Spotlight: C&P National Practice Leader Liz Wilson

In this month’s feature, our new “Compliance News” columnist and BC Subject Matter Expert Liz Wilson provides insight into what’s ahead for compliance and permitting in 2023.

As I step into the NPL role, I can’t help but think back on my 15 years at BC, as well as my four years as a client. I have been involved in a wide variety of technical projects from due diligence and compliance to remediation. Having this wide view has given me great awareness and understanding of how we support our clients.

Over the years, my stormwater and solid waste background have allowed me to gain priceless insight and knowledge working with clients across mining, solid waste, and industrial sites, as well as municipal water and wastewater utilities. My involvement with a national manufacturing client has been of particular value. I am involved with staff at facilities across the country, fielding questions on their day-to-day challenges, supporting their compliance, and engaging with regulators. This experience has helped bolster a strong foundation of how media are regulated across the country — lessons learned that help me be a better advisor with first-hand experience on valuable solutions for clients.

Looking ahead

The C&P needs of our clients are constantly evolving along with the regulations and market conditions. Our aim is to help our clients be proactive, rather than reactive. As we move into the 2023, there are three areas I believe will be of particular importance across sectors this year:

• Resilience-based infrastructure: Many clients are facing new challenges as their aging infrastructure requires attention or new infrastructure is being planned for and established. These challenges are often paired with additional considerations such as water management, coastal flooding, and/or new regulatory obligations.
• Stormwater: Evolving regulations are the norm, but with growing focus on sensitive watersheds and previously unregulated entities, we see stormwater as an important area of focus for clients. We are keeping an eye on state and federal regulatory updates that will affect the process for stormwater management for property owners ranging from privately owned industries to commercial and institutional properties.
• Emerging contaminants: The last few years have brought increased attention to various emerging contaminants, such as PFAS. From a public perception perspective as well as a regulatory standpoint, our clients are facing challenges. We are watching rapidly changing regulations such as NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) and CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) and working to help our clients adjust to and prepare for these changes.

I look forward to connecting BC’s technical teams with clients to support strategy, innovation, and compliance in these areas and beyond.