Nicole Copeland
Director - Due Diligence, Compliance & Regulatory Services
Ms. Copeland is a Director of Due Diligence at VERTEX with 26 years of experience in the environmental field. She has a successful track record of completing projects on-time, multi-tasking, exceeding the expectations of company owners and clients while achieving outstanding overall results. Ms. Copeland currently manages due diligence related projects in the Mid-Atlantic region as well as national portfolios. These duties also include managing and training employees, business development, preparation of proposals and project work authorizations, and budgeting. Ms. Copeland is also a member of VERTEX’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) council and is mentor within the company’s mentorship program (EDGE).
Her expertise includes:
- Performing and managing numerous Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and Transaction Screens (ASTM E 1527) on behalf of various clients including lenders, buyers, developers and owners for commercial, industrial, retail, medical and residential properties as well as undeveloped parcels of land
- Managing large due diligence-related portfolio projects including the client communications, scheduling, staffing, technical support, budgeting and general project management for the completion of Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and Property Condition Assessments
- Completing a variety of peer reviews of various environmental reports completed by outside consultants on behalf of the client
- Conducting Phase II ESA’s, subsurface groundwater/soil investigations and volatile vapor studies which included oversight of the placement and advancement of soil borings and monitoring well installations by auger and geo-probe type drill rigs, associated sampling and completion of related final project reports
- Management experience in radon sampling, assessment and mitigation projects
- Project management and on-site oversight of underground storage tank and other petroleum-related storage equipment removal projects including the remediation and disposal of contaminated materials as well as conducting the required closure sampling, monitoring and reporting requirements
- Implementation and oversight of community air monitoring programs for various environmental remediation and demolition projects
- Groundwater monitoring including proper well purging, sampling, field measurements, etc.
- Conducted investigations and oversight of remediation projects for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated buildings, soil and groundwater
- Industrial wastewater discharge permit monitoring, reporting requirements and flow studies
- Preparation of computer-aided design drawings, soil boring logs, monitoring well details, summary tables and analytical graphs utilizing AutoCAD, Microsoft Suite and Adobe products
- Technical report preparation and review including interpretation of laboratory analytical data, addressing regulatory compliance requirements, project discussion, recommending the appropriate next steps for the project based on the conclusions, etc.
- Consult and coordinate with contractors and regulatory agencies on behalf of clients for a variety of environmental issues including emergency spill response situations, brownfield redevelopment projects, obtaining site closure, etc.
- Drinking water sampling and compliance from private and public sources
- Managed individuals who were responsible for conducting asbestos-containing materials surveys/inspections, asbestos project monitoring and air sampling and performed such duties when needed, as well as complete and review associated reports
- Completed, managed and prepared reports for limited lead-based paint surveys for OSHA and informational purposes
- Develop a wide range of corrective action plans on behalf of clients for regulatory agency approval
Education & Certification
B.S., Biology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY
Inspector, Project Monitor and Air Sampling Technician, NY State Dept. of Labor Asbestos Certifications, State of NY