January 18, 2005

Environmental Watch: Herrera expands Portland office

Felstul

Larkin

SEATTLE — Herrera Environmental Consultants appointed Dave Felstul to its Portland office as water resources director. Felstul has worked on six watershed master plans in Oregon and is an expert on stormwater best management practices. He has led water quality monitoring and lake restoration efforts for municipal, state and private clients in western states and Minnesota.

Mary Larkin joined Herrera in Portland as a civil engineer. Larkin's experience is in storm drainage design and transportation projects such as low-impact stormwater management in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. She has also worked on hydraulic and hydrologic analysis, water quality monitoring and permitting assistance.

Brown and Caldwell opens in Kingston

SEATTLE — Environmental engineering consulting firm Brown and Caldwell recently opened a new office in Kingston at 26119 Calvary Lane N.E., Suite 800.

Bob Gatz will direct operations at the office. Brown and Caldwell also added Moe Leavitt to the staff there. Gatz and Leavitt have civil engineering backgrounds and have worked on water treatment, infrastructure and site design. Past projects include the Clearwater Casino and Poulsbo Place.

Brown and Caldwell has other offices in Seattle and Olympia. The Walnut Creek, Calif.-based firm provides scientific and engineering services to government and industry.

Energy firm picks Seattle affiliate

SEATTLE — Energy Automation Systems named Scott Scholz an authorized, independent affiliate in the Pacific Northwest. Scholz owns Seattle-based Energy Saving Systems Trading.

Energy Automation Systems works on electrical energy conservation systems and technology. It is a global network of energy conservation professionals trained to study facilities and provide systems to cut energy costs for commercial and industrial enterprises.

For more information, call Scott Scholz at (206) 331-4435 or e-mail scott@esstrading.net.

EPA spill newsletter online

OLYMPIA — The Washington state Department of Ecology's spill prevention, preparedness and response program has published an online newsletter on spills. Spill Scene is posted at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/spills.html. For a copy, call (360) 407-7211 or e-mail mevo461@ecy.wa.gov.

Portland seeks after-the-fact permit

PORTLAND — The Port of Portland is requesting an after-the-fact permit for discharge of dredged material on West Hayden Island in Portland.

The port requested the permit for discharge of dredged material into 1.19 acres of wetland on West Hayden Island, which occurred when the port was doing maintenance dredging of the Vancouver Turning Basin in 1996.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is issuing a second notice for the permit application. A public notice described the request for an after-the-fact Department of Army permit and was originally issued on June 13, 2001, but because of changes to the mitigation plan and a time lapse, the Corps is providing another opportunity for comments.

If a permit is issued, the Corps will decide on the appropriate compensatory mitigation.

Consultation will occur with NOAA Fisheries and/or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if it is determined the activity will affect a listed species.

Submit written comments by Feb. 3 or get a copy of the the Corps' Public Notice 2001-00062 by writing to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENWP-OP-GP (Judy Linton), P.O. Box 2946, Portland, OR 97208-2946 or call (503) 808-4391. E-mail comments to Judy.L.Linton@usace.army.mil.

New ASHRAE standards are greener

ATLANTA — A new standard on energy conservation is expected to lead to the design of greener buildings, according to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Minimum energy-efficient requirements have been made more stringent for ASHRAE's lighting, mechanical, climate zones and energy cost budget methods standards. A new appendix rates the energy-efficiency of building designs that exceed minimum requirements.