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Mark R. Warnke is a partner with Cooper, White & Cooper LLP, and works in the firm's Walnut Creek (Contra Costa County) office. Mr. Warnke practices primarily environmental law, focusing on compliance counseling, facility permitting, and the defense of government enforcement actions. He also practices business and intellectual property law. In his environmental practice, Mr. Warnke frequently works with clients on Clean Air Act matters, including the interpretation of Title V operating permit program requirements and the rules and regulations propounded by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. He represents clients before the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and various California regional water quality control boards associated with NPDES permits and waste discharge requirements, oil spills and groundwater cleanups. Mr. Warnke also assists clients in complying with disclosure and reporting obligations under federal and state law associated with releases of hazardous materials, and in meeting warning obligations imposed on businesses under California's Proposition 65. Mr. Warnke is frequently consulted on environmental due diligence issues arising from the acquisition of industrial and commercial properties. He also has particular expertise in the preparation and negotiation of contracts for the treatment, storage, disposal and management of hazardous materials, and for emergency response services. In addition to his environmental expertise, Mr. Warnke works in conjunction with other attorneys in the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group to service the needs of the area's growing number of technology and e-commerce businesses. Mr. Warnke's intellectual property practice presently focuses on the registration and protection of trademarks and the licensing and assignment of intellectual property rights. Mr. Warnke received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of California at Davis in 1986. In 1990, he received his J.D. degree from the University of California at Davis, where he was an editor of the University of California, Davis Law Review. Prior to joining Cooper, White & Cooper LLP in 1993, Mr. Warnke worked as an environmental attorney for Chevron Corporation, specializing in natural resources matters, including requirements of the Endangered Species Act. Before entering the legal profession, he also worked as an environmental engineer for the State of California Air Resources Board. Mr. Warnke is a member of the Contra Costa County Bar Association and the Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law of the American Bar Association. He is also an associate member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. | 