Experience Summary
Christopher J. Vandegrift is a Senior Project Professional in our Pittsburgh, PA office. He has over 20 years of experience in the environmental consulting and contracting field. Chris has managed all facets of project work from initial assessment activities through site closures. He has managed annual gross operating revenues of over $5 million and has been responsible for remedial action at a variety of facilities including retail petroleum, refining, manufacturing, mining, chemical distribution and aviation located across the eastern United States and California.
Chris has managed large-scale remedial actions including landfill caps, secondary containment structures, excavations, impoundment closures, system installations, and facility decontamination and demolition. He has specified and implemented detailed remedial design approaches with multiple remedial technologies including single and multiple well extraction, air-sparging, soil vapor extraction and bio-sparge/venting processes. He has designed various vapor treatment process including granular activated carbon, air-stripping, thermal/catalytic oxidation and internal combustion engines. He has provided periodic remedial performance evaluations typically accompanied by recommendations for system optimization.
Chris successfully managed these activities with various clients, regulatory agencies and client counsel to ensure minimal business interruptions, compliance with applicable orders and environmental regulations and with limited exposure to third party liabilities. In addition to his management experience, his additional responsibilities have included business development, strategic business planning, emergency response, AST and UST compliance, profiling and transportation of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, and the preparation of facility plans.
Chris is currently the remediation system operation & maintenance (O&M) technical lead for an international chemical manufacturing company. Chris conducts remedial engineering design assurance, continuous improvement of remedial system performance and system optimization consistent with project closure goals and client objectives for multiple treatment facilities located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, New York and Indiana. Chris has facilitated cost reductions of up to 50% with reduction of unscheduled shutdowns and increased efficiency.
Related Projects
· Portfolio Manager for an out-source contract with a convenience store chain. Responsible for all aspects of environmental oversight on 250 sites in 13 states managed through 10 operating divisions. Accountable for national strategic planning, authoring and managing proposals, administering performance metrics, and managing the financial accrual of a four million dollar budget. Responsible for continuous feedback on performance, information sharing on technology and policies, management and project strategies, and operational issues.
· Project Manager and lead engineer for environmental assessment and remediation of over 120 petroleum sites and facilities including: retail service stations for major and mid-stream petroleum clients and petroleum bulk storage facilities, in southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. Managed and performed investigation, remediation, UST closure, remedial system installations and groundwater monitoring programs. Responsible for development of cost to closure estimates, remedial budgets, development of remedial options, development of work plans and corrective action plans and for negotiating with various regulatory agencies to obtain regulatory closure of petroleum spill cases.
· Senior Project Manager for an operational/optimization study for a former manufacturing facility, which is impacted by metals and VOCs. The facility has a Hazardous Waste Post Closure Management Permit in-place with the NYDEC. Post closure care includes operation and maintenance of a groundwater extraction system, which maintains hydraulic control of impacted groundwater as well as site wide inspections and maintenance of a soil cover system and RCRA cap area. Tasks include review of current groundwater elevation, groundwater flow, pumping flow rates and development of a strategy to optimize the remediation system and reduce long term operational costs.
· System Engineer for a leachate management system at a 3.5-acre inactive hazardous waste landfill, which was associated with a former resin manufacturing facility. Work is conducted under the Superfund Program with EPA oversight. Requires the management of approximately 1,000 gallons of oil and treatment of approximately 400,000 gallons of leachate a year. Responsible for field implementation and oversight, budgeting, proactive site management, and preparation of reports.
· Project Engineer for a chlorinated solvent release at an industrial dry cleaning facility in Columbus, Ohio. Prepared and implemented a work plan for a high vacuum dual phase extraction (HVDPE) pilot test to remove DLAPL. Designed HVDPE system including drawings, bid specifications, and selection of contractors. Completed discharge permitting and installed a four well system. Operated and maintained system for a 6-month period with 100% run time.
· Project Engineer for an engineering assessment of all remediation systems transitioned to Antea Group from an out-going supplier in the spring of 2007, and supervised the retooling efforts of inefficient systems that required control and communication upgrades.
· Project Engineer instrumental in the reuse of remediation system equipment inventory for an international chemical manufacturer, demonstrating cost savings over the need to purchase new components or systems.
· Project Manager for the implementation of a comprehensive soil remediation project at a former northern New Jersey vegetable oil refinery during site redevelopment activities. Managed approximately 30,000 cubic yards of material and 600,000 gallons of groundwater/surface water impacted by VOCs. The soil was segregated on-site, sampled and based on the level of impact, either encapsulated on-site or incinerated off-site. Water was managed in a series of 20,000-gallon tanks and treated through a series of filters.
· Project Manager for the installation of an air sparging/passive vent system at a former northern New Jersey vegetable oil refinery during site redevelopment activities. The system required the trenching of 2,800 linear feet and the installation of 16,000 feet of air sparge piping to 31 sparge wells, placement of 1,700 linear feet of passive vent piping and 15 passive vent risers, construction of an air injection system including a 75 horsepower compressor, air dryer, wet and dry air receivers and distribution manifold.
· Project manager during capping activities at a 4-acre land disposal area generated from the facility’s operation. The closure consisted of erosion and sedimentation control, grading and compaction of the subgrade, placement of a geosynthetic clay liner and composite drainage net and the transportation and placement of cover material.
· Project manager for the ex-situ remediation of 3,500 cubic yards of soil impacted with volatile organic compounds via vapor extraction and bioventing at the a US international airport. Work was completed in Level C PPE and included the construction of four treatment cells. Concentrations of volatile organics were monitored daily during the 5 months of treatment with a continuous emission monitor. Once attainment samples confirmed that the soil was no longer characteritic for benzene, a petition was submitted to the US EPA Region III for an exemption of the Land Disposal Restrictions.
· Emergeny Response Coordinator for a 6,000-gallon toluene tanker release in southwestern Pennsylvania. Responsibilities included release characterization, eliminatiion of immediate threats to receptors, close interacteration with client operations and regulatory agencies, waste management and system design, installation and operation.
· Office Manager responsible for a local operating division covering three states with a staff of 21 personnel. Managed and developed four major oil accounts with annual budgets exceeding one million dollars.
· Project Engineer responsible for the removal of all surface structures associated with a former mining operation. The detailed scope of work included the development and implementation of a site specific health and safety plan, installation and maintainance of the erosion and sedimentation control including the installation of temporary dam, the removal and disposal of PCB oil pole transformers and the demolition and removal of the a coal storage silo, two railroad bridges and a mine shaft elevator. All disturbed areas were seeded and mulched prior to demobilization.
· Project Engineer responsible for the on-site treatment of chlorinated and aromatic VOCs and SVOCs from a former waste oil recycling facility in central New York. Site preparation activities included establishing temporary facilities, clearing and grubbing, solid waste removal, establishment of an exclusion zone, relocation of existing utilities, establishing sediment and erosion control measures and abandonment of existing monitoring wells. Constructed five treatment cells covering approximately 14,000 square feet to handle 2,700 tons of impacted soil. The soil was excavated, transported on-site and covered in Level B PPE. Two soil vapor systems comprised of 3 Hp regenerative blowers were utilized to remove volatile compounds from the soil. Once the soil clean-up levels were attained, the soil was returned to the excavation and the site was regraded. The site was capped with six-inches of topsoil, seeded and mulched.