Michael R. Goldstein, Esq.
Michael R. Goldstein, Esq.
Managing Shareholder, The Goldstein Environmental Law Firm, P.A.
Bio:
Michael R. Goldstein, Managing Shareholder of The Goldstein Environmental Law Firm, P.A., and a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent and Chambers and Partners rated attorney, practices exclusively in the areas of environmental law and environmental redevelopment for a broad range of clients, including retail, residential, and industrial developers, public and private companies, real estate funds, lenders, and local governments. A major aspect of Mr. Goldstein’s environmental legal practice involves support of real estate and business transactions, including managing pre-acquisition and pre-leasing due diligence investigations; structuring, negotiating, and drafting environmental provisions in purchase, lease, and development agreements; and assisting lenders evaluate and limit the risk of exposure to environmental liability in connection with new loans and potential foreclosures. In addition, he works closely and extensively with real estate development principals and engineering, planning, and design professionals to help coordinate federal, state and local regulatory approvals for complex retail, industrial, residential, mixed use, and marina related projects throughout the State of Florida.
Mr. Goldstein’s practice has a heavy emphasis on the remediation, financing, and beneficial reuse of contaminated sites and involves a broad array of Brownfields related transactional, administrative, regulatory, legal, legislative, and policy work for clients in both the private and public sectors. He has developed a national reputation as one of the leading and most innovative Brownfields practitioners in Florida, working on important and precedent establishing projects as well as heading up or participating in numerous local, regional, state, and federal environmental restoration initiatives. On a statewide level, Mr. Goldstein was the founding Chairman of the Florida Brownfields Association and served as its Chairman and/or President for the first five years of the organization’s existence. Mr. Goldstein’s tenure as Chairman and President was distinguished by his commitment to elevating environmental justice and public health as critical areas of emphasis for business, community, regulatory agency, and local government stakeholders. In 1996, the Miami-Dade County Commission appointed him Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Brownfields Task Force, a post that he held until the committee’s business was completed in 2004. In January 2006, Mr. Goldstein was appointed to serve on the Advisory Board of the Bureau of National Affair’s highly respected Environmental Due Diligence Guide, which serves as a national reporting, editorial, and opinion forum for environmental transactions and related Brownfields and policy matters. In 2008, he founded and funded the Goldstein Brownfields Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering economically and health disadvantaged individuals and communities with scholarships, programming, and resources to restore polluted land, revitalize neighborhoods, and protect public health. The Goldstein Brownfields Foundation also focuses on increasing the ethnic and gender diversity of lawyers working in the environmental arena through academic scholarships, educational and career programming, and professional mentoring. In 2009, Mr. Goldstein was appointed to the Executive Committee of the National Brownfields Coalition, an affiliation of private and public sector stakeholders working in the U.S. Congress to advocate for improvements in environmental redevelopment policy and legislation.
Eugene (Gene) Jones
Eugene (Gene) Jones
Executive Director, Southern Waste Information eXchange, Inc. (SWIX)
Bio:
Gene Jones serves as Executive Director of the Southern Waste Information Exchange (SWIX), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which has been operating since 1981 assisting businesses and municipalities with their waste management and remediation issues.
With over 40 years of experience, Gene specializes in building strategic relationships with waste and remediation firms. He brings a vast knowledge of various environmental sectors from organizing and managing conferences such as;
• the PFAS Forum,
• the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Conference & Trade Show,
• the Waste Conversion Technology Conference & Trade Show,
• the Southeast Recycling Conference & Trade Show,
• the New Life for Closed Gas Stations Conference and Exhibition,
• the International Symposium on the Redevelopment of Manufactured Gas Plant Sites,
• the National Conference on Waste Exchange and Resource Reuse, and
• Florida Remediation Conference.
as well as in managing associations such as:
• Florida Agricultural Plastics Recycling Cooperative
• Florida BioFuels & BioEnergy Association, Inc.,
• Recycle Florida Today, Inc.,
• International Society of Technical & Environmental Professionals, Inc.,
• Florida Brownfields Association, Inc., and
• Keep Florida Beautiful, Inc.
Gene is a Martial Arts practitioner and has his 8th degree black belt in Shaolin GoJu and a 5th degree black belt in Nisei GoJu. Gene is also the Author of Instant Self-Esteem: Empowering Self-Confidence and The Mindful Sensei.
Gene is also the inventor of the Soap Bag Saver, which he designed for the reuse of leftover soap bars.
Jorge Caspary, P.G.
Jorge Caspary, P.G.
Jorge R. Caspary, P.G., Senior Principal, Montrose Environmental Services
Bio:
With a rich background as a former Director of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Hazardous Waste Cleanup Division and leadership roles in environmental consulting firms, Jorge offers a unique perspective on nationwide environmental challenges. Jorge is widely recognized as an industry leader and expert in emerging contaminants, specifically per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). He is frequently sought after for his expertise in PFAS at both state and federal policy levels, serving as a technical expert in PFAS product-defect federal litigation.
His contributions also extend to being a primary organizer of Florida’s PFAS Coalition, collaborating with cities, counties, airports, and seaports to address PFAS issues statewide alongside the Florida Legislature and FDEP. Jorge’s impact on contaminated site cleanup and environmentally sustainable land reuse in Florida is revolutionary. He is a trusted resource for complex environmental challenges, including site contamination, brownfields, Superfund, RCRA sites, and risk-based site closures.
Joseph L. Applegate, P.G.
Joseph L. Applegate, P.G.
Sr. Principal Hydrogeologist, Geosyntec Consultants, Inc.
Bio:
Joe Applegate is a Sr. Principal Hydrogeologist in the Tallahassee, FL office and has 35 years of experience and has managed multiple USEPA CERCLA, RCRA, and FDEP environmental contracts and programs and has managed federal, state, and industrial sites including petroleum, dry-cleaning facilities, chemical manufacturers, fire training facilities, landfills, former MGPs, and pesticide manufacturers and applicators.
Joe is a recognized regulatory expert with extensive knowledge of federal and state environmental rules, regulations, and permitting processes allow him to meet the clients and regulatory community needs quickly and efficiently. Joe has managed numerous State of Florida Superfund, State Hazardous, Drycleaning Solvent, State Owned Lands and Site Investigation, Brownfields, Petroleum, and Former Manufactured Gas Plants. He has managed multiple conditional closure projects and developed RC packages for private client projects as well as for the FDEP. He has also managed projects with emerging contaminates, including 1,4 Dioxane and PFAS. He has presented at multiple conferences in Florida on industrial uses of these compounds, physicochemical properties, fate and transport of PFAS in soil and groundwater, as well as general assessment and remedial approaches.
Michael J. Deliz, P.G.
Michael J. Deliz, P.G.
Restoration Program Manager, NASA
Bio:
Mike has 39 years of professional geological experience and is currently the Restoration Program Manager in the Environmental Management Division, NASA Headquarters. He is developing cleanup policy, overseeing the investigation and cleanup efforts at all NASA Centers and Component Facilities, and leading its Agency-wide PFAS response actions. He joined NASA Headquarters following 21 plus years at Kennedy Space Center where he was the Technical Lead and a Remediation Project Manager. Prior to that, he was a Remedial Project Manager in the Federal Facilities Subsection in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and an Exploration Geologist in the oil and gas industry. Mike resides in Merritt Island with his wife and two golden retrievers and is the proud father of two Florida State Seminoles alumni.
Chad Northington, P.E.
Chad Northington, P.E.
Senior Project Manager, Terracon
Bio:
Chad Northington, PE, serves as a Senior Project Manager with Terracon with 24 years of industry experience in environmental engineering, project management, and technical sales.
His engineering experience includes remediation system engineering and installation, in situ treatment design and application, and technical assistance across a broad spectrum of project and contaminant types under various regulatory frameworks. His work experience includes implementation of various conventional and innovative remedial technologies, including in situ thermal, biological, micron-scale activated carbon, and chemical oxidation/reduction approaches.
Chad most recently served as the Southeast Senior District and Technical Manager for an environmental technology solutions firm. In this role, he provided technical support for application of soil and groundwater remediation solutions working directly with environmental consulting, construction, and engineering firms and end users to develop turnkey remedial approaches for in situ-applied strategies. He was responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating activities of the technical staff while providing personnel management and technical oversight.
Chad holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Michigan Technological University. He is also licensed in several states as a Professional Engineer. In addition to his role as a professional in the environmental community, Chad also founded and directs a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization specializing in community development and outreach.
Chad’s interests generally revolve around the outdoors and sustainability. Fishing, kayaking, and hobby farming (ask about his backyard sheep) rank pretty high on his interest list along with jumping on his motorcycle or road bike to get in some miles for fun or fitness. Despite his many interests, most of his time is spent with his children and wife attending the multitude of sports events and activities that come from having three children between 10 and 14 (twins Josiah and Zach and daughter Chloe) and juggling responsibilities with his wife Tiffany who works in the medical field.
Dr. Chris Teaf, Ph.D.
Dr. Chris Teaf, Ph.D.
Director Emeritus, Institute of Science & Public Affair, Florida State University
Bio:
Dr. Teaf is a Board-certified toxicologist and risk assessor with over 40 years of environmental and public health experience specializing in soil, water and air quality, toxicology, risk assessment, and environmental health issues for solvents, petroleum, pesticides, polyfluorinated compounds (PFAs), metals, radionuclides, particulates, and bacteria/molds. Chris is Director Emeritus of the Center for Biomedical & Toxicological Research at Florida State University, and Director of Toxicology for Hazardous Substance & Waste Management Research in Tallahassee. He has experience with industrial facilities, waste management sites, power facilities, agricultural sites, mining operations, educational institutions, and products in general commerce. He has directed research and taught environmental toxicology and risk assessment at the University level, for USEPA, the World Health Organization, NATO, ATSDR, many state/local agencies, and the private sector. He serves as co-Editor-in-Chief of Soil and Sediment Contamination and sits on editorial boards or as peer reviewer for a variety of scientific journals. Chris has testified in many state and federal courts, as well as state administrative hearings.
Frank Hearne, Esq.
Frank Hearne, Esq.
Shareholder, Mechanik Nuccio Hearne & Wester, P. A.
Bio:
Frank L. Hearne is a shareholder in the firm of Mechanik Nuccio Hearne & Wester, P.A., in Tampa, Florida where he practices exclusively environmental law. In addition to his legal credentials, Mr. Hearne holds an undergraduate degree in engineering focused on water resources and a master’s degree in zoology focused on aquatic and estuarine ecology. Mr. Hearne’s engineering and scientific training enables him to better comprehend the many technical aspects of his work such as geohydrology, assessment and remediation strategies, complex organic chemistry and other topics. A substantial portion of his legal practice of almost 40 years has been to advise public and private clients involving contaminated sites including cleanup programs in Florida and other states, federal Superfund sites, Brownfield designation and financial benefits, Brownfield Site Rehabilitation Agreements, site assessment, remedial action, risk assessment and monitoring, Site Rehabilitation Completion Orders, restrictive covenants implementing institutional and engineering controls, negotiation of environmental insurance coverage and assertion and collection of environmental insurance claims.
His experience also includes many types of properties such as former and permitted landfill sites, golf courses, industrial facilities, petroleum production and refining facilities, mines, dry cleaning and underground tank sites, automobile dealerships, rental car sites, wood treating sites, waste and wastewater treatment plants and many others which can be discussed in detail upon request. Representative recent sites include redevelopment of a large ground transportation site on a permitted landfill in Pinellas County, a manufactured gas plant and adjacent property in Tampa, the Delaney Creek Brownfield Redevelopment Area at a former battery recycling site, the “Pink Palace” Hotel in Bradenton, the Jacksonville Raceway site, the Former Wellcraft Boat Manufacturing Facility in Sarasota, the Tampa IKEA Store and the Avion Project consisting of several hotels and office buildings near the Tampa airport. He has extensive experience in all the major federal and state environmental regulatory programs including rule making, permitting and enforcement defense.
Over many years, he has been repeatedly named to several independent lists of outstanding environmental lawyers in the state and nation including, The Best Lawyers in America and Florida “Super Lawyers.” Mr. Hearne is a member of the Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Section, the Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and is on the Board of Directors of the Florida Brownfields Association. Personal and professional references are available upon request.