Battelle Announces Key Hires

Dr. Christopher May has joined the Battelle-managed Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a senior research engineer in the Marine Sciences Division. Dr. May will extend existing ecosystem assessment and restoration capabilities in the marine and nearshore environment into freshwater ecosystems with a focus on watershed analysis, stormwater management, non-point-source pollution issues, and salmonid habitat assessment. Dr. May has served as a researcher and adjunct faculty member at the University of Washington and Western Washington University, as a private consultant, and as a technical advisor to the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense for stormwater and watershed management issues. Dr. May has been principal investigator on projects ranging from a study to evaluate the impacts of urbanization on aquatic ecosystems and the effectiveness of stormwater best management practices for the Watershed Management Institute and EPA to the Kitsap and Jefferson County Salmonid Refugia Projects to identify and evaluate potential salmonid habitat conservation areas for endangered salmon. Dr. May holds a Ph.D. in environmental science and engineering from the University of Washington, a MS in industrial engineering and management from the University of Minnesota, and a BS in marine engineering from the United States Naval Academy.

Dr. May can be reached at (360) 681-4556, christopher.may@pnl.gov.

Dr. Harold Noyes has also joined the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as Chief Scientist for the Field Hydrology and Chemistry group. Dr. Noyes' primary responsibility will be to establish joint research programs with the University of Alaska and the Department of Energy at Fairbanks. He also will pursue relationships with private firms, such as Alaska Native corporations. Noyes has many years experience with Alaskan issues. He served fourteen years as Chief Geologist and Manager of Natural Resources for Doyon Limited, an Alaska Native corporation and the largest private landowner in the United States. At Doyon, he was instrumental in establishing several mineral exploration firms focused on applying the latest technologies in remote environments. Noyes has been influential in establishing federal and state programs through his service to the Alaska Minerals Commission, the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Advisory Committee, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Mineral Engineering Advisory Board. Dr. Noyes has a Ph.D. in geology and geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Noyes can be reached at (509) 376-8308, harry.noyes@pnl.gov.

Battelle’s Coastal Resource, Environmental Management and Safety (CREMS) product line has opened a new regional office in Annapolis, MD. This new office enables Battelle to be more responsive to Baltimore area clients such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chesapeake Bay Program. Battelle’s new Baltimore area presence will allow us to better serve these clients within the Mid Atlantic region by providing technical solutions in areas such as ecological risk assessment, natural resource damage assessment, environmental monitoring, environmental forensics, EIA/EIS, dredged material management, environmental analytical chemistry, and environmental information management systems (EMIS) support.

Heading up Battelle’s Chesapeake Bay area office is Ms. Debra Walker, a registered Environmental Manager with over 26 years of experience in environmental management, NEPA compliance, and public outreach for civil works, military, facilities planning, and transportation projects.

The location of this new Maryland office is 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 305B, Annapolis, MD 21401. For more information on consulting or technical services in the Chesapeake Bay area, please contact Ms. Debra Walker at (410) 990-9233, walkerd@battelle.org.

Contaminated freshwater and marine sediments are a significant environmental problem worldwide. A better understanding of their nature, the risks they pose, and their potential solutions will be explored at the Battellesponsored Second International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, in Venice, Italy, 30 September– 2 October, 2003. The city, where sediments remediation efforts are underway, is an ideal setting.

Although some contaminants have been banned or restricted, and discharge of others has been reduced, industrial and municipal sources continue to release contaminants to surface waters, while urban and agricultural areas produce polluted runoff. Harmful contaminant levels can persist for years and adversely affect human health and the environment. When navigational dredging produces contaminated sediments that require in situ confinement or confined disposal facilities, the financial costs can be staggering. Treatment technologies are emerging, but costs must be reduced to make them viable alternatives. Developing better technologies for handling and treating contaminated sediments, and designing practical and cost-effective sediments-management practices is a concern for sediments and remediation experts who will find the conference a stimulating and professionally valuable gathering.

Battelle has organized this conference in response to the success of the first one, which was held in Venice in 2001 and attended by 450 experts in the field from 40 countries around the world. Augusto Porta and Rob Hinchee will chair the 2003 conference, which is co-sponsored by the Italian Ministero dell’Ambiente e Tutela del Territorio. Cooperating organizations are Agenzia Nazionale per la Protezione dell’Ambiente (ANPA), Autorità Portuale di Venezia, Central Dredging Association (CEDA), DHI Water and Environment, Environment Canada, International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), Journal of Soils and Sediments, PIANC: International Navigation Association, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Center for Contaminated Sediments (CCS), and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Registration and the plenary session open the conference on Tuesday evening (30 September). The technical program will deal with characterization; ecological and human-health risk assessment; in situ treatment; dredging; beneficial reuse; natural recovery; and specialized treatment methods. The exhibit area will be open every day. The Intermediate SedNet Conference, which is scheduled for Venice on 29-30 September, ends at 5:00 p.m. on the 30th, enabling participants to move on to the opening of the Contaminated Sediments Conference at 6:00 p.m.

Information on abstract submission, registration, and the conference schedule can be found at www.battelle.org/sedimentscon.