JOSEPH ZALESKI focuses his practice on regulatory compliance counseling and complex civil and criminal enforcement defense. Joseph also has extensive experience with federal and state court litigation, infrastructure project development and permitting, and internal investigations. Joseph’s practice spans a wide range of federal environmental and resource protection statutes, including the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clean Air Act (CAA) (stationary and mobile source), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Mineral Leasing Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.
Joseph has also counseled clients and co-lead negotiations with California regulators regarding state environmental regimes including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Green Chemistry Law and Department of Toxic Substances Control’s Safer Consumer Products program, state pesticide law enforced by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, and Proposition 65.
Joseph regularly advises clients in the chemical regulation and product stewardship space, with particular emphasis on FIFRA pesticide product and device regulation. He routinely provides compliance counseling to pesticide manufacturers, registrants, and retailers (both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar). He has advised on the pesticide product registration process, import/export requirements, pesticide device data development, and emergent issues like the U.S. EPA’s COVID-19 pandemic guidance regarding surface and air disinfectant claims. His work in this area sits at the intersection between environmental law and other federal and state regimes, including Food and Drug Administration regulation of medical devices, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement of import/export requirements.