Environmental Remediation

Many law firms practice environmental law generally, concentrating their efforts on assisting clients in dealing with the EPA and state environmental agencies regarding regulatory and permitting actions, or litigating enforcement actions involving cleanup and compliance matters. Payne Hackenbracht & Sullivan has focused its efforts on assisting contractors to recover additional compensation from owners or government agencies for unanticipated and unwarranted increases in the cost and time to perform environmental remediation. Through our efforts, our clients have been compensated for the additional costs incurred when the extent and character of the contamination differed materially from the site assessments, or when the conditions of the site were not as represented by the owner. In one instance, a client received substantial compensation when the contaminated material at a closed munitions facility was found to also contain montmorillonite, a naturally occurring hydrophilic clay that effectively neutralized the decontamination process the contractor was to employ in the site remediation. In another case, a client's additional costs were mitigated where the material that was to be used to encapsulate the contamination was also contaminated. In another memorable instance, our efforts led to a settlement that compensated our client for the costs it incurred in attempting to install, in impervious rock rather than fractured rock, a groundwater interception ditch encircling a landfill.