Expert Details

Geology, Hydrogeology, Hydrogeochemistry, Groundwater Flow Modeling, Contaminant Transport Modeling, and Statistics

ID: 735252 Pennsylvania, USA

Expert has practiced as a professional hydrogeologist starting in 1986 and holds licenses to practice geology in several states. His well-rounded experience allows him to conceptualize and describe complex problems and to visually present them in three dimensions in order to bring clarity and to avoid convoluted technical discussions. He brings a comprehensive understanding of geology, hydrogeology, chemistry, mathematics and physics to the table while using specialized investigative techniques such as graphical analyses, statistics, groundwater flow modeling and contaminant transport modeling. Expert knows the natural chemical characteristics of groundwater, as well as the occurrence and behavior of man-made organic and inorganic contaminants. I use a wide variety of mathematical and modeling tools to illustrate key principles. He has decades of experience with conceptual and actual designs for remediation of fuel and solvent-related soil and groundwater contamination at privately and publicly-owned industrial and municipal waste management sites.

Aerial photography via drone (quadcopter). Certified by FAA as small UAS Remote Pilot in Command (RPIC)

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Education

Year	Degree	Subject	Institution
Year: 1986	Degree: Master of Science	Subject: Geology	Institution: Kent State University
Year: 1983	Degree: Bachelor of Science	Subject: Geology	Institution: West Virginia University

Work History

Years	Employer	Title	Department
Years: 2011 to Present	Employer: Undisclosed	Title: Owner	Department: ALL
Responsibilities: Owner and Principal of SMLLC Environmental Consulting Firm. Provides both Technical and Legal Expertise in Geology, Hydrogeology, Hydrogeochemistry, Contaminant Fate Modeling, Statistics
Years	Employer	Title	Department
Years: 1991 to 2011	Employer: Michael Baker International	Title: Senior Hydrogeologist	Department: Environmental
Responsibilities: Lead Hydrogeologist for many years in charge of all technical aspects of Expert Witness & Litigation Support; Conceptual Modeling with Analytical and Numerical Applications; Remedial System Design and Implementation; Contaminant Source Characterization; Soil/Groundwater Sampling Program Design and Implementation under RCRA and CERCLA; Groundwater Monitoring System Design and Implementation; Monitoring and Extraction Well Design, Installation, and Development; Aquifer Characterization, Testing and Evaluation; Environmental Data Collection, Management, and Detailed Analytical Interpretation; and Groundwater Characterization.
Years	Employer	Title	Department
Years: 1990 to 1991	Employer: Killam Associates (formerly DLA)	Title: Senior Hydrogeologist	Department: Environmental
Responsibilities: Conducted hydrogeologic investigations; comprehensive groundwater monitoring system design and implementation at RCRA Integrated steel-making Facility in UT, landfills in PA and many fuel distribution stations.
Years	Employer	Title	Department
Years: 1988 to 1990	Employer: L. Robert Kimball & Associates	Title: Senior Hydrogeologist	Department: Environmental
Responsibilities: Conducted extensive soil remediation project for the NJDOT in Bayonne, NJ. with Risk Assessment. Conducted many groundwater monitoring and system design.
Years	Employer	Title	Department
Years: 1986 to 1988	Employer: NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection	Title: Senior Geologist	Department: Groundwater Pollution Abatement
Responsibilities: Conducted regulatory oversight of several RCRA and CERCLA (Superfund) sites with hazardous waste groundwater contamination. Conducted public meetings to delineate well restriction areas around contaminated sites.

Additional Experience

Expert Witness Experience
Corporation A and the local municipality, vs. Corporation B. I used the extensive database of groundwater elevation and water quality data to construct a comprehensive, calibrated three-dimensional groundwater flow and solute transport model of the local Groundwater Contamination (Superfund) Site area for the defendant. I quantified the contaminated groundwater contribution from several trichloroethylene (TCE) sources into a nearby remedial extraction well, which was owned by Corporation A and designed to mitigate its own ethylene dibromide (EDB) plume. I wrote an expert report based on the model regarding the relative contribution from my client and was deposed. However, the judge dismissed the plaintiff’s case before trial after reviewing the expert reports from both sides of the case. Potential Damages Civil Case, Landowner Damages from adjacent Development. . I provided technical expertise for the defendant in a civil case involving potential damages to a property in Beaver County, PA. The landowner claimed recent flooding damages from an inadequate drainage design uphill of his property at the Development. I was able to find historical and geologic evidence of natural springs and seepage occurring in the same locations years before the Development existed. There was also evidence and testimony that an earlier “improvement” to the stream valley by the previous landowner restricted natural flow and had caused the problem. I wrote an expert report and rendered an opinion that the Development was not responsible for the flooding because it had occurred many years prior to the Development being built. The case against the Development was dismissed by the judge. Local Citizens Group v State Environmental Protection Agency and Local Landfill. I provided technical expertise and expert witness testimony for a hearing in which a third party challenged the permit of the landfill to expand its operations. My opinions were: 1) the originally incorrect hydrogeologic setting of the landfill due to flawed geologic characterization and, 2) the long-term leakage of landfill leachate into the groundwater and migration off site. The Judge did not rule on the first issue and found in our favor on the second. Damages from Local Landowner v Municipal Authority. I provided technical expertise and expert witness testimony for a civil hearing that claimed damages from a local municipal water well. The well was not properly constructed and it was never properly sealed because of the lack of any grout cement in the borehole and annulus. My client’s position was that the improperly constructed well was acting as a drain on the local water table and depleted the unconfined aquifer into the underlying aquifers. The unconfined aquifer had supplied the landowner and his family with spring water for decades until the well was installed. I provided technical expertise, wrote an Expert Report and testified in court for this proceeding. Litigation Support for Damage Claim Defendant, Pennsylvania. I prepared a three-dimensional groundwater flow model and provided all technical assistance for the preparation of an expert report for a deep coal mine facility whose neighbor was claiming damage from surface seepage from a waste-water disposal well. The three-dimensional groundwater model showed how groundwater flowed in relation to the surface mine and the disposal well. The case was settled out of court. Potential Damages Civil Case, Pennsylvania Farm near Unconventional Gas Well, Pre-Fracking. I provided the technical expertise for a civil case involving potential damages to a farm in Lawrence County, PA. A newly permitted, unconventional gas well was drilled near many existing oil/gas wells in the Bessemer Oil Pool, including several on the clients' property. I was able to find physical evidence of several existing oil wells on many properties adjacent to the proposed unconventional gas well. There was also documented evidence of their depth in that particular oil pool. I rendered an opinion regarding their role as a potential conduit to the surface for fugitive fluids, including natural gas, in the case of a subsurface release. The case was settled out of court.

Expert Witness Experience

Corporation A and the local municipality, vs. Corporation B. I used the extensive database of groundwater elevation and water quality data to construct a comprehensive, calibrated three-dimensional groundwater flow and solute transport model of the local Groundwater Contamination (Superfund) Site area for the defendant. I quantified the contaminated groundwater contribution from several trichloroethylene (TCE) sources into a nearby remedial extraction well, which was owned by Corporation A and designed to mitigate its own ethylene dibromide (EDB) plume. I wrote an expert report based on the model regarding the relative contribution from my client and was deposed. However, the judge dismissed the plaintiff’s case before trial after reviewing the expert reports from both sides of the
case.

Potential Damages Civil Case, Landowner Damages from adjacent Development. . I provided technical expertise for the defendant in a civil case involving potential damages to a property in Beaver County, PA. The landowner claimed recent flooding damages from an inadequate drainage design uphill of his property at the Development. I was able to find historical and geologic evidence of natural springs and seepage occurring in the same locations years before the Development existed. There was also evidence and testimony that an earlier “improvement” to the stream valley by the previous landowner restricted natural flow and had caused the problem. I wrote an expert report and rendered an opinion that the Development was not responsible for the flooding because it had occurred many years prior to the Development being built. The case against the Development was dismissed by the judge.

Local Citizens Group v State Environmental Protection Agency and Local Landfill. I provided technical expertise and expert witness testimony for a hearing in which a third party challenged the permit of the landfill to expand its operations. My opinions were: 1) the originally incorrect hydrogeologic setting of the landfill due to flawed geologic characterization and, 2) the long-term leakage of landfill leachate into the groundwater and migration off site. The Judge did not rule on the first issue and found in our favor on the second.

Damages from Local Landowner v Municipal Authority. I provided technical expertise and expert witness testimony for a civil hearing that claimed damages from a local municipal water well. The well was not properly constructed and it was never properly sealed because of the lack of any grout cement in the borehole and annulus. My client’s position was that the improperly constructed well was acting as a drain on the local water table and depleted the unconfined aquifer into the underlying aquifers. The unconfined aquifer had supplied the landowner and his family with spring water for decades until the well was installed. I provided technical expertise, wrote an Expert Report and testified in court for this proceeding.

Litigation Support for Damage Claim Defendant, Pennsylvania. I prepared a three-dimensional groundwater flow model and provided all technical assistance for the preparation of an expert report for a deep coal mine facility whose neighbor was claiming damage from surface seepage from a waste-water disposal well. The three-dimensional groundwater model showed how groundwater flowed in relation to the surface mine and the disposal well. The case was settled out of court.

Potential Damages Civil Case, Pennsylvania Farm near Unconventional Gas Well, Pre-Fracking. I provided the technical expertise for a civil case involving potential damages to a farm in Lawrence County, PA. A newly permitted, unconventional gas well was drilled near many existing oil/gas wells in the Bessemer Oil Pool, including several on the clients' property. I was able to find physical evidence of several existing oil wells on many properties adjacent to the proposed unconventional gas well. There was also documented evidence of their depth in that particular oil pool. I rendered an opinion regarding their role as a potential conduit to the surface for fugitive fluids, including natural gas, in the case of a subsurface release. The case was settled out of court.

Career Accomplishments

Associations / Societies
National Groundwater Association Pittsburgh Geological Society Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists

Licenses / Certifications
Licensed Professional Geologist, Delaware Licensed Professional Geologist, Indiana Registered Geologist, Missouri Licensed Professional Geologist, Nebraska Professional Geologist, Pennsylvania Licensed Geologist, Washington Licensed Geologist, North Carolina (inactive) Professional Geoscientist (Geology), Texas (inactive)

Awards / Recognition
Scholarship Award from NGWA

Publications and Patents Summary
Expert is principal author or co-author of five publications in his field.

Fields of Expertise

RCRA Facility Investigation, Superfund, environmental statistics, groundwater remediation, groundwater monitoring, groundwater modeling, groundwater contamination, chemistry, groundwater hydrology, groundwater flow modeling, groundwater, structural geology, stratigraphy, surficial geology, forensic geology, environmental geology, hydrogeology, drones, aerial photography

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Expert Details

Geology, Hydrogeology, Hydrogeochemistry, Groundwater Flow Modeling, Contaminant Transport Modeling, and Statistics

Education

Work History

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities:

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Additional Experience

Career Accomplishments

Fields of Expertise