James has over 34 years of experience as an air quality modeling expert. He began his career in 1987 with the then-Texas Air Control Board where he performed modeling, provided modeling guidance to permit applicants and consultants, reviewed modeling submitted in support of permits, and testified as an expert witness in several contested case permit hearings. Part of his responsibilities also included maintaining and updating the Texas Episodic Model (TEM). James also was involved in that agency’s first steps into photochemical grid modeling, specifically the Urban Airshed Model (UAM), and its associated Emissions Processing System (EPS). James later supervised the 12-person Permit Modeling team, followed by the SIP Meteorological Modeling team, and the SIP (Photochemical) Modeling team. He served as technical project manager for the Beaumont-Port Arthur and North East Texas ozone SIP revisions. He has a rare combination of experience in both plume modeling and photochemical eulerian grid modeling.
In 2005, James became an air modeling consultant and provided dispersion modeling for a diverse group of projects, including a major refinery expansion, a liquefied natural gas terminal, ethanol plants, asphalt plants, petrochemical plants, petroleum coke production, and waste management facilities. James is currently the primary instructor of the AERMOD training courses.
