Education

A.A., Liberal Arts – Broward Community College
Course work in mathematics, physics, and geology – Santa Fe Community College
United States Army – Electronics Technician at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama

Responsibilities for TSG

Mr. Petersen is currently Director of USVI Operations, responsible for the operation and maintenance of all of the water and wastewater treatment plants in the United States Virgin Islands, numbering more than 10 plants. He was until recently the Director of Remediation, responsible for the 5 groundwater remediation plants operated and maintained by TSG. Mr. Petersen has been involved in groundwater remediation, water resources, aquifer storage recovery, and wellfield projects since 1978. His expertise encompasses construction and project management, field team leadership services, and field hydrogeology in the design and construction of hydrocarbon contamination and landfill gas recovery wells, public supply wells, ASR wells, and monitor wells. Mr. Petersen works in the company's operations office on St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands.


Experience

Mr. Petersen has been primarily responsible for the past several years for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of two groundwater pump-and-treat units at the Tutu Valley Superfund site on St. Thomas, and soil vapor extraction (SVE) site at an active gasoline retail store in downtown Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Mr. Petersen has also recently currently assisted a stateside contractor in constructing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund groundwater remediation project which is now being operated by TSG

Mr. Petersen served as construction manager (CM) for JEA’s (formerly Jacksonville Electric Authority) Design-Build Emergency Well Program, a $3.3 million program involving drilling and equipping nine public supply wells to meet the 1999 peak demand season. He was responsible for developing specifications, permitting, and permitting, serving as the regulatory agency and client liaison, and managing six subcontractors during the construction phase.

As assistant PM for the City of Cocoa’s $3.5 million West Wellfield Expansion Program, Mr. Petersen directed the drilling of 24 public supply wells and the construction of roads, pump houses and pipelines to meet the 1991 through 1995 peak demand seasons. He was responsible for preparing plans and specifications, permitting, bidding, cost estimating and coordinating construction.

Mr. Petersen’s environmental experience includes startup and pilot testing of a Mobile Treatment System for a contaminated groundwater site in the Panama Canal Zone. The unit treated six million gallons of BTEX-contaminated water at an abandoned tank farm. Mr. Petersen trained local Panamanian staff in O&M of the unit and contributed to the production of the O&M manual and final technical report.

Mr. Petersen was also involved in the design, construction, pilot testing and operational start up of two innovative “Jet Pump,” groundwater and free product recovery systems at a chemical facility in northwest Florida.

He served as field team leader for Southern Energy’s Environmental Impact Assessment of USVI Water and Power Authority’s facilities on St. Thomas and St. Croix and was Field Team Leader for the Bolivian Airports Environmental Impact Assessments. In this role, he organized, staged and executed field sampling projects at three international airports in Bolivia.

Some of Mr. Petersen’s other environmental experience includes field team leader and field investigator for groundwater contamination studies for such clients as a national convenience store chain; an electronics manufacturer; pulp and paper manufacturers; private utilities; U.S. Air Force installations; Florida Department of Transportation (DOT); and similar projects in numerous Florida cities.

Mr. Petersen’s water resources experience includes serving as assistant project manager for the 1999-2000 City of Cocoa, Florida, ASR system expansion. That project involved drilling, equipping and calibration cycle testing of four new ASR wells. The work also involved Underground Injection Control (UIC) permitting, pre- and final design, construction supervision and operational start up. He also was field supervisor for the City of Cocoa ASR system construction, which entailed drilling, equipping and calibration cycle testing of six new ASR wells.

As a geophysical logging unit operator, Mr. Petersen investigated exploratory holes and logged wells throughout the Southeast U.S. He is skilled at using borehole geophysics to determine geologic formation changes, optimum well screen settings and water production zones.

Prior to joining TSG, Mr. Petersen was employed with CH2M HILL for 23 years, gaining progressively responsible experience in construction management, environmental remediation, aquifer storage recovery (ASR) and water resources engineering. His additional work includes eight years of surveying and mapping experience, including site layout, topographical and aerial photo control, technical report writing and editing, and data collection and evaluation. Since 1986, he has maintained his comprehensive health and safety training for hazardous waste site investigations, and has basic Spanish speaking experience.

Membership in Professional Organizations

American Society of Certified Engineering Technicians
National Groundwater Association – Association of Groundwater Scientists and Engineers

Publication

With Bral, K. and W.H. Stephenson. “Development and Application of the City of Cocoa Aquifer Storage and Recovery System.” Presented at the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) International Symposium on Artificial Recharge of Groundwater. July 1994.