Minutes

David Batson, ADR Liaison, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, EPA, chaired the ADR Success Stories session. David informed the group that Section Chair Bob Ward, EPA's Senior ADR Counsel/Dispute Resolution Specialist, was unable to chair the session due to a family emergency.

Following introductions, David opened the session by explaining that the session was responsive to the request of numerous Section members for success stories in the use of ADR in enforcement actions for use in marketing ADR within their agencies. The session panel was designed to provide a range of experience in use of ADR in enforcement and compliance situations with a specific emphasis on regulatory programs.

The session panel consisted of Elissa Tonkin, Assistant Regional Counsel, EPA Region 1 (Boston), Judge Steve McGuire, Administrative Law Judge, EPA, Ben Vernia, Senior Counsel, DOJ Civil Fraud Division, and Ellen Kandell, Attorney and ADR Specialist, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, EPA. Each panelist presented case studies detailing the context and venue in which the dispute arose, the dynamics of the dispute and settlement attempts which led to the use of ADR, the form of ADR utilized, and the perceived benefits to the parties of using ADR.

Ellen Kandell presented the first success story, which involved a RCRA penalty action. Mediation was agreed to by both parties and used to successfully settle the dispute. Judge Steve McGuire then presented two situations in which ADR was used to settle complicated regulatory cases. The first involved both penalty and liability issues in a case in which the U.S. Navy stored hazardous waste in underground tanks. The second was a penalty case under the Clean Air Act. Ben Vernia presented a healthcare fraud case in which mediation was used to settle a dispute between health care providers. Elissa Tonkin concluded the presentations by outlining how and when to successfully use ADR in cases involving violations of regulatory statutes.

Following the success stories presentation, David Batson lead a short Section meeting. Three items were discussed, each of which is available on the website:

Upcoming Section Events: The first item discussed was a schedule of upcoming Section events and training sessions. Lee Scharf, ADR Program Coordinator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, EPA, is Section contact for information on upcoming events.

ADR Resource Library: The second item is the first draft of a summary of government websites and other official information on ADR available through the Internet. The summary is designed to provide a user friendly, subject matter focused reference to that portion of the vast array of information on ADR that is appropriate to include on a government homepage. Michael Mills, ADR Intern, Office of Site Remediation and Enforcement (202/564-5151), is the Section contact for information or questions regarding the draft summary and efforts to build an Internet accessible ADR database. This information will eventually be included in the CES section of the Interagency ADR Workgroup home page - http://www.financenet.gov/iadrwg, maintained by Jeff Senger, DOJ Deputy Senior Counsel for ADR (202/616-9471), which is a valuable source of information on ADR and Section activities used by participants in the Workgroup.

Consultation Teams: The third item is the creation of Consultation Teams of ADR experienced staff to aid Section members in designing and implementing ADR programs within their agencies. David explained that the teams, created in response to requests of members for assistance in the form of individualized consultations, are available upon request. David is the Section contact for requests regarding the establishment of a Consultation Team and can be reached at 202/564-5103.

Following discussion of the business items, David concluded the meeting with a reminder of the upcoming CES Brown-Bag Meeting on March 8^th.