly reduce the regulatory burdens on customers seeking to dispose of the products at their end of life.
Hazardous Materials Transportation - Assisted several clients ensure that they are preparing their products and wastes for transportation in accordance with the federal Hazardous Materials Regulations and their international counterparts.
Homeland Security/Non-Proliferation - Helped a multinational chemical company develop and implement a program for worldwide compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and represented the company in international inspections under that treaty.
Other International - Assisted several clients determine how to ship recyclable materials in compliance with international requirements under the Basel Convention and various bilateral treaties.
Alphabetical List
Practice Contacts
International Environmental Law, The International Lawyer, ABA
A New Regulatory Regime for Common Commercial Chemicals as Chemical Weapon "Precursors"
The Federal Hazardous Waste Program: A House of Cards?