John Gullace

Practice Areas

Alternative Dispute Resolution Neutral Services

Corporate and Commercial Transactions

Data Centers

Emergency Planning and Response

Energy

Litigation

PFAS and Emerging Contaminants

Superfund and Site Remediation

Career

John represents a broad array of clients, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to smaller closely held businesses, facing diverse environmental issues. He leads the firm's New Jersey practice, is a partner in the firm’s environmental litigation group, and regularly handles site remediation matters and complex negotiations with government entities and private parties. John’s work on contaminated sediment sites and related litigation includes his election to a small steering committee overseeing litigation for a large group of corporate defendants in a high-profile sediment case. He has represented clients in the railroad, telecommunications, chemical, waste, retail, heavy industrial, construction, municipal, financial and other sectors in environmental matters including the defense of natural resource damages claims, contaminated sediment sites, the defense and prosecution of private and government initiated environmental cost recovery claims, citizen suits, the defense of government penalty actions, permit challenges, administrative appeals, site remediation matters, as well as on-scene emergency responses and government inspections. John also received formal mediator and arbitrator training through the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR).

Professional Memberships

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

U.S. Supreme Court

American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources

Secretary, 2024-2026

Executive Committee, 2024-2026

Budget Taskforce, 2024-2025

Cyber Security Legal Task Force and SEER Liaison, 2023-2025

Special Committee on SEER Policy Positions - Chair, 2021-2024

Section Council Member, 2018-2021

Strategic Planning Committee, 2018-2019

Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation Committee - Chair, 2016-2018; recognized as Best Committee 2016-2017; Vice Chair, 2014-2016

Section Liaison, Dispute Resolution Section, 2012-2013

Dispute Resolution Committee - Chair, 2010-2012; Vice Chair, 2008-2010

American Railway Development Association: Environmental, Law and Real Estate Committees

Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey, Environment Committee Chair, 2022-present

New Jersey Bar Association

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Philadelphia Bar Association

Publications

Resilient Environments and Landscapes Rule Updates

MGKF Special Alert - 2026 New Jersey Forecast - January 20, 2026

New Jersey Governor Sherrill’s Environmental Priorities

MGKF Special Alert - 2026 New Jersey Forecast - January 20, 2026

NJDEP Has Begun Issuing Requests for Information Directly to LSRPs

MGKF Special Alert - November 14, 2025

New Jersey’s Coastal Flood Rules

MGKF Special Alert - 2025 New Jersey Forecast - January 17, 2025

ABA SEER Year in Review 2010, co-author of Alternative Dispute Resolution chapter

Education

Work Highlights

John's representations include the following:

defense of litigation related to a large contaminated sediment site on behalf of a group of clients, as well as representation of clients in related administrative proceedings with EPA and federal natural resource trustees;

representation of property owners facing linear construction projects including pipelines and electrical transmission lines;

representation of client property owner in complex negotiations involving environmental and operational issues related to a future bridge construction project;

defense of natural resource damages claims brought by the State of New Jersey, one of which involved a demand of more than 800 acres of compensatory land from a client;

negotiation of a multi-site settlement agreement involving the resolution of environmental claims at multiple sites throughout the country that were conveyed to the client;

defense of private and government initiated environmental cost recovery claims brought in federal court as well as the courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania;

litigation to recover costs incurred by clients conducting environmental cleanups from other responsible parties, as well as negotiations with insurers to recover such costs;

representation of multiple clients in a large, complex, multi-year ADR process to resolve a state and federal claim for costs and natural resource damages in excess of $100 million;

defense of client in federal and state enforcement proceedings and emergency response actions arising from the storage of radiological material at multiple locations;

defense of claims for clean-up costs associated with historical contamination of sites in various jurisdictions including PA, NJ, MA and CT;

defense of nuisance and other common law and statutory claims designed to shut down or impair clients' operations;

representation of parties in mediation regarding environmental contractual provisions, as well as complex allocations;

defense of government penalty assessments under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act, New Jersey Air Pollution Control Act, Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act, Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act, and Pennsylvania Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act;

administrative appeals of government orders and other final agency actions under various Pennsylvania statutes before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board;

permit challenges, both defending permitting decisions and challenging permits;

defense of a permit challenge brought by a property owner seeking to block a large wind farm project in northeastern Pennsylvania;

defense of citizen suits;

defense of a municipality sued in federal and state court by a citizens group trying to shut down the municipal wastewater treatment plant;

on-scene emergency response for railroad derailments involving shipments of hazardous materials and evacuation orders, as well as follow-up compliance reporting and representation during government investigations;

complex negotiations and litigation with property owners over deed notices and access on private property necessary for implementation of a large Superfund and Spill Act cleanup in New Jersey;

amicus curiae briefing before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on behalf of state-wide and regional trade organizations regarding water withdrawal rights and governmental jurisdiction under the Susquehanna River Basin Compact;

administrative appeals before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board on wastewater and sewage facilities planning issues including matters involving the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy and a matter involving the interplay between the jurisdictions of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; and

regulatory counseling in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Awards