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Congratulations Senior Associates:
Arizona
Dean
Durkee, Ph.D., PE, based in our firm’s Phoenix, AZ, office,
is the regional manager of the Earth Science and Hydraulics
Practice. Possessing more than 16 years of experience, he
oversees the technical direction, project management and
business development of geotechnical efforts.
Massachusetts
Peter
Golonka is the regional office manager of our firm’s Newton,
MA, office. A
University of Massachusetts (UMass)-Amherst geology graduate, he focuses on the technical supervision of
remediation work, management of environmental projects, and
business development efforts.
Read papers/presentations
for more on our UMass TURI
project.
New Jersey
Possessing
more than 18 years of experience,
Robert Ulrich is the
manager of the Water and Wastewater Department in our firm’s
South Plainfield, NJ, office. He coordinates the planning,
permitting, design and construction of water and wastewater
projects.
Pennsylvania
Mike
Knight, PG, is a senior project manager and geologist
with over 22 years of experience in our Harrisburg, PA headquarters. He directs geologic and hydro-geologic projects involving the study, evaluation and
assessment of earth materials.
Cy
Whitson, CWD, PWS, is a senior environmental scientist and
project manager possessing more than 20 years of experience. He
manages the Natural Resources Group within the firm’s
Environmental Planning and Management Section in Harrisburg, PA.
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Program
Management:
California
Based
in our firm’s Los Angeles, CA, office, Rodney Dawson, C.M.C.,
has been named a vice president and serves as the National
Program and Project Management Consulting Practice leader.
Possessing more than 40 years of experience, Rodney his
leadership provides clients with a full range of project
services for capital program management, engineering and
construction management, schedule and cost controls, contract
administration, project finance . . .
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Stormwater:
Pennsylvania
Recent regulatory developments are changing the way stormwater
is being handled by the consulting community (see
regs/programs).
In order to facilitate change, numerous Gannett Fleming employees have received PADEP's
Stormwater Best Management Practices training and possess extensive stormwater
management experience.
Furthermore, our firm has been selected as a qualified stormwater consultant by
PADEP.
Cliff Elicker is the contact for
Southwest region
projects,
Jeff Ream handles the
Northcentral and
Northwest regions,
Eric Neast coordinates projects in the
Southcentral region
and
Frank Eells
manages the Northeast and
Southeast regions.
Contact appropriate staff to
learn more about these regional initiatives. Jeff is
also spearheading a Gannett Fleming Pennsylvania "Virtual Stormwater Team."
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Water/Wastewater National
Toronto, Canada
Marlay Price and
Dave
Weiss were recent presenters as part of an AWWA/Association of
General Contractors (AGC) joint committee panel discussion at the
2007 AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition. Marlay served as the
session moderator and presented findings on the importance of effective
construction cost forecasting as it relates to both individual
construction projects and the industry as a whole. Dave discussed
the elements of successful construction projects from the viewpoint of
the consultant/ project engineer. Other panel members were
scheduled to include representatives from Naples, FL; Cincinnati, OH; a
materials supplier; and a general contractor.
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Technology
Corner:
Transfer
Stations
definition:
A transfer station is a solid waste
management (SWM) facility in which collection vehicles discharge
their waste payloads, typically on a concrete tipping floor.
process:
The waste can be deposited by type designation (municipal
solid waste, wood debris or metal), which is then navigated by
rubber-tired loaders into an open pit for compaction.
Following compaction, the waste is transferred into
higher-volume containers (trailers, railcars or barges) that are
destined for a waste-to-energy facility for processing or to a
landfill for disposal.
logic:
People want to go places where they can accomplish multiple
tasks in a single trip. Transfer stations aid this cause
by providing various solid waste services at one convenient
location (such as drop-off facilities for household hazardous
waste, waste oil, or yard waste)
They also offer recycling facilities for aluminum, scrap
metal or electronics. Consequently, transfer stations are
the focal point and distribution center for numerous waste
products.
for more information:
Contact Solid Waste Specialist
Stephen Lezinski and read an excerpt from his related
article on the right. |
Mission Statement:
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"To provide timely
industry news and information while sharing related Gannett
Fleming activities." |
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A Water Treatment Plant First:
Achieving LEED® Certification
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This facility is the nation's
first WTP registered for USGBC LEED® certification. |
The Northampton Borough Municipal Authority (NBMA)
has been awarded LEED® certification by the U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC) for the design and construction of their 8 MGD Water Treatment
Plant (WTP).
Beyond its engineering features, the new WTP
is a model for environmental sustainability.
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Gannett Fleming conducted green building
charette workshops, facilitated selection of green design components,
implemented the design and prepared a Building Commissioning Plan.
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Our f irm designed and constructed the WTP as a
cutting-edge drinking water treatment facility, while
simultaneously incorporating sustainable building design features and
construction practices. WTP green features include:
-
high-performance lighting control systems
-
energy efficient building
envelope
-
maximum use of recycled and local materials
-
efficient water use
features
-
day-lighting within the facility
-
minimization of VOC-emitting
materials for optimal indoor air quality
-
construction waste management and
recycling practices.
Contact Project Manager,
Bill Allis, PE, for more information.

Raising Lake Chesdin
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Raising Lake Chesdin between 1 to 3 feet and constructing a pumped storage
reservoir upstream of the lake was considered the most viable expansion option.
Using inflatable crest gates and assessing environmental impacts associated with
this option were also considered. |
 |
As part of a comprehensive safe yield evaluation, the Appomattox River Water
Authority (ARWA) in Virginia investigated raising the 3,550-acre Lake Chesdin.
Retained by ARWA, our firm subsequently evaluated raw water source expansion
alternatives and determined the most feasible and economical means of increasing
the safe yield of the ARWA system. Project details included:
- conducting a sediment survey to ascertain the loss of reservoir storage due
to sedimentation from a 1,333-square-mile drainage area
- developing a computer model to simulate system daily operation
- analyzing the system to determine the safe yield for various operating
scenarios.
Contact Project Manager,
Paul
Schweiger, PE, for more information.

Pennsylvania Stormwater Challenges:
NPDES Permitting
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Significant increases in
Pennsylvania's NPDES permit
backlog can be attributed to recent flood events, staff turnover, increased
state land development and changing federal laws that have
expanded the scope of the NPDES program.
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Both the general public and the engineering consulting
community need more assistance when it comes to navigating
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
regulations. While the Best
Management Practices (BMP) Manual, existing permit application
instructions and other training programs provide excellent
guidance to Pennsylvania's NPDES permit applicants, there needs to be a better
transition available to understand new NPDES requirements.
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Selected by PADEP as a qualified
stormwater consultant, our firm will serve all of
Pennsylvania in this capacity. |
In order to facilitate this action, the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) issued a
stormwater "Request for Information (RFI)." This RFI
identified qualified firms willing to
provide consulting services related to post-construction stormwater management for permit applicants and/or their consultants.
Read our stormwater Staff
Spotlight for your
regional Gannett Fleming contacts.

Preserving History by
Managing Cultural Resources
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Our firm routinely partners with clients, State
Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO), local historical
commissions and other review agencies on cultural
resource assignments.
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Stakeholders must work together on all stages of an historic preservation
project to ensure that regulatory guidelines are followed and successful
outcomes achieved.
Efforts typically require compliance with Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act in addition to other federal, state and local municipal
mandates.
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Our archaeologists and architectural historians meet the Secretary of
Interior's professional qualification standards. |
A cultural resources team can include specialists ranging from
historians to archaeologists. In addition, working with NEPA professionals
and engineers can broaden the success for projects with better integration.
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Cultural Resources Management |
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^ Greek revival house in Delaware, ca.
1850. |
Gannett Fleming offers a full range of Cultural
Resource services. |
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Check back soon for more information on our firm's project approach to cultural
resources management.
Contact Cultural Resources Manager,
John Martin, to request a brochure.

Surface Mining and Reclamation Act:
Title IV Nationwide Impact
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Title IV is the section under the
federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA)
that deals with lands and waters adversely affected by
coal mining before the legislation was enacted 30 years
ago.
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Title IV establishes the Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Fund (AMRF) to provide grants for reclaiming abandoned mine
lands and waters. As reported last issue, historic coal-producing states
such as Pennsylvania are
the biggest beneficiaries of the recent fund extension. This was made
possible by the significant SMCRA amendment changing Title IV.
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West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia,
Ohio, Illinois and Indiana will all receive over $100
million over the next 15 years in their AMR efforts.
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Numerous states will incur a substantial increase
in the annual grants that they receive through Title IV for abandoned mine
reclamation (AMR). Collection of reclamation fees will continue to fund
the program through fiscal year 2021 with funding beyond 2022.
Contact
Vice President and Clearfield, PA, Office Manager,
Jeff Ream, PE, for more
information.

EMS Lessons Learned
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Our firm participated in related Solutia Inc. EMS
workshops and co-authored a case study entitled, "Learning from the Solutia EMS Experience: Improving an
EMS at the Solutia, Inc., Indian Orchard Plant
in Springfield, MA.
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As part of a cooperative effort with the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction
Institute (TURI) to educate industries in environmental management system (EMS)
concepts, our firm implemented an ISO 14001 EMS for the largest chemical
manufacturer in New England. This Solutia Inc. assignment included planning, gap and operational analyses,
standard operating procedure development and training at the company's Indian
Orchard Plant in Springfield, MA.
This assignment has led to overall environmental improvements at the
plant while reducing risks. Contact Environmental
Compliance/EMS Project Manager,
Chuck Mason, for more information
or visit the TURI web site (links).

Solid Waste Disposal Tipping Fees:
Transfer Station Hub
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A tipping fee is a monetary value
charged for the disposal of a unit weight of waste,
usually on a per-ton basis.
|
As existing landfills reach capacity, local residents and businesses are taking the "Not-In-My-Backyard" approach to new landfills.
Stephen Lezinski's MSW Management
article on "The Middleman of Solid Waste" describes how waste disposal
tipping fees are increasing as a result of rising costs for new solid waste management
(SWM) facilities.
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^ Abington Transfer Station
Recycling Montgomery County, MD
|
Considering the dynamic nature of SWM
and in order to implement the most economical community waste
management solution, transfer stations have become the "hub" for
receiving smaller waste loads for consolidation and redistribution.
Stephen points out, however, that transfer stations are not an end
or long-term storage point for solid waste.
Contact Stephen to request a paper abstract
and stay tuned for future article excerpts.

»
AWWA National
Conference
»
Massachusetts Toxics
Use Reduction Institute
(TURI)
» National
Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO)
» USEPA:
Jobs Through Recycling
(Tipping Fees)
» Western
Pennsylvania Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation
 |
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