Passenger killed in single-car crash in Brunswick County, VA

By Kevin Green Published: June 24, 2016, 10:33 am





BRUNSWICK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — A 44-year-old man was killed in a single-car crash late Thursday night in Brunswick County.

Virginia State Police say the accident happened at 9:54 p.m. on Route 659 (Doctor Purdy Road), just north of Route 611 (Dry Bread Road).

The driver of a Ford Taurus, Tomeka N. Harrison, lost control and ran off the road on Route 659. Police say the passenger side of the car hit a tree.

John A. Hargrove, Jr., 44, was the passenger and police say he was not wearing his seat belt. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to police, alcohol was involved Thursday’s crash. Harrison, 34, has been charged with reckless driving.

More charges could be pending once the Commonwealth Attorneys Office reviews the crash, state police say.

Two people died following a crash on Diana Drive and Guadalupe Drive in Northeast El Paso

Teen driver and passenger killed in crash failed to yield right of way, police say
By Jesse Martinez Friday, June 24th 2016



EL PASO, Texas — Two people died following a crash on Diana Drive and Guadalupe Drive in Northeast El Paso Thursday evening, police said.


The crash happened just before 9 p.m. on the 8700 block of Diana Drive.


Police said Mario Lopez, 22, was driving a blue Ford Focus northbound with a 20-year-old passenger.

An unidentified 15-year-old girl was driving a blue 2014 Chevrolet Spark east on Guadalupe Drive with a 16-year-old boy.

The Spark entered the intersection and failed to yield the right of way when crossing Diana Drive, police said.

The vehicles crashed, and emergency crews had to use the Jaws of Life to get people out of one of the vehicles.

The 16-year-old boy died at the scene, and the 15-year-old girl was taken to University Medical Center, police said. She later died from her injuries.

Friends told KFOX14 the driver was 16-year-old Natalie Torres and she was pregnant at the time of the crash. Friends also identified the passenger as Max Perez.

Lopez was arrested on a charge unrelated to the crash, police said.

Thomas Anthony Perez, 51, was charged June 3 with 53 felony counts of filing phony insurance claims for $362,268.82

Man accused in alleged $100,000 health insurance fraud


June 24, 2016

Updated 4:47 p.m.
By CITY NEWS SERVICE



SANTA ANA – A Diamond Bar man faces more than 50 felony charges for allegedly billing Anthem Blue Cross for dental work and medical treatment he never received and pocketing more than $100,000 before the insurance company noticed, authorities said.

Thomas Anthony Perez, 51, was charged June 3 with 53 felony counts of filing phony insurance claims for $362,268.82, according to court records. He was paid $101,575.82 before Anthem officials discovered the alleged scheme, Orange County District Attorney investigator Elaine Noce said in court papers to justify a request for bail equaling the expense of the claims.

Perez sustained facial injuries in a kitchen accident in October 2011, which is when the insurance claims began, according to Noce. Perez was accused of pocketing the money he received from the insurance company instead of paying for dental or other medical treatment, Noce alleged.

Perez was released June 17 when he posted $100,000 bail.

Grand Canyon water conservation mandated due to Transcanyon Pipeline break

Emery Cowan

Grand Canyon National Park is mandating water conservation measures after a break in its Transcanyon Pipeline earlier this week affected water supply to the South Rim.


One of the Indian Garden pipeline water pumps that provides water to the South Rim storage tanks is also broken.


The pipeline is undergoing repairs but in the meantime mandatory water restrictions require the use of plastic utensils by concessionaires, serving drinking water by request only and modified menus to use less water, among other things.


All visitors and residents must implement other water conservation measures immediately in homes, hotel rooms and at the campgrounds.



The Transcanyon Pipeline break also means there is no water available at Cottonwood Campground, Manzanita Rest Area, Bright Angel Campground or Boat Beach. Day hikers and backpackers should be prepared to carry all drinking water or be able to filter or treat creek water for drinking purposes.


The North Rim is unaffected by these issues. Phantom Ranch currently has water but is operating under water conservation measures.


The 16-mile pipeline was built in the mid-1960s and supplies drinking water from Roaring Springs to the North and South Rim and Desert View, as well as corridor trails, North Kaibab Trail, Bright Angel Trail and Phantom Ranch.

Shell slapped with safety improvement notice after North Sea gas leak

Shell slapped with safety improvement notice after North Sea gas leak




Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has been served with an improvement notice by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over last year’s hydrocarbon leak on the company’s unmanned installation in the UK sector of the North Sea.

Following a gas leak on Shell’s Caravel, a fixed, normally-unattended installation (NUI), at the end of 2015, the HSE issued the improvement notice to the oil company detailing the company’s failings that, according to the agency, risked injury from fire and/or explosion to the workers present at the time.

According to the HSE’s notice, the investigation is still ongoing and Shell has until August 1, 2016 to comply with the improvement notice.

The notice states that Shell failed to implement an Integrated Safe System of Work (ISSOW) control of work management system that requires the company to make a risk assessment for non-routine tasks where the nature and scale of the risk arising from the work to be carried out requires the company to identify and implement suitable risk control measures.

In the notice, the HSE explained that on 1st January 2016 while investigating a hydrocarbon gas leak, Shell’s walk to work campaign employees undertook the non-routine task of venting hydrocarbon gas at a pressure of 53 bar(g) that was contained within the wellhead of well 102, without undertaking a risk assessment to identify the risk controls that should have been used to prevent the uncontrolled release of hydrocarbon gas from a leak point which occurred following the locally controlled actuation of a flow wing valve.

The agency concluded that this release resulted in the formation of a potential gas cloud within approximately 3 metres of 5 workers, thus resulting in risk of their injury from fire and/or explosion.

Offshore Energy Today has reached out to Shell seeking clarification of the HSE notice and inquiring about what that this means for the company’s operations on the Caravel installation.

A Shell spokesperson said: “A gas release was detected on Shell’s Caravel installation on 29th December 2015, the platform was shut down and the leak was isolated. There were no injuries as a result of this incident.

The spokesperson noted that Caravel is a normally unmanned installation in the Southern North Sea and was unmanned at the time of the incident.

“In April 2016 the Health & Safety Executive issued Shell with two Improvement Notices. The matter remains under HSE investigation and we have no further comment at this stage.”

Caravel is tied back to the Shell-operated Corvette field which lies approximately 32 kilometres to the southwest of the Caravel field. From Corvette, gas is exported via the Leman facilities for onward transport to the Shell-operated terminal facilities at Bacton. The development also includes a tie-in of the Shamrock fields to Caravel’s facilities.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

The 599-foot Norway-flagged chemical tanker Champion Ebony ran aground near Nunivak Island, Alask

Product Tanker Briefly Aground Off Alaska
File image courtesy Champion Tankers

By MarEx 2016-06-24 19:57:32

On Friday, the Coast Guard reported that the Norway-flagged chemical tanker Champion Ebony went aground near Nunivak Island, Alaska on the morning of June 24.

Coast Guard Sector Anchorage received a report from the National Response Center at 0924 hours that the Ebony ran aground carrying approximately 14 million gallons of various fuel products.

The crew of Champion Ebony was able to refloat the vessel and make way under her own power to deeper water at 0928 hours. She reported no signs of pollution, and is anchored to assess for damages.

The captain of the product tanker reported that no pollution or injuries resulted from the incident. An Air Station Kodiak C-130 Hercules airplane crew conducted an over-flight of the tanker and reported no signs of pollution in the vicinity of the tanker.

“Our primary concern is to protect the environment,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Lindsey Green of Sector Anchorage. “The Coast Guard takes tanker grounding reports seriously and we are conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.”

The Champion Ebony is a 45,000 dwt double-hulled product tanker. 24 crewmembers were aboard at the time of the incident. Weather on scene is reported as calm winds, overcast with 3-foot seas.


 ==============================================

Coast Guard responds to tanker aground near Nunivak Island, Alaska
Jun 24th, 2016

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Coast Guard is responding to a report of the 599-foot Norway flagged chemical tanker Champion Ebony after it ran aground near Nunivak Island, Alaska, Friday morning.

The crew of Champion Ebony was able to refloat the vessel and make way under its own power to deeper water at approximately 9:28 a.m., reported no signs of pollution, and is anchored to assess for damages.

Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received a report from the National Response Center at 9:24 a.m. that the vessel Champion Ebony ran aground carrying approximately 14.2 million gallons of various fuel products.

The captain of Champion Ebony reported that no pollution or injuries resulted from the incident. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak C-130 Hercules airplane crew conducted an over-flight of the tanker and reported no signs of pollution in the vicinity of the tanker.

“Our primary concern is to protect the environment,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Lindsey Green, a Sector Anchorage watchstander. “The Coast Guard takes tanker grounding reports seriously and we are conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.”

The Champion Ebony is a double-hulled vessel that had 24 crewmembers aboard at the time of the incident.

Weather on scene is reported as calm winds, overcast with 3-foot seas.

At least one person is dead following a head-on fiery collision between two 18-wheelers in Gadsden, Alabama

A collision between two 18-wheelers occurred Friday, June 24, 2016 on Interstate 759 in Gadsden. (William Thornton / wthornton@al.com)
William Thornton | wthornton@al.com

 By William Thornton | wthornton@al.com
 
on June 24, 2016




At least one person is dead, officials say, following a head-on collision between two 18-wheelers in Gadsden, AL.

The accident happened about 5:01 a.m. this morning on Interstate 759 not far from the Gadsden Mall, Gadsden Fire Chief Stephen Carroll said.

Two trucks collided head-on about a mile east of Black Creek Parkway. One person is dead, and another has been taken to the hospital, Carroll said.

Apparently one truck strayed over into the eastbound lane and struck the other truck near the right shoulder of the road. Fire medics and fire crews are currently on the scene. The east bound lane has been completely shut down.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash. More information to come.

An oil spill that may have released more than 29,000 gallons of crude into a grassy canyon in Ventura County did not reach the beach

Ventura oil spill misses the ocean, but damage on land is unclear



Sean Anderson, a professor at Cal State Channel Islands, collects samples to test for toxicity from a creek in Prince Barranca after an oil spill in Ventura County. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Matt Hamilton, Joseph Serna and Veronica Rocha


Before the sun rose Thursday, Kirk Atwater’s wakeup call was a noxious breeze that filled his bedroom with fumes.

He stepped out of his ranch that overlooks an arroyo in the Ventura hills and saw a creek of thick, black goo traveling through the canyon that was dry just the day before.

A pipeline valve had somehow opened and sent thousands of gallons of crude oil down into an arroyo that flows through the city of Ventura and reaches the ocean near the Ventura Pier.

Atwater, 56, called 911 and the oil pipeline company. His early notice helped officials stop the oil in a drainage basin before it reached the ocean, but not before an estimated 29,400 gallons of unrefined crude bled into the canyon.

It marked the latest significant oil spill in California and underscored the hazards of the oil and natural gas industry along the Central Coast, where last year a corroded pipeline spewed 143,000 gallons of crude oil onto Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara.






An oil spill that may have released more than 29,000 gallons of crude into a grassy canyon in Ventura County did not reach the beach or trigger evacuations. (Al Seib and Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

“There’s no excuse for this happening,” said Henning Ottsen, a 74-year-old engineer who has lived for more than three decades across the canyon from where Thursday’s spill originated. Some of the oil flowed onto his property, coating rocks and foliage with black tar.

“We know the oil fields are back in the hills,” he said. “It should be assured they take care of the infrastructure and not let this sort of thing happen.”

County officials initially estimated that up to 210,000 gallons had flowed out of the pipe, but they later downgraded the figure. The oil flowed down a steep canyon slope and traveled about half a mile through Prince Barranca, a gorge that typically fills with water during storms.

The oil then pooled in a storm water basin, allowing officials to block the crude from flowing farther.

“There’s no way it can get to the ocean,” Ventura County firefighter Marisol Rodriguez said.

Still, residents were concerned that the toxic liquid would harm wildlife. Ottsen, whose ranch and garden sit about 60 feet above the barranca, said he typically sees coyote, deer and mountain lion tracks in the dirt during the mornings.

“It’s a freeway for the animals,” he added.


Capt. George Struble of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said there were no reports of animals affected.

The cause of the spill is under investigation by a team of state and federal agencies, according to Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Mike Lindbery. Investigators with the state Office of Spill Prevention also arrived to assess the site, an agency spokeswoman said.

Owned by Colorado-based Crimson Pipeline LLC, the 10-inch underground pipeline was installed in 1941 and is up to date on state and federal inspections, according to Kendall Klingler, a spokeswoman for the company.

The pipeline, however, had been undergoing maintenance Wednesday and was not at its full rate of flow or pressure, Klingler said. The valve that was the source of the oil had been replaced Wednesday, she added.

The pipeline company offered a lower estimate of the spill than county officials, saying that no more than 25,200 gallons had been released.

Crimson Pipeline is responsible for the cleanup effort and deployed contractors to lay down large, absorbent booms in the barranca to mop up the crude. On Thursday afternoon, workers in white haz-mat suits hiked down to the canyon with industrial pumps and planned to vacuum the pools of liquid that formed along the riverbed. A caravan of trucks would then haul the liquid away.

Officials could not provide a timetable for the cleanup.

State agencies were working in concert with the pipeline company to monitor the cleanup effort, Klingler said.





Thursday’s spill marked Crimson’s 11th pipeline spill or equipment incident since 2006, according to records compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

In total, about 313,000 gallons of hazardous liquid have been spilled since 2006, records show. The largest occurred in Ventura in 2008, when equipment failure caused about 280,000 gallons to spill. The most recent occurred in December, when an error during excavation caused more than 8,800 gallons to be released in Somis, Calif.

The company whose pipeline was involved in last year’s spill in Santa Barbara, Plains All American Pipeline, was indicted in May on 46 criminal counts, including four felony charges of knowingly discharging a pollutant into state waters. The Houston company faces fines of nearly $3 million.

That rupture had devastating effects on wildlife in the area: 204 birds and 106 marine mammals died as a result of the spill, according to UC Davis’ Oiled Wildlife Care Network.


The smaller spill in Ventura prompted Mati Waiya, the executive director of Ventura Coastkeeper and the Wishtoyo Foundation, to declare oil pipelines as unsafe sources of pollution.

“The only thing that will stop their negative impact to people, wildlife and waterways is to shut them down and keep fossil fuels in the ground,” Waiya said in a statement.

Officials praised the swift response for averting a more damaging disaster by keeping the crude out of the ocean.

But Atwater, surveying the barranca with a mask covering his mouth and nose to block the pungent odor, was not convinced: “We have a tragedy in my backyard.”

Paul Simpkins, 61, of Haymarket, Virginia,a Former Supervisory Contracting Officer, Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes from Foreign Defense Contractor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 23, 2016 Paul Simpkins, 61, of Haymarket, Virginia,a Former Supervisory Contracting Officer, Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes from Foreign Defense Contractor


A former Department of Defense (DoD) supervisory contracting officer pleaded guilty today to charges that he accepted bribes from the owner of the foreign defense contractor at the center of a massive bribery and fraud scandal.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California, Acting Director Dermot O’Reilly of the DoD’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and Director Andrew Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) made the announcement.

Paul Simpkins, 61, of Haymarket, Virginia, was a senior DoD contracting official who supervised contracting officers responsible for awarding and administering U.S. Navy contracts. Sentencing was set for Sept. 9, 2016.

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, from approximately May 2006 until September 2012, Leonard Glenn Francis, owner of Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), provided cash, travel expenses and the services of prostitutes in return for Simpkins’s efforts to steer contracts to GDMA and intervene on GDMA’s behalf in contracting disputes with the U.S. Navy. Simpkins admitted that during the years-long scheme, Francis provided him with hundreds of thousands of dollars through wire transfers to a bank account in Japan controlled by Simpkins’s former wife. After Francis transferred the funds to Simpkins’s wife’s account, Simpkins caused payments to be remitted to a U.S. bank account held in his own name.

According to his plea, Simpkins admitted that, in return, he used his influence within the U.S. Navy to benefit GDMA. Among other things, Simpkins admitted that he extended GDMA’s contract after a subordinate recommended the contract not be extended due to high costs; instructed U.S. Navy officials in Hong Kong to discontinue using meters that ensured proper accounting of the amount of waste that GDMA removed from U.S. Navy ships to ensure that no overbilling occurred; and instructed a U.S. Navy official to ignore invoices that GDMA submitted after Francis complained that U.S. Navy personnel were asking questions.

Including Simpkins, 14 individuals have been charged in connection with this scheme; of those, 11 have pleaded guilty, including Rear Admiral Robert Gilbeau, Captain (Select) Michael Misiewicz, Captain Daniel Dusek, Lieutenant Commander Todd Malaki, NCIS Special Agent John Beliveau, Commander Jose Luis Sanchez and Petty Officer First Class Dan Layug. On Jan. 21, 2016, Layug was sentenced to 27 months in prison and a $15,000 fine; on Jan. 29, 2016, Malaki was sentenced to 40 months in prison and to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $15,000 fine; on March 18, 2016, Alex Wisidagama, a former GDMA employee, was sentenced to 63 months in prison and to pay $34.8 million in restitution to the Navy; on March 25, 2016, Dusek was sentenced to 46 months in prison and to pay $30,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $70,000 fine; and on April 29, 2016, Misiewicz was sentenced to 78 months in prison and to pay a fine of $100,000 and to forfeit $95,000 in proceeds for the scheme. Francis and Ed Aruffo, a former GDMA employee, as well as GDMA, the corporate entity, have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Retired Captain Michael Brooks, Commander Bobby Pitts and Lieutenant Commander Gentry Debord were charged by a federal grand jury on May 25, 2016, and their cases remain pending.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by NCIS, DCIS and DCAA. Assistant Chief Brian R. Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Patrick Hovakimian of the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case.

Those with information relating to fraud, corruption or waste in government contracting should contact the NCIS anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DOD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call (800) 424-9098.

Thomas Davanzo, of Estero, Florida, and Robert Fedyna, of Naples, Florida, pleaded guilty today for their participation in a multi-state scheme to defraud biodiesel buyers and U.S. taxpayers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 24, 2016
Two Florida Men Plead Guilty to Multi-State Biodiesel Fraud Scheme


Thomas Davanzo, of Estero, Florida, and Robert Fedyna, of Naples, Florida, pleaded guilty today for their participation in a multi-state scheme to defraud biodiesel buyers and U.S. taxpayers by fraudulently selling biodiesel credits and fraudulently claiming tax credits, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.

Davanzo and Fedyna operated several shell companies that were used to facilitate the scheme. As part of the scheme, Davanzo and Fedyna operated entities that purported to purchase renewable fuel, on which credits had been claimed and which was ineligible for additional credits, produced by their co-conspirators at Gen-X Energy Group (Gen-X), headquartered in Pasco, Washington, and its subsidiary, Southern Resources and Commodities (SRC), located in Dublin, Georgia. They then used a series of false transactions to transform the fuel back into feedstock needed for the production of renewable fuel, and sold it back to Gen-X or SRC, allowing credits to be claimed again. This cycle was repeated multiple times.

In addition, both Davanzo and Fedyna laundered the proceeds of the scheme through various shell entities. Davanzo and Fedyna established bank accounts in the names of shell entities. Funds were cycled through these shell companies’ bank accounts to perpetuate the fraud scheme and conceal its proceeds.

Davanzo and Fedyna also directed and participated in the generation of false paperwork designed to create the façade that the renewable identification number (or RIN, a serial number used to track biodiesel credits) created and claimed by co-conspirators were legitimate. The paperwork included false invoices from Gen-X or SRC to shell entities, which purported to show sales of renewable fuel, false invoices from shell entities to Gen-X and SRC, which purported to show the purchase of feedstock and false bills of lading, which purported to show the transportation of fuel and feedstock by tanker truck.

From March 2013 to March 2014, the co-conspirators generated at least 60 million RINs that were based on fuel that was either never produced or was merely re-processed at the Gen-X or SRC facilities. The co-conspirators received at least $42 million from the sale of these fraudulent RINs to third parties. In addition, Gen-X received approximately $4,360,724.50 in false tax credits for this fuel.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Environmental Protection Agency -Criminal Investigation Division, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara C. Sweeney and Megan Kistler and Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.

At least 20 Dead in West Virginia Flash Flooding; State of Emergency Declared

EMILY SHAPIRO
Updated 49 mins ago Twenty people have died from devastating flooding and historic rainfall in West Virginia, said Tim Rock, spokesman for the state's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has called the flooding "among the worst in a century" for some parts of the state.

The body of a child who was swept away in fast-moving floodwaters was found this morning, about a mile from where he was last seen in Jackson County Thursday, the Ravenswood Fire Department said.

Initial reports showed 100 homes were seriously damaged or destroyed, Tomblin said.

But amid the tragedies were stories of heroic actions, Tomblin said: police rescued a woman trapped in her car with water rising to her neck, and some people risked their lives to rescue others who were stranded on rooftops and in rivers.

A state of emergency was declared in 44 of the state's 55 counties.

Some 200 National Guard members were helping today in eight counties, Tomblin said.

Rescue efforts were also underway today to save hundreds of people who became stranded inside a West Virginia mall overnight after a bridge connecting the shopping center to a main road collapsed and washed away, officials told ABC News.

About 500 people, including employees and customers, became got stuck inside the Crossings Mall in Elkview, about 12 miles from Charleston, around 4 p.m. Thursday, said Rick McElhaney, assistant deputy director with Metro 911 in Kanawha County.

First responders today walked some people from the mall around to a back road to board public transportation, an official with the Kanawha County Emergency Operations Center told ABC News this morning.

"I have a farm, I have got to get home," one woman said while walking down a steep hill behind the mall.

Crews were also working today to build a gravel road to get people out. But some people stayed at the mall because their homes were flooded.

80-year old woman damages neighbor's house, SUV on test drive in Cary, NC

The SUV was left stuck in the side of the house





By Ed Crump
Friday, June 24, 2016 04:55PM
CARY, NC (WTVD) -- A test drive didn't go as planned when an elderly Cary woman ended up putting the SUV she was considering buying into a neighbor's house.

It happened Thursday, but the SUV was still stuck in the townhouse on Meadow Beauty Drive near Middle Creek High School Friday while engineers decided if the structure was sound enough to remove it.

According to a police report, an 80-year-old woman - who lives just down the street from the crash site -was driving the vehicle owned by Johnson Hyundai when she accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake while turning in a cul-de-sac.

The SUV jumped the curb and slammed into the home at about 35 miles per hour.

The man who lives in the home was away on a business trip and returned to the mess Friday.

"You see some of these things from time to time on the news and you just never expect, you know, that it will happen to you. And then I got some pictures sent to me last night over the phone and it was pretty incredulous to see what had happened. What I guess I don't think about is you often think about the driver and what's going on with the driver but you don't realize, you know, the person living in the home may not be able to live there anymore for a period of time. And that's kind of what I will be dealing with for the next couple of weeks," said Rob Burkart.

1 injured in crash involving an SUV and an ambulance in Bucks County, PA

At least one person was injured in a crash involving an ambulance in Bucks County. (WPVI)





Friday, June 24, 2016 05:14PM
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- At least one person was injured in a crash involving an ambulance in Bucks County.

Chopper 6 was over the scene Friday near the intersection of Old Dublin Pike and Sandy Ridge Drive in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

There an ambulance and an SUV collided, police say.

At least one person was injured. The extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.

No one was being transported in the ambulance at the time of the crash.

Patrick Miller has been charged for DUI for a fatal crash that killed his friend, as well as a local teacher who was out for a run

Man charged in NJ crash that killed friend, local teacher






Friday, June 24, 2016 03:21PM

SOUTHAMPTON TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- A man has been charged for a fatal crash that killed his friend, as well as a local teacher who was out for a run.

Charges against Patrick Miller, 29, of New Hanover, were announced on Friday. The charges were brought after toxicology tests were completed on blood drawn after the crash.

He is charged with vehicular homicide for the wreck on Route 206 on the afternoon of August 27, 2015.

The Burlington County prosecutor's office says Miller's pickup truck veered across the center line and struck 29-year-old Allison McGinnis, who was running on the shoulder.









Allison McGinnis
McGinnis was a teacher at Helen Fort Middle School in Pemberton.

The pickup then left the road, struck several trees, and overturned near the intersection with Garden Street.

Miller's passenger, 31-year-old David Eldridge of Wrightstown, was partially ejected and was pronounced dead at the scene.





In addition to the criminal charges, prosecutors say Miller received traffic summons including possession of marijuana, driving while intoxicated, and reckless driving.

Miller is free on $150,000 full bail.

Hamilton, Ohio property owners may have to pay to fix sewage flooding issues

 Hamilton city crews work to clear drains in the flooded areas of Main Street on the west side of Hamilton after heavy rain and flash flooding, Thursday, June 2.

Hamilton city crews work to clear drains in the flooded areas of Main Street on the west side of Hamilton after heavy rain and flash flooding, Thursday, June 2.
Greg Lynch

By Mike Rutledge

Staff Writer

HAMILTON, OHIO —


More than one solution likely will be needed to address issues that led to the June 2 flooding in Hamilton, according to officials who spoke during Wednesday night’s city council meeting.

Several angry property owners whose buildings have been swamped multiple times by raw sewage, attended the meeting and expressed frustration the flooding hadn’t been addressed since a heavy storm in 2009 that cost many of them thousands of dollars.

There’s more bad news: It may cost property owners money in cases where their storm gutters are connected to the city’s sanitary-sewer system — the one that receives waste from sinks and toilets — rather than emptying into their lawns or connecting to the storm sewer system, which is intended to carry rain and melted snow.

Kevin Maynard, the city’s director of public utilities, told council the city’s sanitary and storm systems are completely separate from each other, and officials know of no place where the two systems are linked. But during storms, lots of rain makes its way into the sanitary sewers in two ways, he said: Most of it enters from pipes that carry rain runoff from roofs or sump pumps directly into the sanitary sewers, and other water enters through leaks into sewer pipes. That water overwhelms the system, causing backups into basements.

“There shouldn’t be any storm water or groundwater that enters that system,” Maynard said. “However, our system experiences significant inflow and infiltration during wet-weather events.”

He noted the city’s best estimate is that 4½ inches of rain fell in 20 to 30 minutes.

City Manager Joshua Smith recommended the city transfer $250,000 from sewer-related accounts to help residents with the costs of disconnecting sump pumps and gutters from the sanitary-sewer system and instead having them drain into lawns, where they can be absorbed into the soil.

“It’s going to take the cooperation of the residents,” Smith said. “The first thing we would like to do is see if we do have some connections. We’re not blaming anyone for improper connections: It could be a legacy issue — someone could have bought a house five owners later (than the improper connections were made). We’re not casting blame on anyone, but we just need to identify those, because first and foremost we think that will eliminate a lot of the issues, in particular in the Highland Park, Rossville, Main Street area.

“That being said, I live in Rossville,” Smith added. “I saw the impact on Main Street. Even though our engineers tell me that the storm sewer on Main Street is designed to industry standards, that’s not good enough. We must be much more diligent with the cleaning of those storm sewers — leaves, garbage.”

Smith said he and Public Works Director Rich Engle will walk several blocks of Main Street to talk with property owners in coming days about problems they have faced. He also plans to hire within two weeks an independent engineering firm to examine the storm sewers along Main Street, where rain regularly pools even during minor storms.

One resident expressing his displeasure was Jack Head of Carmen Avenue, who told council: “Three times now, I’ve got raw sewage coming up from the sewer, and I am sick of it.”

“This sewage thing should not have ever been allowed to go this far,” Head said, telling officials: “Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you.”

After flooding in 2009, a claims adjuster for the city’s insurer denied Head’s claim for assistance, calling that storm an “act of nature.” After the June 2 storm, an insurance rep for the city verbally called it an “act of God,” he said.

Given the city’s failure to address the problem after the 2009 flooding, Head told this news outlet after he left the meeting that the latest flooding “was an act of disinterest and incompetence” on the city’s part.

The city of Anchorage has reached a settlement with one of the parties in an ongoing lawsuit over the botched Port of Anchorage expansion

One contractor in Anchorage’s lawsuit over port settles for $5.5 million
Alaska Dispatch News

June 23, 2016

The city of Anchorage has reached a settlement with one of the parties in an ongoing lawsuit over the botched Port of Anchorage expansion, a $5.5 million payout that officials hope is a first step in recovering many millions more.

Documents submitted to the Anchorage Assembly earlier this month describe the settlement between the city and MKB Constructors, which worked as a subcontractor on the expansion project with Quality Asphalt Paving Inc. The Washington-based company was mainly responsible for driving steel sheet piles into the floor of Cook Inlet to create the base of what was to be an expanded, upgraded port.

The project ultimately cost more than $300 million and resulted in a half-finished, unusable new dock. Construction stopped in 2010, and the city has sued the private companies involved in project design and construction, including MKB.

A separate lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, the federal agency that was in charge of overseeing the port expansion project.

City officials say they're hoping to fully recover the money already spent and put it toward a scaled-back but critical "modernization" of the port. City attorney Bill Falsey noted that MKB is just one of seven companies from which the city is seeking damages. The others include the project's designers, PND Engineers of Anchorage and GeoEngineers from Seattle, who have said they're not to blame.

"This is the first check being written to us," Falsey said.

He added: 'This is the beginning, not the end."

Under the terms of the settlement, MKB admits no liability or wrongdoing, Jason Kettrick, a Seattle attorney who worked as the leading defense attorney for MKB, said in a phone interview Wednesday. MKB, a smaller construction outfit, also won't directly pay the settlement amount -- the money will be paid by insurance, Kettrick said.

The settlement was "just a business decision made on the part of the insurance carriers," Kettrick said.

The Assembly voted Tuesday to put most of the settlement money toward the new port modernization project. A small portion will go into a legal escrow account.

So far, the Assembly has authorized the city to spend up to $9 million in legal fees for the port litigation -- an amount boosted from $4.3 million last year.

A trial in the lawsuit involving the contractors has been set for April 2017.

Insurance companies have started challenging many of the questionable lawsuits and are finding some success in the judicial process

Tide turning in hail-related lawsuits
Jun. 21, 2016





A south Texas hailstorm in 2012 was the start of an increase in lawsuits being filed after severe weather events, sometimes even after claims were paid and repairs were completed. Some insurers received notices of hundreds of lawsuits being filed at one time immediately or sometimes months after a storm. And oddly, despite this rush to the courthouse, data from the Texas Department of Insurance showed few complaints being filed during 2013-2015.

“Typically, only a small number of claims result in lawsuits, and many insurers were surprised by this sudden onslaught of lawsuits especially given that companies did not suddenly change how they resolved claims,” said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas. “This meant unexpected and significant litigation costs for companies. After a few months of adjusting to this new litigation tactic, companies have started challenging many of the questionable lawsuits and are finding some success in the judicial process.”

For example, last month, a six-member jury in Houston didn’t fall for the story that a hail storm resulted in a woman’s leaky roof. The claim involved water damage from a leaking roof, and was supported by a roofing expert who claimed the leak was the result of hail damage. The homeowner was seeking $46,000 in damages. The insurer, the Texas FAIR Plan, countered by arguing that the leaking roof was the result of long-term poor maintenance. They also pointed out that the homeowner did not examine the roof until six months after the lawsuit was filed.

The jury deliberated for less than a minute before returning with their verdict. “I don’t think the jurors even sat down before making their decision,” said Lori Daves, of Jay Old and Associates, who defended the Texas FAIR plan in the case. “It was the quickest verdict I have ever been part of.”

In addition, many of these lawsuits have found their way into federal court where some suits have been dismissed after appraisal has been completed and a plaintiff’s firm was questioned by a federal judge about the validity of the lawsuits. In one case last month, a federal judge in McAllen admonished a plaintiff’s attorney, asking him why he shouldn’t be sanctioned for bringing factually unsupported hail claims against insurer.

“Texas has had a significant number of catastrophic weather events over the last couple of years, and this seems to have encouraged a large number of questionable lawsuits being filed across the state,” said Hanna. “Hopefully, as more of these types of questionable lawsuits are taken to trial, we will see decisions that will discourage attempts to profit from severe storms. In the end, all Texas consumers are harmed by unnecessary litigation.”

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting, Forensics, and Environmental Remediation Services. Construction, Investigation, Remediation and Forensic Expert Engineers

Construction Defects, Construction Claims, Engineering, Property & Casualty Investigations, Assessment, Site Investigation, Remediation, Litigation and Indoor-Air Expert Engineers

Bill Stephan, PhD, PE, CIH, CHMM, JD, MBA

Principal Engineer

P.O. Box 520

Tenafly, New Jersey 07670-0520

Phone: (973) 897-8162

Fax: (973) 810-0440

E-mail: metroforensics@gmail.com

__________________________________________________

Firm Overview

The engineering and forensic firm of Metropolitan Forensics and Consulting Engineering and Environmental Services was established for the purpose of providing a high value service to the insurance industry and to the insured companies or individuals. Our founding principal (Bill Stephan) is a licensed professional engineer in several states, including, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

We specialize in the in-situ remediation of petroleum and chlorinated spills, the defense of liability claims, the investigation and defense of first or third party insurance claims and the handling of subrogation claims.  We are also experts on oil and gas energy sector issues (design, investigations, construction oversight), renewable energy sector (wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels, etc), vapor intrusion evaluation, vapor phase and transport and in design on vapor mitigation systems.  Additionally, we offer forensic engineering services, including age-dating of contaminant releases, construction defects, oversight, evaluation of remedial alternatives, sub-slab ventilation system design and installation.  The list of our core services is:

• Cause and Origin Investigations
• Construction Failure Analysis (Residential, Industrial and Commercial)
• Structural Integrity Evaluation
  
• Site Investigation
• Tank removals and tank installations; licensed and insured to perform entire UST work
  
• In-Situ Remediation of Soil and Groundwater
  
• Vapor intrusion, indoor air evaluation and mitigation
  
• Causation
• Forensic Investigations (age-dating)
• Oversight
• Review of Remedial Action Work Plans
• Reserve Estimation
• Cost Allocation
• RAWP Preparation
• Site Remediation
• Cleanup Level Development and Negotiation
• Subrogation
• Expert Witness/Litigation Support
• Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) Services
• Construction Claims (Delay, Differing Site Conditions, Loss of Productivity, Acceleration, and others)
  

 



















Additional Specialty Service Areas

Age Dating
Boilers & Burners
Bridges
Building Codes
Building Inspections

Construction Accident
   Reconstruction
Construction Defects
Construction Delay Claims
Construction Surety Claims
Construction Disputes
Construction Differing Condition Claims
Construction Oversight
Construction Management
Construction Acceleration Claims

Construction Failures
Construction Injuries
Contractor Performance Issues
Corrosion

Defective Designs
Defective Roadway Design
   Evaluations

Earthquake
Electrical Accidents/Injuries
Electrical Equipment Failures
Electrical Fires
Elevators, Escalators
   & Conveyors
Embedded Software Hazards
   & Analysis
Equipment Failures
Errors and Omissions
Explosions
Failure Analysis
Fire
Fire Codes
Fire Protection Systems
Fire Suppression Systems
Flood Damage Assessment

Foundation Systems

Gas Systems
Hailstorm damage

Heating & Ventilation Systems
Heavy Construction
Highway/Roadway Design
Human Factors

Indoor Air Quality
Laboratory Services
Ladders, Scaffolding Falls
   & Failures
Lightning

Mechanical Defect Evaluations
Metallurgical Age Dating
Mold Causation
Natural Disasters/Weather
   Related Issues
Nuclear Energy
Occupational Hazards
   & Illness
Piping
Playground Equipment Injuries
Plumbing
Product Failures
Roofing Problems & Failures
Safety Codes
Safety & Human Factors
   Engineering
Scalding
Scene Mapping and Photographs
Sick Building Syndrome
Sports Equipment Injuries
Standardized Codes
Steam Systems
Subrogation Issues

Transportation Issues
Trips, Slips & Falls
Underground Storage Tanks
Utilities Expertise
Vibration
Water Damage
Windstorm

Mission Statement

Our mission is to work as an extension of our clients to expeditiously achieve the most economically favorable resolution of claims on their behalf and on behalf of their insured. We have developed and will continue to create new solutions to the technical problems and issues which are facing the insurance industry and the insureds today.  

Metropolitan provides forensic engineering work (age-dating or fingerprinting), site remediation, auditing, cost control and litigation support services to insurance carriers, their insureds and to private or public companies.  In its risk management role, examines, manages and audits environmental claims to ensure that assessment and remediation services provided to both carriers and policy holders are reasonable and necessary, properly rendered and appropriately charged. 

In its litigation support role, Metropolitan assists carriers and their counsel to ensure that litigious disputes are resolved fairly and reimbursement benefits are provided when appropriate.  The corporations service area includes the entire United States, with our corporate office located in Northern New Jersey.  The Firm's professional staff also travels regularly throughout the United States on assignment.

Forensics at Metropolitan

There are many issues associated with disputes over responsibility for cleanup. Who, what, when, where, and how chemicals were released can be investigated. The tools of forensic investigation include mathematical models, statistical models, fate and transport calculations, chromatography, lead isotope analyses, time of travel assessments, library search site characterization, tracer additives, and recently developed software applications.

Effective forensic project management should include an evaluation of multiple forensic tools based on site specific circumstances. The process of evaluation and the ultimate selection of the forensic tool are critical to a successful outcome. When project budgets allow, combining forensic methods for corroborative evidence can substantially strengthen your client’s position in an effort to prevent or support litigation. The effective forensic consultant must be well acquainted with an ever expanding list of analytical methods, environmental regulations, assessment procedures and remedial technologies.

The forensic field is one that utilizes a wide range of scientific tools to identify and characterize complex adverse environmental events. Some of the scientific disciplines involved in forensics include engineering principles (biological, physical and chemical), hydrology, lithology, geology, site history, site practices, mathematics, and statistics. These areas may be combined with technologies such as respiratory analyses, chromatography/mass spectrometry and chemical fingerprinting methods to answer complex questions with the ultimate goal of establishing responsibility for a particular event. Accurate, defensible forensic analyses are an essential component of any strategy that attempts to resolve the extent of the insurer or insured client responsibilities in the cleanup of contaminants.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our forensic services.

Property Damage Services at Metropolitan

Metropolitan assists property owners, claims professionals, businesses, and attorneys in   the assessment of the cause & origin (C&O), extent of damage and required restoration after pipe bursts, settlements, manufacturing and construction failures, fire, flood, earthquake, or storm damage.  Our teams of engineers have extensive experience in the many systems that make up a building including structural, mechanical and electrical systems.   We also have the necessary background to evaluate property damage to items such as communications towers or solar panels. We can help determine alternative, appropriate, and cost effective solutions for repair or restoration of any damaged property, both commercial and residential. 

Providing Competent, Expert and Objective Investigative Engineering and Consulting Services.

Our experts are multi-skilled, competent, and objective professionals who apply their analytical and common sense skills to reconstruct, determine the root cause, and document the events that give rise to property, casualty, and liability claims.  Thorough investigations and detailed measurements/research help us distinguish between pre-existing conditions and sudden and accidental losses.

 















Our investigations are:

·         Comprehensive & Accurate

·         Legible & Easy to Understand

·         Timely Performed

·         Delivered Quickly

·         Cost Effective

·         Clear & Concise

·         Developed by Professionals

·         Dependable

·         Our own uniform reporting system saves time and money.

Our Fast Track Investigation and Uniform Format Reporting systems allow us to conduct and deliver a comprehensive response to the assigned claim.  In most cases, we will obtain findings based on a site visit, visual observations, photographs, interviews, and field measurements.  Further investigations and testing will be provided upon request and approval by the client.

Forensic Investigation of Property Damage Claims

Metropolitan Consulting, Engineering & Forensics understands your need to complete a claim investigation accurately and efficiently as possible.  Whether it is accident reconstruction, damage due to environmental forces such as wind, water, hail, snow, tornado, etc.; fire origin & cause investigation or any other claim, the engineers at Metropolitan understand both you and your client want to resolve the claim.  The analysis you receive from Metropolitan will be accurate and complete, giving you the information needed in the claim adjustment and analysis.

Our services have extended beyond the forensic analysis phase into the remediation and repair phase of many large loss claims.  Upon the completion of the cause and origin (C&O) investigation, Metropolitan can provide our clients with complete working drawings and specifications needed to repair or rebuilt damaged buildings or other structures.  Metropolitan Consulting & Engineering’ staff possesses many-many years of experience in rehabilitation design, construction management, and project oversight to ensure the loss is restored in a timely and cost-effective manner without sacrificing quality.  Building code knowledge allows us to identify possible code upgrades as needed.  Metropolitan understands constructability and realizes making an insured whole goes beyond forensic investigation and design. We pride ourselves in providing practical solutions contractors can understand and follow.

At the forefront of available technology, we provide professionals and staff capable of handling a variety of engineering evaluations.  Our reports are clear, concise, complete and efficiently produced.  Our engineering objectives are achieved in an ethical manner consistent with the traditions and character of engineering professionals.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our property damage services.

Extensive Experience helping Sureties

Metropolitan also has extensive experience helping sureties fulfill their bond obligations resolve disputes after a contractor has defaulted.  This work includes the evaluation of contractor bid pricing, evaluation of the contractor’s ability to perform work, risk assessment, evaluation of termination, construction completion services, claim and litigation support services, loss recovery services, evaluation of payment bond claims, negotiation and settlement of payment bond claims, and construction defects investigation services.  Metropolitan has provided these services for commercial, development, educational, and assisted living projects.

Construction is a business fraught with risk.  Disputes over even the smallest of issues can quickly escalate, with crippling consequences to the project and the parties.  Over the years, the construction industry has developed various methods of contractually allocating the risk of project delay and disruption.  Some of these methods include liquidated damages provisions, "no damages for delay" clauses, mutual waivers of consequential damages, provisions that limit liability, claims notice provisions, and provisions addressing responsibility for the adequacy of the construction plans and specifications.  Parties frequently litigate the sufficiency of these risk-shifting efforts in conjunction with the underlying merits of delay and disruption disputes.

Construction Claims & Disputes

The most frequently encountered claims include:

1.            Construction Delay Claims

2.            Disruption and Loss of Labor Productivity Claims

3.            Design and Construction Defect Claims

4.            Force Majeure Claims

5.            Acceleration or Compression of the Schedule Claims

6.            Suspension, Termination and Default Claims

7.            Differing Site Conditions Claims

8.            Change Order and Extra Work Claims

9.            Cost Overrun Claims

10.         Unacceptable Workmanship or Substituted Material Claims

11.         Non-payment Claims (stop notice (or Notice to Withhold) claims, mechanics’ lien (only for private construction projects) and payment bond claims)

Forensic Engineering Experience Case Studies

Metropolitan staff has developed and utilized scientific methods to assist clients in a variety of ways related to their claim issues. The following is a partial list of such projects:

• Provided expert witness services for plaintiff seeking remediation of contaminated groundwater that caused indoor air inhalation problems;
• Testified that engineering and scientific evidence was improperly collected and analyzed and was inadequate to show the age of the release;
• Origin and cause of retaining wall failures.  
• Lightning damage to structures or electrical systems and equipment
• Roof failure or collapse as a result of accumulated load, additional weight and snow drift at hundreds of commercial and residential properties.
• Demonstrated that solvents in groundwater at client's property originated from off-site dry-cleaner and that client's site actually provided remediation for the off-site release of dry cleaning solvent;
• Expert witness for property owner impacted by industrial waste disposal from industrial manufacturer;
• Demonstrated that environmental analysis by a previous consultant for a manufacturing site was inadequate; as a result, the lender's concerns were alleviated and financing proceeded;
• Chemical "age-dating" and contaminant transport analyses of petroleum in groundwater at a gas station showed that contaminants originated from other parties;
• Age-dated petroleum release at a former gas station to show that the previous owner of the gas station caused groundwater contamination;
• Age-dated petroleum releases at an industrial facility to show that the on-site plume was the result of an off-site source;
• Prepared age-dating reports for over one-hundred residential fuel oil spills;
• Assisted insurance companies attorneys in defending subrogation claims; was able to demonstrate that the forensic data collected by the first party consultant were collected and analyzed using invalid methods;
• Demonstrated that structural damage to a residence was from a source other than the alleged high lake level
• Collected evidence (for the primary responsible party) that identified other responsible parties to share in the cost of a Superfund cleanup;
• Review of the site data at a bulk petroleum facility indicated that the site releases were not the result of regular oil transfer operations and that they were caused by the negligent actions of the insured’s agents; the case was settled in favor of the insurance company;
• Was able to demonstrate that the majority of the removal actions at petroleum release sites were neither reasonable nor necessary; as a result of our opinion, the insurance client settled the claim in favorable terms;
• At several drycleaner sites we were able to demonstrate that the age of the release was much earlier than the parties originally believed; as a result, the insurance client settled the claim at a fraction of the alleged liability;
• We performed numerous flood and wind damage assessments at commercial and residential properties.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our forensic engineering services.

Site Remediation Services

 Characterizing and remediating contaminated sites involve some of the most complex and difficult issues for environmental lawyers and their clients. Problem areas include responding to regulators; negotiating enforcement settlements; negotiating or litigating cost allocation and recovery claims; working with the insured or insurer client, lawyers and regulators to develop efficient, cost-effective remediation approaches; and selling, buying, or developing contaminated properties.

Metropolitan staff has developed and applied an innovative approach to the use of sodium persulfate for the sequential in-situ treatment of subsurface contaminants through chemical oxidation followed by enhanced biological degradation through sulfate reduction. This approach has broad applicability to a wide range of contaminants, and shows strong cost-saving benefits through reducing the initial volume of chemical oxidant necessary and enhancing the in-situ biological degradation of contaminants.

Through proper subsurface geochemical characterization and chemical dosing design, the approach focuses on utilizing the oxidant for immediate mass reduction at the source area, followed by degradation or polishing of the residual contamination using sulfate reducing bacteria.  Depending upon the oxidant activation method, this approach is applicable to petroleum hydrocarbons including both volatiles and PAHs, chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) including chlorinated ethene, ethane and methane groups, as well as PCBs.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our Site Remediation Services.

Vapor Intrusion and Indoor-Air Studies

Vapor intrusion has received increased attention over the last few years near contaminated sites because some contaminants have the potential to migrate into nearby buildings and negatively affect indoor air quality. The accumulation of these volatile vapors in buildings can result in significant safety and health concerns.
To properly evaluate vapor intrusion a thorough evaluation of the building's ventilation system and subsurface conditions needs to be conducted by a knowledgeable professional in accordance with state and federal established procedures. 
The evaluation process typically includes a thorough building chemical inventory, the advancement of soil gas probes and the collection of soil gas samples. When indoor air quality problems are identified they can normally be resolved through the modification/installation of a properly designed ventilation system.
Metropolitan is well experienced with U.S. EPA and State vapor intrusion investigation techniques. We have completed numerous vapor intrusion and indoor air quality studies at commercial and residential properties. We have the experience to identify and resolve indoor vapor intrusion problems and the practical know-how to resolve indoor quality issues in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our Vapor Intrusion and Indoor Air Studies.

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting, Forensics, and Environmental Remediation Services.

Construction, Investigation, Remediation and Forensic Expert  Engineers

P.O. Box 520

Tenafly, New Jersey 07670-0520

Ph.: (973) 897-8162

Fax: (973) 810-0440

metroforensics@gmail.com

Contact: Dr. Bill N. Stephan, PhD, PE, JD, CIH, MBA, CHMM

Insurance claim examiners, insureds, insurers, insurance adjusters and risk managers use Metropolitan for determining cause, evaluating the extent of damage, determining the age of the release, separating unrelated damage, analyzing loss scopes and managing restoration data, determining costs to repair, restore or replace, and preparing for insurance appraisals.

Attorneys call on Metropolitan for help when preparing for Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution such as arbitration and mediation