HIGHLIGHTS
- The U.S. litigates many cases under the Clean Water Act.
- Abt provides expertise about the impact of spills into waterways.
- Abt-assisted cases produced favorable settlements for the U.S.
The Challenge
The U.S. Department of Justice is involved in a considerable amount of litigation under the Clean Water Act.
The Approach
Abt primarily has provided expert opinion regarding the relative permanence of waterways affected by industrial, agricultural, or petroleum-related spills into waterways throughout the U.S. In one project, we used publicly available data from the U.S. Geological Survey and other sources to render an opinion on the permanence of water downstream from an industrial accident. In another, we installed inexpensive field monitoring equipment, including staff gauges, water-level sensors, and time-lapse cameras to document the frequency of inundation in small streams draining a poultry farm.
The Results
To date, the Clean Water Act litigation projects we have assisted with have resulted in favorable settlements for the U.S.