The Aterra-Schnabel JV offers an experienced team, including several former NRCS senior personnel, with in-depth understanding of NRCS procedures, policies, and technical requirements.
Rob Monahan, PE
Rob, co-founder and president of Aterra Solutions, serve as the Contract Administrator for the Aterra-Schnabel JV’s two regional NRCS contracts. Rob has nearly 30 years of professional experience in the civil, mechanical, water resources, nuclear power and environmental engineering fields. In this role, Rob responsibilities include financial performance, contracting, staffing, risk management, and work product quality. Rob’s educational background, operations and management experience in multiple environmental and engineering disciplines, and technical knowledge make him qualified to serve in this role.
Joe Bellini, PE, PH, D.WRE, CFM
Joe has played a major role in several NRCS projects in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, including the rehabilitation design of the George H. Nichols Dam in Massachusetts for which he was the project manager and engineer of record. With 30 years in the industry, Joe has been involved with every aspect of dam engineering, from spillway and levee design to hydrology, hydraulics, flood risk/hazard studies and flood control planning and design.
Gregory Paxson, PE, D.WRE
Greg is Schnabel’s National Practice Leader for Dams, responsible for technical aspects of Schnabel’s dams practice, including quality assurance, training, and technical direction. He is an expert in the analysis and design for dam engineering projects, with a focus on evaluation and rehabilitation of existing dams. His specialized experience includes dam safety, hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, hydraulic structures
(including extensive experience with labyrinth spillways), roller compacted concrete (RCC), gravity dam stability analysis, and dam rehabilitation design. He has performed and led assessments, evaluations, analyses, and design for more than 100 dams, including some of Schnabel’s largest new dam and dam rehabilitation projects. Of particular note, Greg led the 2013 and 2016 Peer Reviews of the USACE Dam Safety Program, which included managing the panel of reviewers, preparing the final report, and presenting the findings and recommendations to USACE senior leadership. He has also served on FERC Boards of Consultants and USACE Safety Assurance Review teams.
Paul Welle, PE
As an engineer for 30 years with a federal government agency—the Natural Resources Conservation Service under the U.S. Department of Agriculture—Paul understands projects from an owner’s point of view. While based at the NRCS Northeast National Technical Center, he was the in-house technical expert for surface water hydrology and hydraulics for the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. Since joining Schnabel in 1999, he has lent his expertise on domestic and international dam and watershed planning projects for federal, state, municipal, institutional, and corporate owners.
Carl Gustafson, PE
Carl recently retired from the NRCS after 40 years of service. He previously held various engineering positions (field engineer, project engineer, area engineer, assistant state conservation engineer) with the agency in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Idaho, and Washington. He has experience in all phases of the PL566 watershed program; Farm Bill programs such as EQIP, WHIP, WRP, irrigation and irrigation water management, stream channel stabilization, animal waste storage facilities, water control structures; and emergency watershed protection.
Scott Raschke, PhD, PE
Scott is Schnabel’s National Practice Leader for Levees, responsible for technical aspects of the firm’s levee practice. He has experience in a career spanning civil engineering consulting and academics, with an emphasis on geotechnical and geo-material applications. Scott is currently serving as Program/Project Manager and Expert Reviewer responsible for providing services on two successive five-year IDIQ contracts in support of the USACE Risk Management Center (RMC) on Dam and Levee Safety.
Wade Biddix
Wade is retired from the NRCS in Virginia, where he most recently served as assistant state conservationist managing the water resources programs and completing nine dam rehabilitation projects. From 1990 to 2001, he was coordinator for watershed planning in Virginia, including flood control, water quality, and land treatment projects. Wade is a repository of experience and knowledge pertaining to NRCS watershed rehabilitation policies and procedures, NEPA requirements, and how to work successfully with sponsors; stakeholders; the public; and government agencies.
Joseph Monroe, PE
Joe has been exclusively involved in the design of new dams, design of remedial measures for existing dams, and construction of dam and dam related components for the last 20 years. His design experience includes subsurface explorations and geotechnical evaluations, hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, hydraulic and structural design of spillways, and preparation of bidding and construction documents. Joe has been involved with dam projects throughout the United States and numerous countries throughout the world. In addition to design, He is recognized by the FERC as an Independent Consultant for Part 12D inspection of dams. Joe recently served as the Project Manager and Lead Engineer for a contract with the USACE Norfolk District supporting their Nationwide Dam Safety Program.
James Crowder, PE
Jimmy has over 20 years of experience in the design and construction of new dams, and for the rehabilitation of existing dams. He has served as project manager, reviewer, lead inspector, or lead engineer on more than 50 high-hazard dam projects, including 25 dam assessments for Georgia NRCS and 25 principal spillway video inspection reports for Tennessee NRCS. Current projects include the design and construction of spillway and embankment rehabilitations for the Soque River Watershed Dam Nos. 29 and 36; Bull Creek Watershed Dam Nos. 12 and 14, supporting Georgia NRCS in their development of a supplemental watershed plan and environmental evaluation.
Petr Masopust, PE, CFM
Petr brings more than 15 years of professional experience, having served in numerous roles a senior engineer and assistant project manager on numerous NRCS projects, including engineering analyses for development of Supplemental Watershed Project Plans for dams in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, dam assessments in Massachusetts, and dam rehabilitation of George H. Nichols Dam in Massachusetts. He specializes in hydrologic and hydraulic modeling; dam breach inundation mapping; dam inspections; dam rehabilitation design; flood hazard studies; and flood control planning and design. He is fully proficient in the use of NRCS SITES and WinDAM software, as well as other hydrologic and hydraulic tools, such as HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, and FLO-2D.