Groundwater Expert Witnesses: 10

Dr. James J. Connors is a Professional Hydrologist, certified by the American Institute of Hydrology, and a licensed Professional Geoscientist in several states. He has more than 39 years' experience working on projects and legal cases involving groundwater, surface water, stormwater runoff, and environmental contamination.

Dr. Connors' career includes extensive bodies of work as an award-winning academic, a private-sector consultant, and a testifying and consulting expert witness. Dr. Connors has performed hundreds of environmental and hydrological consulting projects across the U.S.; taught university-level hydrology and hydrogeology; and has been designated as an expert witness in more than 70 legal disputes in 13 states (both state and federal courts) and abroad.

Areas of Expertise

Stormwater runoff & related flooding, erosion, & sedimentation Hydrological & environmental impacts related to construction, development, & land-use changes Environmental contamination of groundwater, soil, sediment, & surface water General issues associated with hydrology & hydrogeology Coastal, pond, lake, watershed, & wetlands hydrology Coastal erosion & related sediment transport / deposition River & stream flow

Expertise in PFAS compounds, PCBs, benzene / BTEX, chlorinated solvents / vinyl chloride, metals / mercury / arsenic, nutrients, pesticides / nerve agents, herbicides, radiation, VOCs / SVOCs, disinfectants & related by-products, landfill leachate, crude oil / saltwater / brine, fuel, explosives, unexploded ordinance, etc. Experience at facilities including oil, gas, & gasoline pipelines; landfills; chemical plants; leaking above-ground tanks & UST sites; refineries; fertilizer plants; casinos; neighborhoods & apartment / housing complexes; junk yards; theme parks; bottled water plants; agricultural & animal facilities (oyster, fish, alligator, dairy / CAFO); harmful algal blooms; construction sites; estuaries, bays; commercial & residential properties; beaches, rivers, ponds, lakes; oil / gas fields; accident sites; railroad facilities; airports; water & sewage treatment plants; chemical & oil spill sites; military bases; & others.

View Dr. James J. Connors' Consulting Profile.

Mayotte Design & Engineering, PC (MD&E) is a Civil and Environmental Engineering Design Firm based in East Lansing, Michigan.  Since 2003, MD&E has proved itself a highly responsive design, advocate and risk management partner for clients in the energy, automotive, commercial printing, textile, pharmaceutical, chemical, real estate, and legal industries.  MD&E offers a variety of services, specializing in the design and engineering of treatment solutions for wastewater, groundwater, stormwater and contaminated soil, sediment, and air.

MD&E personnel assist clientele across the US and have completed projects in: Alabama; Arizona; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas, Massachusetts; Michigan; Missouri, Mississippi; Nevada; New Jersey; New York; Ohio; Oregon; Tennessee; Texas; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; Washington, Wisconsin; Wyoming; British Columbia; Ontario; Quebec; Brazil; China; Czech Republic; Italy; and Mexico.

Timothy J. Mayotte, PhD, CPG, PE, President at MD&E, is an Environmental Engineer with over 35 years of experience in his field. He has provided litigation support and served as an expert witness on over a dozen cases dating back to the mid-1980s. Dr. Mayotte's experience includes providing testimony during numerous depositions and in open court. He has offered expertise in the following areas:

• Hydrodynamics of natural and engineered systems.
• Contaminant fate and transport in the environment.
• Biological and physicochemical process design for the treatment/remediation of water, wastewater, soil, and sludge.
• Industrial wastewater treatment.
• Management and inspection of commercial and residential construction and demolition projects, including due diligence services for property transactions.

Mark O. Barnett, PhD, PE, BCEE has over 30 years of national and international Environmental Engineering and Science experience in industry, government, and academia ranging from water supply and sanitation in rural communities to nuclear waste disposal. He is currently a Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Auburn University.

Litigation Support - Dr. Barnett has served as an environmental expert witness-expert consultant on cases in administrative, federal, and state courts ranging from permit applications to toxic tort lawsuits. He has written expert reports, filed affidavits, been deposed, and given testimony. Further, he has extensive litigation experience from his service as an administrative judge with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Writing samples, transcripts, and references are available upon request.

Areas of Expertise:

Water and Wastewater Treatment Site Assessment and Remediation Soil and Groundwater Contamination Human Health Risk Assessments Contaminant Bioavailability Environmental Permits

Environmental Forensics Environmental and Aquatic Chemistry Radioactive and Hazardous Waste Management Nuclear Environmental Engineering Sustainable Design and Development Mining Impacts

Background Experience - Dr. Barnett is a licensed professional engineer and a board-certified member of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. His technical research focuses on the chemical processes controlling water quality and contaminant behavior in natural and engineered systems. He has been a principal or co-principal investigator on seventeen grants totaling over $12 million, and he has published over fifty peer-reviewed journal articles, several book chapters, and a book that collectively have received over three-thousand citations.

Dr. Barnett has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina. He has taught fundamental and applied courses in environmental and aquatic chemistry; water and wastewater treatment; environmental engineering principles and design; and sustainable design and development.

Dr. Tringale provides environmental consulting and expert witness services to a diverse group of public and private sector clients throughout the United States both directly and through legal counsel. His experience includes contaminated soil and groundwater issues; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) remedial investigations and feasibility studies; cost estimating and allocation; soil and groundwater remediation and redevelopment; and third-party review and strategic consulting. As a testifying expert and litigation consultant, Dr. Tringale has given testimony at trial in state and federal courts. His opinions have related to compliance with the National Contingency Plan, identification of contaminant sources, assessment of magnitude and extent of contamination, evaluation of remediation programs, review and development of remedial cost estimates, and allocation of cost and responsibility.

Dr. Tringale has been providing litigation support services to the legal industry for over 25 years. He is available to attorneys for Plaintiff and Defense. Dr. Tringale has been retained more than 25 times and has provided expert testimony in support of counsel for cases involving:

• National Contingency Plan Compliance
• Identification of Contaminant Sources
• Magnitude and Extent of Contamination
• Remedial Cost Estimates
• Allocation of Cost and Responsibility

View Philip Tringale's Consulting Profile.

Jose Villalobos, PE, is a licensed Civil and Corrosion Engineer with over 48 years of experience in the design and condition assessment of corrosion protection systems for municipal infrastructure including Water and Wastewater Conveyance, Treatment, and Storage.

Mr. Villalobos and his team at JLV Wolf Inc. are based in San Leandro, California and specialize in assisting owners and engineering firms when it comes to forensic investigations. With their help, clients can collect all the needed information to properly assess structural integrity or causes of the structural failure. The firm offers services throughout the US.

Litigation Support - Mr. Villalobos provides professional assistance to owners, design engineers, and attorneys in evaluating operational issues at water and wastewater plants that may require forensic investigations. He is retained for cases involving the deterioration of Concrete and Corrosion of Metals in Water and Wastewater Facilities including atmospheric, immersed, and buried exposures at:

Dams Storage Reservoirs Above Ground Tanks Elevated Tanks Treatment Plants

Digesters Pump Stations Pipelines Transmission Mains Underground Vaults

Relevant Project Experience (Partial List):

• A.C. Transit, Oakland, Bus Maintenance Facility Buries Hydraulic Fluid Line Investigation
• Thompson vs. Standard Oil
• Landels Ripley Diamond Union Oil Tank Investigation
• Field, Richardson et al – Contra Costa Water District PG&E Claims Seaport Center Stainless Steel Pipe Support Cable Failure and Corrosion of Concrete Piles
• Bay View Condominiums Copper Recirculation Hot Water Systems San Luis Water District Cement Mortar Coated Pipe Failure
• Sea Colony Residential Housing Subdivision Reinforced Concrete Slab  Foundation Failure

For over 45 years, Chuck Dutill, P.E., D.F.E. has been performing Hydrology and Environmental Engineering nationwide. He has focused on wastewater, stormwater, flooding, sewers, septic systems, groundwater, drainage, runoff, hydrology, hydraulics, backups, drinking water, and air quality. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Dutill has spent approximately 40% of his professional time providing expert witness services for over 45 years. Approximately 45% of his expert witness services have been for defendants and approximately 55% for plaintiffs. He has issued 210 to 215 expert reports, been deposed 50 to 55 times, and testified in federal and state court (including jury and non-jury trials) 40 to 45 times. 

Forensic cases have occurred in 40 to 45 states. As indicated in feedback from attorneys on expert witness cases, some of his strengths include understandable guidance, responsiveness, timeliness, communication, effective report writing, strong testimony (including on cross), efficiency, organization, and assistance with framing case issues. 

Expertise:

Hydrology Sewer Water Flooding  Groundwater  Hydrogeology  Drainage  Wastewater Treatment Septic Systems Utility Sewer Systems  Sanitary Sewage  Mold  Stormwater Management  Hydraulics  Hazardous Waste  Drinking Water Waste Management

Erosion Soils  Pumping  Water Quality  Air Quality  Wells  Runoff Backups  Water Mains Storm Sewers  Detention  Contamination  Spills  Pollution  Sinkholes  Sedimentation  Wetlands  Infiltration/Inflow  Dams  Floodplains

Toxicity  Remediation  Grading  Health and Safety Modeling  Odors  Combined Sewers  Overflows  Aquifers  Water Distribution Water Treatment Hydraulic Fracturing  Hydroplaning  Monitoring  Metering Maintenance  Design Construction  Inspections

CV Available Upon Request View Mr. Dutill's Consulting Profile.

GEO Associates provides litigation support services and expert witness testimony for civil and criminal investigations and insurance industry cases (both plaintiff and defendant) that involve Groundwater Pollution and Data Analysis, Forensic Geology and Geophysics, Hydrology Modeling, and Forensic Meteorology including Weather Event Re-Construction and Force Majeure cases. GEO Associates can assist attorneys and insurance claim professionals in obtaining, analyzing, modeling, and interpreting the correct geophysical/geological and meteorological data for their case.

GEO Associates uses the latest approved Regulatory EPA and USGS numerical modeling software to map the concentration levels and transport of air and groundwater pollutants. GEO Associates numerical modeling expertise, combined with their advanced knowledge of meteorological, geophysical and geological data gathering and processing, provides strong support to the attorney and client for cases involving Air Pollution, Reduced Visibility, Severe Storms, Groundwater Contamination, Flooding, Wind Damage and Hazardous Material Spills and Releases to Air and/or Water, which result in accidents, contamination of aquifers, toxic air, property damage, personal injury and death.

Services Include:

Forensic Geology

Industrial Groundwater Pollution

Toxic Tort Strategy

Environmental Surface and Groundwater Pollution

Mapping of Surface and Groundwater Contamination

Forensic Hydrology

Groundwater Computer Modeling

Aquifer Systems Analysis

Hazardous Spill Releases

Geological and Geophysical Data Acquisition, Processing and Analysis

Geological and Geophysical Mapping of Reservoirs

Observational Field Programs

Reflection and Refraction Seismology

Forensic Seismology

Seismic Investigations

Oil and Gas Operations and Operator Performance

Marine and Land Seismic Operations

Value Analysis of Proprietary Geophysical and Geological Data

2D and 3D Reflection Seismology Modeling and Analysis

Fluid Dynamics and Reservoir Analysis

Toxic Fluid Migration

Class Action and Force Majeure Cases

Vincent A. Ettari, P.E., P.C. specializes in many fields of Civil, Structural, Site, Coastal, Safety & Environmental Engineering, including the Design & Analysis of:

• Structures, Buildings, Houses, Dwellings
• Foundations, Footings, Elevators, Retaining Walls, Dams
• Development Plan & Plats for Sites, Properties, and Residences
• Underground & Subsurface Chamber / Chambers
• Scaffold, Scaffolds, Scaffolding
• Site Plans & Subdivisions: Industrial, Commercial, Residential
• Roads, Roadways, Ramps, Walks, & Man Hole Cover / Covers
• Sidewalks, Walkways, Paths & Pathways
• Lighting: Lamps, Lights, Lamp Poles, Light Levels
• Luminaries & Illumination (Specifications)
• Rock Cuts & Blasting (Topography, Specification)
• Soil Slopes / Samples / Mechanics / Geotechnical Engineers
• Sanitary Facilities, Septic Systems (Board of Health Septics Approval)
• BOHA / DEP Approvals
• Water, Drains, Drainage, Sewer & Sewage Lines & Mains
• Culvert / Culverts, Manholes (Man Holes) & Catchbasins / Catch Basins
• Inspection, Supervision, and Certification of Construction
• House Inspector & Inspections
• Road, Roadway, Walk & Sidewalk Premises Liability (e.g., Steep Slope)
• Walkway, Path, Ramp & Pathway Premise Liability (e.g., Steep Grade)
• Coefficient of Friction / Slip & Fall (Snowy & Icy Conditions)
• Vertical Discontinuity / Discontinuities / Trip & Falls
• Small Ports / Port, Marinas / Marina, Marine Dredging
• Levees, Jetties, Dolphins, Piers, Sea & Flood Walls
• Wharves, Breakwaters, Bulkheads, Weirs, & Revetments
• Groins, Dikes and Waterfront Structures
• Drainage Basin Analysis, Rainfall, Floods & Flood Plain / Plains
• Flooding Controls & Control Devices
• Storm Water Runoff (10, 25, 50 & 100 Year Storms)
• Pressure & Pressures: Wind, Wave / Waves, Ice, Snow
• Rain Fall Run Off & Storm Water Pollution Treatment
• Excavation, Grading, Fills & Filling Operations (Swales, Berms, Silt Fence)
• Erosion Control, Sediment Barriers, Sedimentation / Catch Basins (Hay Bales)
• Pumps and Pump System Line & Main
• Slope, Dam, Levee, Jetty, Dolphin, Pier, Wharf & Breakwater Collapse
• Bulkhead, Weir, Revetment, Groin, Dike, Footing & Foundation Failures
• Failure of Fire Containment Wall, Elevator or Water Front Structure
• Tenement House Façade Collapses
• Code History of Existing Multiple / Multi-Family Dwelling / Building
• Application of Municipal Building, Fire & Property Maintenance Codes
• City, Town & Village Zoning, Planning, Steep Slopes & Grades, Wetland & Wetlands Ordinances
• Testimony at Board Meetings as a Design Forensics Engineer

Dr. Shaun Anthony Crawford, CIH, has a diverse 30+ year background in environmental health, safety and industrial hygiene consulting and litigation support, spanning government, industry, academics, residential and non-profit sectors. He holds a MSPH in Environmental Engineering / Industrial Hygiene and a Doctorate in Environmental Health Sciences with a specialization in industrial hygiene, both from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Dr. Crawford has held academic positions in Environmental Management, Urban Environmental Studies, and Environmental Health at three universities. He has a very successful business and litigation track record and is available for both plaintiff and defense representation.

Vapor Emissions from Building Materials Mold Contamination and Remediation Metals and Bacteria in Wastewater Construction Runoff and Sedimentation Pipeline Rupture

Superfund Communities Industrial Contamination PCBs AFFF / PFCs Aerosol Exposure and Lung Damage

For additional information, please consult Dr. Crawford's resume.

Water, Sanitation, Climate Change

20-year experience Expert Witness: Tariff negotiations, technical litigations re. water & wastewater systems, cleanup programs, contamination

Member of US National Academy of Engineering

Fellow & past Vice-President - International Water Association

Fellow Water-Energy Nexus Center, U. of California, Irvine.

Civil Eng. U. of Buenos Aires, M.Eng. McMaster University & Master in Management of Technology from MIT

Co-author 10 books & 100 papers

English Spanish Portuguese