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In today's economy, many larger companies are right-sizing to remain profitable, or they are refraining from hiring in-house personnel to handle environmental issues. Operations and/or plant managers are already overwhelmed by process, material, labor and output issues. Smaller facilities and small businesses cannot afford a full-time environmental specialist. Neither the manager nor the small business owner can take on the growing list of environmental tasks. New federal and state regulations have been promulgated that require complex and time-consuming record-keeping and reporting. And industrial and commercial real estate cannot be bought or sold without an environmental analysis because lenders will not finance a deal without one -- nor can the innocent purchaser defense be called upon should litigation ensue.
Many companies hire environmental consultants to design new or upgrade existing pollution control systems. Environmental impact studies have become standard operating procedure. Many industrial manufacturers conduct some sort of periodic environmental audit of their facilities. (See also related article, "Preparing a Tank Management Plan.")
The answer to this challenge can be a reliable environmental consultant to perform facility audits, site assessments, and remedial investigations/feasibility studies (RI/FS), or to remediate contaminated soil and groundwater, interpret regulatory requirements, and serve as a liaison with regulatory agencies. How can managers and business owners locate competent environmental consultants? This article provides some guidance.
Determine the project's scope of work
Establishing a project's scope early on helps determine some of the factors that should guide consultant selection. In other words, knowing what you need done is critical to hiring the right consultant. But keep an open mind later in the process, when reviewing proposals. You will find that even when you outline the scope of work quite specifically for a number of consultants, you may receive several different kinds of proposals. Sometimes the options presented in a proposal, although not strictly adhering to the scope of work as outlined, may offer a better way of performing the work.
Of course, cost is always a factor in the choice of consultant. This is not to say you should automatically select the lowest bidder; there should be other considerations. For example, does the cost estimate include all phases of the project? (A questionable practice by some consultants is to bid low and boost the estimate once work begins.) If the bid calls for a one-step rather than a phased solution, beware. In most cases, it is impossible to estimate the entire cost up front because the solution cannot be determined (if a solution is required) until the site investigation reveals whether there is a problem, and if so, what remedial action is necessary. The most important attribute of the estimated project cost is not its bottom-line dollar amount, but the value it represents. You must be sure that the cost is equal to the quality of technical product and overall service your money will buy, and that it will achieve results in your best interest.
Evaluating the consultant
It is critical to evaluate a consultant on competence, not sales ability. Before hiring, ask the following questions: Who in the consulting firm will be in charge of the project? What are their credentials and experience? Which regulatory agencies has the firm negotiated with? What is the firm's reputation in the legal community? Will personnel be sensitive to employees, corporate neighbors, and possibly the media?
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Selecting a consultant is buying expertise. It is important that the environmental firm has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the applicable regulations and the evolution of these regulations. Make sure you do not select a firm that will just follow the letter of the law: select a firm with innovative, strategic thinkers who will find the best possible solution to your problem.
 The most important consultant qualifications are their industry experience and fields of specialty. The firm's staff should include professional engineers and scientists trained and experienced in solving the type of problem their client is facing, be it pollution control, waste treatment, or groundwater resource management. The employees of the firm should have experience (depending on the type of project) in such areas as the design and testing of wells, aquifer testing and well-field evaluation, well and pumping plant efficiency testing, numerical modeling (for example, computer simulation of a groundwater system), risk analysis and risk assessment, as well as the design and operation of waste treatment and site remediation systems. A good consulting firm's resume usually indicates a technically solid educational and professional background. Look for firms with staff members having degrees in such fields as chemical, civil, mechanical and environmental engineering, hydrogeology, geology, hydrology, and earth sciences. Check for state certifications such as professional engineer (PE) and registered geologist (RG).
Ask consultants for examples of work performed on comparable projects and for similar clients. However, asking for references on these projects is not enough, because no one will provide negative references. Instead, a personal examination of a consultant's projects, including research and interviews with the concerned companies, regulatory agencies, licensing boards, and even the local media, may supply a more candid portrayal of the consultant's work.
Understand why you are hiring a consultant
If an environmental assessment is needed for property to be bought, sold or used as collateral, ask for a recommendation from the lender financing the deal. That institution will want confidence that the property is not contaminated because the lender may be responsible for contamination if a property owner defaults. A real estate site analysis is quite different from an EPA compliance audit. While a consultant may have sufficient experience to identify whether a company should buy a certain property given the environmental risks, it is much more complicated to evaluate present and past business and plant practices that could result in groundwater and soil contamination.
A consultant should he able to accurately identify the nature and scope of a company's environmental problems and develop a long-term liability management strategy. In the event that remediation becomes necessary, the site investigation will be the basis for a cleanup, and the quality of the consultant's work may determine eventual cost and liability. If a regulator is not satisfied that an investigation was conducted properly, or with due diligence, or if the findings are presented in a convoluted report, the audit and/or site investigation may need to be repeated -- or worse, the regulator may conduct the investigation and make the company pay the bill.
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