During the first half of his career, Bob worked on a wide range of environmental projects serving corporate and government clients,
including some of the earliest contamination remediation efforts at
petroleum refineries, chemical plants, pulp and paper mills, wood treating facilities, alumina refineries,
aluminum factories, steel works, electric and gas utilities, military installations, and Superfund sites.
Later his work encompassed environmental restoration of waterways and wetlands.
His work has addressed advances in water- and sediment-borne chemical fate, transport,
and human health and ecological risk sciences;
pollution control, remediation, and restoration technologies;
and federal and state environmental programs.
Surface Water and Wetlands
Doctoral Research on Low-Turbulence Wetland Hydrodynamics (2009 - 2012); featuring first-in-the-nation flume experiments on low Reynold's Number conditions at steady-state and dynamic flows, with varying bottom roughness and obstructions.
Mississippi River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (then Department of Natural Resources), author (2007); a detailed hydraulic feasibility study for a proposed Mississippi River diversion into the Maurepas Swamp. Included the first-in-the-nation application of high-resolution HPC modeling of shallow wetland circulation to evaluate short circuiting and retention time for denitrification.
Assessing Baseline and Modified Astronomical Tide Propagation in the Pontchartrain Basin Using ADCIRC, US Army Corps of Engineers, author, (2007); first-in-the-nation detailed harmonic analysis of tidal constituents in a coastal lake (including over 110 time series from 40 gages), featuring an evaluation of the capability of the high-resolution HPC ADCIRC model to replicate regional tidal propagation in the large, complex estuary; analyzed the model’s capability to assess the impact of post-Katrina proposed pass closure structures on tidal circulation.
Bayou Remediation and Restoration Feasibility Study, Southeast Louisiana Refinery, project manager (2003); remediation engineering of two miles of petroleum-contaminated sediments in a designated coastal estuarine scenic bayou; the project was being addressed under a federal NRDA and state CERCLIS action (Louisiana).
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study, Southwest Louisiana Regional Industrial Task Force, co-author (2002); detailed review of TMDL water quality investigations prepared by the USEPA and LDEQ for a variety of pollutants including nutrients, heavy metals, and organic toxics for a major Gulf of Mexico estuary; included critiques of an integrated 2-D water quality model of DO and nutrient uptake in the estuary; as a result of this work, proposed TMDLs for the estuary were significantly modified.
Remedial Investigations/Feasibility Studies of Contaminated Waterbodies, Industrial Clients, support (1995 - 2002); work addressed scope, fate, transport and long-term risks to sensitive aquatic ecosystem indicator species, under a range of alternative measures, for mercury, heavy metal, pesticide, and chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination.
Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Contaminated Sediment Remediation, Southwest Louisiana, manager (1991); hydraulic dredging of heavily contaminated sediments from a channeled portion of the Calcasieu River near a facility loading dock.
Delineation of Coastal Marsh Land Loss, Gas Pipeline Company, support, (1983); digitized land change for pre- versus post-construction of gas pipeline through brackish water marsh.
Groundwater
Manual for Designing Cost-Effective Risk-Based Groundwater Remediation, Louisiana Chemical Association, author (1997); a manual to address the selection and optimization of groundwater remediation through the application of health/environmental risk analysis; reviews analytical and numerical models for evaluating groundwater remediation design variables.
Groundwater Investigations, Multiple Clients, manager/support (1983–88); conducted groundwater hydrology, quality, and contamination investigations for a wide range of contaminants—petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, pesticides, PCBs, dioxins, and heavy metals, including floating and dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL). Activities included installation and sampling of piezometers, monitoring wells, pump tests, flow and transport modeling, risk assessment, remediation planning, horizontal wells, remediation, pump-and-treat, and intrinsic and in-situ bio/chemical remediation. Many of these activities involved first-in-the-nation technical approaches—such as DNAPL pump tests and recovery, 2D groundwater modeling, and plans for horizontal wells.
Wastewater/Stormwater/Waste Management
Industrial Stormwater System Upgrades, Multiple Petroleum Refineries and Chemical Manufacturing Plants, manager/author (1997–2007); engineering analysis of design storms and analysis, conveyance system/transfer/storage/treatment capacity to address changing site conditions and/or discharge limits.
Industrial Wastewater Treatment System Upgrades, Multiple Petroleum Refineries and Chemical Manufacturing Plants, manager/author (1997-2007); engineering analysis of design storms and analysis of physical, chemical, and biological treatment systems to address changing load conditions and/or stricter discharge limits.
Wastewater System Nitrate Study, Louisiana Petroleum Refinery Complex, author (1997–98); detailed study of nitrogen sources and cycling — nitrification and denitrification — for a significant ammonia/nitrate point source to the Mississippi River; evaluated alternatives for denitrification consistent with expected kinetics of nitrate removal.
Stormwater System Remediation Design/Construction, Petroleum Refinery, manager (1998–2001); a multi-million-dollar environmental remediation project for three wastewater surface impoundments; exceeded design objectives and was completed under budget.
Surface Impoundment and Buried Waste Remediation, Multiple Active and Abandoned Sites, manager/support (1984–98); more than 20 remediation feasibility studies (including RCRA and CERCLA sites); identifying, screening, and evaluating alternatives, and preparing conceptual designs; rigorous application of recognized and innovative approaches to risk, safety, effectiveness, cost, schedule, constructability, logistics, and other issues. As an example, served as a senior consultant for a project to hydraulically dredge several hundred thousand cubic yards of contaminated sediments and transfer to a slurry processing operation for multi-phase mechanical dewatering and stabilization prior to shipment offsite.
Old Inger Superfund Site Feasibility Study, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, author (1984); remediation of an abandoned waste oil refinery located on the Mississippi River near Darrow, Louisiana; study was the first-in-the-nation approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency for biodegradation as the primary remediation technology.
Solid Waste Landfll Siting Studies, for Rapides Parish, Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning District, and for Livingston Parish, Alvin Fairburn & Associates, support (1982).
Environmental Permit Requirements for a Proposed Grassroots Ethanol Plant, FC Schaffer & Associates, author (1981).
Delegation of the Federal RCRA Hazardous Waste Management Program, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, then Dept of Natural Resources, Office of Environmental Affairs (1980-81)