Chase Gerbig, PhD, PE

Dr. Gerbig is a Principal Engineer in Roux’s Burlington, Massachusetts office with expertise in the fundamental understanding of environmental systems and the practical design and implementation of engineering solutions. He has over fifteen years of experience in environmental science and engineering, including expertise in environmental chemistry and geochemical modelling, site investigation and remediation, evaluation of the feasibility of remedial alternatives, remedy design, and compliance with state and federal environmental programs. As a practicing engineer, he has remediated soil, sediment, groundwater, and air impacts associated with a wide range of chemicals (e.g., petroleum, chlorinated solvents, PAHs, and metals). Dr. Gerbig also works with numerous law firms on environmental-related litigation matters where he has provided both underlying and testifying expert services that address a spectrum of litigated topics, including timing of contaminant releases, evaluation of the necessity and reasonableness of past response action costs, estimation of future response action costs, and determination of equitable allocation of response action costs.

• Vapor Intrusion Chemical Source Evaluation, Superfund Site, OH: Expert Witness regarding sources of compounds requiring vapor intrusion mitigation at a historic landfill Superfund Site. Evaluated site-specific soil, groundwater, and vapor data, State and Federal regulatory requirements, and scientific literature on the state of knowledge.
• Historic Dry Cleaner Remediation, CT: Remediated a former dry cleaner location with solvent contamination below the slab of an occupied commercial building. Designed a combined in situ chemical oxidation, air sparge, and sub-slab depressurization system to remediate dry cleaning solvent (PCE) contamination of soil and groundwater below an operating commercial building while also mitigating vapor intrusion. The remediation system was designed to allow for all future remediation below the building to take place without disturbing operations within the building so that the property owner could maintain occupancy by a valuable tenant.
• Landfill Contribution Allocation, NJ: Testifying expert regarding landfill remediation cost allocation, sources of hazardous substances, and appropriateness of remedy. Distinguished between industrial sources of contamination and municipal solid waste impacts based on historical reconstructions and modern environmental data. Quantified contributions of waste to the landfill from multiple sources, the economic benefits derived by parties for disposing of their waste for free at the landfill, and the hazardous substances likely present in various waste streams. Identified the allocation factors pertinent to an allocation of remediation costs of the Site to the municipality, including the municipality’s ownership of the Site, generation of waste, transport of waste, arrangement for others to dispose of waste, economic benefit derived from the disposal of the waste, and participation in past remediation. Testified at trial.
• Sediment Superfund Site Remedial Design and Remedial Action, MI: Project manager and engineer that led completion of the design of a dredging remedy for approximately 60,000 cy of sediment impacted with PCBs and implementation of the associated remedial action. Portions of the Site contained sediment with PCB concentrations that warranted separate handling and disposal at a TSCA-approved landfill. Represented multiple responding parties in negotiations with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA); developed regulatory strategy; ensured compliance of the remedy with the record of decision (ROD), National Contingency Plan (NCP), and consent decree; oversaw design; and managed the contractor through the remedial action.

• Redevelopment Under Brownfields Cleanup Program, NY: Conducted investigation and pre-characterization of petroleum- and lead-contaminated soil; planned and executed interim removal action to facilitate immediate site redevelopment; designed engineering system to mitigate indoor air impacts; prepared engineering specifications for excavation, transportation, and disposal of approximately 20,000 tons of contaminated soil and approximately 10,000 tons of soil for reuse on-site; oversaw field efforts; and prepared New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Brownfields Cleanup Program submissions, including Remedial Investigation/Alternatives Analysis Report, Interim Remedial Action, and Remedial Action Work Plan. Following completion of remediation, designed stormwater management system and managed the installation of the stormwater management system design.

• Sediment Superfund Site Allocation, NY: Expert report and presentation of findings during binding arbitration. Prepared a cost allocation model for a complex sediment site impacted by compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), metals, and PCBs from various sources, including historic coal tar releases from manufactured gas plant operations, combined sewer overflows, and other industrial operations along the canal. The cost allocation model combined forensic fingerprinting of contaminant sources with remedial design cost drivers to allocate among many potentially responsible parties (PRPs), including de minimis contributors.

• River Sediment Dredging, NY: Prepared investigation plan and conceptual remedy alternatives for dredging of petroleum-contaminated sediments in a large river where State- and Federally-listed threatened and endangered species of mussels reside. Remedies evaluated included wet and dry dredging alternatives. Planned, permitted, and implemented the sediment remedy, including managing of threatened and endangered species present in the river, addressing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ requirements regarding work on and near flood control structures, and dredging of petroleum-impacted sediment by constructing an earthen causeway into the river to access contaminated soils.

• Geochemistry of Mine Tailings Pond: Evaluated the geochemical basis for treatment system design and failure. Assessed the original geochemical models prepared during the plant design. Developed a geochemical model using PHREEQC and Visual MINTEQ, validated by site-specific data, and opined on the appropriate use of geochemical modeling information in the bench testing, pilot testing, and full-scale engineering design associated with a water treatment plant that failed to meet construction performance specifications. Authored expert report for an international arbitration process.

• Remediation Cost Evaluation, OK: Expert report regarding the evaluation of the necessity and reasonableness of past remediation costs, estimating future remediation costs, and compliance of response actions with the National Contingency Plan. The Site in question was a former dry cleaner with soil, groundwater, and indoor air impacts associated with PCE.

• John P. Keegan v. Town of Kearny, Superior Court of New Jersey Law Division: Hudson County, Docket No.: HUD-L-3330-15. Trial Testimony. 2019.

• Hobart Corporation, Kelsey-Hayes Company, and NCR Corporation v. The Dayton Power and Light Company, Valley Asphalt Corporation, et al., United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Wester Division, Case No. 3:13-cv-115-WHR. Expert Report, Deposition. October 2018.

• Confidential Arbitration Process. Expert Report. 2018.

• Lee E. Buchwald, as Chapter 7 Trustee for Magnesium Corporation of America and Related Debtor, Renco Metals, Inc., v. The Renco Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation; et al., United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case No. 1:13-cv-07948-AJN. 2018.

• Stratford Holding, LLC v. Foot Locker Retail, Inc., et al., United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Case No. CIV-12-0772-HE. Expert Report. 2017.

• Gowanus Canal Remedial Design Binding Arbitration. Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, New York, representing sixteen parties. Expert Report and presentation to the Allocator. 2017.

• Ram, N.R.; Schneider, M.W.; Gerbig, C.G.; Nevins; N.N; Love, A.H. (2019) Allocating Cleanup Costs Among Potentially Responsible Parties. Remediation, 30(1): 33-45. doi: 10.1002/rem.21632.

• Wespestad, B.; Adams, J.B.; Gerbig, C.; Love, A.H. (2020). Dry Cleaner Releases and Forensic Considerations. Environmental Claims Journal. doi: 10.1080/10406026.2020.1773078.

• Sullivan, D.; Kwan, W.; Gerbig, C.A.; Moore, C. (2015) Proactive Evaluation of PRP Status at Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites. Environmental Claims Journal, 27(2): 140-148. doi: 10.1080/10406026.2015.1035570.

• Gerbig, C.A.; Ryan, J.N.; Aiken, G.R. (2011) The Effects of Dissolved Organic Matter on Mercury Biogeochemistry in Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology of Mercury (eds. G. Liu, Y. Cai, and N. O’Driscoll, eds.), John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, USA. doi: 10.1002/9781118146644.ch8.