At the 2013 National Brownfields Conference in Atlanta, Trey Hess of the Mississippi DEQ hosted a roundtable discussion entitled "Selecting an Environmental Consultant Without Losing Your Watch." (http://www.brownfieldsconference.org/en/Session/1956). Here's the overview:
- Former Avis CEO Robert Townsend once said that "Consultants borrow your watch to tell you the time then they walk off with your watch". While this tongue-in-cheek statement may not be the case with the environmental consultants who are courting your community, having a set of guidelines for selecting a consultant would be helpful. Whether its "let me take you to lunch" or "I've got a fantastic new cleanup technology", regulators have heard it all. Since they aren't vying for your affections (i.e., your watch), they are the perfect moderators for this session. Geared towards the new EPA Grantee, this roundtable discussion will focus on topics like: What does a good RFP or RFQ look like? What criteria really matter? And are there any State requirements that should be considered?
In the fall of 2015, EPA asked me to repackage the roundtable into a webinar entitled "Tips For Selecting a Brownfield Consultant."
You can download the PPT Show with the audio from <here>. If you download vs. just reviewing the slides within DropBox, you will get the audio.