Johnson Wright performed an engineering evaluation and financial audit of an environmental cost claim totaling approximately $177 million in purported past and future environmental costs associated with minerals extraction and processing operations for a major industrial manufacturer.  The total costs associated with the claim were $25 million in past costs, and $152 million in future costs.  Johnson Wright evaluated the claimed past costs to determine if they were reasonable and necessary, and then classified the claimed costs into several categories, including business costs, compliance costs, and environmental response costs.  Johnson Wright questioned $14 million, or 57% of the claimed past costs.  Using proprietary future cost models, Johnson Wright estimated the total present value of future costs for the claimed sites to be $60 million, or 39%, of the claimed future costs.