Mike Chernekoff is partner in the firm's Business & Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Practice Groups. He also participates in the Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resources Industry Group. Since 2007, he has been based in the firm's Houston office. Prior to that, he was based in the firm's New Orleans office since joining the firm in 1982. His practice focuses on the areas of environmental law and related areas of environmental litigation and toxic tort defense. He also actively handles commercial and energy litigation. His practice is principally centered on matters and businesses located in Louisiana and Texas.
Mr. Chernekoff's environmental practice has involved a broad spectrum of matters, including air, water, and waste permitting; regulatory compliance and assessment; transaction due diligence and auditing; enforcement counseling and defense; remediation and response action assessment and coordination; and climate change issues. Some matters of note have included obtaining the first complete response costs reimbursement against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund after completion of an emergency response action pursuant to a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Section 106 Order; negotiating an agreement with the State of Louisiana on behalf of a refinery under the EPA's New Source Review Initiative; and negotiating the first private-party partial remedial action agreement with the State of Louisiana under its Voluntary Clean Up Program (Brownfield equivalent), placing contaminated property back into commerce.
