Steven H. Goldberg

Partner

621 Capitol Mall
18th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

Areas of Law:

Environmental, Environmental Litigation, Environmental Compliance

Admitted to Practice in:

California

Experience

Lead common counsel to 22 cooperating parties in a trust conducting multi-million dollar cleanup of abandoned used oil recycling facility under EPA Region IX auspices.

Lead environmental counsel in defense of perchlorate contamination litigation in multiple U.S. District Court actions.

West Coast environmental counsel for major oil company for retail projects involving bulk oil terminals, pipelines, refineries and distribution facilities, including superfund, cost recovery, ADR and related litigation.

Lead environmental counsel for two national food companies at a superfund site in San Jose with related mediation of cost recovery by the U.S. Department of Justice and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Lead attorney representing a major PRP in a multi-party dispute resolved through mediation concerning closure of a liquid bulk oil/recycling facility in Redwood City.

Lead counsel in various environmental matters defending nation's largest car rental company including successful mediation of multi-party soil and groundwater contamination dispute at San Francisco International Airport.

Lead attorney for Central Valley city and North Coast Sanitation District with PCE contamination in soil and groundwater and the development and implementation of Groundwater Management Plan as alternative remedy.

Representation and defense of large national railroad corporation in enforcement and related injunction proceedings.

Defense of major PRP in cost recovery and injunction litigation at a multi-party complex soil and groundwater contamination site covering approximately 600 acres of a Central Valley city.

Representation of landowners with successful mediation of a multimillion dollar cost recovery litigation action against landfill owners and operators for contamination of groundwater.

Representation and advice on legal and regulatory issues concerning underground storage tank soil and groundwater cleanup projects in the Central Valley, Northern and Southern California for fortune 500 companies.

Defense of enforcement actions brought by EPA, DTSC and district attorneys in Yolo, Placer, San Joaquin and Sacramento Counties.

Lead attorney representing largest privately held forest products company in a multi-million federal Superfund site in proceedings with the Environmental Protection Agency, DTSC, and North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board including amendments of Record of Decision for more cost effective remedies.

Defense of a multimillion dollar claim in San Diego federal district court and related regulatory proceedings concerning a landfill in Imperial County.

Cost recovery actions on behalf of lenders in federal court (Mid Valley Bank v. North Valley Bank, E.D. CA. 1988-1990); and (FDIC v. Texaco, Inc., et al., E.D. CA. 1994-1996).

Hearings and other administrative proceedings before Regional Water Quality Control Boards on waste discharge requirements, cease and desist orders, and cleanup or abatement orders.

Obtained defense and settlement of environmental insurance claims for policyholders and insurance coverage disputes.

Lead attorney defending a private client at the Frontier Fertilizer California Superfund site involving pesticide contamination and related cost recovery litigation.

Environmental due diligence for lenders, sellers, and buyers of industrial commercial and agricultural properties.

Downey Brand LLP Executive Committee, Former Member; Strategic Planning Committee (2005), Chair; Environmental Practice Group, Former Chair; Past Marketing Partner

Former Professional Staff Member for California Senate Majority Leader John Garamendi

Former Staff Assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Transportation and Tourism

Awards
December 2005, Selected and published in the "Guide to the World's Leading Environment Lawyers" (nominated by clients and peers as a leading adviser in the field of environmental law)

MEMBERSHIPS

Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), Groundwater Committee, Member

ABA Environmental Litigation Section, Member

State Bar of California, Environmental Law Section, Member

Groundwater Resources Association of California, Former Board Member

National Brownfield Association, California Chapter, Member

Sacramento County Bar Association, Member

EDUCATION

Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri (J.D., 1985)
University of Rochester, New York (B.A., 1980)

PUBLICATIONS

ABA Environmental Litigation Committee Newsletter, "CERCLA: Cutting a Wider Path By Preemption of State Law Claims," Fall 2004, Co-Author with Amilia Sanders

Ninth Circuit, ABA Environmental Litigation Committee Newsletter, 1996-Present, Co-Reporter

California Environmental Law and Remediation Reporter, Former Editorial Board and Contributing Editor

Environmental Litigation Committee Newsletter, Volume 8, No. 1, "Recovery of Attorneys' Fees in Post Key Tronic Cost Recovery Actions Under CERCLA," 1996, Co-Author

PRESENTATIONS

Sacramento County Bar Section on Environmental Law, "CERCLA Cost Recovery in Flux-The fallout from Aviall and the Battle in the Ninth Circuit," 2006, Presenter

Groundwater Resources Association Conference on Groundwater Management, "Using Groundwater Management Planning to Protect Water Supplies from VOC Contamination," 2004, Presenter

CLE, “California Water Law and Policy Conference,” 1998, Co-Presenter

California Environmental Trial Academy, "Recovery of Attorney Fees in Environmental Litigation," 1996, Lecturer

Sacramento County Bar Environmental Law Section Annual Conference, "Use of ADR in Environmental Disputes," 1995, Lecturer

University of California, Davis Extension, Hazardous Materials Management Program, 1991-1994, Instructor

CHARITABLE

Congregation B'nai Israel, Vice President-Finance, Board of Trustees

Capital Campaign, Co-Chair

Sacramento Theatre Company, Secretary, Board of Directors