Patrick Ransom

Patrick Ransom is an environmental engineer and certified cost estimator with more than 30 years of experience evaluating environmental technologies, policies, and regulatory costs. He specializes in drinking water treatment and regulation, with broader expertise in solid and hazardous waste management, pollution prevention, toxic release reduction, and economic incentive programs. Ransom has also supported federal clients across environmental programs involving oil and gas, power generation, mining, metals refining, cement, electronics, pharmaceuticals, construction, and chemical manufacturing. He brings more than 25 years of project management experience, helping agencies assess technologies, costs, and practical options for complex environmental decisions.

Ransom leads multidisciplinary teams that develop engineering cost models, technical guidance, and decision-support tools for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) programs. He oversees engineering and economic analyses supporting national drinking water regulations, PFAS treatment and remediation, wastewater reuse, and environmental monitoring. His work includes developing and updating cost models for more than 40 water treatment technologies, expanding EPA's Drinking Water Treatability Database to cover emerging contaminants including more than 70 PFAS compounds, and leading peer-reviewed analyses that help EPA evaluate technology performance, affordability, and regulatory impacts.

Earlier in his career, Ransom was instrumental in creating the original EPA work breakdown structure (WBS) drinking water treatment cost models that remain the foundation for national regulatory cost analyses. He also led environmental and economic studies for EPA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other federal agencies, including evaluations of drinking water regulations, hazardous waste management, environmental technologies, and water quality programs. His work has improved methods for estimating regulatory costs, evaluating treatment performance, and measuring the benefits of environmental investments. 

Expertise

• Technology Evaluation
• Cost Estimating
• Environmental Performance Measurement
• Economic Analysis
• Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment
• Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

Key Projects

• Drinking Water Treatment Cost Models, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (U.S. EPA OGWDW)
• Cost Modeling Support for PFAS Treatment in Small Drinking Water Systems, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development
• National Treatment Costs for PFAS Drinking Water Rulemaking, U.S. EPA OGWDW
• Unit and National Costs for Microbial and Disinfection Byproducts (MDBP) Rulemaking, U.S. EPA OGWDW
• Technologies and Costs for Perchlorate Rule, U.S. EPA OGWDW

Publications

• Burkhardt, J.B., Anderson, R.H., Khera, R., Haupert, L.M., Ransom, P., et al. Modeling Water Treatment Performance and Costs for Removal of PFAS from Drinking Water. In Forever Chemicals: Environmental, Economic, and Social Equity Concerns with PFAS in the Environment. CRC Press, 2021.
• Khera, R., Ransom, P., Guttridge, M., & Speth, T. Estimating Costs for Nitrate and Perchlorate Treatment for Small Drinking Water Systems. AWWA Water Science, 2021.
• Khera, R., Ransom, P., & Speth, T. Using Work Breakdown Structure Models to Develop Unit Treatment Costs. Journal of the American Water Works Association, 2013.
• Burkhardt, J., Hand, D., Khera, R., Ransom, P., & Speth, T. Removing PFAS from Drinking Water. EPA Drinking Water Workshop, 2019.
• Speth, T.F., Khera, R., Ransom, P., Dugan, N., & Patterson, C. Treating Emerging Contaminants of Concern. EPA Drinking Water Workshop, 2018.

Certifications

• International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association Certified Cost Estimator/Analyst (CCEA®)