Divestiture and Plant Closure Services

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When corporations facing changing business and technology landscapes find themselves in possession of facilities that are no longer part of a profitable strategy, the decision of whether or not to divest these excess facilities often hinge on the associated environmental liabilities. The transaction can cause those environmental liabilities to be brought forward, and may in fact create additional potential liabilities based on new facility uses.

Premier has helped numerous national clients with management of facilities that no longer fit into a company's strategic business plan. This help has included facilitating divestment of operating facilities, as well as closing facilities and establishing new uses. A discussion of these processes, including a summary of the issues Premier has typically encountered are presented below.

Facility Divestment

Selling a facility “as-is” often is the most expeditious method of divestment because another industrial entity may be able to purchase the facility and put it to similar use. In years past, the environmental due-diligence that occurred during these kind of sales were often cursory and would take place near the closing of the deal. Today, there is a much larger focus on performing environmental due-diligence, and it is often seen as an integral part of both the planning process and final transaction. From our experience working with sellers and buyers, the primary tasks for divestment include the following:

  • Identifying new opportunities through economic and sensitivity analysis of alternative divestiture options
  • Managing due diligence environmental investigations to ensure that the proper type and amount of data is collected and evaluated
  • Assisting clients with procurement of environmental insurance policies
  • Supporting indemnity negotiations

Key to each of these tasks is determining the end land use, which will dictate the costs, potential approaches, and strategies for divestiture.

Facility Closure

U.S. and Canadian corporations involved in the closure of former operating plants are faced with a variety of challenging economic, regulatory and management factors. Plant closures often represent unique opportunities to return former industrial properties to productive use. Having a team that understands each of these components is critical to the successful closure of a facility.

Premier's experience in plant closure has touched all aspects of the process. Premier has extensive experience and relationships in the requisite technical, legal, real estate, construction/demolition management, operations and maintenance, and business specialties to successfully complete plant closure. From our experience, the primary technical tasks for plant closures typically include:

  • Site characterization and investigation
  • Termination of regulatory permits with state and Federal agencies (air, water, wastewater, solid waste, hazardous waste, etc)
  • Demolition of site structures and closure of waste management units
  • Assisting clients with managing risk and obtaining insurance.

As with plant divestiture, the key to each of these tasks is determining the end land use. The successful completion of the plant closure process can contribute significantly to reducing long-term risk and increasing the opportunity for future revenue from property divestiture or redevelopment.

Divestiture and Plant Closure Staff

Norman D. Kennel, Senior Project Manager

Expertise: RCRA, CERCLA, construction management, remedial implementation and design

Mr. Kennel is a Professional Geologist and Senior Project Manager with Premier. He has over 17 years of industrial and environmental consulting experience gained through working in public protection, environmental consulting/remediation and private industry arenas. Mr. Kennel has directed complex assessment and remediation programs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), State Superfund programs in Tennessee, Iowa, New Jersey and Illinois, and under local regulations in numerous States. He has a proven successful track record of managing projects requiring the interaction and consensus building between diverse entities including: responsible parties, governmental regulators, contractors, legal representatives, and community groups to ensure that projects are completed according to applicable requirements, schedules and budgets.

David P. Morley, P.G., Senior Consultant

Expertise: hydrogeology, site characterization, RCRA/CERCLA, state programs, risk-based assessments, project management.

Mr. Morley is a professional geologist with over 20 years of experience in managing and conducting remedial investigations, feasibility studies, remedial action designs, and geological/hydrogeological studies at pipeline stations and terminals, underground storage tank sites, RCRA facilities, and CERCLA sites. He has extensive experience in planning, developing, and supervising groundwater characterization studies, groundwater development projects, and groundwater remediation projects. Mr. Morley has managed numerous due diligence assessment projects ranging from small commercial properties, such as UST sites and dry cleaners, to large industrial facilities, such as steel mills and chemical plants. He has completed projects in Texas and Louisiana that have involved the application of the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) and the Louisiana Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP), as well as other projects in the U.S. and Canada that required risk-based assessments.