Beyond If Beyond If
If/When Jun 1, 2021

PFAS: Issues and Solutions for Airports

Show Contributors: Steve Pelham, Bob Cipolletti, Bill Disguiseppi, Paul Thies

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Over the past several years, there has been a surge in regulatory interest to address the public health and environmental risks from releases of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including use of aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) for firefighting or training. This call to action has resulted in rapid development of regulations and guidance, at both the federal and state level, which are impacting the airport community. In this episode of If/When, our guests are Jacobs’ Vice President of Aviation for the Americas, Steve Pelham; Principal Hydrogeologist, Jacobs’ Aviation Environmental Lead, Bob Cipolletti; and Principal Hydrogeologist, Jacobs PFAS Global Technology Leader, Bill Diguiseppi.

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Episode notes

Steve Pelham, Vice President, Jacobs Aviation—Americas, leads Jacobs’ Americas Aviation market, providing strategic advisory consulting and project delivery oversight services to our clients and aviation project teams. Leveraging more than 30 years of experience in airport planning, environmental, design, engineering, architecture, security, and program management and construction management (PM/CM), he delivers solutions and services to respond to our client’s challenges. Steve supports international, domestic and military airport projects of all sizes and levels of complexity across the U.S. and around the world. Steve’s commitment to and passion for aviation has driven his long-term involvement in numerous professional organizations focused on the latest technologies, project approaches, best practices and emerging issues. Steve has participated in various committees with the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), Airports Council International and Airport Consultants Council (ACC).  He is currently a member of the Aero Club of Washington and serves on the boards of ACC, ACI World Business Partners, the International Association of Airport Executives, AMAC, and Tony Janus Distinguished Aviation Society.

Bill DiGuiseppi is a 30+ year experienced Principal Hydrogeologist with Jacobs in their Denver office. Bill is an expert in the history, occurrence and remediation of 1,4-dioxane and PFAS, and leads Jacobs Emerging Contaminants Community of Practice. He frequently conducts PFAS training for a variety of groups, including the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC), American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), Transportation Research Board (TRB), US EPA, the US DOD, the US DOE and the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). Bill has been actively engaged with the ITRC PFAS Team as the Treatment Technology Writing Subgroup Co-Chair and instructor on several PFAS topics for several years, and has been invited as session keynote and luncheon speaker for international conferences in the US, Europe and Australia. Bill is the Vice Chair for Emerging Issues for the SAME National Environmental Community of Interest (COI) and is a regular speaker for SAME national and Denver Metro Post events. Bill is also an adjunct faculty member in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the Colorado School of Mines. 

Bob Cipolletti is a 35-year experienced Principal Hydrogeologist with Jacobs in its Boston office. Bob is an environmental professional with expertise in management of construction related materials and the remediation and redevelopment of impaired properties, for a wide range of industries including aviation. He works closely with design and construction teams addressing concerns associated with environmental issues early in the design process centered on management of contaminated media management. Bob leads Jacob’s Aviation Environmental Community of Practice that includes a team of experts that cover air, noise, environmental permitting, sustainability, carbon reduction, waste management planning, and emerging contaminants, in addition to site characterization and remediation services. Bob is a member of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) PFAS Working Group and ACI-NA Environmental Affairs Committee.