Cleanup at the Cap Sante Marine site—the first major project completed under the Port of Anacortes' Focus Fidalgo initiative.
At Kentch Reach, GeoEngineers' River Team created new channel alignments, enabling the river to meander back and forth across its historical floodplain and adding nearly a mile of new habitat.
A direct-push drilling machine at the Palermo Superfund Site collecting subsurface environmental data.
The 45 Ranch project created more than 25 acres of new or enhanced wetlands and wet meadows.
Natural Resources & Environment
Regulatory Compliance
GeoEngineers has an intimate understanding of the complicated web of federal, state and local environmental regulations, and pride ourselves on helping our clients stay compliant. GeoEngineers has performed large and small-scale RI/FS throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Missouri, Montana and Alaska under a variety of regulatory frameworks.
We have successfully negotiated with agencies to obtain approval for innovative approaches to risk assessment, while still achieving protection of human health and the environment. Our experience with utilities and energy providers and air-quality regulation means we have the tools to help clients plan effectively for an uncertain future. Let us be your guide through federal or state regulations, protecting your business from liabilities while improving safety for all.
Environmental Permitting for Development
In today’s regulatory environment, most development projects require integrated federal, state, and local permitting. GeoEngineers’ permitting professionals are here to help you create and implement realistic strategies that apply rigorous science for optimal regulatory compliance during development.
- Strategic project management, including regulatory strategy planning, agency consultation, environmental assessment and compliance assurance, public involvement, expert witness and impact fee negotiations.
- Development permits, including building and demolition, stormwater, clearing and grading, floodplain and shoreline development, land use and zoning, utility easements, permitting for aquatic leasing and air modeling.
- Environmental permits, including critical areas ordinances, EIS, NPDES and state discharge, dangerous/hazardous waste, NEPA/SEPA, CAA, Coal Combustion Residuals and FERC compliance.
- Natural resource permitting, including Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance, fisheries and hydraulic projects, water rights, water quality and forest practice approvals.
Emerging Contaminants
We track the science on emerging contaminants, like PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and work with our clients and regulatory agencies to characterize contamination and develop remediation solutions.
Biological Assessments
Our biologists understand our complex regulatory framework, including the ESA, Section 7, Section 10 permitting and endangered/threatened/sensitive species reviews. Thanks to our experience, GeoEngineers offers far more than an assessment—we help you understand what it all means for you, and how to take the next steps toward your goals.
Wetland Assessment, Mitigation, Banking and Monitoring
Our biologists, ecologists, and fishery experts can evaluate protected wetlands for potential impacts from projects, and design and create new habitat. Sometimes environmental impacts to wetlands are unavoidable. In that case, we help our clients stay compliant by offsetting these negative impacts with new wetland habitat, a process known as wetland mitigation banking.
Critical Areas Assessments
GeoEngineers’ experts regularly perform critical areas assessments to evaluate the environmental, human and infrastructure risks at critical sites. Critical areas are typically defined by local or regional authorities, and include sites that are flood-prone, geologically hazardous, critical to a water supply, or important to conservation efforts.
Expert Witness/Legal Support
When our clients need support, we’re there, whether it’s in the field or the courtroom. We provide expert witnesses during environmental litigation and help our clients understand and navigate applicable legal requirements.
Operational Compliance
For facilities, we provide clients with regulatory support for a wide range of ongoing industrial operations and how they may interact with natural resources, including:
- Compliance Assessments: We work with clients to understand their needs and deliver the right level of review and documentation, whether it’s an informal consultation, a limited environmental compliance assessment, or a full environmental compliance audit.
- Industrial Stormwater: We can develop entire stormwater management programs or simply assist with permits. We have experience with Stormwater Pollution Prevention and Control Plans, evaluating and suggesting best-management practices, and designing and implementing treatment options.
- Process Wastewater: We help clients determine and meet compliance requirements for process wastewater discharge, apply for permits, interface with regulatory agencies, and provide engineering designs for treatment systems.
- Solid Waste Management: For industrial clients that generate or manage solid waste, GeoEngineers can help characterize material and then recommend appropriate handling and disposal methods that meet regulatory guidelines. We carefully delineate solid waste that meets the definition of “hazardous” and provide recommendations for handling and permitted disposal.
- Air Compliance: We prepare air permit applications, perform emissions inventories, run dispersion models, and help our clients understand their obligations under the complex array of state and federal air quality regulations.
- Program Implementation: GeoEngineers’ environmental compliance specialists work side by side with our clients to create actionable, integrated, and site-specific compliance programs that integrate into daily operations as efficiently as possible.
