Education and Professional Development

• M.S., Environmental Management, University of San Francisco
• B.S., Conservation of Natural Resources (Soil Resource Management emphasis), University of California, Berkeley
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Training

Registrations and Professional Affiliations

• California Registered Environmental Assessor #0014
• Association of Groundwater Scientists and Engineers

Summary of Professional Experience

Mr. Acton is a Registered Environmental Assessor in California and has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental field. He specializes in the following:

• Investigation and remediation of soil and ground water degraded with organic and inorganic constituents
• Environmental assessment
• Surface water oil spill assessment and shoreline impact analysis
• Soil science

Representative Experience

• Mr. Acton served as Project Manager for the investigation and remediation of an operating ordnance facility with perchlorate, trichloroethene (TCE), and hexavalent chromium impacts to soil and ground water. He coordinated the installation of air-stripping systems on 500 to 750-gallon per minute agricultural production wells and carbon filtration systems on low-yield domestic wells to treat TCE-impacted ground water. He coordinated the installation of an ion exchange system for the treatment of perchlorate-impacted ground water from low-yield recovery wells. He also provided oversight of closure activities for areas with cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine and heavy metals-impacted soil. Mr. Acton conducted biotreatability studies on perchlorate impacted soil that identified treatment alternatives for use as interim and long-term remedial measures. He coordinated the establishment of risk-based cleanup criteria for the constituents of concern referenced above.
• Mr. Acton served as Project Manager of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act clean closure certification activities for hazardous waste management units at a former ordnance facility. His tasks included hydrogeologic assessment involving monitoring well installation, aquifer testing, and sampling for organic, inorganic, and isotopic constituents of a confined water-bearing unit at a depth of approximately 500 feet below ground surface underlying a phosphorus-stabilization pond; extraction and treatment using catalytic oxidation of TCE vapors from soil underlying a former surface impoundment; and remediation of soil with heavy metal components and regulatory compliance using statistical analysis of former propellant burning areas and ordnance detonation areas.
• Mr. Acton served as Project Manager of two multi-year research studies conducted for a major oil company to assess the effectiveness of soil vapor extraction in removing volatile petroleum hydrocarbons from the subsurface. Studies included detailed subsurface investigations including design and implementation of ground water monitoring wells, vadose zone instrumentation wells for measuring pressure distribution, temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and acquiring soil vapor samples, and remediation using soil vapor extraction with thermal destruction and catalytic oxidation and ground water pump and treat. Studies evaluated vapor extraction efficiencies related to physical soil properties, treatment method, vapor flow, vacuum, and ground water.
• Mr. Acton served as Project Manager of a hydrogeologic investigation for a major oil company to assess the migration of saline water, generated during oil field production processes, from surface evaporation ponds. He investigated three distinct water-bearing units (confined and unconfined) underlying the site for organic, inorganic, and isotopic constituents to evaluate boundary containment status.
• Mr. Acton served as Project Director for the assessment and remediation of over 30 service station sites with leaking underground storage tanks for a major oil company.
• Mr. Acton served as Project Manager of numerous subsurface investigations and remediations involving petroleum hydrocarbons, organic solvents, pesticides, and heavy metals at industrial and commercial facilities, and environmental assessments for commercial real estate transactions.
• Mr. Acton served as team leader during the 1989 and 1990 field seasons in the shoreline cleanup and assessment program for the Valdez oil spill in southern Alaska. He was responsible for the team submittal of Shoreline Oiling Summary reports documenting oil spill effects and recommending appropriate treatment alternatives.
• Mr. Acton was involved in the emergency response and assessment of various surface water oil spills, as well as in the preparation of numerous oil spill contingency plans for pipelines, refineries, marine terminals, oil field production areas, and offshore platforms.
• Mr. Acton has participated in the preparation of environmental impact reports, range management and erosion control studies, and soil surveys.

Publications and Presentations