For several months each year, you will find Bob Jones ’73 at the helm of his power-cruising catamaran slipping quietly down the east coast. The sun is rising on the horizon igniting millions of sparkles on the waves. He and wife, Beth, spend weeks on end traveling from port to port along the eastern seaboard. This is a life-long dream come true for Jones, who gained a love of the ocean and boating while working on a tugboat in his hometown of Port Arthur.
Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, taking advantage of a new course concentration in environmental quality and focusing that knowledge into a career of consulting for industries that need project management for soil, water and air analysis. He is currently using his environmental expertise by consulting with Motiva Enterprises, Valero Energy Company and Golden Pass LNG to assist with their expansion efforts in the region. His consulting role includes obtaining the appropriate permits for construction and acting as a liaison between the company and state and federal regulatory agencies.
After graduating from Lamar, Jones spent nine years at the Texas Department of Water Resources in several capacities, beginning as a project engineer rising to the position of chief engineer. He was involved in the engineering review, contract administration, planning and development of state- and federally funded water-quality construction projects in Texas.
Armed with the experience he gained at the TDWR and a master of engineering degree from the University of Texas, he founded a Texas-based environmental and civil engineering consulting firm in 1982 named Jones & Neuse Inc. Jones & Neuse grew to become the largest independently owned environmental consulting firm in Texas before it was sold in 1993 to RMT Inc.
Jones then became a technical consultant for the company he began until 1997 when he co-founded JD Consulting LLC. The mission of JDC is to provide experienced senior-level consulting services in a cost-effective manner to industrial and manufacturing facilities located in Texas and along the Gulf Coast. JDC has offices in Austin, Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Houston.
“We represent industry by doing environmental consulting and interfacing between clients and the state and federal regulatory agencies,” said Jones. “We consult with businesses in obtaining permits to maintain air, water and soil quality.”
“As the owner of JD Consulting, Bob is one of the most successful environmental engineers and business owners in Texas,” said Bill Scott ’70, longtime friend. “He has secured thousands of important permits for industrial clients over the past 25-plus years in business and was successful in securing the TCEQ permit for the Motiva 325,000 barrel per day crude oil expansion project. This is the largest ever single refinery expansion in U.S. history. In addition, Bob has been a dedicated husband and father, as well as, a civic leader in the Austin community. He has achieved real balance between his family, business and community life which make him a good example to everyone.”
Jones was inspired by former Lamar engineering professor Bill Morgan who encouraged him to take courses in a relatively new branch of civil engineering concentrating on environmental quality. Civil engineering majors who were pursuing the environmental option were required to take more chemistry and biology courses.
“I recall spending so much time with other engineering students in class and on projects that they really became my whole social circle while in school,” Jones recalled. “I became acquainted with everyone in class because the classes were so small. Many of the people I went to school with have become lifelong friends. In fact, I graduated with Don Nelson. He and I have worked together most of the time since we left Lamar. Don is the managing partner of the consulting firm.”
Life as an environmental engineering consultant isn’t all work and no play. Jones is enjoying semi-retirement by spending quality time with Beth on their boat. He was raised in Port Arthur and, through a family friend, began working on tugboats at an early age. Traveling the Intracoastal Waterway from New Orleans to Galveston instilled a love for the ocean and boating.
“I worked on tugboats after school, during the summers and on Christmas holidays and continued while I was going to school at Lamar,” he said. “I developed this idea that whenever I made it out there in the world, I would buy myself a cruising boat. I literally thought about that boat for years. It was one of my goals in life.”
Jones traveled to a boat show in Miami and, although he didn’t intend to purchase a boat, the boat of his dreams presented itself, and he took the plunge. The Hye Life is a powercruising catamaran with the capability to sleep four passengers, but is designed for two comfortably. The couple spends as much time as possible cruising down the east coast from Toronto, Canada, to Stewart, Fla.
“The first month, we started in Toronto and made it to Cape May, New Jersey,” he said. “From there, we really started taking our time, exploring the Chesapeake Bay and making many stops along the eastern seaboard. We intended for the boat to end up on the Gulf Coast, but we’ve enjoyed the east coast so much, it hasn’t made it here yet.”
Jones has made it a priority in his life to support youth by giving his time and talent to organizations such as the Austin Area Child Development Board of the YMCA, the Lamar University Civil Engineering Advisory Council and as chairman for the Partner of Youth–Boy Scouts of America for the Austin area. Jones continues his support for the Boy Scouts because he was an eagle scout. Texas governor Ann Richards appointed Jones as a regent for the Lamar University System, a position he held until the system was dissolved in 1995.
In a lecture for Lamar engineering students delivered in April, Jones was asked what the most important environmental issue we, as a country, will face in the future. His pointed answer was climate change, or more commonly referred to as global warming. “As the principal liaison between companies and regulatory agencies, I can generally see what’s going to be the next big concern for industry with regard to environmental quality issues,” Jones said with a wry smile. “Global warming will be a major factor in the years to come for industries of all types. Whether you believe in global warming or not is of no consequence. Industry will have to deal with any changes in regulatory policy that deal with global warming and the reduction of greenhouse gases, and that is good news for young environmental engineers.”
But here, from the deck of the Hye Life at sunset, global warming issues and greenhouse gases don’t intrude on the view of a golden sun gently sinking into the ocean. Jones can rest comfortably, knowing he did his part in protecting the quality of the environment and confident in the knowledge that the younger generation of Lamar University civil engineers will be well prepared to meet the challenges of the future. He and Beth have a daughter who recently completed her law degree and a son who has earned an engineering degree and is pursuing an MBA.
GOLDEN TRIANGLE INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION
Business is booming for the petroleum and natural gas industry in Southeast Texas and the Gulf Coast. Six companies have announced major expansions in their Gulf Coast operations that will create more jobs and bring economic development to the area. The total cost for all projects is estimated to be in excess of $10 billion with staffing needs exceeding 12,000 by 2010.
Houston-based Motiva Enterprises has made significant progress toward expanding its refining capacity in Southeast Texas. The company has completed the initial design that includes a 325,000 barrel-per-day throughput increase at its Port Arthur refinery. The expansion would make the refinery the largest in the country and create 4,500 jobs. The entire facility will mean nearly $17 billion in estimated economic impact for Southeast Texas.
The San Antonio-based Valero Energy Company recently announced the completion of a 75,000-barrelper- day expansion at its Port Arthur refinery. The $4.5 billion expansion created 2,000 new jobs and increases the capacity of the facility to 325,000 barrels per day.
Another major economic boost for the region involves liquefied natural gas. Golden Pass LNG has awarded a $1 billion contract for a two-billion cubic feet per day liquefied natural gas terminal in Sabine Pass. Golden Pass expects peak employment of more than 600 construction workers, as well as job opportunities to locally-based subcontractors, suppliers and laborers.
Sempra Energy has plans to build Port Arthur LNG along the Port Arthur ship canal. The site is near another LNG facility the company plans to build, Cameron LNG in Louisiana. Construction of the estimated $1 billion Port Arthur LNG project would bring more than 500 jobs to the area and could begin as early as 2007.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. has announced the Sabine Pass LNG terminal project located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Foreign LNG companies will be able to access U.S. markets via this tolling facility which has an estimated cost of $1 billion and is expected to employ 1,000 workers.
Total Petrochemicals USA has proposed a $1.8 billion expansion to its Port Arthur refinery. Total is considering building a new coker, which removes sulfur from crude oil; a potential expansion that would bring as many as 3,500 construction jobs to the area. Construction would begin in 2007 with expected completion in 2010.
