Geraldine E. Edens
FAX: 202.496.7756
Experience
Geraldine (Geri) Edens practices in areas involving environmental litigation, regulatory matters and issues regarding law and science. She counsels clients on environmental compliance, the law and science of chemical regulation, as well as on a wide variety of Clean Air Act issues (NESHAPs, mobile source regulation, Title V permitting, etc.), food additive approvals under the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, Toxic Release Inventory issues, and issues regarding the Mine Safety and Health Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. She has an extensive background in health, the biological sciences and statistics.
Ms. Edens has a broad base of litigation experience with a particular emphasis on litigating issues under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related statutes including the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. She has defended the adequacy of environmental analyses for major economic development projects, interstate pipeline right-of-way approvals, and off-shore oil development projects, as well as challenged NEPA compliance prepared for a large scale commercial development adjacent to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.
Notable Engagements
- Represents Cape Wind Associates in its efforts to construct a wind farm in Nantucket Sound and BP Alternative Energy in its effort to construct a wind farm in New York.
- Lead litigation counsel in two constitutional challenges (preemption by the CAA) to New York and California laws banning the use of MTBE in gasoline.
- Counseled client on NEPA litigation risks associated with major offshore oil project to be located in the Beaufort Sea and developing a comprehensive approach for working with the government to minimize those risks.
- Member of the trial team in In re: National Gypsum Co., the first ever bankruptcy estimation of remedy costs under Superfund.
Education
- J.D., University of Miami, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 1991
- Ph.D., Education, University of Florida, 1983
- M.S., University of Miami, 1980
- B.S., University of Miami, 1973
Admitted
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Maryland
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
Publications:
- "Alternative Energy and the Rebirth of NEPA," Natural Resources & Environment, Vol. 23, No 4, (Spring 2009), co-authored with Frederick R. Anderson.
- "Carbon Accounting: A Practical Guide for Lawyers," Natural Resources & Environment, (Winter 2008), co-authored with Peter L. Gray.
- "Climate Change and the National Environmental Policy Act," Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Journal, Vol. 41, No. 2, (2004), co-authored with Frederick R. Anderson.
- “OMB Proposes Independent Scientific ‘Peer Review’ of Regulatory Information,” The Environment Reporter, (October 31, 2003), co-author.
- “Federal Environmental Liability,”Environmental Aspects of Real Estate Transactions: From Brownfields to Green Buildings, ABA, (1999), co-author.
- "Federal Environmental Liability" and "Indoor Air Quality," Environmental Law Practice Guide: State and Federal Law, (1994), co-author.
Seminars and Presentations:
- Federal Climate Change Legislation, Alliance for Clean Energy New York, (Fall 2008).
Civic Activities:
- City Councilwoman, Gaithersburg, Maryland (1995-2007)
- Board Member, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (1997-2001)
Professional Activities:
- The District of Columbia Bar
- American Bar Association
- Florida Bar Association