SHAWNA M. BLIGH

Ms. Bligh concentrates her practice in the area of the environmental law, including environmental litigation, compliance, and federal facilities remediation and redevelopment.

Experience
Ms. Bligh is an Associate with The Session Law Firm.

Ms. Bligh has handled cases from initial filing through trial, including managing all aspects of pleadings and discovery, pre-trial preparation and trial work. Ms. Bligh’s litigation experience includes multi-party cost recovery and contribution litigation arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Ms. Bligh’s litigation experience also includes litigating multi-party construction defect and insurance coverage litigation involving multiple layers of coverage.

Ms. Bligh also handles environmental and land-use compliance matters. She works with a broad cross-section of environmental statutes, including the Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), including the Lead Hazard Reduction Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, aboveground and underground storage tank statutes, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). She has negotiated administrative settlements arising under federal, state and local environmental laws. Ms. Bligh has advised local small businesses in compliance with land use ordinances, including representing clients in front of the Board of Zoning Adjustment for the City of Kansas City, Missouri.

Ms. Bligh’s appellate experience includes co-authoring the winning appellate brief, which effectively dismissed RCRA and state law claims asserted by a state agency against a used oil management facility.

Ms. Bligh is also a member of the firm’s federal facilities practice group. In this capacity, her experience includes the remediation and redevelopment of federal facilities, including real estate transferred pursuant to the Base, Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Acts. Ms. Bligh also has experience with the remediation and redevelopment of Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS).    
    
Ms. Bligh is licensed to practice law in the states of Missouri and Vermont, as well as the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri and the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.

Professional Associations
Ms. Bligh is a member of the American Bar Association, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, the Vermont Bar Association and the Missouri Bar Association.

Ms. Bligh is Vice Chair of the American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources’ Agricultural Management Committee, and Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee; Vice Chair of the American Bar Association, Section of Science and Technology’s Public Health, Environmental Law, and Preparedness Committee; and sits on the editorial board of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ Natural Resources & Environment publication.

Ms. Bligh is the past vice-chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources’ Site Remediation Committee and the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee.

Publications
"Pharmaceuticals in Surface Waters: Use of NEPA." Natural Resources & Environment, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Fall 2009).

"Federal Government as Angel Investor for Environment & Energy Projects?" Natural Resources & Environment, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Summer 2009).

"Update on the ANSI SCS-001 Sustainable Agriculture Standard-Setting Process," American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Agricultural Management Committee Newsletter, Vol. 12, No. 4 (September 2008).

"Experts Review Legal, Regulatory Issues Surrounding Nanotechnology," Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News, July 28, 2008.

"School Lunch Suppliers to Face New Animal Welfare Requirements," Food Chemical News, June 30, 2008.

"Judge Dismisses Perchlorate Suit Following Plaintiffs' Request," Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News, June 23, 2008.

"Court Rules New Air Toxic Regulations Not Required for Synthetic Organic Chemicals," Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News, June 16, 2008.

"Court's Ruling Leaves in Place EPA's Phase-Out Schedule for AZM," Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News, May 26, 2008.

"6th Circuit Hears Oral Arguments against EPA Aquatic Pesticide Rule," Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News, May 5, 2008.

"California Supreme Court Adopts “Sophisticated User" Defense," Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News, April 14, 2008.

“Reauthorization and Expansion of the Brownfields Tax Incentive: Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006,” American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 2, (May 2007).

“Defining Major Modification and Emission Limits Under the CAA,” American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 2 (February 2007).

“Eminent Domain and Brownfields - What the Future Holds?” Kansas City Business Journal (May 1, 2006).

“Did NEPA Sink New Orleans?” 20 Natural Resources & Environment, Issue 4 (Spring 2006).

Education
Ms. Bligh received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law in 2003. She also received a LL.M. in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School in 2005.

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