Thank you to our 2022 Speakers
Steve Sanders - Director - Division of Remediation/Central Office
After 20 years in the private sector as a consultant, Steve Sanders joined TDEC in 2019 as the director of the Division of Remediation. He served as the southeast regional manager for PSI, prior to working in state government. Steve’s extensive experience in brownfields redevelopment allows him to bring a full understanding of the issues facing owners and developers during the brownfield redevelopment process and to help mitigate those issues through a creative and collaborative process. His experience in brownfield redevelopment includes numerous projects utilizing a variety of technologies to mitigate vapor intrusion concerns in both new construction and retrofitting existing buildings. Steve holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Middle Tennessee State University, is married with one child, and lives in LaVergne, TN.
Roger Brewer - Senior Environmental Scientist - Hawai’i Department of Health
Roger Brewer is senior environmental scientist with the Hawai’i Department of Health. His environmental experience includes regulatory compliance audits, characterization of contaminated land and sediment, contaminant fate and transport, vapor intrusion and human health and ecological risk assessment. He has also worked as an environmental consultant in the US, Asia and South America and as a senior geologist and environmental risk assessment specialist for the California Environmental Protection Agency. Since 2005, Roger has focused on the development of Decision Unit and MultiIncrement Sample (DU-MIS) site investigation methods as a replacement for less reliable, discrete sampling methods. Other ongoing research interests include the chemistry and toxicity of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and the development of risk-based action levels for polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). His academic background includes a PhD in geology and post-doctoral research at Nanjing University in China.
Amy Potter - Program Manager - Risk Assessment Program - Georgia Environmental Protection Division
Experienced manager and regulator with 28 years of experience in state government . Skilled in Technical Writing, CERCLA, and RCRA. Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Ahmet Bulbulkaya - Environmental Fellow Division of Remediation/Central Office
Ahmet Bulbulkaya is currently one of the Environmental Fellows for TDEC’s Division of Remediation. He has been involved in assessing the vapor intrusion pathway at hazardous substance sites since the late 1990’s when he was hired by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality shortly after the inception of their Voluntary Remediation Program. In 2010 he moved to Tennessee with his family and began working with TDEC’s Division of Remediation. He is still heavily involved in vapor intrusion issues and is one of the main authors developing a vapor intrusion guidance specific to Brownfield projects being managed under the State’s Voluntary Oversite and Assistance Program (VOAP). Ahmet has a master’s degree in Environmental Toxicology from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.
David Edelstein - Partner - Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease
David is a partner in the Vorys Cincinnati office. His current practice is focused on environmental regulation, enforcement, environmental liability insurance, and transactional matters. He works with businesses and government institutions to ensure that their operations are compliant with environmental law. He provides advice to businesses that helps minimize operational and legal risks. In his work, he appreciates clients’ desires to keep the environment clean and safe.
Prior to joining Vorys, David served as chief of the criminal enforcement unit for U.S. EPA Region VI in Dallas, Texas. He also served as a RCRA enforcement attorney for the U.S. EPA. His federal court enforcement experience includes trial and litigation work, where he worked closely with the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorneys Offices, and other state and federal regulatory agencies.
Steve Wilson - Technical Director at EPG and EPG Australia - The Environmental Protection Group Ltd
Steve has over 30 years’ experience in the assessment, design and construction of ground gas protection. He has written numerous technical papers on the subject and contributed to most of the recent UK guidance, including BS8485, BS8756, CIRIA C735, CIRIA C795 and CIRIA C801. He is a member of the working group that is updating ASTM E2993 – 16, Standard Guide for Evaluating Potential Hazard as a Result of Methane in the Vadose Zone.
He is a Chartered Engineer, a Society of Brownfield Risk Assessment (SoBRA) Accredited risk assessor and a UK Registered Ground Engineering Adviser. Steve has extensive on-site experience of gas protection installation in both buildings and in-ground systems. He has designed several UK gas protection systems that follow US guidance (for US clients). He also has a wealth of general civil engineering construction experience. He is one of the founders of the CLAIRE Accreditation Scheme for Gas Verification Consultants. He acts as an expert witness in legal cases involving ground gas emissions including sites in Australia, UK and Bangladesh. He provides expert support to several Contaminated Sites Auditors in Various states in Australia. Steve has also helped develop continuous gas monitoring instruments and analytical methods via his directorship of Ambisense from 2018 to 2021.
Jennifer Borski - Vapor Intrusion Team Leader, Hydrogeologist WDNR
Jennifer Borski transitioned to the Vapor Intrusion Team Leader position with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) in June 2019. She is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and leads the state’s Drycleaner and Vapor Intrusion Team (DVIT) within the Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program. The team works to identify policy issues, develop guidance and provide training regarding the vapor intrusion pathway and state’s Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Program. Jennifer also serves as the WDNR’s liaison with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services related to vapor intrusion issues. Prior to June 2019, Jennifer served WDNR for 20 years as a Hydrogeologist in the RR Program regulating the investigation, remediation and redevelopment of contaminated properties in east-central Wisconsin, including discharges from dry cleaners, paper mills, metal plating facilities and other historical industrial and commercial operations. She continues to serve as DNR Project Manager for a handful of these sites. Jennifer contributed to ITRC as a team member on the Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Training Team and instructor for the internet-based training. Jennifer graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree for Geology and Mathematics.
Dr. Henry Schuver, DrPH - Environmental Scientist at USEPA
Dr. Henry Schuver, DrPH, MS Geology, authored the USEPA RCRA corrective action Environmental Indicators (EI) for both Groundwater Migration and Human Exposures (1999). The Human Exposures EI created the expectation that all High Priority RCRA cleanups will include an assessment of the potential for Vapor Intrusion. Since then he has been leading efforts in USEPA’s RCRA-HQ office to make the assessment of Vapor Intrusion exposures more accurate and practical.
Ben Bentkowski - Hydrogeologist at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
Ben Bentkowski, P.G. is a hydrogeologist in the Technical Services Section of Superfund Division in the Atlanta EPA office. As part of his EPA duties, he is the Vapor Intrusion Point of Contact. The majority of his 35 year career has been spent in Atlanta in environmental consulting on federal contracts. He joined EPA in 2007. He is a member of the Georgia Professional Geologist Board and is active in the Atlanta Geological Society.
Susan McKinley PE Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Susan has over seventeen years of experience at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). She worked more than ten years as an Environmental Engineer in IDEM’s office of Land Quality before moving to the Risk Services group for five years and eventually transitioning to lead the Science Services Branch in late 2021. Susan has been a member of IDEM’s Technology Evaluation Workgroup, IDEM R2 Closure Guidance Workgroup, IDEM PFAS workgroup and the Vapor Intrusion Workgroup. Susan has a Bachelors degree in Chemistry along with a Masters in Civil/ Environmental Engineering from Purdue University.
Rick Galloway - Project Manager - Hydrologist - State of Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Remediation Section (DNREC-RS)
Rick Galloway, P.G. has been a Project Manager and Hydrologist for the State of Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Remediation Section (DNREC-RS) for 19 years. Mr. Galloway graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a degree in Geology. Mr. Galloway has more than 15 years of experience with vapor intrusion investigations and remediation. He has been involved with multiple national teams on vapor intrusion including the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) Team for the Vapor Intrusion Pathway: A Pathway Guideline and the ITRC Team for Vapor Intrusion Mitigation. In addition, Mr. Galloway was the Project Leader for the recently completed ASTM Standard D8408/D8408M-21, “Standard Guide for Development of Long-Term Monitoring Plans for Vapor Mitigation Systems”. He is also on EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) Research Area Coordination Team (RACTs) for Vapor Intrusion. The RACT provides guidance and reviews EPA’s latest VI research.
While at DNREC-RS, he has developed numerous vapor intrusion sampling standard operating procedures (SOPs), vapor barrier inspection guidance documents and risk assessment processes for vapor intrusion evaluation. Mr. Galloway also reviews designs for vapor mitigation systems when required on DNREC-RS sites. He is currently leading the team updating the DNREC Vapor Intrusion Guidance which will be an integrated petroleum and chlorinated solvent vapor intrusion evaluation and cleanup guidance document.
J. Wayne Cropp - Of Counsel - Baker Donelson - Government Enforcement and Investigations Practice Group
J. Wayne Cropp is a member of Baker Donelson’s Government Enforcement and Investigations Practice Group and is located in the firm’s Chattanooga, TN office. Baker Donelson has more than 650 attorneys located in 22 offices across the Southeast and Washington, DC.
Wayne focuses on the full range of toxic and hazardous substance law, and has experience in air quality, CERCLA, RCRA, brownfield redevelopment, and environmental permitting and enforcement.
Wayne has an extensive and diverse environmental law background as a former regulator, owner of an environmental consulting company, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of an environmental remediation firm, President of a technology-oriented non-profit, and as a corporate environmental attorney in his current role with Baker Donelson.
He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America ® for Environmental Law since 2018. He received his B.S. from Bryan College and his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University.
Nicole Kalaigian - Hydrologist - Research Scientist - Bureau of Environmental Evaluation & Risk Assessment Site Remediation & Waste Management Program | NJDEP
Nicole is a Research Scientist for the NJDEP’s Bureau of Environmental Evaluation and Risk Assessment in the Site Remediation Program. She is responsible for providing technical support for all aspects of site remediation, particularly vapor intrusion and soil contamination, and handles the technical regulatory oversight of several high-profile contaminated sites in New Jersey. Nicole is the NJDEP contact for vapor intrusion investigation and mitigation and serves as the Chair of the NJDEP Vapor Intrusion Technical Guidance Committee.
She is also a co-lead for technical guidance in the evaluation of extractable petroleum hydrocarbons (EPH) and is an ecological risk assessor. Nicole holds a Master of Science in Environmental Management and Policy from the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, and a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science and Biology from Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.