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Alternative Dispute Resolution
Enforcement/Compliance ADR Success Stories
ADR has been used to help participants resolve a wide variety of enforcement and compliance matters. Additional information on the use of ADR in enforcement and compliance matters may be found in the Status Report on the Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Environmental Protection Agency Enforcement and Site-Related Actions (PDF) (207.2 KB), issued biannually.
In addition, the following websites provide useful information:
- EPA's Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center
- EPA's New England - Compliance Assistance and Enforcement - Alternative Dispute Resolution
- InterAgency ADR Working Group
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.
- Some examples of where ADR has been used successfully:
- Pfizer Penalties Case
This multimedia penalty case arose from alleged regulatory violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) by Pfizer, Inc, of Connecticut . The willingness of Pfizer, the Department of Justice and EPA to work together through a mediation led to a result that was not only in their mutual interest, but also generated dividends for the surrounding community through the incorporation of Supplemental Environmental Projects.
- NIBCO
NIBCO, Inc, the world's largest manufacturer of brass valves is located in Nacogdoches, Texas. NIBCO violated RCRA regulations by disposing waste sand containing lead and cadmium in a municipal landfill. An administrative hearing was avoided through mediation, achieving what was then the largest penalty ever obtained by EPA under RCRA.
- Washington Navy Yard
The mediation of an EPA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) was instrumental in breaking a deadlock in negotiations between EPA and the U.S. Navy over alleged RCRA violations at the Washington Navy Yard and the Anacostia Naval Station in Washington, D.C.
- EPA "Cleanup News" Articles
"G.E. to Spend $200 Million...." (PDF) (PDF, 197 MB)
Mediators achieved a long-sought agreement among nine government agencies and General Electric on the $200 Million cleanup of PCBs and other hazardous substances released by the G.E. Pittsfield plant into the Housatonic River.
"ADR Closes the Deal at the Helen Kramer Landfill" (PDF) (1.98 MB)
ADR was used to facilitate an allocation settlement among defendants at this Mantua County, New Jersey Superfund site. The settlement also included a separate natural resources damage claim to replace 151 acres of wetlands lost at the site.
"Facilitation Comes to Brownfields: San Diego's Barrio Logan" (PDF) (1.71 MB)
Facilitation helped participants focus, share disparate interests, and eliminate incompatible land uses at this Brownfields site.
"Brownfields: Shenandoah, VA" (PDF) (142.6 KB)
Community members were trained as facilitators so that consensual decision making is now the way this community conducts its business.
"Co-Located Sites in Lowell, MA...." (PDF) (1.09 MB)
In Lowell, MA, a facilitator is being used to find out what happens when a Brownfields site is located near a Superfund reuse site (a "co-located" site). Facilitation is being used to bring community interests together to address questions of Brownfields revitalization and Superfund reuse. A facilitator is documenting emerging synergies between these sites in the Tanner Street industrial area.