Water / Wastewater Systems Expert Witnesses: 13

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

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

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

Tim Keane is recognized nationally and internationally as a Leading Expert on methods to Control, Mitigate and Assess the Risk for Legionella in building and industrial water systems. He has published articles and books on the subject and has co-written regulatory documents including the 2018 and the 2015 ASHRAE Standard titled: Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems,  ASHRAE Guideline 12 titled: Managing the Risk of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems, 2005 Guidelines for Ornamental Fountains and the 2000 ASHE Advisory. Mr Keane has over 25 years experience in water system consulting and over 10 years experience in facility design, construction and operation. Legionella Risk Management, Inc. provides consulting services for Effective Engineering Solutions to Engineering System Pathogens including; outbreak investigation, root cause analysis, control and remediation of legionella from water systems in commercial buildings, healthcare and industrial facilities.   We provide Litigation Support in this area.

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.

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.

Dr. Tony Nettleman is a Land Surveying Engineer and Attorney who has been practicing for over 20 years. He holds a BS, MS and PhD in geomatics as well as a law degree. He is licensed in multiple states as a Professional Surveyor and is also a licensed attorney. 

Litigation Support - Tony has helped over 100 clients understand their land surveying and/or property dispute issues. He has testified in depositions and trials over a dozen times throughout that period to help judges and juries better understand what's expected of a Professional Land Surveyor. Whether your dispute is in Florida or Texas, New York or California, Tony travels across the country to conduct surveys, help the clients understand the substantive surveying issues, and resolve the surveying matter at hand.

Areas of Expertise:

Easements Land / Water Boundaries Land Title / Deeds Real Property Attorney Standard of Care

Surveyor Negligence Riparian Allocations of Ownership and Use Dock Surveys Unmanned Aerial Systems

Tony Nettleman on Land Surveyor Negligence

Dr. Nettleman has held distinguished professorships at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and Troy University. He is currently the Director of the Nettleman Institute of Surveying Engineering Technology, the President of Nettleman Land Consultants, and the President of NLC Test Prep. He is the author of Clark on Surveying, a co-author of Brown’s Boundary Control and Evidence & Procedures for Boundary Location, teaches college courses, and helps hundreds of land surveyors become licensed each year.

Panorama Consulting Group specializes in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems and has multiple testifying experts for failed software litigation. This high-profile firm is called upon to investigate the feasibility of litigation, provide software expert witness testimony, and build background reporting for some of the industry’s highest-profile software lawsuits. They have worked with organizations ranging from multi-national conglomerates to boutique and large law firms, as well as state offices of the Attorney General.

As independent enterprise software experts, Panorama Consulting Group has hands-on experience with hundreds of software vendors. Their firm is not tied to a single law firm or software vendor, allowing them to focus on all types of clients and industries. 

Bill Baumann on Expert Witness Testimony

Litigation Support: The experts at Panorama Consulting Group work for both plaintiffs and defendants, software vendors and system integrators, and their customers. Their differentiator is using a team-based approach to provide expertise beyond just the testifying expert, which is cost-effective and efficient for their clients. They have multiple software expert witnesses available for provision of reports, depositions, and testimonies.

Allegations Addressed:

Fraud and Misrepresentation Breach of Contract “Off-the-shelf” Software Capability Misrepresentation and Claims Undefined Roles / Poorly Executed Responsibilities (Internal project team, VAR, ERP vendor, ERP consultant, or system integrator) Lack of Skills and Competencies Poor Project Management

Poor Benefits Realization Poor Implementation Planning, Resourcing and Budgeting Errors in Customization Errors in Integration ERP Failure Operational Disruption or  Loss Related to the ERP System

View Panorama Consulting Group's Consulting Profile.

Professor Christopher J. Tennant, PhD, CIH, has over 40 years of experience in the field of Environmental Health and Industrial Hygiene. He is Board Certified in the Comprehensive Practice of Industrial Hygiene. Dr. Tennant is currently President, CEO, and Principal Consultant at San Joaquin Environmental, in Fresno California, where he consults with Federal, State, County, City, various public agencies, and private industry sectors from public housing to Aerospace. His services are available in all 50 US States and the United Kingdom.

Dr. Tennant also serves as Professor Emeritus for the Department of Public Health at Fresno State University where he's taught Environment Health, Industrial Hygiene, and Occupational Health and Safety for 35 years at both undergraduate and post graduate levels.

Litigation Support - Dr. Tennant has been retained by numerous insurances companies and law firms on various Industrial Hygiene matters throughout the US, including workers compensation, property damage, personal injury, and wrongful death. He has testified as an expert witness in Federal Court, Superior Court, and Workers Compensation Appeals Board over 100 times. He's been deposed many more times. 

Areas of Expertise:

Mold Asbestos Lead-based Paint Bad Faith Environmental Contamination Hazardous Materials Clandestine Drug Lab Remediation Industrial Hygiene

Chemical, Biologic, and Physical Hazard Exposure Landlord / Tenant Disputes over Habitability / Sanitary Standards OSHA, HSE, and EU Compliance Wrongful Death Lead and other Heavy Metal Poisoning Indoor Air Quality and Human Health Hearing Conservation and Noise Ordinance Solvent Exposures

Water, Sanitation, Climate Change

20-years as Expert Witness: Tariff negotiations, technical litigations re. water, sanitation & wastewater, 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

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