ROBERT J SAUNDERS, P.Eng Senior Associate / Geotechnical Engineer M.Eng (Geotechnical Engineering) 1989, University Of Alberta B.Sc (Civil Engineering) 1981, University Of Calgary PROFILE Mr Saunders is a senior geotechnical engineer with over 35 years of experience applying the principles of geotechnical engineering to the design and construction of civil engineering projects He has worked on a wide range of projects in northern and western Canada, primarily oil and gas, pipeline and mining related He has also undertaken site investigation/assessments for bridge and compressor station foundations, waste water and tailings ponds, cofferdams, and waste dumps He has extensive experience with slope stability assessment and remediation, having worked much of his career with landslides, especially related to pipeline projects Mr Saunders has extensive experience with directionally drilled pipeline crossings involving major streams over the past 20 years He also has considerable permafrost and northern engineering experience and has been involved in geothermal modelling of global warming phenomena, design of ventilated pads for drill rigs in the Beaufort Delta, thaw settlement predictions associated with warm pipeline operation and the inspection of slurry freeze-back piles on Baffin Island Mr Saunders’ Master’s of Engineering Project was on the performance of wheel ditchers in permafrost PIPELINE PROJECTS • HMM/TransCanada - Terrain, geohazard and trenchless feasibility assessment for 80 km Liege Lateral pipeline near Fort McMurray (ongoing) • HMM/TransCanada -Terrain, geohazard and trenchless feasibility assessments for 250 km Merrick Pipeline Project from Dawson Creek to Prince George, BC • Stantec/Regional Municipal District of Wood Buffalo – Horizontal Directional Drill assessment of twin 750 mm sanitary forcemain crossing of the Athabasca River in the City of Fort McMurray • Stantec/City of Calgary – Horizontal Directional Drill and geohazard assessment of several crossings of the Western Headworks Canal system, two crossings of the CPR mainline and a major crossing of the Bow River for the Bonnybrook Sludge Forcemain (ongoing) • ATCO Pipelines – Horizontal Directional Drilling and geohazard assessments for over 75 projects including major crossings of the Athabasca, Blindman, Oldman, Elbow, Crowsnest Lake, North Saskatchewan and Red Deer Rivers Also involved with the trenchless feasibility assessments for large diameter pipe for several major Ring Road projects in Calgary and Edmonton • Pembina Pipelines – Horizontal Directional Drilling assessments of Deep Valley Creek, Goose River, Swan River and unnamed stream near Grand Cache • Pembina Pipelines – Detailed geohazard assessments for 13 high priority slope stability sites associated with major rivers in Central Alberta • Great Lakes Gas Transmission – Geotechnical hazard overview of major natural gas pipeline in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan • Panhandle Pipeline - Geotechnical assessment of pipeline service incident near Kansas City, Missouri for CMS Energy • BC Gas Southern Crossing Project – Provided geotechnical input for the restoration of sidehill cuts and approach slopes to streams during clean-up restoration phases of project • TransCanada PipeLines - System wide Phase I and II Geotechnical Hazard Assessments of the TCPL Eastern system from Empress, Alberta to termination points in Ontario and Quebec • TransCanada PipeLines - Detailed geotechnical investigations at the pipeline crossings of the Red River, Assiniboine River (2), La Salle River, Postagoni River, Nagagami River, Frederick House River, Kapuskasing River, Englehart River, Big East River, Jessop Creek and Soper Creek in Manitoba and Ontario TRANSMISSION AND TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS • East Palliser Transmission Line - Terrain and geohazard assessment for a 100 km 240 kV transmission line • MVA consulting/AltaLink, Banff-Sunshine Transmission Line Replacement - Terrain and geohazard assessment for 57 km long upgrade through Banff National Park along the Bow River • HMM/CP Rail - Terrain assessment and geotechnical investigation for a spur line through landslide terrain and deep soft sediments of Qu’Appelle River Valley in southern Saskatchewan • Alberta Transportation - Annual geohazard inspections of several landslide sites in the Peace River area NORTHERN AND PERMAFROST ENGINEERING • Alaska Pipeline Project – Thaw settlement and permafrost related issues associated with calculating in-ditch quantities for preliminary cost estimate in Alaska, Yukon and BC • Mackenzie Gas Project – Borehole database development and geotechnical route design issues including thaw settlement, frost heave, pipe protection and trenchability • Trenching in Permafrost Study – Analysis of all northern field trials and case histories of excavating trenches in permafrost with wheel ditchers and chain trenchers • Unipkat B-12 Wellsite - Geothermal analysis and design of a ventilated foundation system for a drilling pad for an exploratory well in the Mackenzie River Delta for Shell Canada Ltd • Foothills Gas Pipeline Project – Permafrost engineering design including thaw settlement, frost heave and load displacement functions for a ‘warm gas’ pipeline in the Yukon • Norman Wells Pipeline Project - Permafrost engineering design including thaw settlement analyses, construction inspection including ditchwall logging and post-construction wood chip monitoring • Geological Survey of Canada – Compilation and digitizing of the Norman Wells Pipeline ditchwall logs, review of wheel ditcher performance in discontinuous permafrost on the Norman Wells Pipeline Project, Norman Wells, NWT to Zama, Alberta • ACETS Project - Development of a slope stability model for ARCO which coupled geothermal response to right-of-way disturbance with limit equilibrium methods Model took into account the generation of excess pore pressures due to initial thawing and seismicity effects • Clyde River School – Pile load testing and inspection of slurry freeze-back steel pipe piles in adverse saline permafrost environment on Baffin Island (Clyde River, NWT) • Eldor Mines – Supervised a large scale winter offshore geotechnical investigation for the implementation of a cofferdam structure to facilitate uranium mining below Wollaston Lake in northern Saskatchewan • Cluff Lake Mine – Supervised a large scale summer offshore (barge-based) geotechnical investigation for determining the feasibility of construction of a cofferdam or earth structure to facilitate open pit mining below Cluff Lake in northern Saskatchewan for AMOK • IPL SEP III Project – Geothermal modelling of the ground temperature response of multiple hot oil pipelines in a common right-of-way from Edmonton, Alberta to Gretna, Manitoba MINING • • • • • Spyhill Integrated Landfill and Gravel Mine - Development of integrated mine plans to maximize gravel production and maintain a useable pit for landfilling Suncor Oil Sands Mine - Involved in stability and seepage analyses and modelling of pitslopes, tailing ponds (in-pit and Tar Island Dyke) through various stages of development Also involved in the design and construction of foundations within the plantsite Syncrude Oil Sands Mine – Supervised 17 engineers/technicians for the 1983 highwall monitoring contract Undertook large scale specialized plate loading tests in Syncrude’s tailing and mine areas Involved with specialized monitoring of dragline and electric shovel operation by installing load pressure cells under equipment and monitoring during excavation/swing cycles Eldor Mines Wollaston Lake - Involved in geotechnical investigation including offshore drilling through the ice and design of cofferdams for mine pit expansion into Wollaston Lake, Alberta AMOK Cluff Lake - Involved in offshore drilling from a barge in support of mine pit expansion into Cluff Lake, Saskatchewan EMPLOYMENT RECORD 2006 - Present Senior Associate/Geotechnical Engineer, Thurber Engineering Ltd., Calgary 2000 - 2006 Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Geo-Engineering (M.S.T.) Ltd., Calgary 1996 - 2000 Senior Geotechnical Engineer/Manager, Bruce Geotechnical Consultants Inc 1995 - 1996 Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Klohn-Crippen Consultants Ltd., Calgary 1988 - 1995 Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Geo-Engineering (MST) Ltd., Calgary 1987 - 1988 Geotechnical Engineer, Hardy BBT Ltd., Calgary 1986 - 1987 Graduate Studies, University of Alberta 1981 - 1986 Geotechnical Engineer, Hardy Associates (1978) Ltd., Calgary/Ft McMurray PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (P.Eng.) Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (P.Eng.), Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of the N.W.T & Nunavut (P.Eng.) Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (P.Eng.) Member of the Canadian Geotechnical Society