TBLS Environmental Liability Advisory Group

Representative Experience

Real Estate including Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

• Adak Island BRAC Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act) Transfer – Valuation of over 1000 impaired sites.  Reduced estimated cleanup costs to $200 MM from $1.5 BB enabling deal close between Navy and Aleut Corp.
• Pulte Group –Conducted pesticide impacted soil remediations including source removal, chemical fixation, QA/QC testing, and deep soil mixing.
• Washington State – Represented Insurance Industry on Governor’s Lead/Arsenic Task Force. Resulted in risk-based standards for airborne dispersal from copper smelters & impact standards for arsenic pesticide used in fruit orchards.
• Brownfields – Conducted hundreds of Phase I.II, and III ESAs, for developers including Vulcan, Prologis, Cushman, Wakefield, Vornado, Grubb & Ellis. Quantified environmental risk, provided negotiation, purchase & sale, litigation support along with long-term remediation design. Two projects became USEPA/State Brownfield Showcase projects.
• Pacific Gas & Electric – Valuation of gas plant cleanup on behalf of San Rafael, CA for Brownfield developer.
• Prologis REIT – Remediation cost estimating for 34 light industrial warehouse sites in New Jersey (2006). Negotiated first of its kind lease for Stormwater reuse rights of roof real estate as part of NRD settlement option for Industry.
• Portland Oregon Shipyard: Sediment remediation valuation and upland cleanup plan (2005, 2006.) as support of a finite insurance program for a National Brownfield redeveloper. 

Wood Products 

•  Menasha Corporation, Grays Harbor Paper, & Georgia Pacific – Conducted yearly ISO environmental audits
• Koppers (now Beazer); Western Wood Preserving Company; St. Marie’s Creosote, All-Weather Wood, Baxter Creosote. Conducted environmental audits and valuations.
• Lower Fox River Sediment Superfund Site – Valuation of sediment remediation as part of a finite risk transfer and cost cap policy placement on behalf of Appleton Paper (now NCR.)
• Port Blakely, RSG, Boise Cascade, and Weyerhaeuser: Conducted Phase I & II ESA and environmental audits of lumber mills and timber holdings

Energy

• 6 Oil Company $120MM Environmental Liability Buyout/Confidential – Complex valuation conducted on behalf of client and USEPA for a town impacted by releases. Valuation serving as foundation for liability buyout negotiations.
• BP/Conoco Phillips Acquisition –Post merge environmental cleanup of 800 facilities. Received No Further Action (NFAs) from regulator in less than two years enabling site transfer to Conoco/Phillips.
• Conoco Phillips/Unocal Acquisitions – Conducted due diligence on 78 downstream facilities to be acquired by Conoco Philips from Unocal.  This included both Phase I & II ESA investigations as part of M&A activities.
• Williams Company/Tesoro Terminal M&A – Conducted environmental liability valuations and audits of over 30 marine, pipeline, and distribution terminals in under three weeks as part of acquisition by Williams Pipeline Co.
• Premcor/Valero Refineries M&A – Valuations and due diligence audits of eight Premcor refineries during M&A.
• Chinese Petroleum Company (CPC) – Certified by World Bank as environmental cleanup expert. Assisted CPC and Chinese Government teaching Chinese Research Institute (ITRI) and CPC’s staff. Guided design for CPC’s first bioremediation cleanup for 6 WWII era marine and refinery terminals.
• Exxon Mobil / BP Acquisitions – Environmental investigation and valuation of 800 contaminated sites on the West Coast as part of acquisition by BP Oil.  This included remediation of over 200 sites following acquisition by BP.
• GATX / Shore Terminals / Kinder Morgan – Conducted environmental studies for three marine terminals as part of divestiture by GATX to Shore Terminals, now Kinder Morgan.
• FMN Railroad Fueling Terminal (FMN) Guadalajara, Mexico – Successful forensic analysis of failed 200 acre remediation system. Earlier spill caused sewer line explosions & deaths. Conducted over 20 site remediations for FMN.
• PetroCan – Consultant on major spill from pipeline into Frazier River in Canada.
• Chevron Terminal – Consultant on major spill at marine Chevron Terminal into Columbia River in Washington State.
• Mobil / Exxon – Remediation and ongoing environmental studies for over 50 Mobil/Exxon facilities including RCRA cleanup of a major marine terminal and asphalt plant on Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.

Food & Beverage

• Trident Seafood – Conducted environmental audits of 11 Trident Seafood processing facilities meeting ISO standards.

Mining

• Freeport McMoran (Phelps Dodge) – Clean Water Act studies at various mine sites, AZ
• BP Minerals (Anaconda Copper) – Environmental valuation of two operable units of the Anaconda Superfund site (Butte Priority Soils and Milltown Dam Sediment Removal.)  Cleanup accomplished by $70MM liability buyout.
• Bunker Hill Superfund Site – Environmental liability valuation for several operable units as part of environmental insurance placement and policy monitoring.
• Asarco Copper Smelter – Environmental liability valuation, file review, and audit during bankruptcy. Tacoma, WA.
• Asarco Bankruptcy – Environmental liability valuation of US facilities for risk transfer/cost cap insurance placement.

Transportation

• Georgia Pacific/Port of Bellingham – Liability valuation and consulting on $30MM liability transfer of 3 Superfund sites including a pulp and paper mill (Georgia Pacific’s Corporate Headquarters prior to acquisition by Koch industries) and 15 other properties.
• Port of Tacoma – Valuation and consulting on liability buyout of Thea Foss waterway operable unit (Commencement Bay Superfund Site), including sediment remediation method guarantee, and cost-cap for the Port of Tacoma.
• Foss Tug & Barge – Valuation for Middle Waterway Operable Unit of Commencement Bay Sediment Superfund Site.
• Port of Seattle & Port of Portland –Environmental audits & valuations of the marine portions of environmental insurance policy placements.
• SeaTac Airport –Multi-year environmental audits for 50 airports and ancillary repair facilities operated by the Port of Seattle. This included the pipeline-fueling terminal operated by Olympic Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of BP Oil.
• Portland International Airport – Multi-year audits of the Airport including their Stormwater Pollution Prevention systems, deicer programs, fueling programs, and aircraft repair facilities on behalf of, AIG Environmental.
• City of Phoenix, Sky Harbor Airport – Implemented emergency response action for leak at aircraft fueling terminal.
• Todd Pacific Shipyards (TPS) – Monitoring consultant and senior manager for AIG Claims for a 430 Acre Operable Unit (2000-2004) cleanup.  Cleanup accomplished to spec at 50% of original cost estimate due to innovative practices and careful management, and won an EPA Award for one of the best sediment remediation projects.
• Lockheed Shipyards/Port of Seattle Liability Buyout – Conducted environmental valuations of two shipyards being divested by Lockheed Martin to the Port of Seattle.  Represented the insurance carrier providing cost-cap insurance and finite risk program for the transfer.
• Hertz Corporation – Conducted Phase 1, II, & III studies under a National MSA for multiple sites and innovative remediation solutions.

Industrial

• Ford Motor Company – Divestiture investigation and remediation of a Ford Motor plant in Tigard, Oregon.
• General Motors – Investigation and remediation of General Motors” plants in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico and Brazil.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber – Contract negotiations and senior oversight manager for construction of DNAPL sparging remediation system at Superfund site in Phoenix, AZ as well as 40 other projects in Canada and US.
• General Electric –Remedial Investigation Feasibility Study (RI/FS) EPA equivalent of facility in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
• United Technologies – Conducted Phase 1 ESAs for new manufacturing facility expansion worldwide.
• Standard Brands – Environmental auditing of ceramic plant for American Standard.

Chemical/Pharma

• Hoffman LaRoche –Natural Resource Damage (NRD) environmental liability valuation for in Nutley, NJ Site using an innovative settlement process.
• Reichhold Chemical – TBLS staff worked on the RI/FS of a phenol plant in Atlacomulco, Mexico.
• Aventis/Sanofi – Valuation of a pesticide plant as part of a cost cap insurance policy placement in Portland, Oregon.
• Hoechst Celanese – Multi-year RI/FS of a nylon manufacturing facility in Salamanca, Mexico.
• Arkema/Atofina – Valuation of a pesticide plant and the ensuing sediment superfund site for the Hylebos Waterway Operable Unit of the Commencement Bay Superfund site.
• Stepan Chemical – NRD environmental liability valuation of Maywood, NJ plant.
• Kalama Chemical – Environmental audit of Kalama Chemical.
• Reichhold Chemical – Completed RI/FS equivalent on a phenol plant for (Atlacomulco, Mexico)))

Electronic Manufacturing

• SEH (Shin Etsu) America – Conducted ISO 9001 environmental audits of silicon wafer manufacturing facilities.
• Micron Technologies – Facility environmental audits in Idaho on behalf of AIG Environmental.
• Motorola – Phase I ESA studies for Motorola in China and India as part of their manufacturing base expansions.
• Motorola – Decommissioning of silicon chip plant in Oregon uniquely shipped to China for Oregon Graduate Institute.
• General Battery – Phase II & III studies for multiple sites

Financial Institutions

Expert environmental peer review services for commercial lending due diligence

Environmental & forensic claim support for Trust Department RE: M&A acquisition Liabilities

• KeyCorp,
• US Bancorp
• Washington Mutual (now JP Morgan Chase)
• Bank of America,
• GE Capital

Retail

Phase I & II ESA studies on multiple sites for the following:

• Costco
• Rite Aid
• Nordstrom

Landfills & Other Waste Facilities

Conducted Environmental ESA Phase I,II, & III studies, wood waste studies, Stormwater prevention plans, valuation, auditing, claims monitoring, post closure care where appropriate for:

• Shaw Group – 6 hazardous waste landfills going through closure/post closure care for Shaw Group in California as part of finite risk policy with AIG Environmental.
• Republic Waste – 16 landfill closure / post care reserves as part of finite risk policy placement.
• Zanker Recycling –4 construction debris landfills for Zanker Recycling in Bay Area, CA.
• Landfill Gas to Energy – Conducted for major financial institution for multiple landfill gas to energy sites as part of tax credit due diligence.
• Low –level Rad Waste Facility, AK – Closure / Post Closure – sufficiency of reserves valuation
• Environmental studies – including Stormwater prevention plans and environmental investigations of numerous wood waste landfills in Oregon:
  • RSG Timber
  • Boise Cascade
  • Weyerhaeuser 

• Part A RCRA Closure – RCRA Part-A Closure of a waste pile impacted with pentachlorophenol.  The source of an area-wide environmental contamination issue involving the inadvertent reuse of treated wood as animal bedding, which caused a number of farmer livestock to die.  The material was gathered up from various farms and transported to Arlington for chemical incineration.