Bence brings more than 32 years of science and engineering consulting experience focused primarily in mining, oil and gas, and water development with a proven track record in successful development and implementation of high value solutions.

REPRESENTATIVE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Mr. Close is experienced with due diligence, project plans, engineering, permitting, construction, and remedial actions for various resource and infrastructure development projects, including base and precious metal mines; rock quarries; construction sand and gravel mines; industrial mineral mines; coal mines; in-situ uranium mines; frac sand mines; oil shale; heavy oil; shale oil/gas; conventional oil and gas; wind energy; and frac sand and oil processing, storage and transloading facilities. His waste management experience includes underground injection of waste liquids and gases, management/disposal of exploration and production wastewaters, mine waste consolidation and capping, mine tunnel rehabilitation/plugging, water treatment/management, and hazardous and non-hazardous waste landfills. For oil and gas development and chemical manufacturing facilities, Mr. Close has designed and certified injection wells and pre-injection treatment systems for process water and waste liquid/gas disposal. He has also performed large-scale, complex cleanup actions for numerous clients and client groups, involving site characterization, contaminant culpability, feasibility studies, public involvement, remedial design, disturbed land reclamation, natural stream reconstruction, aquatic/riparian enhancements, construction contracting and management, and litigation support.

Mr. Close is experienced in litigation support, judiciary hearings, and forensic investigations. He has testified on two occasions as an expert in Federal District Court on CERCLA mine site remediation/reclamation and consistency with the NCP. He has provided written and oral testimony on numerous occasions before the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety and the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, and expert witness support on numerous Water Court cases involving the effects of water diversions and transfers on surface water and groundwater quality. Mr. Close also has provided litigation support on construction claims and numerous mine site and groundwater contamination matters, and worked closely with legal counsel on large scale due diligence assessments for various oil & gas and mineral resource developments.

Most of Mr. Close’s practice has been focused across the Rocky Mountain West and Texas, but also including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Key aspects of Mr. Close’s expertise include:

• Project team management
• Project feasibility and due diligence studies
• Permitting for mine site and energy development
• Environmental permitting and regulatory compliance
• Mine site hydrology and dewatering
• Groundwater modeling
• Contaminant hydrogeology
• Mine and smelter site closures
• Contaminated site assessment and cleanup
• UIC permitting and well integrity testing
• Exploration and production waste disposal and management
• Water resource studies and water supply development
• Infrastructure and facilities engineering
• Construction contracting and management
• Forensic/culpability assessments
• Litigation support

Mr. Close has prepared numerous papers and given presentations on a variety of topics, including mine site investigation and remediation, waste management, voluntary cleanups, groundwater modeling, mine dewatering, and landfill monitoring in complex geologic settings.

EDUCATION

• M.S. Civil Engineering, Colorado State University, 1985
• B.S. Earth Resources (Watershed Science), Colorado State University, 1983

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

• Environmental Achievement Award: U.S. EPA Region 8
• Mined Land Reclamation Award: Colorado Mining Association and Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board
• Guest speaker for multiple associations/conferences

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS

Aggregate Industries
Agrium, Inc.
AngloGold Ashanti NA, Inc.
Arch Coal
ASARCO Incorporated
Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll
BFI Waste Systems of North America
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Climax Molybdenum Company
Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP
Deere and Ault Consultants, Inc.
Dyer Ellis & Joseph, PC
Encana Oil & Gas, Inc.
GCC Rio Grande, Inc.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
Hecla Mining Company
Holcim Cement Company
Holland & Hart LLP
Ineos USA LLC
Kinder Morgan
Lafarge North America
Lyons Gaddis Kahn & Hall, PC
Marathon Oil Company
Nalco Champion LLC
Newmont Mining Corp.
Northwestern Resources
NL Industries
Pergan Marshall
Phelps Dodge Corp.
Pillsbury, Shaw Winthrop Pittman LLP
Pioneer Energy
Rio Grande Silver, Inc.
Shell Oil Company
Strata Technologies
Temkin & Hardt LLP
Texas Utilities Mining Company
Unimin Corporation
U.S. Ecology
U.S. Energy Corp.
Weegar Eide & Associates
Wood Group ESP, Inc.

BENCE V. CLOSE, P.E.
Principal
(970) 290-6239
bclose@closegroupllc.com

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