Photo by Mark Dagel/Hart Crowser Hart Crowser is consulting with the Forest Service on the Holden Mine cleanup near Lake Chelan.

3 things to consider about your building materials
Smart owners and contractors can avoid potential issues by considering the impacts of chemicals found in many building materials.

By NICOLE DENAMUR
Pacifica Law Group

Navigating Washington’s water rights process
Obtaining a water right has gotten difficult due to environmental awareness, court cases and federal laws.

By CHRIS PITRE
Coho Water Resources

Reusing stormwater can release untapped benefits
The infrastructure needed to move and clean water for city use can consume more energy than localized water collection and reuse.

By RACHAEL MEYER
Weber Thompson

Restoring an ecosystem? Get to know your geotech

Geotechnical engineers can help ecosystem restoration projects move faster and be more cost-efficient.

By ANDREW HOLMSON
Aspect Consulting

New water plant saves Lynden from the ‘milkshake effect’

The facility can treat 8 million gallons of water daily; triple what the old plant could do.

By MILES YI
Stantec

With Passive House, incentives are all carrot and no stick

The genius of the Passive House approach is that it views the building itself — its skeleton and skin — as a technology.

By ZACK SEMKE
NK Architects

Brownfields are becoming developers’ next frontier

In the last two years, the Department of Ecology has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of contaminated sites being reported and increased applications into the Voluntary Cleanup Program.

By MICHAEL STRINGER and JIM DARLING
Maul Foster & Alongi

Robots go where no divers can to recover munitions

A new software system from BluHaptics allows operators to see sunken munitions in 3-D and retrieve them with remotely operated vehicles that provide human touch-like feedback.

By JOHN R. KANE
Kane Environmental

Still much to learn about the carbon story of buildings

The importance of carbon reduction is known in the building industry, but few designers and contractors have access to enough carbon data to feel empowered to address it during design and construction.

By STACY SMEDLEY
Skanska USA