Broken Promises, Favoritism and Conflicts of Interest Compromise Cleanups of Polluted Properties, says Kurz Environmental, Inc.

NEEDHAM, Mass. -- In 1993, Massachusetts promised to jumpstart the economy and eliminate barriers to the cleanup and sale of polluted properties. Ten years ago, the Commonwealth gave the private sector responsibility to clean up more than 3,000 sites contaminated by oil and hazardous materials, stopped directing cleanups, and gave newly licensed, private sector environmental engineers independent authority to remedy pollution. As a result, a large number of small independent, environmental professionals went into this business. Among them was Dr. Steven Kurz of Kurz Environmental, Inc. in Needham, MA, a licensed professional with 30 years experience, whose license was revoked today as a consequence of the State's return to the close examination and direction of these professionals and the targeting of smaller firms to eliminate competition. "I am a victim of this process, which has impeded the Commonwealth from fulfilling its promise," said Dr. Kurz.

Many of the representatives that sit on the Licensed Site Professional Board are from large environmental companies, which compete with smaller ones. "Members of the Board either wrongfully refuse to or belatedly recuse themselves, only after prejudicing the remaining members against the professionals they investigate," noted Dr. Kurz.

"This inherent conflict, where representatives from large corporate environmental firms are allowed to knock out of the box smaller competing interests, is a major flaw in the system," said Dr. Kurz. "These campaigns to discredit the competition under the auspices of the Commonwealth create fear on the part of small private cleanup specialists who no longer want to sign the certifications required by the State. The LSP Board favors and rarely investigates environmental consultants from big companies. The majority of the investigations are of little guys," said Dr. Kurz, who calls upon the State Ethics Commission to examine these practices by the State and LSP Board.

"Many well-qualified, experienced cleanup specialists are, in fact, looking for other ventures outside of the environmental industry, which was once a mainstay of the Massachusetts economy," said Attorney Rosanna Sattler, who represented Dr. Kurz and who chairs the Environmental Practice Group at Posternak Blankstein & Lund, LLP of Boston.

According to these cleanup specialists, the problem is compounded by entrenched middle-level state regulators and the licensing body once again scrutinizing the decisions and directing the activities of these professionals. "The State needs to reexamine and overhaul the entire process of government oversight of this program," said Dr. Kurz

"All of this government oversight brings into question whether or not privatization is taken seriously by the old rank and file State bureaucrats," said Sattler. Coincidentally, all the government interference occurs at a time when the State is cutting budgets and firing personnel. "Frankly, some bureacrats want to appear busy with our cleanups to justify their existence," said Dr. Kurz. "The Massachusetts plan for privatizing cleanups is compromised on a daily basis by the Commonwealth, bringing into question the program's future, slowing cleanups, and eroding the environmental industry," said Sattler.

This procedure of resurrecting discarded practices threatens to delay sales of businesses and real estate in Massachusetts, erasing the past ten years of advances in the cleanup industry.

"I have been in the environmental cleanup industry for over 30 years, but I was forced in the last five years to spend a considerable amount of time and money defending myself from bogus, bureaucratic accusations. My rights of equal protection and due process were denied. This crusade was conducted by unqualified people with far less experience, or simply no experience in the private sector," noted Dr. Kurz. "In fact, many of my colleagues would rather do something else, and some have given up their licenses, just like I have. We cleanup specialists are focusing on different business enterprises, like my well-established architectural millwork company in Waltham, Freeman-Carder, or we are spending more time in our offices with our environmental clients, helping to make business decisions," said Dr. Kurz.

Dr. Steven Kurz holds a Ph.D. and MBA from Boston University and is an owner of Kurz Environmental, Inc., a full-service environmental consulting firm, and Freeman-Carder, an architectural millwork company in Waltham, Massachusetts.