Frank Groffie, PG, CEG                  Geology consulting                      Clarity, communication, closure.                             Contact us ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
About   Fault investigation   Landslide investigation   Rock-slope analysis   Seismic hazard analysis   Site characterization   General geosupport	General “geosupport” and miscellaneous  Frank Groffie has given close support to engineers and clients in exploring and analyzing their sites. He has  prepared documentation and attended meetings to satisfy political stakeholders and decision makers. He’s  managed and participated in environmental site studies and remediation programs. View some examples, below.
	Peer review  ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Counties and cities in California, with their departments of development,  planning, building, and engineering, use a peer-review process to check that  reports submitted to them meet the standard of care.    Frank Groffie1,2 has often been selected to review the work of other profes-  sional geologists in a semiofficial capacity for local jurisdictions/agencies:  County of Alameda, Town of Danville, City of Fairfield, Town of Orinda, and  City of Martinez. One site was a proposed alignment of a domestic water  supply pipeline. Groffie warned project professionals that part of the pipe-  line would cross a large, previously unrecognized landslide, and he recommended detailed subsurface inves-  tigation of that zone. The project professionals subsequently performed downhole logging and confirmed the  landslide’s presence. Another site was a hillside associated with large-scale residential development. The hillside  is underlain by extensive, deep landslides that reactivated during site grading. We reviewed the work of project  professionals and encouraged them to better characterize and install instrumentation in the landslide zone.  In another instance, Groffie, in a review capacity, helped a project geologist working in the Verona fault zone to  distinguish between discontinuities (cracks) of various origins. Shears and cracks seen in a trench may be due  to active faulting or any of several other geologic processes.
	Office analysis  ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Depending on the project, much analysis may lie behind our  investigation and our eventual recommendations. As needed,  we analyze where graded cuts and fills will go, old fill warrants removal and replacement, hard rock could cause slow grading, expansive claystone will be exposed in building pads, unstable graded cut slopes may need to be “laid back,” unstable slopes may need buttressing, building pad edges may need stabilizing, deflection berms should be installed, lots may need to be deleted, as geologically impractical, shallow groundwater will require subdrainage, naturally occurring asbestos will require special handling, offsite geologic issues will impact our site, and vice versa, landslide issues require various countermeasures, and potential fault rupture zones require setbacks.  We measure and calculate earthwork quantities and develop cost estimates. This work is a fascinating, rubber  meets-the-road blend of       ● professional judgment   ● years of hands-on personal experience with local conditions   ● research       ● heuristics   ● the newest high-tech office digital software   ● handheld digital calculators       ● paper-and-pencil work   ● measurements using low-tech analog planimeters, scales, and protractors.         Many firms and professionals in our business skimp on these steps. We don’t. We prefer to maximize critical  information and minimize surprises for our clients.
	Hard, slow-to-excavate rock, and depth to bedrock   ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Some sites contain hard rock that makes for slow excavation. Your contractors  and you will wish to know where these troublesome rocks are, in advance.  We’ve estimated rock hardness and rippability on dozens of sites, using portable  digital tools. We like to use seismic-refraction equipment from Geometrics®  and the software they supply, from Rimrock®.  Using the data we generate, we advise our clients and their contractors where  grading progress may be slow and the biggest Caterpillar® dozers may be  needed. Or where overexcavating hard rock and replacing it with engineered fill  will ease placement of foundations and underground utility lines.  We’ve also used this technology to find soil thicknesses over bedrock, in other words, depth to bedrock. For  instance, we’ve used this method to find depths of landslides and hidden loose quarry fill deposits.
	EIR documentation support, Leona Quarry, Oakland  ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Frank Groffie1 developed geologic input to the EIR (environmental impact report) for the Leona Quarry project,  Oakland. He then developed responses to comments from the community and attended community meetings and  handled geologic objections when they were raised. Efforts resulted in goahead for quarry reclamation, site  grading, and residential construction.
	Radioactive waste management studies  ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Groffie3 helped in studies and preparing reports, submitted to the  U.S. Department of Energy, for addressing the issues of trans-  porting, treating, and disposing of the nation’s stockpile of nuclear  waste. Sites spanned across the U.S.  Site geologic conditions were one issue. Comparisons of waste  thermal treatment technologies were a primary focus. One such  REPORT may be found here.
	Environmental issues, former manufacturing sites, San Jose  ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Locations shown in the photos below are now the sites of new developments. About 15 years ago, they were  occupied by facilities for constructing the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle for the U.S. Army. Various units  involving hazardous materials required decommissioning and demolition, including fluid tanks, sumps, and spray  booths. Groffie3 participated in engineering and management of decommissioning and demolition efforts.  Soil and groundwater impacts were remediated using soil excavation, groundwater pump-and-treat, and soil-  vapor extraction systems. Groffie3 managed operation and maintenance of these systems, monitoring of treated  effluent water into stormwater, groundwater monitoring and modeling, and preparation of reports for submittal  to RWQCB4 and BAAQMD.5
	1. As employee of Berlogar Geotechnical Consultants, client legal relationship with that firm. Relevant technical documents on file as       public record with applicable public agencies.   2. As employee of Harza Engineering Company, Inc., client relationship with that firm, since absorbed into other corporate entities.       Relevant technical documents on file as public record with applicable public agencies.   3. As employee of Morrison Knudsen Corporation, client legal relationship with that firm, since absorbed into other corporate entities.       Relevant technical documents on file as public record with applicable public agencies.   4. Regional Water Quality Control Board.   5. Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Frank Groffie, PG, CEG, MSc, is Professional Geologist 4930 and Certified Engineering Geologist 1539, in good standing since initiation in 1989, with the State of California Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists    Web page last modified January 26, 2013.