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The President of SEA, L.C. is Richard C. Fortuna.  For the past 23 years, Mr. Fortuna has been one of the principal architects of the nation's preventive hazardous waste management policies.  Mr. Fortuna is best known for his work in developing  key provisions of the 1984 RCRA Amendments,  including the land disposal restriction, corrective action and “hammer” provisions, while serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee under Congressman James  Florio.  In addition, he participated in the enactment of the original Superfund Act in 1980, while a member of Congressman John J. Dingell’s personal staff, and contributed to the 1986 Superfund Reauthorization (SARA).  Based on these and other legislative successes,  a recent Brookings study identified “reducing exposure to hazardous waste” as one of the Federal government’s 50 greatest accomplishments of the 20th century.

After leaving Capitol Hill in 1983, Mr. Fortuna served as  Executive Director of the Hazardous Waste Treatment Council for 11 years -- a group which played a pivotal role in implementing all key RCRA and CERCLA policies and provisions.  Mr. Fortuna is one of the few individuals who has: personally developed provisions of the RCRA and CERCLA (Superfund) legislation, followed and affected their implementation for over twenty years, and has witnessed first hand the response of regulated industry  to the changing nature of federal and state legislation regulations in this area.

Mr. Fortuna is considered one of the foremost experts on RCRA and CERCLA’s (Superfund) origins, purposes, provisions and implementation.  Mr. Fortuna has been admitted as a RCRA, CERCLA (Superfund) and/or Clean Water Act Expert witness in Federal and State Court and EPA ALJ proceedings.  Mr. Fortuna has served as a RCRA, CERCLA (Superfund) and/or Clean Water Act (CWA) Expert witness in over twenty cases or proceedings involving RCRA, CERCLA (Superfund) and/or Clean Water Act (CWA) legislation, regulation, policy, purposes or implementation.  Summarized below are the significant accomplishments of Mr. Fortuna in all of SEA’s areas of practice including market studies, compliance strategies, policy development, technology evaluation, and as a RCRA, CERCA (Superfund) expert witness.  All included are links to summaries of the cases and proceedings in which Mr. Fortuna has served as a RCRA, CERCLA (Superfund) expert witness:
 
   Over 23 years experience in drafting environmental legislation, implementing policies, conducting market studies and observing regulated industry’s response to environmental statutes, regulations, deadlines, and market conditions;
   
  Was a principal architect of the 1984 reforms to RCRA (i.e., Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 – HSWA), and participated in the original enactment of Superfund in 1980, and its 1986 Reauthorization;
 
  Followed and influenced the implementation of both RCRA and Superfund for eleven years as the Executive Director of the nation’s largest trade association of technology-based waste management firms.  In this capacity, Mr. Fortuna worked with over two hundred firms and their customers in responding to ever-evolving hazardous waste regulatory requirements, and understanding the costs of waste treatment, compliance and remediation;

   Conducted numerous market studies involving wastewater management technology and analyzed the impact of Clean Water Act regulations for numerous due diligence investigations (See Resume)
   
   Authored a book, Hazardous Waste Regulation, published by McGraw-Hill with a Forward by the late Senator John Chafee – the Floor Manager for the 1984 HSWA;
   
   Conducted  numerous market studies and due diligence investigations in the hazardous, solid, and radioactive waste sectors for commercial waste management firms,  insurance companies  and  financial institutions regarding:  the advisability of market entry, the need for restructuring of current services to respond to future needs and demands, and the likelihood of future success of a given technology or market strategy;
   
   Extensive experience with trial, deposition, and Congressional testimony.  Was admitted as a RCRA expert in an EPA ALJ proceeding and in Federal and State Court trial;
   
   Worked on eleven separate insurance coverage cases involving a variety of defenses and investigations, all on behalf of the insurer.  Familiar with the history and structure of numerous state regulatory programs.  References available upon request;
   
   Provided expert witness testimony on the history and intended impacts of RCRA and CERCLA policies on the  practices of hazardous waste generators and facilities that treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste.  Opinions focused on whether various activities were properly classified as regulatory compliance, and on the portion of claim costs that are so classified.  Prepared numerous Expert Reports; have been deposed and testified at trial;
   
   Established valuable Court precedents on the classification of RCRA Corrective Action activities as regulatory compliance, rather than compelled remediation;
   
   Developed a model for classification of enforcement actions;
   
   Amassed an archive of industry, government and professional reports on waste management practices, knowledge of groundwater contamination, and Federal/State policies, regulations and legislation;
   
   Organized 12 national and regional conferences on RCRA and CERCLA policy issues and treatment/remediation technologies, and organized or testified before Congressional hearings on over twenty-five occasions; and,
   
  Served on DOE’s Technology Development and Deployment Advisory Committee for 5 years.

 

Accomplishments

Resume

Books

Testimony, Articles, and Reports





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RICHARD C. FORTUNA, President   Voice: (301) 299-6013  Fax: (301) 299-9824
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