“SCS is helping clients conserve natural resources, prevent and mitigate air, water, and soil, and revitalize properties once thought unsafe. It’s rewarding to know I’m supporting our clients, our citizens, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and New Mexico Environmental Department with today’s environmental issues,” said Olness.
SCS Engineers’ Iain Olness, has more than 28 years of experience in the environmental industry, is now the Arizona and New Mexico senior project manager.
Olness is responsible for all phases of project management, client service, business development, and technical leadership and will oversee teams of professional staff. He also is the Arizona and New Mexico environmental services practice leader.
Olness has extensive experience in petroleum remediation, surface and subsurface contamination investigation, and Phase I and Phase II environmental site investigations. He also has expertise with public water supply well installation and groundwater modeling. Olness has completed hydrologic studies for the placement of new municipal wells, including the specifications for the installation and testing of the wells.
“Iain is a solid scientist with extensive environmental experience managing the challenges of underground storage tanks, site investigation and remediation projects, said senior vice president and southwest environmental services leader, Julio Nuno. “He is the ideal person to take on challenging environmental projects, supporting our clients’ businesses.”
Olness earned a Bachelor of Arts in Geology from the University of Minnesota, Morris, and a Master of Science in Geology from Eastern Washington University. He served as a volunteer youth soccer coach through the City of Peoria’s Recreation Department for ten years.
According to the U.S. EPA, approximately 561,000 underground storage tanks (USTs) nationwide store petroleum or hazardous substances. The greatest potential threat from a leaking UST (LUST) is contamination of groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans. EPA, states, and tribes work in partnership with industry to protect the environment and human health from potential releases.
Randy Bauer, a project director with SCS Engineers in Arizona stated, “We have seen a significant increase in the number of storage tank failures nationwide, primarily from single-walled fiberglass tanks installed in the 1990s.” He went on to say, “Some fuel additives, such as ethanol, are known to eventually dissolve the epoxy used in the fiberglass tanks, leading to cracks and failures.”
SCS currently has seven soil and groundwater remediation systems in operation in Arizona because the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has a proactive program. As the state’s environmental regulatory agency under the Environmental Quality Act of 1986, ADEQ is a separate, cabinet-level agency that directs all of Arizona’s environmental protection programs. Their mission is to protect and enhance public health and the environment in Arizona. The department does this by overseeing the state’s environmental laws and authorized federal programs to prevent pollution of the air, water, and land, and to ensure clean up of pollution, such as LUSTs when it occurs.
About Randy Bauer:
Mr. Bauer has nearly 30 years of experience conducting environmental site assessments, subsurface investigations, groundwater monitoring programs, soil and groundwater remediation, and geotechnical investigations at industrial hazardous waste and solid waste facilities. His responsibilities include supervision, planning, and conducting of numerous Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments (ESAs) and underground storage tank (UST) removals. Mr. Bauer has planned and directed the characterization and remediation of several large projects involving soil and groundwater contamination. He also directed several hydrogeologic characterizations, including the collection of soil and groundwater samples and interpretation of aquifer tests. He has prepared several Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) reports, and prepared, designed, and implemented treatability studies, Remedial Action Plans (RAPs), and groundwater monitoring programs. He has been directly responsible for the preparation of several Aquifer Protection Permits (APPs) for wastewater treatment plants and solid waste disposal facilities. Mr. Bauers duties included
Mr. Bauer has planned and directed the characterization and remediation of several large projects involving soil and groundwater contamination. He also directed several hydrogeologic characterizations, including the collection of soil and groundwater samples and interpretation of aquifer tests. He has prepared several Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) reports, and prepared, designed, and implemented treatability studies, Remedial Action Plans (RAPs), and groundwater monitoring programs. He has been directly responsible for the preparation of several Aquifer Protection Permits (APPs) for wastewater treatment plants and solid waste disposal facilities. Mr. Bauers duties included
He has been directly responsible for the preparation of several Aquifer Protection Permits (APPs) for wastewater treatment plants and solid waste disposal facilities. Mr. Bauer’s duties include the senior technical review of documents, as well as negotiation and coordination with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
