Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Memberships Affiliations
Licenses Clearances
Publications Papers
Community Service
Professional Overview
Certification
Louis Ogaard

Louis Ogaard

La Grande

Summary

Experience in a broad range of life sciences. These experiences include the use of algae as a feedstock for biofuels and reclamation of coal mine lands.

A proactive leader with expertise to troubleshoot, initiate change and implement redesign/quality improvement processes while maintaining a positive, safe and productive environment. An example of this was when I assumed the role of Director of the Abandoned Mine Lands Division of the North Dakota Public Service Commission. My predecessor was an attorney who focused on the rules and statutes to administer the program. As a botanist, I changed the focus to the quality of reclamation. Thousands of trees and shrubs were planted to control wind erosion and provide upland game habitat on sites reclaimed under this program. Wetlands were integrated into reclamation plans to control surface water runoff and provide waterfowl habitat. These changes resulted in an award from the federal government in a national competition. Construction services were procured from the private sector using competitive sealed bidding. The program administered for the State of North Dakota was one hundred percent federally funded and required annual grant application submissions to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), a federal agency of the Department of Interior. Submissions included National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) Environmental Assessments (EA´s) for each project proposed.

The content of these Environmental Assessments was based on collaboration with State and federal agencies and field work. Subchapter D of CERCLA was addressed on sites originally disturbed by uranium in the coal.

Self-taught in computer science. I taught the subject part-time at the collegiate level for eight years and owned a computer consultancy which supported a Clipper-based database program I wrote to track all aspects of a private medical practice, including electronic billing. Authored the first web site for the North Dakota Public Service Commission and wrote a Windows-based database program for the Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management (CEHMM) to track scientific, physical and meteorological data from open raceway ponds with algal cultures. Employed a team management approach as a supervisor.

Worked with undergraduates as an adjunct professor of mathematics at Bismarck State College.

Worked for the North Dakota Public Service Commission which regulated utilities. Served as Chief Procurement Officer for the Abandoned Mine Lands Division of the North Dakota Public Service Commission. I helped prepare bids, administer bid solicitation and hold public bid openings for construction services. These services were procured from the private sector. The Federal Acquisition Regulations were used as a template for the procurement policies and procedures of the Public Service Commission. Authored papers based on primary botanical research and delivered these papers at national symposia. The program I administered in North Dakota was one hundred percent federally funded and required consultation with State and federal agencies as part of the grant process.

Ph.D. Thesis Title: Rangeland Analysis and Land Cover: A Computerized Approach. Work entailed the use of remotely sensed data from the Bureau of Land Management to assess land use. These data allowed evaluation of the impact of coal mining on the rangeland land use.

Knowledge of NEPA (Categorical Exclusion, Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements), RCRA, CERCLA, Section 404 permitting, threatened and endangered species, NPDES discharge permits, the Archeological Resource Protection Act of 1979, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the CWA, and CAA (Title V).

Overview

41
41
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

LAO Consultants
05.2024 - Current
  • Review SWPPP documentation for required content
  • Provide advice about mine reclamation
  • Provide advice about renewable energy

Program Manager – Environmental Controls

Avangrid Renewables
05.2023 - 05.2024
  • Developed seed mixes to use to stabilize the ground where solar and wind farms were constructed
  • I handled permitting nationwide for the construction unit
  • SWPPP certified in OH, OR, TX and WA

Director General

Tom and Borghild Ogaard College
01.2017 - 05.2023
  • Company Overview: https://www.facebook.com/TBOCollege
  • Started a school that provided tutoring services for students of all ages and interests
  • Prepared students for the SAT and TOEFL examinations
  • Taught English as a second language
  • Https://www.facebook.com/TBOCollege

Program Manager

Maden Technologies
10.2014 - 06.2016
  • Company Overview: http://www.madentech.com
  • Administered support for the natural resource program at the U.S
  • Army´s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah
  • Work entailed the supervision of five scientific staff who support the base efforts to assess flora and fauna on the base
  • Instituted fire management techniques, and environmental restoration of areas impacted by military activity
  • As a private contractor we helped the federal employees meet elements of the Sykes Act, which governs environmental issues on the base
  • Http://www.madentech.com

Director Environmental Science

Louis Adolph & Asociados
04.2012 - 03.2014
  • Was an environmental consultant in Bolivia where I provided advice and solutions for areas impacted by past mining and the use of biofuel as an alternative to petroleum-based fuel

Senior Environmental Scientist

CEHMM
07.2008 - 07.2011
  • Company Overview: http://www.cehmm.org
  • Administered a research and development program to convert algae to biofuel for a year
  • Supervised nine staff made up of Ph.D
  • Engineers, scientists and technicians in this endeavor
  • Handled permit compliance, data management and authored grant applications and research papers
  • Wrote a Windows-based database program to track data collected from open raceway algal ponds
  • Http://www.cehmm.org

Director, Abandoned Mine Lands Division

North Dakota Public Service Comm.
12.1985 - 09.2006
  • Company Overview: https://www.psc.nd.gov
  • Administered a federally funded environmental restoration program of abandoned coal mines for the State of North Dakota with an annual budget of 1.6 million dollars
  • Supervised a staff of five scientists and engineers who both designed and managed construction projects
  • Construction services were procured from the private sector using competitive sealed bidding procedures
  • I was the Chief Procurement Officer
  • Information For Bidders (IFB´s) were published on the web site I designed for the North Dakota Public Service Commission
  • Https://www.psc.nd.gov

Adjunct Professor of Mathematics

Bismarck State College
09.1984 - 12.1992
  • Company Overview: https://bismarckstate.edu
  • Taught credit and non-credit computer science classes at the collegiate level
  • Credit courses included introductory classes in BASIC programming, spreadsheets, word processing and data management
  • Non-credit courses taught through an adult education program dealt with spreadsheets and advanced macro development, relational databases and their construction, and advance concepts in word processing
  • Https://bismarckstate.edu

Education

Ph.D. - Botany

North Dakota State University
GPA: 4.00

M.A. - Biology

University of Northern Iowa
GPA: 3.79

B.A. - Biology

Saint Olaf College

Stevenson and Cate preparatory schools
Graduated from Stevenson and Cate preparatory schools in California.

Skills

  • Programming Proficiency
  • Visual Basic Programming
  • Experienced in Clipper Coding
  • Visual dBASE Programming
  • DBASE Application Development Skills
  • Excel VBA Development
  • FrontPage Development Skills
  • Dreamweaver MX Experience
  • Skilled in MS Office Applications
  • Proficient in PowerPoint
  • Familiar with ArcGIS Software
  • Understanding of Arc SDE Functions
  • Proficient in Crystal Reports
  • Proficient in Microsoft Project
  • Proficient in WBS Pro Chart
  • Computer Hardware Construction
  • Coordination of Ecological Rehabilitation Projects
  • Oversight of Research and Development Initiatives
  • Project Execution
  • Employee Oversight
  • Team Leadership

Memberships Affiliations

  • Member, Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society
  • Lifetime Member, Beta Beta Beta, the National Honor Society of Biology
  • Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Nominated to Strathmore's 'Who's Who', 1999 – 2000
  • Nominated to Cambridge's 'Who's Who', 2010 – 2011

Licenses Clearances

  • Class C coaching license, issued by the United States Soccer Federation
  • Extra Class amateur radio license, issued by the Federal Communications Commission
  • Certified soccer referee
  • Driver's licenses in the United States and Bolivia
  • Top Secret DOD clearance, 1969 – 1972
  • Interim Secret clearance and CAC card, 2014 - 2016

Publications Papers

  • Ogaard, L.A. The ins and outs of job hunting. Iowa Association for School, College and University (IASCUS).
  • Ehni, R.J., L.A. Ogaard, and W.C. Nelson. Effects of alternative cropping patterns and management decisions on soil erosion and revenue, Region VII. Department of Agricultural Economics, Ag. Econ. Rpt. No. 136, North Dakota State University (NDSU), Fargo. 60 p.
  • Ehni, R.J., L.A. Ogaard, and W. Becker. Costs associated with the procurement, collection, and transportation of biomass materials. In Biomass Resource Availability Feasibility Assessment, Tri-College Center for Environmental Studies, NDSU, Fargo. 250 p.
  • Ogaard, L.A. Strip mining impact on rangeland: a computerized approach. Paper presented to the 11th Annual Meeting of the Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, Minneapolis.
  • Ehni, R.J., L.A. Ogaard, N.B. Nelson, and W.C. Nelson. Impacts of coal development in western North Dakota: development and application of the Resource Inventory Monitoring and Analysis System (RIMAS). Department of Agricultural Economics, NDSU, Fargo. (Prepared for the Environmental Protection Agency)
  • Ogaard, L.A. and W.C. Nelson. Rangeland inventory for the coal mining area of western North Dakota. Department of Agricultural Economics, NDSU, Fargo. (Prepared for the Environmental Protection Agency)
  • Ogaard, L.A. A synopsis of selected methodology and research potentially applicable to the study of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region. Paper presented at a Wetlands Symposium, Department of Agricultural Economics, NDSU, Fargo. 24 p.
  • Ogaard, L.A. Soils, microbiology, and chemistry of Prairie Pothole Wetlands: research methods and annotated bibliography. Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report No. 84, Agricultural Experiment Station, NDSU, Fargo. 30 p.
  • Ogaard, L.A. Wetland vegetation of the Prairie Pothole Region: research methods and annotated bibliography. Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report No. 85, Agricultural Experiment Station, NDSU, Fargo. 50 p.
  • Ogaard, L.A. Fauna of the Prairie Pothole Region: research methods and annotated bibliography. Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report No. 86, Agricultural Experiment Station, NDSU, Fargo. 23 p.
  • Ogaard, L.A. Rangeland analysis and land cover: a computerized approach. Pages 1029-1034 in T. Braun(ed), Proceedings of the In-Place Resource Inventories: Principles and Practices, A National Workshop, University of Maine, Orono.
  • Ogaard, L.A. Wetland forage importance in a drought year. Ag. Econ. Misc. Rpt. No. 56, Department of Agricultural Economics, NDSU, Fargo. 15 p.
  • Costain, D.B., L.A. Ogaard, J.B. West and A.D. Klein. DEAR REV-1: a computer system to assist in reclamation planning of post-mine topography. Pages 139-142 in D.H. Graves (ed), Proceedings of the National Symposium on Surface Mining Hydrology, Sedimentology and Reclamation, Lexington, Kentucky.
  • Ogaard, L.A. and N.M. Safaya. Computer applications in the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation: the North Dakota experience. Proceedings of the American Society of Agronomy, Washington, D.C. (Abstract).
  • Ogaard, L.A., S. Kahl, M. Spry, and M. Knell. Computer applications of the North Dakota AML and regulatory programs. Itinerant Reclamation Notes (3).
  • L.A. Ogaard, K.J. Hirsch and N.M. Safaya. Standards for evaluation of revegetation success and recommended procedures for pre- and post-mining vegetation assessments. Public Service Commission, Bismarck, ND.
  • Ogaard, L.A. Reclamation of abandoned coal mines in North Dakota. Paper presented to the Soil and Water Conservation Chapter of North Dakota, Mandan.
  • Ogaard, L.A. The Abandoned Mine Program in North Dakota in Geology and Utilization of Fort Union Lignites, R.B. Finkelmann, S.J. Tewalt and D.J. Daley(Editors).
  • Dodd, W. E. and L.A. Ogaard. Evaluating Reclamation Success at Three AML sites in North Dakota prepared for the Proceedings of the National Association of Abandoned Mine Lands Programs, 20th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM, 1998.
  • Ogaard, L.A. North Dakota has a new look on the internet. Page 4 in NAAMLP Newsletter Vol. 22, No. 2, Fall, 2000.
  • Dodd, W.E. and Ogaard, L.A. 2003. Evaluating Reclamation Success at Three AML Sites in North Dakota in 1998 and 2003 prepared for the Proceedings of 25th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs, Louisville, KY.
  • Ogaard, L.A. 2007. A view from Bolivia. The Bismarck Tribune (26 August 2007), Section E.
  • Ferrell, J. and V. Sarisky-Reed. 2010. National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap. U.S. Department of Energy. Proceedings from national meeting, Baltimore, MD, December 9 – 10, 2008 – L. Ogaard participant. 124 p.
  • Ogaard, L.A. and M. R. Dowlapalli. 2009. Algal growth and harvesting in open raceway ponds in southeastern New Mexico. Prepared for RenewableEnergyWorld.com.
  • Ogaard, L.A. 2009. Algae Biodiesel: A Path to Commercialization. Paper presented at the Second Algae Initiative Workshop, Oregon State University, July 30, 2009.
  • Ogaard, L.A.. 2010. 'Algae to Biofuel, United States', p. 74-75 in United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Environment and Natural Resources Management Working Paper 44, Algae-based Biofuels: Applications and Co-products, July, 2010. 121 p.

Community Service

  • Volunteer soccer coach, 1976 – 1981, Fargo, North Dakota
  • Volunteer soccer coach, 1981 – 1987, Bismarck, North Dakota
  • Boys Varsity soccer coach, 1987 – 2000, Bismarck High School, North Dakota
  • Boys and girls soccer coach, 2000 – 2006, Mandan High School, North Dakota

Professional Overview

Experience in a broad range of life sciences, including the use of algae as a feedstock for biofuels and reclamation of coal mine lands. A proactive leader with expertise to troubleshoot, initiate change and implement redesign/quality improvement processes while maintaining a positive, safe and productive environment., Director of the Abandoned Mine Lands Division, North Dakota Public Service Commission, Changed the focus to the quality of reclamation, resulting in thousands of trees and shrubs planted to control wind erosion and provide upland game habitat., Chief Procurement Officer, North Dakota Public Service Commission, Prepared bids, administered bid solicitation and held public bid openings for construction services., Adjunct Professor of Mathematics, Bismarck State College, Worked with undergraduates as an adjunct professor.

Certification

SWPPP in several States

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Louis Ogaard