Thomas J. Patterson, PE

Mr. Patterson is a registered Professional Engineer with over thirty years of experience in environmental assessment, remediation, and water/wastewater design, construction, and management; and twenty-five years of experience in environmental consulting, including industrial remedial investigation (RI)/feasibility study (FS)/treatability study (TS)/remedial action (RA) and various industrial facility infrastructure projects for remediation and regulatory compliance purposes. Mr. Patterson holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bridgeport and is currently a Principal Engineer for Roux (1995-present). Mr. Patterson has conducted, managed, and overseen remedial investigations; remedial options analyses including state and federal feasibility study preparation; remediation; regulatory compliance; and related facility infrastructure improvements at many sites located across the country. Mr. Patterson’s areas of expertise include: all types of in situ and ex situ remediation of soil and groundwater, including the remediation of recalcitrant and emerging contaminants; managing Superfund and other large-scale remedial investigation RI/FS/TS/RA projects; and the design and construction of facility infrastructure projects related to water and wastewater treatment, water distribution, oil and chemical storage and loading, oil and chemical containment, stormwater management, and air emissions control.

• Professional Engineer-in-Charge and project manager for the management and remedial optimization of a Superfund Site in southern New Jersey. The project involved the overall management and development of a revised remedial approach for a former wastewater processing Superfund Site in the New Jersey Pinelands with a pump and treat remedial program that started in 1995 and had a predicted remaining remedial timeframe of at least thirty years from 2008. The optimized approach to site remediation of dissolved-phase and soil-sorbed chlorinated and hydrocarbon volatile organic compounds and heavy metals involved optimizing the existing pump and treat system, while other supplemental remedies such as phytoremediation and in situ chemical reduction (ISCR) could be defined, negotiated with the USEPA, and implemented. A pilot-scale phytoremediation plot involving the planting of 1,700 hybrid poplar trees (3 different species) in the source area and area of groundwater reinjection was completed to improve hydraulic control in the source areas. Successful bench- and pilot-scale testing of ISCR using carbon-impregnated zero-valent iron and micronutrients, pH buffering substrate, and microbial inoculum were completed to evaluate the treatment of site-specific compounds of concern. Because of successful bench- and pilot-scale testing, ISCR activities were expanded to address residual hot spots, and a significant change to the ROD is being addressed through an Explanation of Significant Differences. The revised remedial approach for this site is expected to save the PRP Group as much as $12 million on the remaining remediation and site monitoring.

• Professional Engineer-in-Charge for the development and implementation of a remedial action plan to address TCE contamination in soil, bedrock matrices, and groundwater at a steel tube plant in northeastern Pennsylvania. To reduce remedial costs from $7 million to approximately $4 million, a reduced source area remedy was negotiated to achieve credit for existing capping due to buildings and asphalt, and focused the overall remedy on a specific TCE mass removal goal instead of remediating the full affected area to a cleanup standard. It was determined that the best remedy for an area with mostly soils impact would be excavation to bedrock (approximately 23 feet below ground surface) in areas of TCE concentration that equaled 100 mg/kg or more (a site-specific cleanup standard that was approved by the PADEP). Because the excavation area was adjacent to critical tube plant buildings and the client desired to expand the tube plant in the remediation area, Roux needed to incorporate geotechnical testing and building design factors into the remedial plan. In an area where a majority of the TCE mass resided in bedrock matrices and groundwater to approximately 110 feet below ground surface, it was determined that electrical resistance heating (ERH) would be the best remedy. ERH was implemented directly adjacent to the active tube plant and included installing 17 electrodes to the full 110-foot depth of contamination, and operating and monitoring the system for a period of three months to achieve the targeted TCE mass removal. The TCE mass removed by the two remedial approaches totaled 4,460 pounds and was accepted by the PADEP as a successful source removal effort, which along with public water supply connections, facilitated a monitored natural attenuation approach for remaining groundwater impact.
• Professional Engineer-in-Charge for various activities at the Bridgeport Rental and Oil Services (BROS) Superfund Site in Bridgeport, New Jersey. Supported FS activities through: remedial alternatives evaluation and costing; design and construction management of over four miles of potable water main, including a major interstate highway crossing and residential service connections; design and management of a 72-hour aquifer pumping test including well and pump design, water storage, and tanker transfer system design for disposing of water and management of various field personnel and subcontractors during the test, plus interpretation of results to support contaminated groundwater and product recovery design; and the design of a lagoon closure cap including stormwater drainage and phytotechnology designs to manage the Site water budget.
• Professional Engineer-in-Charge and project manager for the design and installation of a public water main to eliminate the risk of private potable water well impact from a significant TCE release to overburden and bedrock groundwater in Limerick, Pennsylvania. The water main was approximately 2 miles in length and its design and construction included: private and public meetings with local residents and municipal representatives; negotiations and permitting for water utility and PennDOT approvals; eight residential service connections; a stream crossing; crossing a 36-inch water main that provides cooling tower water to a nearby nuclear power plant; complete restoration including hydroseeding and repaving of state and local roads. At project conclusion, the water main was successfully transferred to the local water utility.
• Engineering design and project management for the removal of four 20,000-gallon #6 oil underground storage tanks (USTs) and the construction of a new #2 fuel oil off-loading station and transfer system used in the operation of a process steam boiler at a paper manufacturing facility in Spotswood, New Jersey. The removal of the existing USTs involved sheeting, shoring, dewatering, and protective barrier installation to allow UST and impacted soil removal, as well as to protect the integrity of the adjacent boiler house, main electrical transformer area, and fire water aboveground storage tank (AST). Two double-walled ASTs totaling 40,000-gallons of fuel storage (with automated fuel port, overfill protection, and level sensors) were incorporated into the design to replace the antiquated #6 oil USTs. In addition to the ASTs, the design also included a tanker offloading station with spill containment, valves, concrete AST containment structure, mechanical systems (including three new fuel oil transfer pumps) to transfer #2 oil from the ASTs to the plant boiler system, and all necessary electrical and control equipment. Roux also provided support to plant personnel for boiler set-up modifications and air permitting to switch boiler operations from #6 oil to #2 oil. The entire project was completed in an expedited manner to avoid a plant shutdown due to natural gas curtailment issues.