Donna Stephenson

Donna A. Stephenson, Member
Donna A. Stephenson

  dstephenson@burnsidegroup.com

Donna Stephenson is an expert in Clean Water Act matters, wastewater treatment, wet weather regulations, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), as well as media sample collection and handling.

During her 20-year U.S. Environmental Protection Agency career, Ms. Stephenson worked at the EPA National Enforcement Investigation Center (NEIC), the nation’s premier, internationally accredited environmental forensics laboratory which conducts complex civil and criminal enforcement investigations and applied research in support of environmental enforcement.  As a professional civil engineer at NEIC, Ms. Stephenson led teams of engineers and scientists on inspections of large, complex industrial facilities to evaluate compliance with environmental laws.  She provided technical support for hundreds of investigations and provided litigation support to civil and criminal investigations and enforcement cases on the local, state, and federal levels.  She routinely provided oversight for evidence collection, including media samples to verify compliance with Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clean Air Act (CAA), and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Media sampled include water, wastewater, hazardous material and hazardous waste, asbestos, PCBs, and soil. In addition to sample collection, Ms. Stephenson was responsible for documenting site conditions, maintaining custody and delivering samples to the laboratory, and preparing reports of findings.  She has testified as both a fact and expert witness in judicial proceedings.

Ms. Stephenson is widely recognized as an expert in wastewater sampling and data interpretation, as well as sample collection and handling.  She has trained inspectors, law enforcement personnel, scientists, and attorneys at the national and international levels.

Prior to joining EPA, Ms. Stephenson was a civil engineer with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. During her 11 years of Corps of Engineers experience, Ms. Stephenson worked in both the Hydraulics and Geotechnical Branches. She was responsible for the design of foundations for large civil structures, as well as flood control works.

Because of her background helping to investigate civil and criminal environmental violations, she can provide:

  • Oversight and consultation for environmental sampling events to “mirror” government enforcement activities
  • Guidance on federal and state enforcement actions related to the Clean Water Act
  • A review of government sampling events, procedures, and results to ensure proper protocols were followed
  • Snapshot assessments of environmental practices in place to ensure on-going compliance with regulations

Education and Professional Registration
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Mississippi State University, 1982
Professional Engineer, Mississippi, 1986 (Current)
OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER)

pdf Donna Stephenson’s Bio/CV