Robert I. Haddad

Biography

 Dr. Haddad has focused on the strategic evaluation and tactical resolution of environmental problems for nearly 30 years; initially as an internal consultant for Unocal’s Corporate Environmental Remediation and Technology group, later as an external consultant for industry in the private sector, and for the past 8 years, as the head of NOAA’s Assessment & Restoration Division (ARD) and as one of three leads for NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, Restoration Program (DARRP). The skills brought by Dr. Haddad to these various efforts included expertise in Forensic Geochemistry and chemometrics, as well as the ability to strategically assess, manage, and resolve complex environmental challenges. This unique skill set was built upon a solid scientific foundation in organic geochemistry and petroleum exploration obtained at UCLA (geology), UNC-CH (chemical oceanography), Stanford (post-doctoral study), and as a National Research Council Fellow (post-doctoral study). During his career, Dr. Haddad has been involved in and helped resolve complex CERCLA environmental assessments, has successfully led complex Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs), and has provided litigation support in the roles of both expert and consulting witness.  Most recently, Dr. Haddad led the damage assessment program for NOAA on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; the largest accidental marine oil spill in history and the largest NRDA in US history. In this leadership role, Dr. Haddad interacted extensively within the NOAA science community (NMFS, OAR, IOOS), the broader federal (USCG, DOI, USDA, EPA, and NRC/National Academy of Science), academia (e.g., Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative), and state (TX, LA, MS, AL, and FL) governmental science communities. Additionally, he worked closely with senior leadership from across the government on various aspects of the case; including the White House (the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Science & Technology Policy), Congress, and DOJ where cross-cutting issues of national significance were addressed. During DWH, Dr. Haddad not only managed a budget of over $120M per year and oversaw the supervision of over 300 FTEs, but he also briefed Senior Members of the Administration, Congress, state and local leaders. As part of the US Government’s senior strategic group for this NRDA, Dr. Haddad was directly involved with developing and implementing the strategy that ultimately resulted in the settlement of the NRDA case between the Trustees and BP.  Prior to joining NOAA, Dr. Haddad provided litigation support and expertise in environmental forensics, human health and ecological risk assessments, and NRD assessments (under both OPA and CERCLA regulatory environments) to regional, national, and international clients. He has participated in cases involving the fate and transport of petroleum, metals (e.g., lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium), and PCBs with a focus on both source evaluation and liability assessment and allocation. This work has used a variety of technical tools, including stable and radioactive isotopes, petroleum biomarkers, high resolution gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, GCxGC mass spectrometry, etc. In the private sector, Dr. Haddad has worked for many corporations, including Unocal, Tesoro, Chevron, BP, Shell, Sherwin Williams, as well as confidential clients and several mining concerns. This work generally focused on both recent and historical releases associated with refineries, chemical plants, tank farms, MGP facilities, mining areas, etc., and was aimed at resolution of the client’s environmental liability. He has also provided support to several international P&I Clubs in response to vessel-based spills.  Based on his work in both the private sector and for NOAA, Dr. Haddad has developed a strong national and international reputation. In 2015, Dr. Haddad was honored as the employee of the year for NOAA’s National Ocean Service. And during his career, he has provided support and recommendations to the European Union and to foreign governments, including the Republic of South Korea, Thailand, and The Peoples Republic of China, on various aspects of damage assessment and environmental assessment.

Research Interest

 Environmental & Earth Sciences