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Company Profile: What to do when
What to do when you find manmade toxic chemicals in your water system
By ASHLEY CAMPBELL | Attorney at SL Environmental Law Group
Recent developments in groundwater testing and regulation have made it easier to ensure safe public drinking water for all. If harmful contaminants have been detected in your water source, it’s crucial to take action to comply with the law and protect your community from exposure to health risks.
While the Environmental Protection Agency sets national standards for drinking water purity, many states have put stricter regulations in place to protect their residents against man-made contaminants such as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether and 1, 2, 3 trichloropropane. Research suggests that exposure to these contaminants can have serious health implications, including increased risk of cancer, weakened immune systems, increased cholesterol levels and potential birth defects, among others. Many of the threats posed to public drinking water today arise from the use of defective commercial products near surface and Ashley Campbell groundwater sources, or from consumer products that release harmful chemicals into the water system through everyday use.
Shifting the costs to those responsible
Whether the source of pollution is natural or man-made, the public often has to bear the burden of funding treatment costs through rate increases. But with man-made contaminants, water utilities and their constituents are increasingly pushing for more accountability.
Toxic man-made chemicals showing up in water systems is not new, but it has become more common, as municipalities are now increasing mandatory testing due to state and federal regulations. As municipalities become more aware of the man-made contaminants in their water systems, and as the public sentiment shifts toward holding corporate polluters accountable for the environmental damage, litigation is becoming a water provider’s best line of defense.
The good news is municipalities are having success in seeking compensation from the manufacturers responsible. A precedence has been set, and the legal team at SL Environmental Law Group has not lost a water contamination case yet. Some recent wins include over $250 million settlement for the state of New Hampshire; $26.5 million for St. Louis, Mich.; $30 million for Clovis, Calif.; $9 million for Livingston, Calif.; and many smaller settlements that have all lifted the cost burden of water remediation from small to medium-sized utilities.
Take action
Whether your municipality is facing new maximum contaminant levels or has recently discovered the presence of a contaminant in your water system, you need to act swiftly regardless of funding. Protecting citizens and preserving your legal rights are vital. Transparency is crucial from the beginning, and keeping the public informed as you determine the next steps and decide whether or not to pursue litigation is important.
Although some water utility leaders are reluctant to draw unwanted attention to harmful contamination, the Flint, Mich., crisis is a strong reminder of the repercussions of failing to be fully transparent.
How and when you respond can significantly impact your ability for a successful legal outcome. Here are some critical first steps:
Step 1: Engage an engineer to assess solutions
Once you’ve detected a contaminant in your water supply, the first step is to investigate possible solutions. There are many ways to address, mitigate and respond to water contamination problems, including: • Water treatment. Various media can remove certain contaminants from the water supply, and novel adsorbents are being developed regularly. Treatment may need to be used in conjunction with other solutions. • Purchasing alternative water sources. This can be a costly shortterm option and may disrupt existing water treatment solutions, since the introduction of water from a new source may impact existing treatment. • Abandoning or drilling new wells. This may be the costliest of choices due to the uncertainty of finding greater water quality and potential losses in production.
The cost of additional water treatment is significant but often necessary. Although you’ll have to incur upfront costs to move quickly on remediation, you can then bring legal action to recover those costs.
Step 2: Determine how the contamination occurred
In addition to reacting quickly on remediation, you’ll need to understand how the contamination occurred in the first place. This calls for an investigation of who was responsible and whether the impact is ongoing. This research can be time-consuming, but it’s crucial for predicting whether levels may increase over time. The more you understand the reason for contamination, the more confident you can be in your chosen solution.
The cost of treating contamination can easily run millions of dollars, even for one small well.
Naming the parties responsible for contamination can also help prepare you for pursuing compensation. This process is easier with the help of a team of experts in water contamination law, who can work with you to identify contamination sources even if you decide not to move forward with litigation to recover funds.
SL Environmental Law Group works closely with expert witnesses, like hydrogeologists and engineers, who can help uncover the causes of contamination. This step is critical in determining a successful legal outcome and can speed up the time to recover funds for treatment or replacement water.
Step 3: Determine how to fund your treatment solution
When faced with treatment costs, many water utilities decide to pay for these expenses by either increasing water rates, issuing bonds or finding applicable government grants. In instances when contamination occurs due to natural causes, these may be the best options available.
However, when a detected contaminant can be traced to the use of a commercial product use or manufacturing process, it may make sense to file a lawsuit. Across the country, water systems are placing the financial responsibility of treatment costs on the source of the problem: the commercial manufacturers whose defective products have resulted in the contamination of public drinking water.
Choosing a water law firm to guide you through the process
The steps listed above aren’t easy to navigate without experts to advise you along the way. Many water utilities decide to work with a firm that has a specific focus on water law to increase their chances of successful cost recovery after contamination is found. In your search for the right team to serve as your trusted advisors, there are a few criteria to consider.
Seek out a firm with many years of experience in water law exclusively. Firms covering broader environmental law can be too generalized to understand the nuanced approach it takes to move through the legal process efficiently. The firm you choose should draw from experience working with water utilities, state and local governments, engineers, hydrogeologists and water treatment technologists — they should also be able to point to a long history of water law settlements and verdicts won by their team.
Pursuing litigation often requires a large investment of time and resources from the utility with no guarantee of a favorable result. To move forward confidently, utilities must consider another important factor in assessing a law firm: their billing structure. Instead of an hourly billing method, where the client pays a set fee along with any expenses incurred by attorneys along the way, seek out a contingency fee arrangement that allows you to pay only when a settlement or trial verdict is won.
At SL Environmental Law Group our approach is unique. Rather than rely on federal acts involving time- and resource-intensive procedures, we use well-established legal theories based on common law and work at the local level. This technique has proven effective for our clients, allowing us to move quickly and efficiently through the court system and focus on reclaiming damages from a single polluter rather than a group of ancillary stakeholders.
A note of caution
The length of the statute of limitations, the starting point for measuring contaminants and other factors vary considerably from state to state, so water systems who are considering bringing a lawsuit against those responsible for the contamination should consult with legal counsel at the first opportunity, to ensure they are within the legal timeframe for filing a lawsuit.
Additionally, the trend for lowering and setting low MCLs and the tightening of federal regulations means more municipalities will be stepping up, which can put pressure on the manufacturer’s legal reserves, resulting in smaller settlements. Being among the first to take action may result in more generous settlements and also ensures your lawsuit is scheduled into busy court dockets as early as possible.
Assess the regulatory outlook
It’s important to both understand current regulations and have a sense of how they might change. Water quality standards are not static — they have the potential to become more stringent as new testing techniques are developed and health impacts are studied.
For example, PFOA and PFOS are chemicals that are commonly being considered for regulation by states. However, there is a whole class of unregulated PFAS chemicals that are currently undergoing scientific and regulatory scrutiny. The EPA has recently published a proposed 5th Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. This would add a further 29 PFAS substances to be monitored in sample collection between 2023 and 2025.
Any response to contamination should take into consideration possible regulatory changes that may impact treatment options. Building in some kind of protection against these unknowns is important, and a good legal team can help with recommendations to achieve this.
Visit www.slenvironment.com for more information.
Incentive Program Launched for Small Municipalities to Replace Their Lead Pipes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Policy Innovation Center announced the launch of a Lead-Free Water Challenge to help incentivize small municipalities to remove and replace their lead service lines. EPIC will select five municipalities or public water systems that will receive technical assistance, connections to resources and funders, policy guidance and information-sharing through peer networks with the goal of removing all lead pipes.
EPIC encourages interested municipalities and small water systems to apply on the Lead-Free Water Challenge webpage, where they can find additional information on the program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through June 15, 2021.
Approximately 11,000 communities across the country have lead service lines, which were largely installed a century ago even as the threat of lead in drinking water became evident. While some larger cities have successful programs to replace lead service lines, many small and under-resourced municipalities and water systems have not had the capacity to address this threat.
President Biden announced an intent to remove 100% of the estimated 6 million to 10 million lead service lines across the country, but this will require more than just funding. Small municipalities and water systems face steep challenges such as a lack of specialized personnel, staff capacity and/or financing expertise to figure out how to get started, where their pipes are, how to secure funding and how to initiate a replacement program that is equitable for all residents.
EPIC has teamed up with Blue Conduit and other partners to deliver much-needed technical assistance to the selected municipalities. EPIC’s Lead-Free Water Challenge is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Spring Point Partners.
DIXON, ILL. — Bonnell Industries announced some adjustments have been made to its sales and customer service process, welcoming new Bonnell National sales representative Tom Godbold.
Godbold has worked with Bonnell Industries for the past four years as a parts and service sales representative. He has amazing customer relations skills and is knowledgeable on the products and solutions that Bonnell provides for its customers.
For more information, visit www.bonnell.com.
Agile Fleet’s Joe Poznick takes helm of client success group
CHANTILLY, VA. — FleetCommander creator Agile Fleet Inc. has tapped fleet industry veteran Joe Poznick to lead the company’s client success group. He succeeds Matt Wade, who is pursuing a well-earned retirement while still continuing with Agile Fleet as a board of directors member.
Poznick, who joined Agile Fleet in 2020 as senior director of client success, brings with him over 20 years of experience working with multinational fleet operations with business process analysis, fleet solutions development, telematics, systems integration as well as car-sharing and mobility.
“Joe’s dedication to advancing technology to solve complex fleet challenges makes him a natural choice to fill Matt’s formidable shoes,” said Agile Fleet President Ed Smith. “We are confident that Agile Fleet will not only continue to assist our clients with best-in-class service but will go above and beyond.”
“Matt and I share the same vision for supporting our clients, and I am excited to continue the great work he has done for Agile Fleet over the past 20 years,” said Poznick. “Agile Fleet clients will continue to experience the benefits of partnering with us, optimizing their use of our solutions, improving their motor pool vehicle management and managing their fleets efficiently.”
“Joe’s presence in the role not only supports client relationship continuity but strengthens Agile Fleet’s role as a leader in the vehicle sharing/optimization sector, thanks to his expertise in process optimization and cost reduction,” said outgoing Vice President of Client Success Matt Wade. “I see this as a win-win for all, especially our clients.”
Prior to joining Agile Fleet in February 2020, Poznick was senior vice president of operations and customer success for Chevin Fleet Solutions and a mobility and fleet technology consultant for car-sharing and pool vehicle management solutions aimed at government, education, healthcare and corporate shared vehicle fleets.
For information, contact Agile Fleet at (571) 498-7555, ext. 1, or Ed Smith, esmith@agilefleet.com, or visit http://www.agilefleet.com.
Congratulations to the latest companies earning MVP status
FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. — Because standards don’t raise themselves, NTEA’s Member Verification Program acknowledges the companies leading the industry to excellence. Fleet managers, truck dealers and OEMs know truck equipment manufacturers and distributors with MVP status have implemented specific business and quality standards and comply with federal regulations.
New MVP members (since Jan. 1, 2021) • ABG Fabrication (Naples, Fla.) • AmeriDeck (Hadley, Pa.) • Bob’s Services Inc. (Anchorage, Alaska) • Bucks Fabricating (Hadley, Pa.) • Deist Industries Inc. (Hadley, Pa.) • Driverge Vehicle Innovations (Akron, Ohio) • General Truck Body (Louisville, Ky.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Flint, Mich.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Jefferson City, Mo.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (St. Peters, Mo.)
• Scelzi Enterprises Inc. — Colorado (LaSalle, Colo.) • Vantage Mobility International (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Renewals
• Adrian Steel Co. (Adrian, Mich.) • Aspen Equipment Co. (Bloomington, Minn.) • Demers Ambulances (Beloeil, Quebec, Canada) • EBY Truck Bodies (M.H. EBY Inc.) (Blue Ball, Pa.) • Fontaine Modification Co. (Charlotte, N.C.) • General Body Metroplex (Arlington, Texas) • General Body Mfg. Co. of Texas (Houston, Texas) • HA Dehart & Son (Thorofare, N.J.) • Klein Products of Texas (Jacksonville, Texas) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Griffin, Ga.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Jeffersonville, Ind.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Ladson, S.C.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Miami, Fla.) • Lancaster Truck Bodies (Lancaster, Pa.) • MGS Inc. dba Maxey Trailer Sales & Truck Fitting (Fort Collins, Colo.) • Omaha Standard PALFINGER, A Member of the PALFINGER
North America Group (Council Bluffs, Iowa) • PB Loader Corp. (Fresno, Calif.) • Pick Up Pals Inc. (Lubbock, Texas) • Prime Time SV (Elkhart, Ind.) • Summit Truck Bodies LLC (Wathena, Kan.) • Supreme – A Wabash National Company (Cleburne, Texas) • Supreme – A Wabash National Company (Goshen, Ind.) • Supreme – A Wabash National Company (Griffin, Ga.) • Supreme – A Wabash National Company (Jonestown, Pa.) • Transfer Flow Inc. (Chico, Calif.) • Vanner Inc. (Hillard, Ohio)
Current NTEA distributor and manufacturer members are encouraged to apply for MVP status at any time. There is no charge — NTEA underwrites the cost of MVP as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the core competencies of its members. Once qualified, companies receive MVP status for a three-year term. To renew, MVP members must again document compliance, ensuring their ongoing commitment to professionalism, industry knowledge and high performance.
In keeping with the goal to continuously increase program value, NTEA enhanced qualification requirements, effective Jan. 1, 2021, for first-time applicants. Companies renewing MVP status do not need to comply with changes until Jan. 1, 2022.
Visit ntea.com/mvp to learn more and apply, or contact NTEA’s technical services department for personalized assistance at (800) 441-6832 or mvp@ntea.com.
Dannmar unveils fully upgraded line of car lifts, wheel service equipment
SANTA PAULA, CALIF. — BendPak Inc. has completed its overhaul of the Dannmar brand and is rolling out a completely updated and expanded line of professional-grade car lifts, tire changers, wheel balancers and accessories.
BendPak purchased the Dannmar brand and assets in April 2020 and immediately got to work rationalizing and upgrading the product portfolio. Over the last year, the BendPak team has redesigned and improved every Dannmar two-post lift, four-post lift, specialty lift, tire changer, wheel balancer and accessory. All Dannmar products are now built alongside BendPak and Ranger equipment in the same factories to ensure consistent quality and durability.
“With Dannmar, we are giving customers more choices of durable, dependable and affordable equipment for their professional shops or home garages,” explained Jeff Kritzer, BendPak executive vice president. “All Dannmar equipment is built to the same standards that have made BendPak the benchmark of quality worldwide.”
The new Dannmar lineup includes portable low-rise and midrise lifts; two-post lifts with lifting capacity ranging from 8,000 pounds all the way up to 15,000 pounds; four-post lifts for vehicle service, storage and alignment; tire changers, wheel balancers and wheel service packages; plus rolling jacks and other accessories. All Dannmar products feature a blue paint scheme highlighted with the Dannmar white and orange logo.
Dannmar products are available to buy online at the new website dannmar.com. For customer support or to order by phone, call (877) 432-6627 from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time Monday through Friday.
New resource provides park and recreation professionals with tools to advance health equity by applying a racial equity lens
ASHBURN, VA. — The National Recreation and Park Association announced the release of a new resource: “Elevating Health Equity Through Parks and Recreation: A Framework for Action.” Developed in collaboration with Epic Health Solutions, the interactive framework guides local park and recreation professionals in applying an equity lens to system-wide operations, programs and services.
“NRPA strives for a future where all people have access to and are welcomed into programs, facilities, places and spaces that are parks and recreation,” said Autumn Saxton-Ross, Ph.D., vice president of education and chief equity officer at NRPA. “When health inequities are eliminated, the health of individuals — especially Black, Latino, Indigenous and Asian American people and their communities — improves. Many park and recreation agencies have made progress toward this goal; however, there is still much work to be done to eliminate and prevent health inequities. NRPA is proud to assist park and recreation professionals in their efforts to advance health equity.”
News releases regarding personnel changes, other non-product-related company changes, association news and awards are printed as space allows. Priority will be given to advertisers and affiliates. Releases not printed in the magazine can be found online at www.themunicipal.com. Call (800) 733–4111, ext. 2307, or email swright@the-papers.com.
