The Changing Landscape of Wetlands and Other Environmental Issues
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army recently finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule to redefine “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). This ruling will have far-reaching implications, and Geotechnology has the resources to help you understand and advise as to how to comply with these and other critical regulations.
Geotechnology has offered natural systems and environmental consulting services for almost 30 years to ensure regulatory compliance and provide cost-effective, ecological solutions for project sites. These services guide clients on projects from initial due diligence, wetland delineations and biological surveys to final monitoring of mitigation areas. Geotechnology is a long-time Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) prequalified consultant in several categories including Soils/Geotechnical (Geotechnical
Engineering Services, Geotechnical Testing Laboratory, Geotechnical Field Exploration, Geotechnical Drilling Inspection) and Environmental (Regulated Materials Review), and expanded its wetlands consultant services in 2019. Geotechnology’s new Environmental Services prequalifications for wetlands consist of Environmental Document Preparation – CE, Environmental Document Preparation – Section 4(f), and Ecological Surveys. With this new prequalification, Geotechnology is now one of only a few consulting firms in Ohio that is fully ODOT prequalified in the categories listed above.
The professionals in Geotechnology’s environmental group include engineers, geologists, hydrogeologists, environmental scientists, wetlands specialists, geophysicists, and asbestos, lead-based paint, and mold inspectors. They have the knowledge, experience and capabilities to help you with your compliance issues and help you to develop and construct projects efficiently and responsibly.
Through years of experience with projects of varying complexity, Geotechnology has established excellent relationships with regulatory agencies, including the USACE, various state natural resource agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Geotechnology is able to assist with wetland and WOTUS delineations, Section 404/401 permit applications, alternatives analysis, public notice comment responses, stream or wetland mitigation plans, and mitigation monitoring.
Geotechnology further invested in environmental consulting resources by hiring a wetlands scientist with more than a decade of natural resources and environmental consulting experience as a biologist. He and others on the team are ready to move quickly and effectively to meet your environmental project needs.
One Geotechnology client solution included wetlands/WOTUS delineation, 404/401 permitting, a threatened and endangered species survey, and federal agency coordination. Working with the design team, Geotechnology was able to formulate an on-site mitigation strategy that reduced stream impacts and dramatically helped to reduce migration costs.
Additionally, due to the minimal impacts proposed for the project, the USACE processed the Section 404 permit as a Nationwide Permit instead of an Individual Permit. Issuance of a Nationwide Permit effectively reduced the permitting time frame by at least three months. The final project preserved the majority of the jurisdictional streams on the site and enhanced the riparian corridor.
For more information on Wetlands and other Environmental Issues, contact Cody Flynn, Senior Wetland Scientist, today!