CEC performs services in a customized, phased manner focusing on key compliance and liability issues and presenting findings in terms of potential short- and long-term liability, including expected capital and operational expenditures necessary to correct problems.
CEC offers a complete range of environmental auditing and assessment services to industrial clients, law firms, site developers and financial institutions, and is a valued advisor in complex and time-critical projects involving financial and environmental liabilities, as well as varied risk tolerances. CEC audits and assessments are customized to evaluate such aspects as regulatory compliance (existing operations, as well as to-be-acquired or divested interests) and/or whether impacts to environmental media exist that pose human health and/or ecological risks as part of real property transactions and development. When risks are identified, CEC assists with achieving compliance, mitigating risks and interacting with agencies to obtain formal regulatory closure.
Compliance Audits
CEC evaluates the status of various private sector industrial clients as they relate to major environmental laws and regulations, including RCRA, CERCLA, CWA, CAA, TSCA, SDWA, OSHA, SARA Title III, and related state and local requirements. CEC focuses on identifying non-compliance issues, recommending appropriate solutions, and providing cost estimates to bring a facility into compliance. Audits support ongoing operations, as well as mergers and acquisitions, which can include unique considerations, risk tolerances, and historic/forward-looking objectives.
Environmental Assessments
CEC routinely conducts assessments of properties to identify environmental liabilities and determine if past or adjacent land uses have resulted in environmental impacts. Assessments are designed to meet industry standards, such as ASTM and AAI, as well as client-specific and state-mandated standards when regulatory closure is the ultimate goal. CEC conducts environmental site assessments with a focus on proposed land use and a practical evaluation of likely exposure pathways so that the need for potential additional assessment is supported by sound rationale. CEC’s multi-disciplined capabilities allow for a more complete assessment, inclusive of potential business environmental risks, especially in cases of greenfield development and property redevelopment involving a change in use.
Site Investigations
Site investigations may be recommended, if appropriate, to evaluate whether impacts to environmental media are present or to further study the extent and degree of known impacts. CEC uses current technologies for representation of data, including three-dimensional visualization of geologic and hydrogeologic information. CEC specializes in site characterization; groundwater modeling; soil, waste and water sampling; human and ecological risk assessment; regulatory liaison; site remediation; cleanup verification; cost allocation; and expert testimony. CEC completes an efficient and knowledgeable study of the most complex sites ranging from large industrial sites and landfills under state and federal jurisdiction to the corner gasoline station and neighborhood dry cleaner.
Brownfields Development
CEC has used our expertise in environmental assessments and site characterization to build a large and diverse brownfields redevelopment capability. CEC has successfully taken numerous idle industrial sites through the redevelopment/reuse process, with a particular emphasis on old metals manufacturing and related facilities. Our licensed professionals have successfully completed assessment and remediation at many locations across the United States, in many cases supporting acquisition of various liability protections available through state voluntary remediation programs. As a full-service, multi-disciplined firm, CEC brings a holistic approach to brownfield redevelopment where our engineers and environmental specialists work together to provide synergistic solutions that optimize reuse of a property through the site design process and the use of practical engineering and institutional controls.
