CHRIS A. WENDELBO

Mr. Wendelbo concentrates his practice in the areas of environmental and real estate transactional law.

Experience
Mr. Wendelbo is an Associate with The Session Law Firm.

Mr. Wendelbo represented the United States Army, local governments and private entities in the remediation and effective reuse of contaminated former military property throughout the United States. As Captain in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and subsequently as a civilian attorney, Mr. Wendelbo was the primary environmental attorney from the United States Army Environmental Law Division to the Army Base Realignment and Closure Office. In that capacity, he was responsible for ensuring that the United States Army complied with numerous federal, state and local statutes and regulations regarding the environmental remediation, transfer and closing of Army posts. His task was to ensure remediation to the desired level of reuse and to transfer the former post to the Local Reuse Authority (LRA) in a manner that was economically beneficial, while being protective of human health.

Mr. Wendelbo was an early participant in the Department of Defense joint initiatives to develop and implement alternative cost-efficient remedial measures and transfer approaches. Some of the early initiatives included the first public-private remediation partnerships between the United States and local governments and private entities, executing remedial services cooperative agreements with local governments and pioneering alternative funding mechanisms to allow for full remediation in a timely manner.

Mr. Wendelbo represents local governments and private clients in effectively receiving and remediating contaminated former military installations pursuant to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and Formerly Utilized Defense Sites (FUDS) programs. This includes guiding clients through environmental remedial alternatives, negotiating with federal, state and local environmental regulatory bodies, negotiating with Federal disposal agencies, entering into public/private remediation and funding arrangements and identifying and utilizing emerging funding resources.

Mr. Wendelbo has represented clients in environmental compliance and litigation, including contribution and indemnity actions, toxic tort issues and third-party cost recovery actions. He has also participated as a member of environmental due diligence teams in connection with the merger of large defense industrial base companies.

Education
Mr. Wendelbo received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1990. He received a Masters of Law Degree in Environmental Law, with Highest Honors, from The George Washington University Law School in 1999.

Community Activities
Mr. Wendelbo is a member of the Trinity United Methodist Church and has participated with Habitat for Humanity through Trinity. He also assists the Greater Homeless Services Corporation of Kansas City.

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