Matt advises and defends clients across industries with the strategic insights as former General Counsel for the US Environmental Protection Agency, former General Counsel for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and a former environmental litigator at the US Department of Justice.

Clients look to Matt to provide pragmatic and strategic solutions to complex regulatory, litigation and enforcement challenges facing their operations. Matt provides his clients with in-depth experience and knowledge respecting the pivotal recent changes in environmental regulation. As EPA General Counsel, he counseled on the development and defense of virtually every significant regulation proposed by EPA since 2017 and was personally involved in the highest profile environmental cases during that time, including two precedent setting environmental cases in the Supreme Court, County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund and Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian. At EPA, Matt helped draft the Affordable Clean Energy Rule (the repeal and replacement of the Clean Power Plan) and the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (the new definition of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS)), the Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule, the Safe Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule (regulating tailpipe emissions from passenger cars and light duty trucks), and other rulemakings. Additionally, Matt served as the chief attorney at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection advising on state policy and regulatory matters in regard to air, water, waste and public lands for the Department Secretary and the Governor’s Office. In light of this experience, Matt is able to provide deep insight into the regulatory processes of federal and state agencies in advising clients in permitting, compliance, and enforcement defense matters.

Matt has experience in an array of major federal environmental statutes, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as well as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In the chemical regulation space, he assisted in implementing the new TSCA framework, working on the first set of chemical risk evaluations required under the new statute, and he counseled on major pesticide registration decisions, litigation and ESA consultations under FIFRA. Matt also assisted on EPA’s recent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) action plan, to chart a course on regulatory actions to address issues with respect to manufacturing, cleanup, and drinking water protection. With this experience, Matt is regarded as a strategic advisor to Fortune 500 clients offering advice to help advance their business objectives while limiting exposure and risk to the company.

Matt also has significant experience as a litigator for the government and in the private sector, with particular knowledge in developing expert testimony. At the Department of Justice, he was a member of the trial team for the largest civil enforcement in history. In state government, he led the first enforcement action related to hydraulically fractured oil and gas extraction in the southwest Florida region and successfully argued an appeal in the 11th Circuit in the long running Everglades case. In private practice, he represented the State of Florida, in a water rights dispute with the State of Georgia before the US Supreme Court, resulting in a month long trial before a court appointed special master. Matt presented and examined expert witnesses, including developing testimony on the potential sea level rise impacts of climate change. He also successfully represented an industry leading chemical company in litigation over a Clean Water Act Total Maximum Daily Load in an interstate water body. Matt has worked on incident response teams and understands the delicate interplay between responsiveness and brand preservation. 

Based on his experience in both public service and private practice, Matt is particularly well versed in the legal ramifications and the changing climate of environmental regulations affecting the oil & gas, mining, chemical, and renewable energy industries.

Matt is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, Florida State University College of Law, cum laude, 2004

BA, History and Philosophy, University of Florida, 1999

• Do You Import Products for Commercial Sale? Have You Heard About the ‘Forever Chemicals?’

  By Matthew Leopold |August 2021

• EPA issues PFAS Strategic Roadmap swiftly followed by other key PFAS announcements, Westlaw Today
• How the Changing Law of Chevron Deference Might Affect Texas, The Texas Lawbook
• President Biden’s Second Veto Is On Congress’ Disapproval Of EPA’s Revised Definition Of WOTUS, The National Law Review
• EPA’s New Approach to Risk Management For Chemicals Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, PCI Magazine
• EPA Proposal Under TSCA Would Prohibit or Restrict Most Uses of Methylene Chloride, Coatings World
• Watch for New Substantial Pesticide Restrictions From EPA, Growing Produce
• EPA Issues Near Zero Drinking Water Health Advisories for Certain PFAS, The National Law Review
• The Burden on Agencies to Confirm Congressionally Delegated Authority in the Wake of West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, American Bar Association
• Expansion of Environmental Justice and Title VI Scrutiny Raises New Questions for Heavy Industry Projects in Texas, The Texas Lawbook
• What could the US EPA’s proposed Superfund listing for PFOA and PFOS mean for industry?, Chemical Watch
• Do the Products You Sell Contain PFAS? A Question Every Retailer Must Be Prepared to Answer, Retail Industry 2022 Year in Review