Alternative Dispute Resolution
Our Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practice leverages our multidisciplinary talents to resolve complex disputes relating to the equitable allocation of environmental remediation and restoration costs, usually involving claims asserted under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or “Superfund”) or state-equivalent statutes or cleanup programs. We draw from a deep bench of seasoned professionals, with expertise and thought leadership in cost allocation; damages analysis; environmental sciences; forensic history; data management, analytics, and geospatial services; and finance and accounting.
How We Help
We have successfully resolved a wide range of CERCLA allocation disputes while serving as a “neutral allocator,” often under court order, and acting on behalf of diverse groups of parties or stakeholders, including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, large and small corporations, municipalities, insurance providers, estates, and various federal and state government departments or instrumentalities.
Our ADR professionals have served as arbitrators, mediators and/or cost allocation experts for hundreds of sites located throughout the United States, with recoverable costs ranging from just a few million dollars to greater than a billion. Beginning with the initial stages of an ADR engagement, we work with the parties to create a process design that is tailored to their needs, in terms of both transactional costs and schedule.
Our ADR Site Expertise
- Mega-Sites (Superfund/CERCLA)
- Sediment sites, including urban rivers and waterways
- Urban watersheds and sewersheds
- Landfills and open dumps
- Mining and mineral processing sites
- Drum disposal and reclamation facilities
- Rail yards and networks
- Waste oil recovery sites
- Hazardous waste treatment facilities
Our ADR Competencies
- Mediation and Arbitration
- Group Convening and Process Design
- Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) investigations
- Historical Sewer System Pathway and Bypass Reconstruction
- Information Management Systems
- Custom geospatial systems for cost allocation
- Waste-in transactional database design and development
- Position paper and expert report evaluation
