Matthew Sander

Overview

Matthew (Matt) Sander, a Senior Attorney with The Goldstein Environmental Law Firm, brings more than two decades of senior leadership experience within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (OSRE), where his work focused squarely on removing legal and institutional barriers to the reuse of contaminated properties. As a core part of the Firm’s CERCLA and Superfund Redevelopment Practice, Matt provides strategic legal insight that helps clients navigate complex federal liability frameworks, structure transactions, and advance redevelopment projects involving contaminated sites.

During his tenure at EPA, Matt served in multiple senior and supervisory roles, including Supervisory Attorney and Team Leader for EPA’s brownfield amendments and revitalization work, and as a primary legal liaison to EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Program (SRP) coordinators nationwide. In these roles, he provided site-specific legal support to facilitate reuse at Superfund sites across the country, working directly with developers, municipalities, potentially responsible parties (PRPs), and agency staff to resolve liability and institutional barriers to redevelopment. His experience includes negotiating and drafting Prospective Purchaser Agreements, comfort and status letters, Ready for Reuse determinations, windfall lien resolutions, and other liability-clarifying tools essential for property transactions involving contaminated land.

Matt also played a significant role in national policy development and implementation. He supported EPA leadership during implementation of the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2018, advising on statutory interpretation affecting liability protections, grant eligibility, and redevelopment pathways, and developing guidance for new categories of brownfield recipients and expanded multipurpose grants. Over the course of his career, he developed and co-authored numerous signature EPA guidance documents addressing Superfund and brownfields redevelopment, including: Top 10 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Superfund Site, Revitalization Handbook, Superfund Liability Protections for Local Government Acquisitions, Ready for Reuse Determination Guidance, Liability Reference Guide for Siting Renewable Energy on Contaminated Property, Common Elements Guidance, PREPARED Workbook for Local Governments Considering the Reuse of Contaminated Properties, Comfort/Status Letter Guidance, Revitalization Ready Guide, EPA and State Cooperative Efforts and Responsibilities at Superfund Sites, Superfund Guidance on the Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use (SWRAU) Performance Measure, Key Elements of Effective Long-Term Stewardship for RCRA Corrective Action, Advanced Monitoring Technologies and Approaches to Support Long-Term Stewardship, Superfund Task Force Final Report, and Next Generation Cleanup Compendium of Examples. These materials continue to shape EPA’s approach to balancing protectiveness with economic reuse.

For more than 20 years, Matt served as a key legal and policy advisor to EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Program, helping to develop the national Ready for Reuse determination framework, integrate redevelopment considerations into remedial actions, and lead redevelopment feasibility analyses for major sites across the country. He was also EPA’s designated national subject-matter expert on municipal liability, lender liability, and liability protections for public entities, and a central resource for EPA enforcement staff on CERCLA liability defenses, institutional controls, and coordination with state cleanup and brownfield programs. His leadership extended to programmatic responsibilities, including supervising teams handling Superfund enforcement, redevelopment policy, institutional controls, and state and local coordination, and leading EPA’s Institutional Controls Coordinators Workgroup.

Matt’s experience also reflects deep engagement with intergovernmental coordination and long-term stewardship. He served for more than two decades as EPA’s primary enforcement liaison to the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO), facilitating coordination with state cleanup programs and contributing to the development of EPA-state memoranda of agreement governing contaminated site cleanup and redevelopment. He has led national trainings and webinars on topics such as purchasing Superfund sites, institutional controls, and redevelopment strategy, and has worked extensively on integrating federal and state cleanup authorities to support efficient project advancement.

For clients, this experience translates into practical, agency-informed guidance on liability management, enforcement risk, and redevelopment feasibility. Matt understands from inside EPA how liability protections (including bona fide prospective purchaser, contiguous property owner, innocent landowner, and local government protections) are evaluated and applied in real transactions and enforcement negotiations. His familiarity with EPA guidance and model documents allows him to anticipate agency expectations and tailor agreements and strategies that are both protective of client interests and realistic from a regulatory perspective. His background in institutional controls enables him to structure land use restrictions, access easements, and long-term stewardship obligations in ways that satisfy regulators while preserving redevelopment value.

Matt’s federal background provides the Firm with unmatched insight into EPA negotiation strategy, Superfund and brownfields integration, and the interplay between federal and state cleanup programs. His work has been formally recognized by EPA, including receipt of an EPA Bronze Medal for Superfund Redevelopment. Together with the Firm’s technical leadership, his experience strengthens the ability to resolve complex regulatory issues, expedite approvals, defend cleanup strategies, and align remediation with redevelopment planning, helping clients move projects forward efficiently while managing risk and protecting human health and the environment.

Outside of work, Matt has been deeply involved in youth development and athletics in his community, serving as a Boy Scout troop leader, coaching youth baseball, and teaching religious education. Matt has also dedicated significant time to competitive swimming, serving for many years as a referee and stroke and turn judge with various organizations. Across these roles, he has demonstrated the same commitment to mentorship, fairness, and attention to detail that defines his professional work.

Education

Professional Associations