CDR Associates Other Areas (Land Use, Facility Siting and Cleanup

Public Lands Management Experience
(Land Use, Facility Siting and Cleanup)

CERCLA and Natural Resources Damages

Mediation of a CERCLA Natural Resource Damage Action. The federal law known popularly as Superfund (formally the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Cleanup, and Liability Act) creates liability for damages to natural resources caused by releases of hazardous substances. This provision is receiving increasing attention, and lawsuits over natural resource damage assessments have proved to be extremely costly. CDR Mediated a groundbreaking effort on the Upper Arkansas River in Colorado to change the way claims for natural resource damages are assessed and resolved.

Lowry Landfill Technical Problem Solving, US EPA and Other Parties. CDR initially conducted an assessment of the willingness of stakeholders interested in this large municipal landfill to engage in a collaborative problem solving process to address key disagreements about the final phases of the CERCLA remedy described in the Record of Decision. CDR then convened and conducted a series of technical problem-solving sessions to address issues of groundwater contamination and migration, waste pit clean up, possible radionuclide contamination, and soil gas standards. Peter Woodrow lead these efforts for CDR.

Land Use and Planning

Tribal/Environmental Dialogue Project, November (2001 – 2003). CDR Partners Mary Margaret Golten and Peter Woodrow facilitated this project, funded by a grant from the Andrus Family Fund, to focus on strategies for reducing conflict among Federal land managers, environmentalists and tribes regarding access to and uses of land and resources in National Parks. CDR partnered with a tribal group and a leading conservation organization to act as a Convening Team—bringing together stakeholder groups to discuss these issues. The culmination of the project was the “Pacific West Region National Park-Tribal-Conservation Organization Summit” in which three tribes, environmental groups and Parks came together for three days, on the Yurok Reservation, to look at long-term conflicts which, in many cases, went to the very heart of tribal sovereignty.
There were two reports to the Andrus Family Fund which covered the entire Tribal Environmental Dialogue project: an executive summary and a final report.
There were two reports of the Summit, which was the final phase of the project: an executive summary and a full report.

Assessment of Prospects for Using Collaborative Decision making to Address Land Use Conflicts. Chris Moore prepared a written situation assessment for the Board of Supervisors of El Dorado County, CA, of prospects for using collaborative decision making strategies to help resolve conflicts over land use, traffic, and planning. The report and recommendations were based on 60 interviews. CDR presented its report to the County and subsequently implemented the initial steps of its recommended approach by conducting a retreat for the new Board that included members of the Planning Commission and County staff.

Effective Use of Technical and Scientific Information

Environmental Observations Protocol Project. CDR convened a diverse group of stakeholders, mainly from the Great Lakes area, to discuss how to engage in collaborative processes to respond to observed anomalies in nature and/or human health. Based on an initial meeting, a draft document was prepared for review by the group, including a set of principles and operational guidelines for conducting collaborative scientific inquiry regarding such issues. Further group meetings are planned in order to finalize the document and develop operational agreements for implementation and piloting the protocols. CDR's team was comprised of Peter Woodrow and Julie McKay.