Resumé for Jeff Wright (pdf format)

Jeff Wright, specializes in ground water hydrology, water resource investigations, and environmental studies for mining, industrial, and oil and gas clients.  He has extensive experience preparing hydrologic studies for permitting, environmental compliance, remedial investigations, and facility closure.   Mr. Wright has been involved with numerous site investigations for liquefied natural gas plants in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming, and CERCLA investigations for mining waste sites, U.S. Air Force bases, and DOE facilities.  He is also knowledgeable about design of dewatering and water management systems for mining, water supply development, and water quality monitoring.

Mr.Wright's field experience includes deep drilling, installation and testing of  large-diameter production wells, aquifer testing, monitoring well installation, grouting, and water quality monitoring.  He has managed a variety of field programs in the U.S., South America, and Indonesia ranging from water supply development, to remedial investigations.

Planned and implemented site characterization studies at six natural gas compressor stations and liquids separation terminals.  Project work included extensive use of cone penetrometer technology to define stratigraphy, hydraulic properties, and contaminant distribution, and installation of monitoring well arrays to evaluate naturally occurring microbial degradation.  The data was used to developed 3-D geological models of the contaminant plumes.  Results of the investigation were presented to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to demonstrate compliance with the site cleanup Consent Order and to attain No Further Action (NFA) status as a result of the characterization

Designed and implemented a hydrogeologic investigation to characterize and remediate selenium contamination  from a waste rock dump associated with a former phosphate mine.  The work included core drilling and logging, geophysical characterization, monitoring well installations, and laboratory analyses of core samples to determine unsaturated hydraulic properties of the waste rock dump.  Surface infiltration characterization were evaluated using infiltrometers and continuous long-term soil moisture monitoring.  Instrumented test cells were also constructed to assess the effectiveness of potential cover designs.  The results of the investigation were used to develop numerical infiltration models (SoilCover and Hydrus-2D) and prepare reporting documents for the U.S. Forest Service. 

Prepared dewatering study for the Turquoise Ridge and N-Zone mines.  The study included the design of deep (2,000 ft.) shaft dewatering wells, packer permeability testing, long-term multiple-well pumping tests, and calculation of ground water inflow to the mine with recommendations for dewatering.  Project work included the development of a numerical ground water flow model to predict ground water inflow to the shaft during construction, and inflow to the underground mine. Mr., Wright worked closely with mine personnel to incorporate the mine development schedule and distribution of underground workings into the dewatering program.

Onsite manager overseeing the construction of a ground water capture and pump back system designed to intercept fugitive seepage from one of the largest tailings impoundments in the world.  The work involved implementation of a ground water exploration program followed by the design and installation of a capture well field and ground water monitoring wells. Field work included the coordination of six drill rigs and eight geologists over a six month period.  The capture wells averaged 650 feet in depth with 12-inch casing and screen.  The total system is capable of pumping approximately 7,600 gpm.

Design and implementation of a pilot grouting test program to support permitting of an underground mine.  The program was performed to evaluate the feasibility of using cement based grouts to reduce ground water inflow to the mine workings.  Field investigations included pre- and post-grouting permeability testing of bedrock in the pilot test area.  The pilot program included primary, secondary, and tertiary pressure grouting of weathered bedrock in the crown pillar of the planned mine.  Post-grouting analysis included drilling and logging core holes in the test plot, and packer permeability testing to determine grouting effectiveness.  An analysis of the effect of fracture aperture size on grout penetration and hydraulic conductivity was also prepared to support the study.

Performed remedial investigation to characterize petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in soil and ground water.  Project work included design of monitoring network, monitoring well and well point installations, aquifer testing, soil and ground water sampling, and preparation of the Remedial Investigation Report.