Name:
Rob Thompson
Office:
Practice Area:
Areas of Expertise:
Site characterization, soil and groundwater assessment and remediation, conceptual site model development, remedial design optimization, cost modeling, and reserve estimation.
About Me:
I am a Professional Geologist in AL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, and TX. I have been with Antea Group for almost 13 years and have gone from managing over 30 UST and petroleum terminal sites in NC, SC, GA, and TN to working on complex industrial sites. I have been in the environmental consulting industry for over 26 years and have learned a lot along the way. One of the most important messages I try to tell others, especially junior-level employees is to "Do it right the first time." When I’m not at work, I like to spend time with family and relax.
What is your favorite thing about being an Environmental Remediation practitioner:
This took a long time to figure out, almost 50 years, but my favorite thing about being a remediation practitioner and as a Senior Professional is working with project teams to evaluate their sites and develop options for alternative remedial approaches. This is really fun when evaluating work being done by our competitors. I like to pick it apart and provide better alternatives. Often when it is explained in terms so our clients understand the financial impact, it really hits home with them.
Is there something unique that people might not know about you?
When I was 10, we were vacationing in the Florida Keys and I saved my younger brother from drowning. I just pulled him up from the deeper water since the tide had come in, but had I not been there, he could have drowned since he wasn’t a strong swimmer. During that trip, I fell in love with the local marine environment and as of today, I have been a marine reef hobbyist for over 25 years.
What is the most interesting project you’ve ever worked on?
I worked on a project where I built a huge decision tree/roadmap of the “what ifs” and presented it with the client’s VPs and Sr. VPs which helped us gain the trust of the client. As we moved through the investigation and remediation phases, I was able to use PlumeStop®, a liquefied activated carbon product from Regenesis, as part of a pilot study that not only was successful for remediation but was one of two pilot studies done in North Carolina that helped gain statewide approval for use of the product. As I worked through the design process, we overcame some challenges with implementation and ultimately completed a successful barrier application. In 2019 I submitted an abstract about this project to the Battelle Bioremediation Symposium in Baltimore, MD and it was accepted as a platform presentation. It was my first time attending the Battelle conference as well as my first presentation so it was very exciting.
If you had one month off, where would you go, or what would you do?
Barbados. I would go to Barbados because I have never been and they make some of the finest rum in the world. I always tell people they can never go wrong with a rum from Barbados. I love the Florida Keys too, so that would be an option during the sport lobster season of course. I’d probably stay in the Old Town part of Key West like I did when I got married.
What area of the remediation practice are you most interested in?
Site characterization, source removal, and in-situ groundwater remediation. Why? Proper site characterization leads to successful remediation. Part of proper site characterization includes developing a complete Conceptual Site Model (CSM) so you know where contamination is, and more importantly where it is not. With a good CSM, the best remedy can be selected. Often at conferences I attend, the presenters talk about a site with an older technology that wasn’t working, was costing tons of money, and not getting them any closer to closure. In many cases, the CSM was incomplete and they were remediating things that just didn’t need it.
If someone at a party asks what you do, how do you respond?
I tell them I am a Geologist, and they usually have a befuddled look on their face. Most of them say they have never met a Geologist before. Some of my friends would say “It’s always good to know a Geologist."
What was your first job?
My very first job was working at a drive-through car wash as an attendant taking $3.00 per car and running them through the car wash. My first “real” job when I turned 18 was working for the County Mosquito Extermination Commission during the summers in NJ. I can still tell people about the job, how mosquitos breed, how to treat them, etc. like it was yesterday.
