By Kevin Graves ~

James was a friend and mentor.

He trained in college as a wastewater engineer, and it was central to how he viewed other water supply issues.

He worked on cross-border wastewater issues with Mexico.

In the early 90’s he moved out of wastewater engineering into groundwater cleanup.  This included UST issues like MTBE, dry cleaners with PCE contamination, and unlined leaking landfills. Also, the impact of nitrates from agriculture.

He did pioneering work with the Lawrence Livermore Lab on the stability of petroleum contaminant plumes in groundwater.

He championed and paved the way for the GeoTracker online GIS database.

He was always looking for ways to make government run more effectively and efficiently.