For 22 years, Cliff worked as an attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, through EPA offices in Washington, D.C., Denver, Colorado, and Seattle, Washington. Over time, his EPA practice included administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement of federal pollution statutes such as CERCLA and the Clean Air Act. Starting in 2006, he provided on-call legal support for EPA’s emergency response program. He is also a certified liaison officer within the Incident Command System, assisting interagency efforts with disaster readiness and response.