As a result of our extensive expertise and more than 30 years of experience in environmental consulting, NV5 provides independent third party (peer) review of the work performed by other environmental consultants. Many of our clients have found the reviews to be a useful method of obtaining a second opinion regarding: (1) the interpretation of site conditions; (2) proposed scopes of work; and (3) recommended remedial actions (e.g., is the selected remedial measure appropriate for site conditions and cost effective).
Based on our ability to clearly communicate the technical complexities into terms that are readily understandable by lay persons, NV5 also provides technical support and expert witness testimony for environmental litigation. NV5 has provided testimony in matters involving chemical storage vessels, sumps, underground piping, identification of source areas, timing of releases of contaminants, fate and transport of contaminants, appropriateness of investigation and remediation methods, effectiveness of remediation methods, definition of recoverable costs, National Contingency Plan-compliant response actions, cleanup methods and costs, and allocation of responsibility for response costs.
Further, our expertise is effectively utilized in litigation matters when cost allocation positions are needed for settlement, mediation/arbitration, or judicial proceedings. NV5 has successfully provided technically based allocation of NCP-compliant response costs based on our interpretation of site conditions (i.e., site history, chemical type, chemical distribution, hydrogeologic setting, fate and transport of chemicals, and remedial action(s)).
Projects
For various clients and law offices, NV5 has reviewed technical documents related to site
characterization, remediation, and long-term monitoring activities at several sites with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), metals, and/or petroleum hydrocarbon containing soils and groundwater.
Hydrogeologic Experts Providing Litigation Support
NV5 has provided technical support to clients on over 50 litigation cases in state and federal courts. Representative cases include matters involving:
- Transport of solvents in groundwater to offsite areas
- Effects of proposed roadway on water supply well
- CERCLA cost recovery for soil and groundwater degradation due to dry cleaning
operations - Construction delays due to improper design of dewatering system
- Source identification and appropriate remedial measures for petroleum hydrocarbon contamination of soil and groundwater
- Cost recovery from multiple parties for petroleum hydrocarbon contamination of soil and groundwater
- Surface spill of petroleum hydrocarbons and effects on soil and groundwater conditions
- Identification of source of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil and groundwater and estimation of remediation costs for multiple sites