Seneca Economics and Environmental Management Network services
Ability-to-Pay Analysis
Civil Penalties Services
Under various federal and state laws, alleged violators of environmental requirements may be sued for monetary penalties. In developing their penalty demands, EPA, state regulatory agencies, and citizen groups consider statutorily-identified factors such as the economic benefit the `violator` may have obtained due to noncompliance, the `gravity` (or environmental harm) caused by the violation, the violator`s ability-to-pay for both penalties and required pollution control equipment, its history of noncompliance, and `such other factors as justice may require.`Economic Benefit Analysis Services
To estimate the total economic savings that a violator may have obtained due to noncompliance, EPA`s BEN model calculates the costs that the firm or municipality would have incurred assuming the entity had complied `on-time,` and subtracts from that value the costs that actually resulted from `delayed compliance.` These two streams of cash flows include the capital investment to purchase required pollution control equipment, the costs of operating and maintaining the equipment through its useful life, and the present value of the cost of replacing and operating the equipment in the future. The difference between the `present value` of `on-time` and `delayed` compliance is assumed to be the economic savings resulting from noncompliance.
Gravity Calculations Services
In negotiating settlements of civil penalty cases, plaintiffs` attorneys frequently rely on EPA`s (and, in some cases, a state`s) statute-specific settlement policies to place a monetary value on the gravity component of the penalty. In doing so, they avoid the much more difficult task of quantifying damages to human health and the environment. While these policies provide the appearance of objectivity since they allegedly treat similar cases in similar fashion, the policies vest enormous amounts of discretion in the `litigation team` prosecuting the case. Given the team`s role, its members are not likely to be totally detached in their assessments of the defendant`s situation. In some cases, the policies enable plaintiffs to demand multi-million dollar penalties even in the absence of verifiable damages to human health and the environment, or evidence of willful behavior.
Asbestos Disease Liability
Asbestos Disease Liability Services
Dr. Wyant has provided forecasts of asbestos disease claims and liabilities for a number of asbestos bankruptcies, including Eagle-Picher, UNR, Wallace and Gale, Fuller-Austin, Rock Wool, and Rutland Fire Clay. In these bankruptcies, he worked at various times for debtors, insurers, future claimants, and nonprofit claims resolution trusts. On numerous occasions, he provided expert testimony or filed affidavits or reports. He has also provided forecasts of asbestos disease liability to utilities, manufacturers, and investment firms.Environmental Disaster Analyses Services
While employed by the U.S. Geological Survey, Dr. Wyant co-authored numerous oil spill risk assessments for environmental impact studies related to offshore drilling and transport. He also worked on flood prediction models and on effects of strip mining on flooding and wildlife. As an independent statistical consultant, he reviewed similar oil spill risk assessments, and analyzed frequency distributions of ice ridges and ice ridge thickness for Arco as part of its R&D programs to design ice-breaking oil tankers and offshore rigs for the Alaskan North Slope fields.
Climatological Analysis Services
Dr. Wyant analyzed and provided testimony on cold winter natural gas demands on the El Paso Natural Gas system in the western United States. This work was done on behalf of Arizona Electric Power Cooperatives and the Papago Tribal Utility Authority for cases before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. As a consultant to the U.S. Geological Survey, he worked on models to predict droughts and reservoir levels.