Potomac River
Inter-jurisdictional Water Pollution Management
The Department of Justice filed suit on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against nine state, county, and municipal governments. The lawsuit claimed that a massive regional water treatment plant exceeded its permitted treatment capacity after heavy rainfall and caused significant pollution in the Potomac River.
Services:
Facilitation, Mediation
Patuxent River
"Wild and Scenic" Designation
Due to considerable disagreement among environmentalists, recreational fishermen, farmers, and commercial boatmen regarding the Patuxent River’s designation as “Wild and Scenic,” we conducted a situation assessment involving 40+ stakeholder interviews to explore whether the parties might find common ground for such a designation.
Services:
Facilitation, Public Engagement
Residential Infill Development
Legislative Policymaking
Residents grew increasingly concerned as developers built “McMansions” (oversized homes) on small lots in established urban residential neighborhoods. A county legislator initiated a collaborative process to resolve policy issues regarding the growing land-use controversy between housing industry professionals, government officials, and neighborhood associations.
Services:
Facilitation, Training
Transportation
Highway Access Relocation
The State of Maryland wanted to relocate an existing access ramp from a federal highway that runs from Washington, D.C. to New York City. This change would move the ramp closer to the nearby town of Burtonsville and would align a state route that ran through the town with the newly relocated access ramp. Several local parties were concerned about the potential loss of business and increased pollutant runoff into the nearby Patuxent River that could result from relocation of the highway access.
Services:
Facilitation, Training
Large Denominational Church
Organizational Effectiveness & Team Building
A large local denominational church was falling into three rival factions over whether the national church and/or the regional district had departed from traditional church beliefs and principles. These issues raised the question of whether the local church should separate itself from the national church and organize into two or three new groups.
Services:
Mediation, Process Design
County Executive Office Reorganization
Organizational Effectiveness
To cut costs and improve operational efficiency, the county executive sought to consolidate two departments to cut the county budget. However, some of the county directors and their staff wanted to keep their departments intact, including their existing access to the county executive.
Services:
Facilitation
