overcoming obstacles

Transcription

1 overcoming obstacles water & air RESEAR C H, I N C.

2 Obstacles Bumps in the road that can throw us off track, delay progress or even halt a project. Nobody likes facing obstacles; they can be costly and time consuming. We like to regard them instead as challenges to use our diverse multi-dimensional teams to develop creative solutions. Whether you re with an industrial corporation, energy company or lending institution, you face obstacles dealing with environmental issues. Experience has taught us that obstacles are different for various individual organizations and that there s a way to overcome any obstacle. Water & Air has worked for more than 30 years to build and integrate a practical and effective team of environmental professionals to serve clients. Our investments in information technology ensure superior service, affordability, and timely response. Clients as diverse as manufacturing companies, government agencies, and citizen s groups have all counted on Water & Air to form strong, comfortable partnerships with them on major, complex environmental projects. You can count on us, too. There are several ways to face an obstacle: You can go around it, go over it, or remove it altogether. We will work with you to come up with the plan that works for you.

3 we are partners. Water & Air offers our clients a partnership, working as a team to navigate around obstacles. Even on small projects, our talented group of employees whose average service with our company is 14 years is dedicated to finding solutions for individual obstacles, using experts from different departments as needed. We value our employees, who are the strength of our company and provide consistency for clients who come back for help on other projects, sometimes years later. We pride ourselves in building relationships by doing quality work and by finishing on time and under budget. We are counselors, one scientist says. In addition to providing good technical work, we develop a close working relationship even a friendship with our clients. We really care about them; we relate to them personally and want to make sure we do a good job for them. Around an obstacle: Keeping clients current with regulations As Lewis Oil, a Water & Air client since 1993, purchased convenience store/gas station sites around North Florida, they inherited some underground tanks that did not meet new regulations implemented in the late 1990s. Many were old single-walled steel tanks that, through age or improper installation, needed repair or required removal and replacement with double-walled tanks by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection s deadline in Water & Air worked with Lewis Oil and state inspectors to prepare and implement a plan of action to meet these compliance and assessment deadlines. Our technical ability and understanding of the State of Florida pre-approvement program and insurance coverages has helped Lewis Oil to rehabilitate sites quickly and get them back in business. Wenda Lewis, owner, says The team I work with is practical and effective. They are on my team, fighting for me while still keeping regulators happy. They helped save our company money. They did what they needed to do at every site and moved on if the tanks were acceptable. If they found contamination, they contained it during one trip. We need to be compliant with regulations, and they help me do that in as cost-effective a way as possible. Our engineers designed this remediation system to restore groundwater quality to meet state cleanup target levels. A planner checks site plans for a linear park against field conditions. A Manufacturing Client A Water & Air geologist uses direct-push technology to demarcate an area of soil and groundwater exceeding state cleanup target levels.

4 The Water & Air team completely revamped our water testing program and designed an entirely new, state-of-the-art monitoring system for us based on new industry requirements and our specific needs. This new system gives us data much quicker than ever before, and I have confidence the information we re getting back is solid. A Government Client we are innovators. We offer creative solutions to get clients over many types of obstacles. Sometimes an apparent obstacle may even be a benefit; in any case, we make the most of the situation. As a planner puts it: We are an objective third party that can help clients focus on the right issues. We help determine what s important and what s not, then make recommendations that fit budgets and timelines. We can get at the root of the matter without diversion. Over an obstacle: Using innovation in vegetation mapping A portion of the Everglades restoration plan managed by the Corps of Engineers requires removal of levees to restore the natural water flow. The Corps needed to locate exotic and nuisance species in order to prevent their spread when a levee is breached. Vegetation quadrant monitoring is commonly used for vegetation mapping, but it usually requires many plots and can take years to monitor the growth and spread of exotic and nuisance species. Water & Air improved this procedure by employing a Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) to map vegetation. This multi-spectral digital aerial system uses a computer to identify vegetation communities by their spectral fingerprints. This permits sophisticated analyses that are well beyond the capabilities of conventional aerial photography. This innovative procedure, supported by experienced field teams on the ground, provided much more information about the spread of exotic and nuisance species at a much lower cost per unit area than with conventional vegetation monitoring. Jim Riley of the Jacksonville District Corps of Engineers praises Water & Air for being a thinking contractor and coming up with a better method. What else would you expect from a team that is focused on performance? Native plants are grown in our nursery for ecological restoration projects, xeriscaping, and educational landscaping. We use global positioning (GPS) to locate unique features for developing maps, plans, and management strategies. We sample and identify aquatic invertebrate organisms living in water and sediments and use this information to evaluate biological response to sediment and water quality.

5 we are experts. Founded by a diverse group of environmental experts more than 30 years ago one of the first consulting firms dedicated to environmental problems Water & Air has a strong science base that allows us to help clients remove obstacles altogether. The disciplines established by our founders biology, chemistry, geology, environmental science and engineering are still with us today, as are many of our early staff. Our technical staff is in for the long haul and keeps a broad view of issues. That objective, third party role comes into play daily; we are trusted by clients and regulatory agencies. A senior-level engineer says, The leaders of Water & Air, who have years of experience, not only maintain their technical expertise but put it to use in the field. It s comforting to clients that in addition to their management roles, our leaders add their expertise to project teams. Removing an obstacle: Clearance for asset-based loans Water & Air client Dave Evans of Foothill Capital, a national asset-based lender with headquarters in California, describes the work the company has done for him for the last 10 years: Since our company lends the value of collateral, we often need real estate appraised before we agree to those loans. We are very concerned about environmental issues; if we own the property, we may be held responsible for any environmental cleanup that may be needed. When we make the loan, we want to be sure the property is clean or that our risks are, at least, adequately evaluated. The team from Water & Air protects our company; like an auditor or appraiser, they are a line of defense for us. In addition, they always send experts into the field; we feel they give us a full evaluation and help us navigate through unexpected situations. Their teams of experts are able to complete work quickly and completely. Measuring in-situ parameters with a Hydrolab helps give our scientists the information they need to determine the health of a body of water. A scientist collects groundwater samples using a stainless steel pump with a Teflon bladder to demarcate an area of soil exceeding state cleanup target levels. A scientist uses a hand auger to collect soil samples to demarcate an area of groundwater exceeding cleanup target levels. Water & Air s expertise has been a tremendous benefit. They have the experience to understand that along with our scientific, technical side we also need to pay attention to our community's potential concerns. Plus, Water & Air has a very good reputation, which helps when working with review agencies. A Developer Client

6 REAL PEOPLE REAL SOLUTIONS Our employees work with you toward one common goal: finding solutions to help you move forward with your project. Whether your goal is to receive a clearance letter ( no further action needed ), win approval of a permit, prevail in a court case or obtain approval to open for business, we will help find your solution. water & air RESEAR C H, I N C.

7 water & air RESEAR C H, I N C. REAL PEOPLE REAL SOLUTIONS 6821 S.W. Archer Road Gainesville, Florida Voice: Toll Free: Fax: Consulting Environmental Engineers, Scientists, & Planners Printed on recycled paper