Speaker:
Jorge Berkowitz, Ph.D., LSRP, Private Consultant with over 40 years of environmental consulting experience.
Moderator:
Phil Brilliant, CHMM, LSRP- founder of Brilliant Environmental Services, LLC. Phil is a Board Member/LSRP of the NJ Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board.
7 Lessons from CEPS’s “Communicating as an LSRP”
Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs) rarely struggle with contaminant chemistry or field logistics; the real mine-field is client communication. That was the thesis of CEPS’s November Hot-Topic session, led by Dr. George Burwitz (former NJDEP Assistant Commissioner) and moderator Phil Brilliant.
Below is a concise recap of the hour-long webinar—focused on the “on-boarding meeting” and the critical conversations that follow—plus practical check-lists you can fold into your own practice.
1 | Know (and Vet) Every Player at the Table
| Role | What You Must Clarify Up-Front |
|---|---|
| PRCR / Property Owner | Regulatory history, budget appetite, real-estate timeline, risk tolerance. |
| Outside Counsel | Litigation exposure, disclosure philosophy, preferred communication chain. |
| Opposing Party & Experts | Are you heading toward an adversarial path? If so, prep for expert-report scrutiny from Day 1. |
| Internal Specialists | Identify gaps in your own team—e.g., hydrogeology, vapor mitigation—and bring vetted sub-consultants aboard early. |
Pro tip: If counsel insists on being the go-between, request at least one direct session with the client to avoid “broken-telephone” misunderstandings.
2 | Stage a Formal On-Boarding Meeting
It’s not a luxury; SRRA and the LSRP Board’s rules make client briefings mandatory. Dr. Burwitz recommends covering:
- Regulatory Landscape
- ISRA, ARRCS & Tech Regs basics
- Mandatory vs. regulatory time frames
- Public‐notice vs. public‐participation triggers
- Site Status & Data Gaps
- Known AOCs, historical records, pending deadlines.
- Roles & Expectations
- Who pays for what, decision chains, likely need for technical consultations.
- Uncertain Futures
- Standard changes (PFAS, vinyl chloride, etc.) and re-opener scenarios.
- Communication Protocols
- Frequency, documentation style, attorney cc’s, emergency contacts.
Send a written recap within 24 hours; it becomes Exhibit A if questions (or claims) arise later.
3 | Explain the Four-Step Path—Without Sugar-Coating
- PA/SI – Bias sampling, potential nothing-found doesn’t always equal “clean.”
- RI – Delineation, clock starts on time frames.
- RAW/RAR – Remedy selection, public engagement, cost certainty vanishes.
- RAO & RAP – “Final” documents that can still be reopened.
Pair each phase with its funding and paperwork obligations (RFS, financial assurance, Biennial Certifications).
4 | Certifications: Stress the Personal Risk
- LSRP Certification – A full page of “any and all” assertions; civil and criminal liability up to $75,000 per day.
- PRCR/Owner Certification – Shorter, but still sworn statements.
- Shared Consequences – Non-performance can trigger DEP direct oversight, feasibility studies, extra public meetings and, of course, costs.
Clients need to grasp why you sometimes say “no” or demand lab reruns—your license and freedom are on the line.
5 | Use Technical Consultations Strategically
DEP’s Tech-Con meetings aren’t only for disputes; they’re excellent pre-clearance tools when you plan to:
- Propose a non-default model or alternative remediation standard
- Challenge a Notice of Deficiency
- Justify site-specific background (historic fill, anthropogenic metals)
Budget for multiple rounds; complex cases routinely take two or three consults to reach alignment.
6 | Set Realistic Budgets—and the RFS Reality Check
| Cost Bucket | Typical Surprises |
|---|---|
| Investigation | Extra soil borings when GW table drops (drought). |
| Remedy | Inflation on cap materials; off-site disposal during flood-elevation projects. |
| Financial Assurance | Letter-of-credit fees, remediation trust funding, insurance premiums. |
Explain that the Remediation Funding Source is additive to consulting fees, and that self-guarantees don’t apply once an RAO is filed.
7 | Document, Document, Document
- Written Meeting Summaries – Date, attendees, key decisions, action items.
- Decision Logs – Rationale for sampling plans, model selection, deviations from guidance.
- Client Approvals – Formal sign-offs before moving to each new phase.
- Email Hygiene – Keep personal numbers off public signs; segregate privileged threads.
If DEP or a court ever drills in, your paper trail becomes your safest ally.
Great remediation isn’t only science—it’s storytelling, expectation-setting and risk translation
Master the on-boarding meeting, and half the battle is won before the first sample bottle hits the soil.
The full webinar recording and slide deck are available in the video embedded on this page. Bookmark it, share it with junior staff, and revisit before your next client kickoff.