Practice Areas:
- Environmental Law
- Natural Resources
- Mining Law
- Regulatory
- International Law
Experience
Mark Semenoff represents and counsels domestic and international clients regarding complex and often controversial transactional, permitting, regulatory, compliance, litigation and policy issues 
associated with a wide variety of domestic and foreign natural resource, energy, industrial and infrastructure projects. These projects include hard rock mining and mineral processing facilities; in situ mining; mine reclamation and re-mining activities; oil and natural gas production and transmission projects; electric power generation and transmission; and water and wastewater treatment operations.
Mark’s domestic practice encompasses a broad range of federal laws and regulations including: CWA, NEPA, CAA, CERCLA, RCRA, NHPA, ESA, EPCRA, various federal land use laws and regulations, federal and international hazardous waste/material import and export regulations, and DOT regulations. Mark has represented clients in rulemaking, adjudicatory, and permit hearings before federal and state courts, the U.S. EPA Environmental Appeals Board, other federal agencies and before agencies, commissions and boards in numerous states including Colorado, California, Wyoming, South Carolina, New York, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Michigan. He regularly advises and represents clients in natural resource transactions. Mark has also directed numerous due diligence exercises throughout the United States on behalf of both buyers and sellers.
Mark’s international practice focuses on advising private clients and governmental entities on regulatory, permitting and compliance issues related to mine, energy and infrastructure project development and operation. He regularly advises Canadian and European companies on U.S. environmental and natural resource law compliance issues. A significant component of his international practice involves advising clients on managing political and investment risk associated with evolving legal regimes. Mark is currently serving as legal advisor to the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines on the public tender of a world class copper deposit. He has also been retained by the World Bank to lead a team drafting comprehensive mining
regulations for Afghanistan.
Education
- University of California (B.A., Phi Beta Kappa 1980; M.A. 1982), Regents Fellow (1980-1982)
- Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkley (J.D. 1986)
- Prosser Prize, Natural Resources Law (1986)
Professional Organizations
- American, Colorado and Denver Bar Associations
- Colorado Mining Association
- Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation
Admitted to Practice
- Supreme Court of Colorado, 1986
- United States District Court for the District of Colorado, 1986
Author/Lecturer
“Orange Alert: Developing Responsibilities of Natural Resource Companies for Chemical Security in an Unsafe World” in 51st Annual Institute Proceedings of Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, 2005; “Foreign Trade in Trash: Exporting Hazardous Waste,” (updated) in The Environmental Law Handbook, American Bar Association, Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law, 1992; “Foreign Trade in Trash: Exporting Hazardous Waste,” in Natural Resources and Environment, Vol. 4, No. 2, Summer 1989; Environmental Compliance Challenges in Asia” presented at the 2007 SME Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, February 27, 2007; “Orange Alert: Developing Responsibilities of Natural Resource Companies for Chemical Security in an Unsafe World” presented at 51st Annual Institute of Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Portland Oregon, July 22, 2005; “Hey Culligan Man, What’s That in The Stream? Avoiding Environmental Liabilities in the 90’s,” presented to the Culligan Dealers of North America, Chicago, Illinois, October 29, 1993, Phoenix, Arizona, November 4, 1993; ”Recent Developments in Canadian Environmental Law,” presented at the National Western Mining Conference, Seminar on International Environmental Trends, Denver, Colorado, March 25, 1993; Paternalism, Self-Determination and Hazardous Waste Export Controls,” presented at the Symposium on the Exportation of Hazardous Substances to Latin America, University of Cincinnati School of Law, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 12, 1991; “Earth Day, Public Policy and Environmental Law,” presented at Xavier University’s Earth Day Preview, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 13, 1991; “Revisions to the National Contingency Plan,” presented to the Colorado Hazardous Waste Management Society, Denver, Colorado, April 1990; “Asbestos Disposal Under CERCLA and RCRA,” presented at Construction Education Management Corps’ Seminars in Washington, D.C., October 1987 and March 1988.