Varun Shekhar is an associate in Babst Calland’s Environmental and Transportation Safety groups. Mr. Shekhar’s Environmental practice emphasizes federal, state and local regulatory matters arising under the Clean Air Act (CAA). He counsels Title V facilities across the country regarding compliance determination and assurance, CAA Section 114 information requests, and environmental audits. Mr. Shekhar draws upon his science and engineering background to help clients develop compliance solutions that are practical, technically and legally sound, and to represent entities in the course of enforcement actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Justice, and state agencies, as well as citizen suits within federal district and appellate courts.

Mr. Shekhar also has substantial experience in advising entities with continuous parametric and emissions monitoring systems, including coordinating with consultants and other technical advisors in identifying and addressing operational and data processing issues as they relate to compliance determination. He further advises clients with respect to emerging air quality issues, including climate change and regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from select industrial sectors.

In addition to his experience involving the CAA, Mr. Shekhar frequently assists clients in the area of radiological safety, including materials licensing and issues pertaining to handling and disposal of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM/TENORM). He also provides advice in other environmental areas, such as water quality permitting and enforcement under the Clean Water Act, health and safety, remediation, and environmental due diligence.

As part of his Transportation Safety practice, Mr. Shekhar advises clients within a wide variety of industries on the hazardous materials regulations (HMR) and other regulations promulgated by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Background

Mr. Shekhar graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2013, also attending the University of Michigan Law School during his course of study. During law school, he served as a summer law clerk to Justice Ann Walsh Bradley of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and as a research assistant to Professor Linda S. Greene of the University of Wisconsin Law School. Mr. Shekhar also worked with the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center in conjunction with the Wayne State University Transnational Environmental Law Clinic where he assisted community groups during planning phases of various large-scale construction projects in Detroit.

Mr. Shekhar earned his M.S. in Biomedical Engineering in 2013 with research emphasis in progenitor and stem cell-directed tissue engineering from Wayne State University, where he also previously received his Bachelor’s degree in 2007.