Request Expert

He has used his extensive basic knowledge of soil science and agronomy to use land as a media to treat solid and liquid commercial and industrial "wastes" for recycling and benefical uses such as soil amendment,liquid fertilizer and supplemental irrigation water for agricultural production.

His experience includes use of nonhazrdous solid wastes such as pulp & paper primary and secondary clarifier solids, sludges, biosolids, ashes, wood wastes, and food processing byproducts for resource recovery and use in land treatment operations to improve soil productivity and prevent expensive landfilling.

He has written and is currently revising a guidance document for land application of industrial solids and byproducts.

Expert has many years of experience reviewing management plans for land application of municipal and industrial sludges, providing statewide consultation to public and private clients for beneficial and sustainable land treatment operations. He is well acquanited with the EPA Part 503 Rule regarding biosolids risk assessment and related federal regulations.

Expert has a Ph.D degree in Soil Science with emphasis in soil chemistry and fertility. He has 16 years of experience teaching various courses including basic soil science, soil chemistry, soil fertility, soil crop analysis, clay mineralogy, salinity; and leading related research work including reclamation of sodic or alkaline saline soils and other marginally productive land. He has the same number of years of experience as a regulator and a researcher applying his knowledge of Soil Science and related fields to land treatment of municipal and industrial byproducts and wastewaters; project mangement cleanup and site closure of petroleum-contaminated soil and groundwater; and design of onsite or septic advanced treatment systems.

His experience includes review of management plans for agricultural and related reuse of municipal and industrial treated effluents or reclaimed water. He has developed guidance document and checklist to encourage water reuse and conservation in such operations as municipal wastewater treatment and food processing plants. He is a proponent of water reuse by appling drip irrigation technology as the tertiary and final step in land discharge of effluents in decentralized single-family and commercial wastewater treatment systems.

Expert as a Soil Scientist and a regulator has been involved with the State of Oregon's Onsite Program for many years, providing statewide consultation and oversight to regulatory staff. In this capacity his overall responsibilties have included site and septic system selection for severly limited land; siting criteria and rule development; onsite technology review and adoption; system repairs; dispute resolution in tort claims; conducting annual onsite soil workshops; training and mentoring regulatory personnels. He was the lead technical staff for selection of onsite or septic denitrification systems,technology development and adoption in EPA-sponsered LaPine National Demonstration Project. His interest and applied research in advance onsite treatment systems has included use of subsurface drip irrigation and raised bed to achieve tertiary treatment and repair of failing septic systems. The model can be applied to any situations including poorly drained, wet and difficult-to-build single-family or commercial community sytems in watersheds, where surface or groundwater pollution with organics, bacteria, nitrogen, and phophorus is an issue. The system allows nutrient recycling and reuse of highly treated septic tank effluent for landscaping and other applications, while being protective of groundwater and non- discharging to surface water.

His position as the Department's Soil Scientist mainly has been to conduct workshops and provide State-wide consultation to the State and local government staff with issues related to septic systems, product approval, land treatment and recycling of "wastes" and bioremediation. In the past during his university career, he has conducted research and provided consultation related to soil fertility issues, soil stabilization, and reclamation of salt-affected or saline and sodic soils.