Roger W. Lee, Ph.D., P.G. Biography

Councilor-at-Large

Roger W. Lee, Ph.D., P.G., C.P.G.
Austin, Texas
Geochemical Consultant
Email: rlee@pioneer-technical.com
Office: (214) 676-7697

Dr. Lee was born in Long Beach, CA and raised in Pasadena and Deer Park, Texas. After undergraduate college at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas with a BS in chemistry, he worked at Lubrizol Corp. as a quality control chemist for 5 years. In 1973, he returned to Texas Tech for a MS in Geology. Upon receiving his MS he embarked on a 31-year career with U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Discipline as a hydrologist and geochemist that took him to duty stations in Billings, MT, Atlanta, GA, Nashville, TN, Austin, TX, and Dallas, TX. While in Nashville, he was selected to participate in the USGS Graduate Training Program, and attended University of Texas in 1989 for one year of coursework and 6 years of on-the-job research, earning a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences in 1996.

Dr. Lee has 47 years’ work experience, including 31 years with the US Geological Survey, with experience in aqueous geochemistry research, environmental & contaminant geochemistry, hydrogeology, quality assurance duties as colleague and peer reviewer of papers and journal articles, and preparation of quality assurance documents for private and government clients as a consultant. Dr. Lee served eight years as technical support and USGS/EPA liaison for Region 6 Superfund in Dallas, TX on more than 70 Superfund sites. Responsibilities included data collection and oversight, report review and quality assurance editing, and meeting with other Department of Interior trustees to assist with Natural Resources Damages Assessments in conjunction with Superfund sites. Dr. Lee prepared quality management plans and quality assurance project plans for EPA on behalf of USGS and helped offices of USGS prepare quality assurance project plans, field sampling plans, and health and safety plans prior to retiring from government service in 2006. Dr. Lee rose from an entry-level position of GS-5 technician to GS-14 research scientist over the course of his career. Following retirement, Dr. Lee entered the consulting world, serving in a similar capacity with ERM, Inc., and is presently Senior Environmental Geochemist with NewFields Environmental and Engineering, LLCA.

Areas of Experience:

• Aqueous geochemistry & groundwater hydrology
• Contaminant/organic geochemistry
• Metals & mining geochemistry
• Regulatory liaison to EPA
• Fate & transport modeling
• Training-HAZWOPER
• Project Management
• Quality Assurance/Quality Control

From 2007 to present , Dr. Lee has performed over 200 ESA reviews for sites located on privately owned and government properties in NV, UT, HI, AZ, ID, CA, IN, PA, FL, OR, FL, TN, NY, IL, TX, WA and other states. Duties included executing field activities within the project areas, production of the final reports, and final report review and editing for quality assurance. He has been engaged in several tasks on behalf of BP Corp. at the Butte, MT Superfund Site that include field research in metals-contaminated groundwater geochemistry, groundwater-surface water interactions, and neutralization modeling for a contaminated water treatment plant. He also managed a project with USGS that developed a 40-hour credit online training class in Water Quality Principles for USGS, which included technical information and QA/QC instruction for professional development.

From 206 to to present, Dr. Lee established work with two law firms and clients having pending legal actions for oil-field brine contamination of groundwater in West Texas and Louisiana. The field work for West Texas that was designed by Dr. Lee confirmed the release of brine to groundwater and the court action and subsequent depositions and testimony are pending. From Nov. 2006 to March 2010, as a Senior Consultant with ERM, Inc. in Austin, TX, he provided technical support for expert testimony for confidential clients. Dr. Lee was deposed on 4 occasions and testified in court as an expert witness in hydrology which resulted in a win in court for the client.

From 2006 to 2010, Dr. Lee managed projects in assessment, aqueous geochemistry, and fate and transport of hydrocarbons and trace elements on more than 10 projects for clients of ERM, Inc. He participated in several site assessments, including a large environmental assessment of mining assets in Montana and Idaho for the ASARCO bankruptcy proceeding. He provided litigation support, on 4 legal actions for clients of ERM. Dr. Lee served as peer reviewer for quality assurance on internal and external reports for clients of ERM.

From 1998- to 2006, Dr. Lee provided technical support to USEPA, Region 6, Superfund, Dallas, Texas in areas pertaining to water quality, geochemistry, and hydrology. He conducted numerous field investigations for soil vapor, groundwater sample collections, base flow analyses in streams, and data analyses and interpretation. He participated in several research, investigation, and quality management activities for Superfund involving ground water contamination at City, State, and Federal government managed sites or for other Federal government entities in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Dr. Lee provided technical advice to USEPA attorneys for actions on environmental damage and remediation.

From 1975 to 2006, Dr. Lee served as a research scientist, principally in groundwater research. He worked on numerous projects in Montana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, Michigan, and consulted for the United Nations in The Peoples’ Republic of China and taught geochemistry to hydrologists in the UAE. From 1975 to the present during his professional career, Dr. Lee authored or co-authored more than 70 government and journal publications, and presented more than 25 oral and

poster sessions at national and international technical conferences. As an environmental consultant he authored or co-authored more than 20 reports to clients. He served as colleague reviewer while with USGS on more than 40 reports, and, as a technical peer reviewer for various journals on more than 30 journal articles.

From 1969 to 1973, armed with a BS in chemistry, he served as a bench chemist for Lubrizol Corp. He was responsible for monitoring chemical processes applying more than 200 analytical chemical procedures for batch organic chemicals’ synthetic processes.

For additional information, see Dr. Lee’s CV and selected publications.