Civil, Environmental, Renewable Energy, and Applied AI Consulting for Real Infrastructure Challenges
For 40 years, BAI Group has helped public and private clients solve complex civil, environmental, geological, renewable energy, and infrastructure challenges across the Mid-Atlantic. Founded in 1986, BAI brings field-tested engineering judgment to projects involving environmental permitting, landfill and solid waste engineering, renewable energy development, battery energy storage, energy transmission, shale gas infrastructure, surface mining, beneficial reuse, and regulatory compliance.
Today, BAI also provides Applied AI consulting through bAI Labs, helping municipalities, utilities, schools, businesses, and environmental teams understand, test, and responsibly apply artificial intelligence in real engineering workflows. Our approach is practical and engineering-led: AI may support documentation, data analysis, workflow efficiency, communication, and early decision support, but qualified professionals remain responsible for judgment, review, and final recommendations.
BAI’s work spans more than 4,500 completed projects. Headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, with additional offices in Maryland, BAI consultants are licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Kentucky, West Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio.
What We Do
BAI Group provides consulting services across several core practice areas:
Environmental Permitting and Compliance
BAI helps clients navigate complex environmental permitting and compliance requirements for water, land, air, and development-related projects. Our work includes environmental studies, permit applications, regulatory reporting, stormwater and NPDES permitting, air quality permitting, site assessments, groundwater investigations, and compliance documentation.
Waste Management and Landfill Engineering
BAI provides engineering and environmental consulting for landfills, transfer stations, waste processing facilities, closure and post-closure planning, landfill gas systems, leachate management, beneficial use projects, construction quality assurance, inspection, certification, and compliance monitoring.
Renewable Energy Development
BAI supports renewable energy projects from early feasibility through permitting, engineering, financing, construction, and operations. Our renewable energy work includes solar development for municipalities, schools, businesses, public authorities, and private entities.
Battery Energy Storage Systems
BAI helps clients evaluate and implement battery energy storage systems, also known as BESS. Battery storage can support resilience, reduce peak demand charges, improve power quality, integrate with solar or microgrids, and help organizations manage grid constraints and critical operations.
Energy Transmission, Shale Gas, Surface Mining, and Beneficial Reuse
BAI provides permitting, site assessment, environmental oversight, design support, and regulatory coordination for energy transmission, shale gas infrastructure, surface mining, reclamation, and beneficial reuse projects.
Applied AI Consulting Through bAI Labs
Through bAI Labs, BAI helps engineering, municipal, environmental, and infrastructure teams explore Applied AI in practical, responsible ways. Services include AI readiness and training, custom GPT development, municipal pilot programs, AI governance and policy support, responsible AI guidance, AI Mixers, and professional learning programs.
Our Applied AI Difference
BAI is not approaching artificial intelligence as a software company. We are approaching it as civil and environmental engineers who need to understand how AI tools perform in real infrastructure settings.
Through bAI Labs, BAI is conducting Applied AI research and development because these tools must be tested in the field — in the dirt, in facilities, in workflows, and under real regulatory and operational constraints. Current and emerging R&D efforts include testing a real-time, solar-powered methane monitoring device with an AI explainer for landfill data analysis; exploring a digital twin of a wastewater treatment plant with an AI explainer for operational data analysis; and participating in GeoAI work with the Allen Institute for AI focused on infrastructure screening and early detection or prediction of potential site, groundwater, and infrastructure risks.
These tools are designed to help teams interpret data, identify early indicators, and prioritize where to investigate. They do not replace traditional survey, fieldwork, engineering judgment, or professional review.
Civil AI Thought Leadership
BAI Group is helping shape the emerging field of Civil AI by connecting infrastructure experience with practical artificial intelligence use cases. BAI and bAI Labs have presented or are scheduled to participate in AI and engineering programs including RCon 2025 in Columbus, Ohio; RCon 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri; Penn State’s AI and Engineering Summit; the London AI Summit’s Applied AI track; the Anne Arundel County Innovation Summit planning committee; ASCE 2027; and an AI Summit at the Penn Stater in State College.
BAI has also hosted a Civil AI Mixer at Anne Arundel Community College and is researching a forthcoming Taylor & Francis book, Smart Water: The Future of Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence, planned for publication in late 2027.
This thought leadership reflects BAI’s broader philosophy:
Engineers lead. AI assists. The planet benefits.
Awards and Recognition
BAI Group is honored to receive a 2026 ASCE Pittsburgh Section Sustainability Award for its solar project at Cornell School District. BAI is also a proud recipient of the 2021 Pennsylvania Solar Center Lodestar Award for Solar Workplace and Developer Leadership, recognizing the firm’s commitment to expanding access to renewable energy.
Leadership Team
James B. Echard, P.E.
President, BAI Group, co-Founder bAI Labs
James B. Echard, P.E., brings more than 30 years of leadership and technical expertise in solid waste management, landfill engineering, environmental permitting, and renewable energy development. As President of BAI Group, he combines regulatory knowledge with practical experience in the design, construction, and operation of municipal, construction and demolition, and industrial waste facilities. His work spans the full life cycle of waste infrastructure, from master planning and due diligence to permitting, construction, compliance, and beneficial reuse innovation.
John Oliver Smith, P.E., BCEE
Director of Operations, BAI Group, co-Founder bAI Labs
John Oliver Smith, P.E., BCEE, is Director of Operations at BAI Group and a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer with more than 30 years of experience in civil and environmental infrastructure. His work includes water, wastewater, corrosion control, landfill design, solid waste management, and sustainable infrastructure planning. At BAI, he also supports the responsible use of AI tools to improve engineering efficiency, documentation, and decision support.
Sel Edor
General Manager of Renewables
Sel Edor leads BAI Group’s solar and renewable energy initiatives for municipalities, businesses, public authorities, and private-sector clients. His work bridges strategy, operations, financing, stakeholder coordination, and project delivery. He helps clients evaluate renewable energy opportunities that align environmental goals with long-term economic performance.
Karen Finlan
Senior Environmental Consultant and Office Manager
Karen Finlan brings nearly four decades of environmental consulting experience to BAI Group. Her expertise includes environmental permitting, site assessment, remediation, waste management, landfill design, construction oversight, and regulatory coordination. She helps guide complex permitting efforts and supports environmentally responsible project delivery.
Davar Ardalan
Co-Founder bAI Labs, Director of AI Integration, BAI Group
Davar Ardalan leads AI integration at BAI Group, helping embed responsible, transparent, and human-centered artificial intelligence into environmental and civil engineering practice. Her work focuses on AI governance, training, communication, and practical adoption for engineering and infrastructure teams. She supports bAI Labs’ mission to help professionals understand, test, and apply AI tools safely and effectively.
Steven Harshbarger
Senior Engineering Designer, BAI Group
Steven Harshbarger has been part of BAI Group for nearly four decades, combining technical design expertise with hands-on field experience. He manages AutoCAD systems, develops drafting standards, and supports design precision across the firm. His background includes landfill and solid waste design, corridor transmission, facilities, construction quality assurance, and field inspection of geomembrane liner and cap systems.
Awards
BAI Group is honored to receive a 2026 ASCE Pittsburgh Section Sustainability Award for our solar project at Cornell School District.
BAI Group is a proud recipient of the Solar Workplace and Developer Leaders Award from the 2021 Pennsylvania Solar Center Lodestar Awards. This award recognizes our dedication to making solar energy available to more organizations across the state.
Leadership Team
James B. Echard, P.E.
President, BAI Group
Jim Echard, P.E., brings more than 30 years of leadership and technical expertise in solid waste management, landfill engineering, environmental permitting and renewables development. As President of BAI Group, he combines deep regulatory knowledge with practical experience in the design, construction, and operation of municipal, construction/demolition, and industrial waste facilities. Echard’s career spans the full life cycle of waste infrastructure — from master planning and due diligence to permitting and beneficial reuse innovation. His hands-on approach and proven record working with national waste corporations, energy providers, public authorities, school districts and private industry have established BAI’s reputation for precision, reliability, and technical excellence. Echard continues to guide BAI’s mission of delivering sustainable, efficient, data-informed solutions across waste management, renewable energy, and environmental compliance.
John Oliver Smith, P.E., BCEE
Director of Operations, BAI Group
John Oliver Smith, P.E., BCEE, is Director of Operations at BAI Group and a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer with over 30 years of experience in civil and environmental infrastructure. He has led major municipal programs for DC Water, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County, and the U.S. Department of Defense, focusing on water, wastewater, and corrosion-control systems. Smith’s work combines technical precision with practical leadership, guiding projects from planning through operations in both domestic and international settings. His experience spans landfill design, solid waste management, and sustainable infrastructure development across the U.S. and abroad. At BAI, he also advances the responsible use of AI tools to enhance engineering efficiency and decision-making. His technical range spans landfill and wastewater design, corrosion control, and sustainable systems planning across the U.S., Asia, and South America.
Sel Edor
General Manager of Renewables
As General Manager of Renewables at BAI Group, Sel Edor leads the company’s solar and renewable energy initiatives for municipalities, businesses, and public authorities. His role bridges strategy, operations, and stakeholder collaboration — advancing projects that combine clean energy innovation with long-term economic performance. Edor oversees all aspects of project delivery, from feasibility assessments and financing to construction and operations. He works closely with investors, regulatory bodies, and community leaders to ensure each renewable project aligns with environmental goals and fiscal responsibility. Through his leadership, BAI’s Renewables Division continues to expand its impact in the transition to resilient, low-carbon energy systems.
Karen Finlan
Senior Environmental Consultant & Office Manager, BAI Group
With nearly four decades of environmental consulting experience, Karen Finlan serves as both Senior Environmental Consultant and Office Manager at BAI Group. Her expertise encompasses environmental permitting, site assessment, remediation, and waste management, with specialized experience in landfill design, construction oversight, and regulatory coordination. Finlan is known for her ability to guide complex permitting efforts and facilitate community engagement on sensitive environmental issues. Her integrated approach — combining technical rigor, operational insight, and public communication — exemplifies BAI’s commitment to environmentally responsible project delivery and regulatory trust.
Davar Ardalan
Director of AI Integration, BAI Group
Davar Ardalan is Director of AI Integration at BAI Group, where she leads efforts to embed responsible, transparent, and human-centered artificial intelligence across environmental and civil engineering practice. Drawing on her experience as a former Deputy Director of the White House Presidential Innovation Fellows Program and AI Strategist at Booz Allen Hamilton, Ardalan designs governance frameworks and training that empower engineers to use AI ethically and effectively. Recognized on the 2025 Voice 100 list for pioneering contributions to conversational AI, Ardalan bridges technology and storytelling to help engineers integrate ethical, data-driven tools into complex, real-world workflows. A recognized thought leader in applied AI, Ardalan is the author of AI for Community: Preserving Culture and Tradition (Taylor & Francis, 2025) and a featured speaker at international AI and engineering forums.
Steven Harshbarger
Senior Engineering Designer, BAI Group
For nearly four decades, Steven Harshbarger has been a part of BAI Group, combining deep technical expertise with hands-on field experience. He manages AutoCAD systems, develops drafting standards, and provides training and support that enhance design precision across the firm. Harshbarger’s background in landfill and solid waste design, corridor transmission, facilities, and many other co-offerings — from municipal to private to industrial facilities — informs his approach to both design innovation and construction quality assurance. Further, having the practical hands-on experience of inspecting over 10 million square feet of geomembrane liner and cap systems across Pennsylvania, he exemplifies BAI’s commitment to scientific accuracy, experienced, field-tested engineering, and continual improvement in environmental design systems.