Legal, Technical, and Strategic Considerations for Environmental Justice Under CERCLA

Ms. Bridgette DeShields has more than 35 years of experience and is a specialist in site investigation and remediation, sediment and water quality management, environmental toxicology, and environmental permitting and planning. Her work has been focused on sediment assessments and waterfront projects with natural resource components and complex regulatory frameworks. Ms. DeShields also has expertise in prepared environmental documents under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She has provided litigation support and expert testimony in the areas of water quality, regulatory compliance, human and ecological risk assessment, waste disposal under California and federal regulations, and Superfund cost allocation. She has developed excellent working relationships with regulatory agency staff and natural resource trustees as well as tribal representatives and stakeholder groups. She has also made numerous presentations and led public meetings to explain complex risk issues and address environmental justice concerns. Ms. DeShields has a B.S. in Biochemistry from UC Davis and an M.S. in Environmental Management for the University of San Francisco.

Miranda Henning is a 30+ year veteran environmental consultant who helps clients in the regulated, legal, governmental, and nonprofit communities quantify and mitigate the risks posed by chemicals in the environment, home, workplace, diet, and consumer products. A certified senior ecologist and board-certified environmental scientist (ecotoxicology), she has developed and applied innovative techniques to characterize the effects of and identify solutions for remediating environmental releases of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, petroleum hydrocarbons, PAHs, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, PCBs, mercury and other metals, and pesticides. Her recent focus has included community engagement and environmental justice at contaminated sediment sites throughout North America. Ms. Henning has contributed to nearly 100 guidance documents, scientific publications, and technical presentations.

Claire develops and implements policies to address the disproportionate environmental and economic burdens endured by people and communities harmed by legacy contamination at Greenfield Multistate Trust sites. She also handles legal affairs and advising for select Greenfield Trust sites. Before joining Greenfield, Claire was a member of the Litigation Team at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she led litigation and advocacy efforts to secure safe drinking water, curb air emissions, protect species, and maintain critical environmental protections for communities. Claire also served as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Enforcement Section, where she represented the United States in lawsuits to enforce the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, and to recover costs under CERCLA. Claire earned her BA in history from Stanford University and her JD from Columbia Law School.