May 19, 1998

PSI

Engineering and testing firm PSI has added three new members to its staff. Jeffrey S. Thompson and Matt M. Beheshti have joined the Seattle office and Michele St. Germaine has joined the Spokane office. Thompson is a senior project manager. His new duties include managing environmental projects and field personnel, business development and providing technical oversight. He holds a master's degree in engineering geology from Texas A&M. Beheshti is a project engineer. He is managing projects involving asbestos management, lead-based paint and indoor air quality. He holds a master's degree in civil/structural engineering from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. St. Germaine is the new branch manager for the company's Spokane office. She is responsible for project management and technical oversight of construction inspection and laboratory testing. She holds an engineering degree from Arizona State University.

Port of Ridgefield plans massive cleanup

RIDGEFIELD, Clark County -- The state Department of Ecology has awarded a $3.9 million grant to the Port of Ridgefield to help jump-start cleanup of an abandoned and severely contaminated wood-treating site along the Lake River. The 40-acre, port-owned site was occupied for 30 years by Pacific Wood Treating Corp. (PWT), which used creosote, pentachlorophenol, copper, chromium and arsenic to treat wood products. The chemicals dripped into the site's soil and groundwater and entered the Lake River, which connects the Columbia River with Vancouver Lake. The contaminated site also neighbors the 5,000-acre Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, land reserved by the federal government to provide fish and wildlife habitat. Ecology first ordered cleanup of the site in 1991. The port inherited PWT's cleanup responsibilities when the company filed for bankruptcy in 1993. Total cleanup of the site is estimated to cost $40 million and take up to 10 years to complete. Ecology's $3.9 million grant is coming from state Model Toxics Control Act funding. The port already has done some cleanup work with $300,000 of its own funds, along with two previous Model Toxics Control Act grants totaling $1.1 million. Since September 1996, 2.38 million pounds of hazardous waste and chemicals have been removed from the site. The port says it already has measured a large reduction in toxic contamination entering the Lake River. In 1994 the port hired Maul Foster & Alongi, an environmental consulting firm in Vancouver, Wash., to oversee its phased cleanup program. In November 1997, the port hired CET Environmental Services of Portland to demolish the wood-treating plant and remove the hazardous chemicals. And in January 1998, Advanced Environmental Technical Services of Fremont, Calif., was called on by the port to sample, profile, characterize, consolidate and remove hazardous wastes abandoned by PWT. The port has budgeted another $1.46 million for cleanup work in 1998. The port also expects to receive additional money from PWT's bankruptcy settlement, which is now pending in federal court. The port's redevelopment plans for the property include using 7 acres of the site for expansion of the city of Ridgefield's wastewater treatment plant. Cleanup of that 7-acre parcel is expected to cost $12.5 million. Ecology says it will provide water-quality grants and loans to help pay for the treatment plant's construction after designs are submitted and approved. State and local officials say wastewater planning is important in Ridgefield to keep up with the city's and Clark County's rapid growth. Ridgefield's population of 1,770 could jump 50 percent if two new housing developments are approved.

Recycling/transfer station to be upgraded

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE -- Snohomish County is planning to improve and expand its Southwest Recycling and Transfer Station in Mountlake Terrace. The basic operation of the station -- packing waste into enclosed containers for shipment off site -- will not change. The new design and expansion are expected to:

• move traffic off the street by expanding the vehicle-holding area;
• increase safety on the site and on surrounding streets;
• enclose some activities in order to reduce noise; and
• accommodate increased solid-waste and recycling volumes as the local population grows.

The county's first step toward expanding the Southwest facility will be to purchase several properties next to the site. Once that is done, the county will begin a final design process for the improved station. For more information, contact project manager Sego Jackson at (425) 388-6490 (phone); (425) 259-4945 (fax); or Sego.Jackson@co.snohomish.wa.us (e-mail).

May 15, 1998

Retail construction at Northwest Landing

Rockmann Development Group of Tacoma is constructing a two-story, 15,800-square-foot building at Northwest Landing in the first phase of retail development there. The site is at Barksdale Station, just off the ramp at I-5 Exit 119. Tenants for the project are Starbucks Coffee, First Tech Credit Union, Teriyaki Bar & Grill, Red Nails Salmon and Arrowhead Dry Cleaner. Opening is set for Labor Day, or thereabouts. The project was designed by Helix Architecture, of Tacoma. The contractor is Rushforth Construction, of Fife; the civil engineer is AHBI of Tacoma. Leasing information is available from Axiom commercial Real Estate, (253) 473-5351.

May 13, 1998

CivilTech

Jim Kleppe has joined CivilTech of Bellevue as chief operating officer and principal. He was previously director of development services at hart Crowser. Current CivilTech projects include the King County Denny Way Combined Sewage Overflow project, the Tolt River water treatment facilities and soil nail support for the Austin Bell Building.

SCS

SCS, an international environmental consulting firm, has made three promotions within its Bellevue office. Robert M. Newman and David E. Roberson have been appointed to serve as national partners for the management services division of the firm. Newman, who joined the firm in 1990, coordinated environmental management systems for Fluor Daniel Hanford and for Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Roberson is an environmental scientist who joined the firm's environmental data management practice in 1979. Greg Helland has been promoted to division manager of Bellevue's environmental services division. He joined the firm in 1986 as a professional geologist.

Pinnacle

Byron Mark has joined The Pinnacle Consulting Group as a project manager. He will manage industrial engineering projects for Emery Worldwide Airlines, Matsushita Avionics Systems and amazon.com. His work involves operations, startup and overall project management. Jim Woodcock has joined the firm as senior project engineer. He is at work on industrial engineering projects for James Hardie Gypsum, Optiva Corporation, Skyway Luggage, and Tenneco Packaging. Gene Schoenecker has joined Pinnacle as a CAD operator.

Rice Fergus

Greg Belding and Bob Miller-Rhees have been named associates at Rice Fergus Architects in Bremerton. Belding was the firm's first employee in 1990 and has been project architect for many of the firms residential and commercial projects. Miller-Rhees joined Rice Fergus in 1995 after a 15 year career with Seattle firms in medical, assisted living, educational and corporate commercial work. Architect Robert T. Wright has joined Rice Fergus this year. John H. Larson and Carol Longmate Smiley have also joined the firm as architects and Roger Nordlander has joined Rice Fergus Architects as a CAD operator and specifications writer.

Freiheit & Ho

Thomas L. Spader has been promoted to the level of associate at Freiheit & Ho Architects, Inc. He will continue his work in restaurant, health club, hotel and gaming facility projects.

CDi

Dennis Zbaraschuk has joined CDi Mechanical Engineers Inc. as a mechanical designer, and is currently working on the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Pat Cooper and Leslie Jonsson have also joined the firm as mechanical designers and are at work on the University of Washington Bothel campus Dionne C. Thibodaux has joined the firm as a marketing assistant.

DCI

John Barry has joined te Bellevue office of D'Amato Conversano Engineers as a project manager. His structural engineering experience includes work on the Bell Street Pier Central Waterfront Project, 1000 Dexter, and the Green River Community College Center for Information Technology. He is currently managing projects for the 51st Avenue Office Building in Seattle, the Cascade Vet Clinic in Wenatchee and the Belmont Office Building in Woodinville.

Cosmopolitan

Jeff Morgan and Duane Edwards have joined the Cosmopolitan Engineering Group in Tacoma. Morgan is currently working on the Denny Way/Lake Union combined sewage overflow project and Edwards is at work on landscape and irrigation designs for several school districts.

AKB

H. David Jeeter has joined AKB Engineers as a senior structural engineer. He is currently working on the Washington Army National Guard Mobilization and Training Equipment Sites (MATES) project.