We have decades of experience working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), Regional Water Quality Controls Boards (RWQCBs), and local agencies to help our clients investigate and remediate properties. We have handled a wide variety of cases -- from a contaminated sediments case in a local estuary managed by the U.S. EPA as a Superfund site to solvent releases impacting multiple properties and handled by state and local agencies. 

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We are familiar with all aspects of cleanup.  We counsel clients on reporting and disclosure obligations that may apply to the discovery of contaminants in soil, groundwater, soil vapor, or indoor air; potential liabilities and approaches to managing those liabilities during the course of the remediation; compliance with cleanup orders; and legal obligations associated with the investigation, cleanup, and post closure measures (e.g., land use restrictions, access agreements, community fact sheets). 

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We have special expertise with vapor intrusion,  which continues to be a driver for many remediation projects, with adoption of U.S. EPA's conservative attenuation factor for soil gas expanding the scope of the investigation, cleanup, or vapor mitigation at many sites.  We are also seeing more extensive vapor intrusion investigations required, more frequently involving off-site properties implicating not just access issues but creating other potential liabilities.

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We managed one of the state's first evacuation directives in light of the short-term exposure risks believed to be associated with the presence of TCE. Since then, we have worked with both DTSC and a RWQCB on relocation of building occupants, interim measures to mitigate vapor intrusion, and vapor intrusion mitigation measures. We also advise on routine vapor intrusion investigations, including reporting and disclosure requirements, and negotiating third-party access agreements.

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We can identify other potentially responsible parties for the remediation under various federal and state law, either for purposes of petitioning regulatory agencies to name other parties on an administrative order or for a possible cost recovery action. We handle both informal petitions and formal administrative appeals. After decades of experience we no longer handle cost recovery litigation, but we can refer you to experienced litigators who can assist you with any associated litigation.  

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