Scott Harris, Ph.D., MPH

Scott’s experience ranges over 26 years of Environmental, Health and Safety Management in Federal and State government, consulting, general industry and University instruction. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Science, with a specialization in Disaster and Emergency Management, from Oklahoma State University, and holds degrees in Geology (B.S.) and Public Health (MPH) from Western Kentucky University.

Federal On-Scene Coordinator

As a Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) for U.S. EPA Region 6, Scott was part of the Emergency Readiness Team, and held DOD “Top Secret” and DOE “Q” security clearances. He directed multi-agency emergency response, planning and recovery activities for chemical, biological and radiological releases and exercises within the five-state region.  Several of the responses he led and participated in were events of national significance, including:

• Space Shuttle Columbia recovery, coordination with the U.S. Navy and chairing the EPA Region 6 After Action Report
• A train derailment in Macdona, TX resulting in the largest chlorine transportation release in U.S. history
• Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
• Directed EPA Search and Rescue water operations in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, the first such mission in the history of the Agency, and credited with over 1,200 rescues
• Murphy Oil, a spill of over 1 million gallons of crude oil into a populated area during Hurricane Katrina

Scott was the regional lead for the BioWatch program, a national sentry program for early detection of biological WMD events.  He served on national workgroups and developed BMPs and internal capabilities for surveillance, first response, sampling and decontamination procedures, and authored response plans for agents of concern for numerous major cities and airports in Region 6.

He was the regional lead and technical contact for Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) sites and the use of dispersants on oil spills and participated in and led Emergency Response Reviews following significant events.

In addition to managing and directing complex response, recovery and site investigation and remediation contract resources, Scott was an internal agency expert in Risk Management Planning, Offsite Consequence Analysis and crisis communication. He was the only FOSC in Region 6 cleared for media interaction without Agency preapproval.

Scott is certified for HAZWOPER Incident Command and Technician level operations and as a NIMS/ICS Operations Section Chief and Division/Group Supervisor.

Industrial and Consulting Experience

As both an EH&S Manager and later as a consultant, Scott has extensive industrial experience in union and nonunion textile, automotive, specialty chemical, paper, railroad, aluminum, die casting, plating, rubber, adhesives, medical, food and wood products facilities. He developed, implemented and directed multi-media site assessment and remediation projects, EPCRA, RMP, PSM, SPCC, BMP, ergonomics, IH, safety and Drug Free Workplace Act programs and secured Title V, water and RCRA waste permits and renewals. Of course an important part of all of these activities was employee training in all applicable programs.

Scott provided division and corporate level regulatory program auditing and consulting services in multiple states as well as for specialty programs such as Responsible Care, ISO, ILCI, VPP and qualification of TSDF and subcontract/toll vendors. On the emergency response side, he developed Fire Brigades and Specialist Level HazMat Teams for multiple facilities and directed or supported numerous incident responses.

University Instructor

As an Instructor at Western Kentucky University (WKU), Scott developed and instructed numerous graduate and undergraduate courses including:

• Recognition and Control of Industrial Hazardous Materials (PH-331)
• Hazardous and Solid Waste (ENV-480G)
• Industrial Environmental Management (ENV-460G)
• Introduction to Environmental Science (ENV-280)
• Environmental Sampling and Measurement (ENV-495G)

In addition to teaching, he placed and managed students in project-based learning experiences through EH&S consulting for industrial and government clients. Project revenues funded faculty positions and significant equipment purchases, and over several years, our program maintained 100% placement of graduates within their field based on superior academic achievement and extensive practical experience.

State Regulatory Experience

As a Senior Environmental lnspector, Scott was responsible for the regular compliance inspections of over 400 public, private and industrial drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities and structural inspections of 55 low to high-hazard dams. He was a member of the original development team for the Kentucky Water Well Driller Certification Program, and authored the original KDEP emergency response guidelines for use in Karst terrain. Scott was also a State On-Scene Coordinator, providing immediate response to chemical spills, derailments and fires and coordinating containment, evacuation and cleanup operations. In addition to response activities, he was an Assistant Coordinator of the Kentucky Environmental Response Team (ERT).

Prior to moving into water, dams and chemical emergency response, Scott was a Geologist and Permit Reviewer for the Kentucky Department for Surface Mining. His responsibilities included acting as Team Leader to review mining applications for overall compliance with state and federal regulations, develop geologic sampling plans, conduct ground and surface water monitoring programs, develop erosion, sediment control and site reclamation plans and provide on-scene technical assistance related to subsidence damage, aquifer depletion, groundwater degradation and landslides.