Program Overview
Who Should Order
Attorneys, consultants, agency officials, Tribal leaders, water system operators, and potentially responsible parties
Why You will Benefit from the Replay
Current initiatives to investigate PFAS will carry the out-of-state wave of PFAS litigation to California. The California Water Board-required investigations of PFAS sources will likely result in a spike in PFAS litigation seeking remediation, replacement or expensive treatment for water supplies and water supply agencies. As additional PFAS data becomes public, the potential for toxic tort actions is likely to increase. Unique to California, failure to warn for PFAS, especially in food products, is a new target for Proposition 65 litigation, Moreover, PFAS will affect the scope and costs of due diligence for development and purchase and sale transactions and result in spin-off PFAS litigation.
Register soon for this cutting-edge Conference on PFAS litigation.
~ Alexander I. Leff, Esq. of SL Environmental Law Group and David S. Lipson, Ph.D., P.G., of HRS Water Consultants, Inc., Program Co-Chairs
What You Will Learn
- The interplay between PFAS litigation and development of regulatory standards over time
- Identifying and learning from similar sites
- Review of PFAS sources and occurrence data in light of evolving regulations
- A national look at regulatory standards and government initiatives
- California's PFAS Phased Investigation Plan
- Drinking water treatment options
- Theories of liability
- Recovery under the Federal Tort Claims Act
- Dealing with the federal government as a Potentially Responsible Party
- Lines of defense
- Techniques for valuing damaged natural resources
- Cost recovery for drinking water suppliers
- Legal and scientific proof lessons from the Scotchgard case
What Attendees Said
- "Great Overall"
- "Outstanding work by organizers"
- "Very useful conference"
- "Emerging contaminant presentation was great"
Agenda Day 1
8:00 am
Registration Opens
8:30 am
Introduction & Overview
Alexander I. Leff, Esq.
, Program Co-Chair
SL Environmental Law Group / San Francisco, CA
8:45 am
A Quick Overview of the Chemicals and Terminology
David S. Lipson, Ph.D., P.G.
, Program Co-Chair, Principal Hydrogeologist
HRS Water Consultants, Inc. / Lakewood, CO
9:00 am
Evolution of PFAS Litigation Over Time
The interplay between PFAS claims and development of regulatory standards over time; theories of liability and tips for selecting the one(s) most suited to the site
Richard Head, Esq.
SL Environmental Law Group / Hillsborough, NH
10:00 am
PFAS Occurrence and Treatment: Key Observations
Review of PFAS sources and occurrence data in light of evolving regulations; proven and developing treatment technologies; lessons from implementation of water treatment systems including responses to initial detections; residuals management challenges
Avram Frankel, P.E.
, Principal
Integral Consulting Inc / San Francisco, CA
10:45 am
Break
11:00 am
PFAS Forensics: How to Identify Sources of Contamination
Step 1: Identifying specific chemical compounds, their persistency characteristics, and health impacts; Step 2: Identifying the origins of contaminants through the use of forensic techniques such as isotope and compositional analysis
Gregory Schnaar, Ph.D., PG
, Director of Expert Services
Daniel B Stephens & Associates Inc / Silver Spring, MD
12:00 pm
Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm
Regulatory Standards and Government Initiatives
At the national level: Safe Drinking Water Act and the Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (URCM3); EPA Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS; Draft Interim Recommendations for Addressing PFOA and PFOS Groundwater Contamination
Jeffrey Rose
, Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy
Battelle / Columbus, OH
California's PFAS Phased Investigation Plan; other California administrative developments including Interim Notification Levels and status of potential MCL; legislative developments, including AB 756 and forthcoming Senate Bill; Prop 65 funding update
Andria Ventura
, Toxics Program Manager
Clean Water Action Inc / Oakland, CA
2:30 pm
Drinking Water Treatment Options
Specific examples of the different types of technologies used to treat PFAS
Robert Craw
, Vice President of Business Development
Aqueous Vets / Danville, CA
3:00 pm
Break
3:15 pm
Cost Recovery
Drinking water suppliers: Case study of the methodology and response used by the City of Westfield for addressing PFAS in their system
Susan C. Phillips, Esq.
, City Solicitor
City of Westfield / Westfield, MA
Military and other federal operations: Assessing the potential for recovery under the Federal Tort Claims Act
Valerie A. Lee, Esq.
, President
Environment International Ltd. / Seattle, WA
Lessons from Natural Resource Damage cases on dealing with the federal government as a Potentially Responsible Party
A. J. Gravel
, Senior Managing Director
FTI Consulting / Bethesda, MD
5:00 pm
Continue the Exchange of Ideas: Reception for Faculty and Attendees
Sponsored by Kelley Drye & Warren and Law Seminars International
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
8:30 am
Lines of Defense
Assessing and choosing among the legal options for defending toxic tort, mass tort, and natural resource damages cases
Sarah P. Bell, Esq.
Farella Braun + Martel / San Francisco, CA
Strategic and case management tips from the natural resource damages world
Allison B. Rumsey, Esq.
Arnold & Porter / Washington, DC
Lessons from cases involving waterborne pathogen litigation for dealing with indivdual and community disease outbreaks
Kevin C. Mayer, Esq.
Crowell & Moring / Los Angeles, CA
10:15 am
Break
10:30 am
Valuing Damaged Natural Resources
Legal perspective on meeting the burden of proof
William J. Jackson, Esq.
Kelley Drye & Warren / Houston, TX
The theoretical context from an economic expert's perspective
Ryan Stifter
, Director, Economics & Complex Analytics
Roux Associates / Oakland, CA
Special issues for assessing impacts on Tribal fishing rights and cultural resources
Robert E. Unsworth
, Principal
Industrial Economics, Incorporated / Cambridge, MA
12:15 pm
Lunch (on your own)
1:30 pm
Wrap Up Case Studies
Alexander I. Leff, Esq.
, Program Co-Chair, Moderator
SL Environmental Law Group / San Francisco, CA
Mega cases: Legal perspective on how Minnesota v. 3M (the Scotchgard Case) built on earlier work
Robert A. Bilott, Esq.
Taft Stettinius & Hollister / Cincinnati, OH
Technical perspective on the extent to which the Scotchgard case provides guidance on the effective use of scientific evidence
Ryan Stifter
, Director, Economics & Complex Analytics
Roux Associates / Oakland, CA
3:30 pm
Evaluations & Adjourn
Faculty Bios
Alexander I. Leff,
Program Co-Chair, is the Managing Partner for SL Environmental Law Group. The firm has has recovered over a billion dollars in settlements and judgments for its clients.
David S. Lipson, Ph.D., P.G.,
Program Co-Chair, is Principal Hydrogeologist at HRS Water Consultants, Inc. He specializes in water quality, fate and transport of contaminants, groundwater remediation, and geochemistry.
Sarah P. Bell
is a partner at Farella Braun + Martel where she focuses on environmental and natural resources litigation. The bulk of her expertise involves cases relating to natural resources.
Robert A. Bilott
is a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister. He brought the very first PFAS environmental exposure case in 1999 and was appointed Class Counsel for the nation's first PFAS class action.
Robert Craw
is Vice President of Business Development at Aqueous Vets. His operational experience includes filtration and treatment media applications for municipal and industrial water treatment systems.
Avram Frankel is a
Principal at Integral Consulting Inc. He has overseen the design, costing, installation, and optimization of groundwater remediation and potable water treatment systems across the U.S.
A. J. Gravel
is a Senior Managing Director in FTI Consulting Inc.'s (FTI) Forensic Litigation and Consulting segment. He is the co-practice leader of the Environmental Solutions Practice and heads the Forensic History and Analysis group.
Richard Head
is Of Counsel at SL Environmental Law Group. He previously served as Associate Attorney General for the New Hampshire Justice Department..
William J. Jackson
is co-chair of the National Environmental Law Practice Group at Kelley Drye & Warren. He was lead counsel for the state of New Jersey in the Passaic River litigation and represented the state of Louisiana in the BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Valerie A. Lee
is President of Environment International Ltd. She has worked as both an environmental engineer and attorney on environmental cleanup, natural resource damage assessments (NRDA), and restoration of natural resources.
Kevin C. Mayer
is a partner at Crowell & Moring where he represents industrial and commercial entities charged with violations of environmental statutes and regulations. He is one of the country's preeminent trial attorneys in the defense of water-borne pathogen litigation.
Susan C. Phillips
is the City Solicitor for the City of Westfield, Massachusetts. The City is pioneering a proactive approach to protecting its residents from perfluorinated compounds in drinking water that uses bench-scale testing to determine the best approach to treatment.
Jeffrey Rose
is Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Battelle. He is responsible for the development and execution of congressional education, outreach, and advocacy strategies.
Allison B. Rumsey
is a partner at Arnold & Porter focusing on environmental litigation and enforcement. She formerly served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division of the US Department of Justice.
Gregory Schnaar, Ph.D., PG,
is Director of Expert Services and Principal Environmental Scientist at Daniel B Stephens & Associates Inc. His practice focuses on applying quantitative hydrologic methods to evaluate contaminant transport and conduct water resources assessments.
Ryan Stifter
is Director, Economics & Complex Analytics at Roux Associates. He advises responsible parties(RP) and insurancecompanies on litigation and settlement of natural resource damage claims.
Robert E. Unsworth
is a Principal at Industrial Economics, Incorporated. He focuses on applied natural resource and environmental economics.
Andria Ventura
is the Toxics Program Manager for Clean Water Action Inc.
Continuing Education Credits
Live credits: Law Seminars International is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider.This program qualifies for 12.25 California MCLE credits. It also qualifies for 12.0 ABCEP environmental professional credits. Upon request, we will help you apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.
Ordering
Pricing
This replay qualifies for our special Covid-19 half-price discounted rate of $497.50
Cancellation
There is a $25 cancellation fee
Purchase a Replay
The web link option allows you to stream or download. The flash drive option includes both audio and video files. Both include materials.