Allen Engineering and Science

Mississippi Department of Marine Resources: Coastal Mississippi Sustainable Development and Resilience Project

Posted on February 27, 2017

AllenES developed the Sustainable Development and Smart Growth Initiative for the Six Coastal Counties of Mississippi. The Sustainable Development and Smart Growth Initiative for the Six Coastal Counties of Mississippi involved the development of four separate and distinct projects:

The development of a comprehensive resources management plan;
The development of a Sustainable Growth and Watershed Management Model;
The development of a Six Coastal County Strategic and Smart Growth Toolbox; and
The development of a conceptual plan for an exemplary coastal sustainable development.

The primary goal of this project was to create a comprehensive program designed to incorporate the principles of sustainability, smart growth and coastal resilience into the day to day public and private development activities that occur within the Mississippi Gulf Coast Region. The Toolbox focused on Smart Growth, Sustainable Development & Coastal Resilience and was organized according to five concepts based on Smart Growth Principles: Community Character; Growing Green; Transportation Choices; Policy in Practice; and Coastal Resiliency & Natural Hazards.

The project was uniquely reflective of the precious coastal resources and colorful characteristics of coastal Mississippi and encourages a sense of community by offering innovative best management practices. Thus providing a natural sense of place, increase community pride, and improve marketability.

The Smart Growth Project consisted of a modeling phase. The “Sustainable Growth and Watershed Management Model” for the Mississippi Gulf Coast is viewed as a decision-making tool designed to increase the level of awareness associated with watershed management and to assist elected officials and other community leaders in making informed decisions with respect to development activities. The model was developed using GIS technology to visually predict potential impacts associated with future developments and will take into account the interconnectedness of the coastal ecosystems and the many facets of a watershed system as a whole. The model is GIS based to utilize existing spatial data and to visualize data for informed decisions. The goals of the project were to encourage better selection of potential growth areas, to encourage better site design principles, to utilize existing resources, and to better manage and protect natural and cultural resources.

McComb Brownfields Assessment Grant Program: McComb, Mississippi

Posted on February 27, 2017

AllenES contracted with the City of McComb, Mississippi as the lead consultant for implementation of its Brownfields Assessment Grant Program. AllenES assisted the City with all aspects of their Brownfields program development and implementation.The McComb program focused primarily on downtown redevelopment opportunities as a means of breathing new life into Downtown McComb and providing the catalyst necessary to allow the City of McComb to realize its downtown revitalization goals and objectives.

AllenES led the City of McComb through community outreach processes including organization of the McComb Brownfields Advisory Team. The Advisory Team was citizen based and assisted the City and AllenES in site selection and review of assessment results. Through this project AllenES completed approximately 10 Phase I ESAs in McComb and three Phase II ESAs. The McComb Brownfields program ultimately resulted the pending establishment of two downtown community parks, and the revitalization of five downtown buildings through private investment; all resulting from the environmental investigation, redevelopment planning, and clean-up planning eﬀorts from this project. The efforts of this project culminated with the implementation of a downtown revitalization charrette that spanned over three days and included the input of city staff and administration and several members of the general public.

Electrical Power Generating Facility Assessments, Permitting, Mitigation, Restoration, Stormwater Management, and Monitoring of Macroinvertebrates, Fish, Streams, and Wetlands

Posted on February 27, 2017

Assessment and Permitting for the Electrical Power Generating Facility and Associated Linear Corridors

AllenES is performing natural resource management activities including environmental and engineering services regarding the development of a power facility and associated linear corridors. AllenES initially
conducted ecological surveys (wetlands, waters of the US, and endangered/threatened species) along a 42-mile corridor through three Mississippi counties. AllenES was responsible for field characterization, land use identification, vegetation mapping, and ecological resource surveys.

AllenES prepared the Section 404 wetland permit and the 401 water quality certification application and relevant supporting materials for the site and associated linear facilities. As part of the process, a mitigation plan for wetlands and streams was developed and approved by the USACE and a Water Quality Assurance Project Plan was developed and approved by the MDEQ. AllenES implemented the wetland and stream mitigation plan at the power generating facility.

135 Acres of Wetland Restoration and 3,000 linear feet of Stream Restoration for Mitigation

The mitigation construction activities associated with an IGCC power generating project included the restoration of approximately 30 acres of wetlands, 105 acres of riparian buffer, and approximately 3,000 linear feet of
stream channel. Construction activities included land clearing, grubbing, and grading: selective thinning of undesirable canopy species in select areas and supplemental planting with desirable species; removing invasive species and undesirable species in select areas; removing flow impediments to the stream and restoring the natural hydrologic regime to the local watershed; and planting desirable wetland and riparian buffer species.

In addition, a ten (10) year on-going biological monitoring effort continues to ensure performance measures and success criteria necessary to satisfy USACE and MDEQ permitting requirements are achieved through use of appropriate adaptive management of the associated mitigation plan.

Stormwater Management Associated with Restoration of 135 acres of Wetlands and 3,000 Linear Feet of Stream

In addition, our firm also provided erosion and stormwater control and stormwater monitoring and inspection of the project.

Soil & Groundwater Assessment & Monitoring for Natural Gas Pipeline

Posted on February 27, 2017

Performed extensive field sampling, environmental assessments, data management, graphical presentation, and reporting for a natural gas transmission company engaged in the interstate transmission of natural gas through a series of subsurface pipelines and compressor stations. Detection of PCBs in soils at compressor stations resulted in the initiation of a program to characterize PCBs as well as other hazardous substance list (HSL) compounds at compressor stations in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The HSL compounds include the specific constituents from the Target Compound List/Target Analyte List (TCL/TAL) identified in the current EPA Contract Laboratory Program. Performed on and off-site characterization work which included soil and groundwater screening for the presence of PCBs and HSLs. Generally, this work involved vertical and horizontal soil and sediment sampling to characterize the extent of soil impact and the installation of several monitoring wells into the uppermost permeable saturated zone and subsequent groundwater monitoring for PCBs and HSL compounds at each of the compressor stations.

The client engaged us as its nation-wide groundwater consultant in 1995. Since that time, our firm has applied various redevelopment and “low-flow” sampling techniques and other innovative and standard investigative techniques to groundwater assessment, groundwater remediation and long-term monitoring at over 35 compressor stations nation-wide. These stations are located in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Our proposed strategies have reduced the clientʼs initial estimations of cost of its groundwater program by approximately 75 percent. Our firm has also assisted the client with the establishment of nation-wide groundwater strategies and priorities, interactions with state and federal regulatory agencies on groundwater- related issues, and the “risk-based” closure of many of its groundwater sites.

Water Impoundment and Containment Pond

Posted on February 27, 2017

Comstock Oil and Gas, LP (Comstock) engaged AllenES in various aspects associated with the companyʼs exploration and production operations in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale Play. Specifically, AllenES addressed the companyʼs water resource demands associated with the exploration and production needs. AllenES conducted initial site screenings and surveys for the potential location of a water facility containment pond. We also assisted with the permitting and compliance requirements for the lined surface water impoundment in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.

AllenES designed, engineered, permitted, and oversaw the construction of a 7-acre hydraulic fracturing pond and installation of the geomembrane liner. The services also included development of construction drawings, preparation of bid documents, review of bids, selection of contractor, and on-going oversight and construction management.

The impoundment was designed to store surface water sourced from the nearby Buffalo River under a separate withdrawal permit issued by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). As such, sediment and erosion control measures were installed to divert and treat the stormwater that falls around the impoundment during construction and throughout its operating life. Also, AllenES developed and implemented a SWPP Plan and SPCC Plan and conducted groundwater and facility monitoring.

Specialty Chemical Company Industrial Solid Waste Landfill Development

Posted on February 27, 2017

Permitting: AllenES prepared an Industrial Landfill Solid Waste Permit Application Report to permit a 46 acre industrial landfill. The permitting scope of work for this project involved performing site surveys, evaluating siting criteria requirements, preparing geologic and hydrogeologic reports, developing liner designs, final cap designs, preparing operating plans, and performing slope stability analyses to determine the final elevations for stacking waste sludges.

Due to site constraints, a storm water management system was developed which will collect all rainwater and route it through the facilityʼs wastewater treatment process for subsequent NPDES discharge. Wetlands permitting was required as part of this work for the facility as well. AllenES performed wetland delineations, threatened and endangered species reports, cultural resources reports, and prepared a wetlands permit application report for submittal to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Construction Documents: In addition to preparing permit documents, AllenES prepared construction documents including Construction Drawings, Specifications, and Bid Package for constructing Phases 1and 2 of the landfill.

Development of Phase 1 consisted of approximately 14 acres of landfill construction including composite bottom liner and leachate collection system, storm water management plans, leachate management plans, construction of a new access road with a stream crossing, and overhead crossing of an existing county road. This work also involved rerouting and upgrading the existing county road.

Certification and Engineer of Record: AllenES provided the Certifying Engineer and served as the Engineer of Record for the construction of Phases 1 & 2 industrial landfill, a new access road, upgrades and rerouting of an existing road, construction of a waste handling conveyor, and associated utilities. The Certifying Engineer was responsible for project oversight to insure compliance with the solid waste permit and construction drawings.

Project Management: AllenES also served as the Project Management Team for the construction of the industrial landfill, a new access road, upgrades and rerouting of an existing road, construction of a waste handling conveyor, and associated utilities.

Monitored the construction as clientʼs representative, created an as-built set of drawings, and communicated the change requests as required to maintain permit compliance. The project management team communicated constantly with the contractors and client to ensure that all contractors working on the project are scheduled to achieve the maximum productivity and minimize lost time from conflicts.

Conduct a weekly construction meeting with the Contractor and owner to discuss scheduled activities. Agenda for the meetings will include a discussion of project events during the previous week and upcoming week, Contractorʼs adherence to schedule, status of action items.

Prepare daily inspection reports documenting a summary of the work activities, the Contractorʼs equipment/manpower present on-site, material/equipment deliveries, geotechnical/geosynthetic field testing results, protection of stored materials, construction not in accordance with applicable specifications/regulations, and corrective actions taken.

Developed a Project Management Plan (PMP) which outlined the framework for monitoring, managing, and reporting the status of the project. The PMP consisted of the following plan components.