Our Services

Joan Underwood

Senior Associate
Portland, Oregon

Phone
+1 503.278.1837

Areas of Expertise

Strategic planning and facilitation
Site remediation and landfill project management
Hydrogeology including geophysics and groundwater modeling
Environmental estimating
Project quality control and expert review

Major Project Experience

Client Program Manager for a major pharmaceutical client managing multiple remediation projects at active and formerly owned facilities in the United States and Mexico. Ensured that client needs and goals were met, developed approaches and teams with appropriate expertise and for efficiency.
Conducted, designed and/or managed dozens of siting, operational, closure or remediation landfill projects. These included presentations and negotiations with regulatory agencies, assessing potential allocation distribution, developing site conceptual models, developing and implementing subcontracts and report preparation.
Managed and/or served as technical expert on numerous remediation projects across the country that were completed through CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA and state voluntary and remediation regulatory programs. Developed closure strategies, managed or was technical expert including developing site conceptual models, leading groundwater modeling studies, conducting aquifer tests, fracture flow studies and age dating.
Technical expert on a large indoor air site under USEPA. Developed investigative program to meet the AOC, reviewed and addressed NPL scoring, assessed capture zones for groundwater to indoor air pathways and links between them.
Managed the investigation, design, permitting and construction activities for multiple site areas requiring closure at a large pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. Activities included landfill and lagoon closure, stream rerouting and sediment cleanup. Activities fell under several different state and federal regulatory programs.
Worked with EH&S directors, remediation managers, project managers, contractors, and corporate remediation and legal staff at numerous industrial sites to facilitate and implement project goals.
Conducted numerous negotiations with regulatory agencies, and third parties. Worked with private investigators and allocation attorneys on multi–party sites.
Prepared and presented technical and/or business information for public meetings, hearings, regulatory meetings and corporate reviews des cribing remedial and landfill projects.
Conducted periodic strategic project reviews to identify actions to minimize closure time and costs while maintaining environmental protection. Worked with project owners to integrate risk management and technical needs.
Project manager for an investigation related to private well contamination within bedrock. Fingerprinted contamination such that two sources were identified, and presented data to public and responsible parties providing technical basis for settlement. Designed pumping containment systems in unconsolidated and bedrock setting incorporating an observational approach to containment to allow quicker response time and reduced costs.
Managed or conducted water supply studies investigating municipal or private well placement, effects of high capacity pumping wells on the hydrogeologic and hydrologic system and potential impacts to water supply systems.
Conducted several geophysical studies in Jamaica investigating groundwater, bauxite distribution and the location of Christopher Columbus' lost caravels.
Published or presented more than fifty technical and business related articles relating to groundwater, risk management strategies and cleanup.

Education

University of Idaho, M.S., Hydrology, 1981
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, B.S., Geology, 1978

Professional Affiliations

Professional Geologist: Wisconsin license # 1; Illinois license #196-000286; Indiana license #1234; Minnesota license #30323 .
Professional Hydrologist; Wisconsin license #5
Professional Hydrogeologist # 993
Past chair of the Joint Board of Registration of Geologists, Hydrologists, and Soil Scientists and the Geology Section of the Joint Board of Registration for the State of Wisconsin. Past president of the National Association of State Boards of Geology.

Employment History

1982–2009 AECOM (including predecessor companies Earth Tech; Rust Environment and Infrastructure; Donohue and Associates). Vice President and Sr. Hydrogeologist
1986–1994 University of Wisconsin, various campuses and Lakeshore Technical College; taught hydrogeology, environmental geology and geology, meteorology, and mapping as well as monitoring and well installation short courses
1981–1982 University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh; instructor of hydrogeology, environmental geology and soils engineering
1979–1982 Private consultant; hydrogeologist investigating domestic, municipal, and irrigation groundwater supplies and conducting geophysical investigations at waste disposal sites and for water supplies.