Hugh M. Gauntt, P.E., joined RPH in 1991 and has owned the company since 1999. A graduate of the University of Georgia (B.S., agricultural engineering) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (M.S., geotechnical engineering), Hugh has extensive experience in solid waste management projects and related facilities for municipalities across the nation. In addition, Hugh is among the very few people in Georgia certified as proficient in dam hydrology and hydraulics/civil design and analysis as well as dam geotechnical design and analysis. Prior to joining RPH, he led the southeastern U.S. office of Golder Associates.

A. Reid Irwin, P.E., president of RPH, has extensive experience in civil engineering design, permitting, and construction management. His expertise includes numerous solid waste projects (transfer stations, maintenance facilities, construction/demolition, municipal landfills, and industrial waste); commercial and residential developments; and regulatory compliance issues involving industrial water uses. Reid holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).

Ralph Hayden, P.E., R.L.S., brings a wealth of experience in the technical design of highways, railways, bridges, land, aerial surveying, and construction management. He remains an active advisor and mentor to RPH's next generation of professionals.

Michael R. Ayers, P.E., specializes in commercial and industrial land development, including all aspects of real estate site selection, zoning, design, permitting, and construction oversight. His skills also include in-depth understanding of environmental site assessments and environmental remediation, groundwater quality evaluation, and design, remediation, and redevelopment of brownfield sites. A graduate of Auburn University, Mike is Vice President of RPH.

Juene K. Franklin, P.E., a civil engineering graduate of Texas A&M University, directs the Houston branch of RPH. In addition to his project management and supervisory skills, Juene is RPH's inhouse expert in landfill gas collection and control systems (GCCS), landfill gas (LFG) beneficial-use projects and cost analysis, and state and federal air regulations (NSPS/EG, Title V, MACT) relating to solid waste projects.

Jose Urrutia, P.E., holds a B.S. in civil structural engineering from Universidad de Venezuela and an M.S.C.E. in geotechnical engineering from Georgia Tech. As RPH's director of solid waste services, he supervises a team of RPH engineers in developing and permitting landfills and transfer stations across the nation. With more than 20 years in the field, Jose joined RPH in 2006 after serving as chief engineer — with supervisory responsibility for development of nearly 100 landfills in 12 states — for Waste Management, Inc., the nation's largest private-sector waste management firm. He previously worked with Law Engineering and Golder Associates.