Industrial Activities
Mr. Johnson has over 32 years of experience in civil engineering, specializing
the last 28 years in hazardous waste management engineering. He has worked
both in the United States and internationally with a recent focus on Latin
America. He has headed teams that have successfully designed, obtained
permitting for, and operated six commercial hazardous waste treatment
and disposal facilities in Alabama, California, Louisiana, and Texas.
Disposal methods at these facilities included secure chemical landfills,
industrial landfarms, chemical processing, underground injection wells,
and incineration. He also has designed and developed hazardous waste reclamation
and detoxification facilities, managed emergency cleanup work, and provided
remedial action responses at uncontrolled sites. He has acted as a liaison
between the waste disposal industry and governmental regulatory agencies.
Mr. Johnson is the co-inventor of a U.S. patented process for solar evaporation
volume-reduction for aqueous waste and the sole inventor of a U.S. patented
process for a new form of leak detection under landfills and impoundments.
He helped secure the nation's first approval from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) disposal. He has
led environmental due diligence teams both domestically and internationally
for major mergers and acquisitions, followed by environmental policy development
and implementation assignments for the new entities. He has authored or
co-authored more than 50 technical reports and publications on waste management.
Representative Projects
Mergers/Acquisitions
International
Due diligence investigations, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden,
Switzerland, U.K., France, Spain, and W. Germany - Led numerous investigations
at a variety of industrial and commercial sites. Clients: Several confidential
clients.
Domestic
Environmental due diligence, United States - Led investigative team for
the 1986 acquisition of McKesson Chemical by Univar in a three-step transaction
that involved Pakhoed Holding N.V., which resulted in Univar becoming
the largest chemical distributor in the United States. Provided environmental
policy and implementation guidance to the new combined firm. Client: Univar
Environmental due diligence, U.S. and Europe - Led environmental due diligence
team in the 1996 acquisition of Univar (NYSE) by Royal Pakhoed N.V. This
assignment involved the review of 355 chemical distribution sites with
294 in the United States, 38 in Europe and 23 in Canada. Client: Royal
Pakhoed N.V.
Asbestos management, United States - Led asbestos surveys and subsequent
abatement and control program for Allied Stores and Federated Department
Stores as part of the Campeau acquisition/refinancing of same. Client:
Allied Stores and Federated Department Stores
Secure Landfills for Solid and Hazardous Waste Disposal
Hazardous waste disposal facilities, nationwide - Headed a nationwide
evaluation of commercial offsite hazardous waste disposal facilities and
disposal options. Made recommendations on the various disposal options
available. Supervised the compilation and analyses of pertinent state
and federal regulations. Client: Shell Oil Company
Disposal site, Colorado - Headed team developing a 6000-acre hazardous
waste disposal site. Team tasks included studying soils, groundwater,
and surface water conditions; designing a hazardous waste solidification
and disposal facility; and effecting full permitting of facility. Client:
Confidential
Four hazardous waste disposal sites, California, Alabama, Louisiana, and
Texas - Headed design and site development along with associated support
operations. Clients: IT Corp/Chemical Waste Management
Major paper manufacturer, Alabama - Prepared engineering designs, plans,
and specifications for final closure of onsite industrial landfill and
surface impoundments. Performed site search for new landfill, determined
most desirable location, conducted hydrogeologic investigations, and prepared
engineering designs, plans, and specifications for new landfill (including
evaluation of all costs). Client: Confidential
Proposed 160-acre Type 1 sanitary landfill, Houston, Texas - Led engineering
team in design, site selection, and permitting. Client: Evergreen Group
Landfarming Development for Disposal of Biodegradable Industrial Waste
Three landfarms, California - Designed and operated 120-acre, 160-acre,
and 320-acre waste disposal facilities that used landfarming as part of
an integrated commercial disposal system for industrial waste. Owner:
IT Corporation
Land treatment facility, East Texas - Responsible for operation of a 360-acre
land treatment facility that successfully treated and disposed of oily
refinery sludges. Conducted studies of optimization techniques, economic
analysis of facility, design of wastewater treatment plant. Owner: Chemical
Waste Management, Inc.
Land treatment operation, southwestern Louisiana - Supervised operation
of a 280-acre large-scale oily sludge and industrial waste facility. Responsible
for operation, regulatory agency liaison, permit renegotiation, and development
and implementation of a facility closure plan. Owner: Chemical Waste Management,
Inc.
80-acre industrial landfarm, Deer Park, Texas - Designed landfarm and
obtained permits. Client: Rohm and Haas
970-acre commercial landfarm, White Castle, Louisiana - Designed landfarm,
obtained permits, and supervised construction of same. Client: Genstar
Corporation
Incineration of Hazardous Wastes
Incinerator - Led a development team in the design, construction, and
licensing of a 20-million-BTU-per-hour incinerator for the oxidation of
halogenated compounds. Client: Confidential
Detoxification facility - Headed a team that developed a technically and
economically successful incineration-based hazardous waste detoxification
facility with a processing capacity of 100 million gallons per year. Client:
Confidential
Incineration facility, Houston, Texas - Led engineering team evaluating
construction of a 2,000-ton-per-day waste-to-energy facility. Considered
market conditions, resource recovery, cogeneration of electricity, air
quality control, and incinerator design. Client: Confidential
Acme Solvents Superfund site, Illinois - Led engineering team in design
of a mobile incinerator. Client: Confidential
Deep-Well Injection Facilities for Disposal of Hazardous Waste
Headed design of a complete deep-well injection complex for disposal of
hazardous waste. Client: Major waste disposal firm
Determined feasibility of deep-well injection of hazardous waste. Client:
Regional oil company
Redesigned above-ground processing facilities for commercial deep-well
injection complex for disposal of hazardous waste. Owner: Chemical Waste
Management, Inc.
Emergency and Remedial Action
French Limited and Sikes Pit Superfund sites near Houston, Texas - Led
engineering team in major geotechnical, geophysical, and hydrogeologic
investigations and feasibility studies of remedial engineering alternatives.
Project funded by grants from U.S. EPA and administered through the Texas
Department of Water Resources.
Evaluated extent of a hazardous waste impoundment failure, designed remedial
system, obtained necessary permits, and supervised installation of the
remedial system. Client: Fortune 500, NYSE oil company
Investigated major underground gasoline spill and implemented recovery
operations. Client: Fortune 500, NYSE oil company
Waste storage area - Designed sludge stabilization process and fugitive
oil recovery system to enable the filling and secure closing of the waste
storage area. Client: Fortune 500, NYSE oil company
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Studied nationwide disposal options for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
with emphasis on incineration. Client: Fortune 500, NYSE oil company
Disposal site, Alabama - Secured U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
approval for disposal of PCBs. Owner: Chemical Waste Management, Inc.
PCB-spill site, California - Evaluated extent of contamination and designed
a remedial action response. Client: Confidential
Management of Hazardous Waste Disposal Facilities
Developed western U.S. hazardous waste management operations for IT Corporation
from $500,000 to $5 million annual revenue base (1971 - 1978).
Developed southern U.S. hazardous waste management operations for Chemical
Waste Management, Inc., from $0 to $30 million annual revenue base (1978
- 1980).
Negotiated union contracts (Teamsters) and managed hazardous waste trucking
operations (California, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas).
Regulatory Experience with Hazardous Waste Issues
Industrial sponsor in 1977 California Legislature for AB 1593, which became
California's first Comprehensive Hazardous Waste Law.
First President (1976-77) of California Chemical Waste Processors Association
(CCWPA), a trade association for the California hazardous waste industry.
Selected Publications
1996. Quoted
in "Latin America Beckons a New Industry," Environmental Business Journal,
October/November.
1996. Quoted in "Finding the Perfect Match," El Financiero International,
Edition June 24-30.
1995. Quoted in "Sales & Marketing Still Evolving," Environmental Business
Journal, September.
1992. Quoted in "The Sun Also Rises," Environment Risk, A Euromoney Publication,
U.K., September.
1991. Environmental Regulation Lawmaking Guide Roundtable - California
Republic, April 23.
1987. Environmental auditing--organizational and financial analysis. Waste
Stream Journal, January-February.
1985. Corporate preparation for Superfund. In Proceedings, Third Annual
Hazardous Materials Management Conference, Philadelphia, PA, June 4-6.
1985. Get your corporate act together now for Superfund. Hazardous Materials
& Waste Management, July-August.
1983. Monitoring groundwater at cyanide leach mining sites. Groundwater
Monitoring Review, winter.
1983. New ways to solve underground contamination problems. In Environmental
Engineering, Proceedings, National Conference of American Society of Civil
Engineers, Boulder, Colorado.
1983. Overview of hazardous waste disposal technology, Pollution Equipment
News, October.
1977. Processing of industrial waste for solar evaporation. American Institute
of Chemical Engineers Symposium, series no. 162, vol. 73
1975. Managing industrial wastes excluded from the sewer. Water, Air and
Soil Pollution, vol. 4, D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland.
Presentations
1998. Evolution of the Environmental Industry. Keynote address at Chemical
Safety EMS Conference, September 17.
1998. Latin American Opportunities. A Presentation to the Professional
Environmental Marketing Association, Berkeley, California, March 31.
1996. Lecture on landfarming of industrial wastes - Pemex Executive Education
Center, Mineral del Chico, Mexico, June 18.
1996. Lecture on ISO 14000. University of California at Santa Cruz, March
26.
1994. "Doing Business with Mexico - Opportunities in Environmental Technology,"
San Francisco, California. Seminar on Doing Business with Mexico - Sponsored
by San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. November 4.
1992. "An Engineer's Perspective on European Environmental Auditing for
Due Diligence" - Squire Sanders and Dempsey, Environmental Law Update,
Phoenix, Arizona, February 24, 1992.
1991. "Differentiating Your Environmental Firm from Your Competitors,"
Environmental Business '91, Boston Massachusetts, March 18-19, 1991.
1991. Growth in the Environmental Industry - Security Analysts of San
Francisco, San Francisco, California, February 21.
1990. Environmental Issues in Economic Development - California Association
for Local Economic Development, Long Beach, California, April 11.
1989. Organization Politics - Libraries Association, San Francisco Bay
Region, San Francisco, California, January 20.
1989. Due Diligence Issues Related to Leasing and Buying Real Estate -
Corporate Real Estate Conference, San Jose, California, April 13.
1988. Environmental Audits - Real Estate, University of California Environmental
Health and Safety Officers Conference - Pacifica, California, October
20.
1987. Hazardous Waste Management Industry Trends, IBM Corporation - Environmental
Managers Annual Meeting, Poughkeepsie, New York, October 8.
1987. Toxic Management 1987, Control Data Corporation Managers Meeting,
San Jose, California, October 20.
1986. Governor's Commission on Arizona's Environment Conference, Phoenix,
Arizona, January 23.
1985. Third Annual Hazardous Materials Management Conference, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, June 5.
1984. Conference of American Society of Civil Engineers, San Francisco,
California, June 19.
1983. Hazardous Waste Management Industry Overview, IBM Corporation Environmental
Managers Annual Meeting, Tarrytown, New York, April 5.
1983. Fourth National Conference on Hazardous Materials Management - Las
Vegas, Nevada, May 23-27.
1983. 1983 National Conference of American Society of Civil Engineers,
Boulder, Colorado, July 7.
1983. Southwestern Spill Conference, National Spill Control School - Houston,
Texas, October 3-5.
1983. Hazardous Waste Audits, St. Regis Paper Company, Environmental Managers
Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, October 11.
1983. Geotechnical Engineering for Waste Disposal Projects, College of
Engineering short course, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, November
2.
1982. Hazardous Waste Landfill Design (short course), Phillips Petroleum
-Bartlesville, Oklahoma, February 2-4.
1982. Hazardous Waste Landfill Design (short course), Ethyl Corporation
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana, March 9-10.
1982. Western Conference of National Water Well Association, Denver, Colorado,
July 21.
1982. Geotechnical Engineering for Waste Disposal Projects, College of
Engineering short course, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, October
18-21.
1981. Third National Conference on Hazardous Materials Management, U.S.
EPA and California Department of Health, Anaheim, California, March 5.
1981. 13th Mid-Atlantic Industrial Waste Conference, University of Delaware
- Newark, New Jersey, Co-Authored with David Small, Universal Linings,
June 26.
1980. Nineteenth Conference of Canvas Products Manufacturers, New York,
New York, August 27.
1979. Second National Conference on Hazardous Materials Management - California
Department of Health, U.S. EPA, San Diego, California, March 1.
1979. 1979 Southeastern Hazardous Waste Management Workshop, Tuscaloosa,
Alabama, July 18.
1979. Hazardous Waste Management Short Course, Auburn University, Birmingham,
Alabama, October 24.
1979. Graduate Seminar - Department of Environmental Science, Rice University,
Houston, Texas, November 8.
1978. Seventh National Congress on Waste Management Technology, San Francisco,
California, September 21.
1977. National Conference on Hazardous Waste Management, San Francisco,
California (Sponsor - U.S. EPA), February 2.
1977. National Solid Waste Management Annual Convention, New Orleans,
Louisiana, May 21.
1977. American Iron and Steel Engineers Annual Meeting, Newport Beach,
California, June 18.
1977. Governmental Collection and Disposal Association, South Lake Tahoe,
California, September 1.
1977. California Manufacturers Association, South Lake Tahoe, California,
October 11.
1976. American Institute of Chemical Engineers Convention, Atlantic City,
New Jersey, September 1.
1976. Peninsula Manufacturers Association, San Mateo, California, October
20.
1976. California Assembly Committee on Resources, Land Use and Energy,
Sacramento, California, December 3.
1976. California Water Pollution Control Association, Los Angeles, California,
December 9.
1975. American Institute of Chemical Engineers Convention, Houston, Texas,
March 17.
1975. University of Wisconsin Hazardous Waste Management Program, Madison,
Wisconsin, September 9.
1974. National Solid Waste Management Association, Annual Convention in
Houston, Texas, June 26.
1974. EPA Hazardous Waste Task Force,, San Francisco, California, February
28.
1974. Bay & Estuarine Association in San Francisco, California, May 15.
1974. Contra Costa County Solid Waste Committee in Concord, California,
April 30.
1974. 4th Environmental Pollution Symposium at Stanford University, Palo
Alto, California, October 23.
1974. Peninsula Manufacturers Association, South San Francisco, California,
December 5.
1972. California Water Pollution Control Asociation, Annual Convention
in Redding, California, October 7.
If you would like to receive a personal copy of any of the above papers,
contact Mr. Johnson at: vic@ela-iet.com.
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