MARK GREY, Ph.D., PRINCIPAL TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Mark Grey is the Technical Director for the Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality (CICWQ). In this capacity, Dr. Grey represents the interests of the construction industry in southern California, principally working in the areas of water quality regulatory affairs and water quality policy development.
Dr. Grey also directs original applied research projects, working collaboratively in the past with San Diego State University and most recently with Orange County Public Works. A primary work focus and area of demonstrated success is Dr. Grey’s collaboration with water quality stakeholders who have similar interest areas, goals, and the development of funding and financing strategies to pursue areas of mutual interest.
Dr. Grey brings a wealth of environmental science and policy development knowledge to CICWQ in the fields of water and air quality protection, with more than 30 years of experience working in the Pacific Northwest and California. Having published peer-reviewed papers in the fields of stormwater quality, organic waste recycling, and atmospheric science, Dr. Grey is able to represent the interests of the construction industry throughout California in the complex regulatory setting which exists. Moreover, Dr. Grey has directed multiple integrated projects and studies examining water quality practices used in land development and land utilization.
Since 2010, Dr. Grey has forged a close working relationship between CICWQ and Orange County Public Works, Stormwater Program. CICWQ helped the County implement several aspects of its MS4 compliance program through work focusing on 1) the cost of compliance with LID requirements at a range of land development scales in the County and 2) how to increase the capture and retention or infiltration of urban stormwater runoff from existing, developed areas in the County. This work integrates watershed-scale hydraulic analysis, site engineering and feasibility analysis, and economics including benefit-cost analysis, and has led to several publications, technical reports, and many presentations at technical and academic conferences in California, the United States, and the People’s Republic of China.
Starting in 2007, Dr. Grey directed and managed the construction industry’s technical response to the General Construction Stormwater Permit enforced by the California State Water Resources Control Board, obtaining key changes and provisions to protect construction interests. In 2010, Dr. Grey developed CICWQ’s educational training program and curricula for General Permit compliance, which requires construction workers who plan and install BMPs to obtain specific educational training credentials. Since that time, CICWQ has trained more than 1000 industry professionals from the public and private sectors, often working with local public works agencies to produce educational events.
In the area of post-construction stormwater runoff management and regulation, Dr. Grey has led the construction industry’s advocacy and policy development activities since 2006 in multiple jurisdictions in southern California, including NPDES MS4 permits issued in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties. These complex permitting actions require the development of detailed technical information, interpretation for a variety of audiences, and public presentation including testimony at State and Regional Board workshops and hearings.
In February 2008, Dr. Grey was appointed to the state of California’s Storm Water Advisory Task Force that advises the State Water Board on program priorities, funding criteria, project selection, and interagency coordination of state programs that address stormwater management. Dr. Grey is a trustee of the Southern California Water Committee (appointed in 2007) representing the Business Sector and since 2006 has served as a governing board member for the Council for Watershed Health, based in Los Angeles.
Before representing CICWQ, Dr. Grey operated his own consulting firm and was the Director of Technical Services for Houston-based Synagro Technologies, Inc., the nation’s largest publicly traded company involved in organic waste recycling. Dr. Grey was responsible for all permitting, regulatory compliance, and government affairs activities related to Synagro’s business operations on the west coast, principally in California and Arizona. Through his consulting assignments and work for Synagro, Dr. Grey developed a strong understanding of the complex regulatory process that exists in California.
CICWQ is an advocacy, education, and research 501(c)(6) non-profit group of trade associations representing builders and trade contractors, home builders, labor unions, landowners, and project developers. The CICWQ membership is comprised of members of four construction and building industry trade associations in southern California: The Associated General Contractors of California, Building Industry Association of Southern California, Engineering Contractors Association, and Southern California Contractors Association, as well as the United Contractors located in San Ramon. Collectively, members of these associations build a significant portion of the transportation, public and private infrastructure, and commercial and residential land development projects in California.
EDUCATION:
Ph.D. in Soil Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. 1999
M.S. in Forest Ecosystem Analysis, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. 1995
B.A. in English, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA. 1984
