Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Mary Beth Deemer practiced for several years in the areas of corporate, real estate, and finance law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey before joining Jones Day in June 1989. Her practice currently includes defending clients' interests in environmental disputes (criminal, civil, and administrative) and counseling parties to corporate, real estate, and lending transactions regarding environmental risk assessment and liability exposure issues.

In addition to counseling parties concerning environmental issues attendant to corporate, real estate, and lending transactions, Mary Beth has represented clients in post-transaction environmental disputes. For example, she represented a Fortune 50 company as the plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking contractual indemnification and other relief for environmental issues associated with the company's purchase of four chemical manufacturing facilities located in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. The lawsuit alleged, among other things, pre-closing violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA), and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The lawsuit was settled very favorably on the client's behalf.

Mary Beth also defends clients in governmental and private environmental litigation and enforcement actions, including actions under the CWA, CAA, RCRA, Superfund, and state law equivalents. With respect to the CWA, Mary Beth defended a tube manufacturing facility against allegations by the local publicly owned treatment works that the facility was violating CWA pretreatment requirements. Mary Beth also defended a company against allegations by state environmental authorities that the facility had violated the CWA and the terms of its water discharge permit in connection with the facility's discharge of dissolved concentrations of a toxic metal.

In the last five years, Mary Beth had developed significant experience in defending clients in large-scale criminal and administrative environmental investigations. A significant representation involved a producer of phosphate and nitrogen-based fertilizers that became the subject of a federal environmental criminal investigation in Louisiana in 1998. For a period of over four years, Mary Beth directed and managed a team of lawyers in conducting an internal investigation (which revealed no environmental wrongdoing), responding to multiple record subpoenas, debriefing grand jury witnesses, and engaging in negotiations with the government to resolve the investigation. The matter was resolved very favorably for the client. Mary Beth currently is representing the majority shareholder of a former phosphate feed manufacturer in Florida that is the subject of an ongoing federal and state investigation into alleged violations of RCRA, CWA, Safe Drinking Water Act, and state law equivalents. The facility has been the subject of intense media scrutiny and attention. Furthermore, she is representing a fertilizer company in a federal multimedia inspection of its Louisiana facility. As a result of these representations, Mary Beth has developed an in-depth understanding of the fertilizer industry and the environmental programs applicable to this industry.

Mary Beth's Superfund experience is extensive. She has represented clients at numerous sites (primarily in EPA Regions II, III, and IV) and in a variety of contexts, including unilateral orders, government cost recovery actions, negotiated administrative settlements, and private cost recovery/contribution actions. She has represented parties with relatively large liability exposures and those considered to be de minimis. In addition to representing individual clients' interests, Mary Beth has served on committees designed to serve multiparty interests in the Superfund context. Specifically, at a Region III site, she served as liaison counsel for 90 third-party defendants and as the liaison counsel group's representative on the Allocation Committee. At another Region III site, Mary Beth chaired the Allocation Committee. She has served on executive and technical committees as well.

Mary Beth also advises businesses regarding compliance with state and federal environmental statutory and regulatory programs. This representation often includes assisting clients in obtaining permits and appealing agency determinations.

In addition to environmental matters, Mary Beth has experience representing clients in health and safety matters. Specifically, she represented an oil refinery in an OSHA accident investigation following a fatal explosion in Louisiana. Mary Beth also represented a zinc smelting facility in Pennsylvania in connection with a fatality caused by a weld failure on an overhead bin and in an OSHA hygiene inspection. This aspect of her practice also has included counseling clients regarding health and safety compliance issues.

From 1998 until 2002, Mary Beth was an adjunct professor at Duquesne University teaching a national and international environmental law course (three credits) to master of science degree candidates. Mary Beth is a member of the ABA, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Areas of Practice

• Government Regulation
• Real Estate
• Environmental, Health & Safety
• Metals & Mining
• Automotive

Representative Cases

• Arizona Chemical Company v. Reichhold Chemicals, Inc. (N.D. Fla.)
• In re PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer L.P. (M.D. La.)
• Ross Niemoeller, et al. v. Coronet Phosphate Company, et al. and Shannon Franco, et al. v. Coronet Industries, Inc., et al.
• United States v. Exeter Properties, Inc., et al. (E.D. Va.)
• United States v. Marvin Pesses, et al. (W.D. Pa.)
• United States v. Pesses, et al. (W.D. Pa.)
• Acquisition of Ferroalloys Business From Elkem Metals
• Acquisition of Stoneville Pedigreed Seed Company
• Environmental Aspects of Corporate Transactions
• Environmental Regulatory Counseling
• Environmental Regulatory Counseling
• Ground Water Contamination Matter
• Management of Superfund Sites Portfolio
• Management of Superfund Sites Portfolio
• Merger with F.N.B. Corporation
• Sale of Contaminated Production Facilities
• Sale of Monofrax
• Self-Audit Civil Penalty Waiver
• Strategic Planning for the Disposition of Environmental Liabilities
• Superfund Site

West Practice Categories

Clean Air Practice, Cleanup & Superfund, Commercial Leasing, Commercial Real Estate, Condemnation, Condominiums & Cooperatives, Conveyancing, Eminent Domain, Environmental Law, Food & Drug Administration, Government Agencies & Programs, Hazardous Waste, Housing & Urban Development, Land Use & Zoning, Landlord/Tenant, Law Enforcement Agencies, Medicare & Medicaid, Mortgages & Foreclosures, Permits, Real Estate Law, Regulatory Compliance & Auditing, Residential Real Estate, Social Security -- Disability, Social Security -- Retirement & Survivors Benefits, Solid Waste, State & Local Agencies, Title Insurance, Veterans' Affairs, Water Pollution, Welfare, Wetlands & Wild Lands

Bar Admissions

• Pennsylvania

Education

• Villanova University

Published Works

• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Leaves Room for Local Regulation of Oil and Gas Activities, 2009
• Marcellus Boom Sparking Regulators to Action, 2008

Address

500 Grant Street, Suite 4500
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-2514

Phones

1.412.394.7920 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.412.394.7959 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com