James (Jim) Walls, P.Geo., QP

My Role and Responsibilities

My name is Jim, and I am Burnside’s Vice President, Environment, and a Senior Project Manager with over 25 years of environmental and hydrogeological experience in Canada and abroad. I am a Professional Geoscientist, a Qualified Person as per O. Reg. 153/04 and O. Reg. 406/19, and a municipally appointed Risk Management Official/Risk Management Inspector (RMO/RMI) under the Clean Water Act.

I have many years of experience as a peer review consultant for the environmental, hydrogeological, and geotechnical aspects of a wide variety of development applications, including residential, commercial, and industrial. I have also been involved as a stakeholder in the development of Ontario’s Excess Soil regulation, and in the development of Best Practices for the backfilling of aggregate pits. I work closely with excess soil generators, receivers, and municipalities that are permitting excess soil sites.

I am highly experienced at conducting Environmental Site Assessment and remediation projects at a variety of sites involving contaminated soil and groundwater. My projects have involved the delineation of contamination, the analysis of remedial options, the development and oversight of remediation strategies, and post-remedial assessments. My project experience includes work on industrial sites contaminated with a variety of chemicals, in urban and remote areas of northern Canada, South America, and the Caribbean. I also have extensive experience in working with landfills, including Environmental Assessments, siting, design, rehabilitation, and closure.

My Interests and Hobbies

I am involved in a number of professional initiatives outside of my primary role, including working with stakeholder committees with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks on the development and implementation of new regulations such as Ontario Regulation 406/19 Onsite and Excess Soil Management.

Outside of work, my hobbies generally involve being active such as playing hockey, long distance running, and cycling. I am also active on race committees for two charitable fundraising races each year with the Brampton Benders Running Club.

I have been happily married for over 30 years and I have three wonderful children.