ESI is an environmental consultancy that provides expert witness services related to groundwater, contamination, and environmental issues. They have a team of experienced consultants who have worked on complex cases involving groundwater modeling, contamination assessments, and litigation. ESI handles a wide range of projects from small court cases to large planning appeals and contaminated land issues. They aim to provide clear and objective evidence and advice to help resolve difficult technical environmental problems.

1. ESI EXPERT WITNESS SERVICES
Groundwater & environmental issues
ESI is an environmental consultancy with a highly experienced team of senior consultants
with experience of delivering expert witness support in groundwater, groundwater flooding,
land contamination, ground source energy and in relevant sub-specialisms. The expert
witness team is supported by consultants and technical staff.
A large amount of environmental legislation and regulation The courts and planning inspectors are reliant on the services
(both UK and EU) has been enacted over the last 20 of expert witnesses, whilst parties to the action may need to
years. This now has a significant bearing on many aspects rely on the services of expert advisors to help to develop their
of national life: planning, development, industry and leisure case. The quality and effectiveness of the expert services
etc. Over the same period, the amount of time spent debating available are often crucial to the outcome of the case.
technical environmental issues in court and at public inquiry
ESI’s expert witness structure provides services to suit a wide
has grown steadily. Reasons for this include gaps and
range of projects from small, site specific court cases to some
inconsistencies in the legislation/regulations and difficulties in
of the largest and most complex planning applications, waste
applying the general principles set out in the legislation to the
management and contaminated land issues in the country. By
complex reality of particular sites. However, overwhelmingly
listening carefully to our clients and understanding the critical
these cases relate to the enormous growth in the
aspects of each case from a legal perspective, we are able
‘environmental industry’ and the large costs and opportunities
to offer effective solutions to these difficult problems. Well
that now hinge on the translation of complex, technical
written evidence that clearly distinguishes fact from opinion
information into the language of the relevant legislation.
is recognised as a key requirement with all senior staff having
appropriate training in the role of the expert witness.
Case study: Expert witness support to a major engineering
consultancy and insurance underwriter
ESI’s Managing Director, Mark Fermor provided expert flooding, and presented expert opinion evidence and
witness services as the High Court appointed hydrogeological advice on groundwater flooding impacts following a retail
expert on behalf of a major engineering consultancy supermarket development in Bedfordshire and the role of
and insurance underwriter. Mark undertook extensive groundwater flow and changes to drainage systems in the
investigations and modelling studies to analyse groundwater area. The case, which is now successfully settled, included
flows in the area and demonstrate the extent to which extensive engagement with committees of experts and visual
groundwater levels were influenced by several factors demonstration, through groundwater modelling of the role
of relevance to the case. Based on a transient regional of various influences on groundwater levels, which helped
groundwater MODFLOW approach, Mr Fermor utilised ensure a balanced objective view of influential factors in this
modelling techniques to discriminate between natural complex technical case.
recharge and the effects of soakaway drainage on basement
Shrewsbury
Reading
London
esinternational.com

2. Case study: Advising on contamination risks and liabilities
from a diesel spill
ESI’s specialist staff undertake numerous expert witness appointments to assist parties facing possible or actual litigation
or regulatory enforcement action, or in support of waste management permitting and water
resources or planning appeal hearings.
Following failure of pipework a major retailer lost up to 100,000 litres of diesel to the
shallow subsurface close to a river in northern England. The migration of hydrocarbons
through the shallow groundwater and drains system led to river impacts, and an
active remediation system based on soil vapour extraction and product skimming was
implemented at the site. ESI was asked to provide expert witness services, advising on
the migration and fate of diesel in the subsurface environment, and assessment
of the residual risk and remedial actions required to address controlled
waters and human health risks.
This work included advising as an independent appointed expert for
the retailer on best practice in the assessment and management of risks
and liabilities arising from uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons and their impact on neighboring sites and surface
watercourses, and appraisal of remedial actions.
Following completion of investigations and a detailed quantitative risk assessment, the findings demonstrated that active
remediation has addressed all significant contamination risks at the site. Further consultation is now ongoing to ensure
that all stakeholders can provide relevant input before final report issue, remedial system decommissioning, and nearby
site development for residential end use.
ESI’s Expert Witness Team
Mark Fermor Mike Streetly
Managing Director Director, Water Group
markfermor@esinternational.com mikestreetly@esinternational.com
01743 276 176 01743 276 125
Mark Fermor is a hydrogeologist with particular expertise Mike Streetly is a very experienced hydrogeologist and
in quantitative methods for resource management, project director/manager who is well known throughout
contamination assessment and groundwater modelling. He the industry for his skills and experience in water resource
has practical experience of investigating and remediating a assessment. He has strong numerical skills which have
wide range of contamination hazards in soil and groundwater been applied to solving a wide variety of hydrogeological
and in undertaking hydrogeological risk assessments using problems.
both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Dr Alan Herbert
Dr Steve Buss Director
Technical Director alanherbert@esinternational.com
stevebuss@esinternational.com 01743 276 100
01743 276 134
Alan Herbert has extensive experience of groundwater
Dr Steve Buss is a Chartered Geologist with more than resource assessment and contaminant transport modeling,
12 years’ experience of understanding and modelling leading projects on many of the UK’s major aquifers and
groundwater flow and contaminant transport. He has low permeability media. Dr Herbert had a leading technical
led projects that have examined groundwater flow and and management role in ESI’s modelling projects for the
contaminant transport in all the principal UK aquifers; from definition of SPZs, a desk study of the hydrogeology issues
the site scale to the scale of regional aquifers. associated with low flow problems, and development of the
EA’s initial methodology for the assessment of the impact of
groundwater abstraction on river flows (IGARF).