Given our extensive knowledge of federal, state, and local records collections, law firms and businesses often come to us in search of historical documentation that will support their cases or tell their unique stories. But when we take on projects, we never know just how much documentation we’ll discover. Sometimes it’s a lot – enough to fill up several Bankers Boxes. Other times, it’s not so much, and only a file folder or two is required. Recently, we unearthed a handful of documents for an environmental case, though we had combed through many relevant collections at federal repositories in the Washington, D.C. area. This was a perfect example of finding the proverbial needle in the haystack, where one document (out of only the aforementioned handful) proved invaluable to our client.
Reconstructing the History of a City Block
Much of the work we do in support of environmental law and toxic tort cases involves compiling comprehensive site histories. We work with our clients to come up with cost-efficient research strategies to compile these site histories, which help answer their most pressing environmental or historical questions. We’ve broadly discussed this type of work before in relation to chemical releases into local waterways. Today, we’d like to take the opportunity to discuss a specific case in which we reconstructed the history of an entire city block.
EPA’s Proposed Clean Power Plan: The Historical Context and Future Implications of Section 111(d)
We recently attended the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) 2014 Fall Conference in Miami, where the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan and the future of compliance was comprehensively discussed, analyzed, and debated from the beginning of the conference to the very end. The topic is of interest to us given our expertise in conducting historical environmental research into former industrial sites and manufactured gas plants, as well as our desire to improve and expand our research services in support of clients affected by emerging environmental litigation.
Fracking: A Historical Research Perspective
The business of natural gas production has been booming over the last decade thanks to recent technological improvements, namely horizontal drilling coupled with hydraulic fracturing (commonly referred to as fracking). This has given energy companies the ability to extract unconventional natural gas from previously impermeable shale rock formations.
Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act
As members of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), we recently had the pleasure of attending the Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Seminar where the issue of federal reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was a hot topic. This was of particular interest to us given our expertise in conducting research for asbestos litigation and historical environmental problems at industrial sites, manufactured gas plants, and military facilities throughout the U.S.
Finding Evidence: Research Tactics for Environmental Law & Toxic Torts
Recently, chemical releases and spills into local waterways by a chemical manufacturer and other industry in West Virginia have captured the national spotlight. For those familiar with environmental history, however, these tragic occurrences have been far more commonplace, albeit less publicized, than many may realize.