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Ecological Services
Wetlands, rivers, forests, estuaries, lakes and
meadows – all are highly valuable ecosystems critical to the enhancement and
protection of wildlife, habitat, water quality and recreation. They are also
the first places to be affected by toxic releases and spills, land
disturbance and development, or air and water discharges. Advanced
GeoServices provides strategic and targeted responses to such impacts
through ecosystem based understanding of the myriad inter-relationships
involved.
With renewed emphasis on ecosystem/habitat issues as they relate to
recreational resources and environmental impacts on flora and fauna,
Advanced GeoServices has become a leader in ecosystem-scale protection
and/or restoration of natural, degraded, or contaminated areas. This
includes the identification, collection and analysis of indicator organisms,
and correlating potential and/or actual environmental exposure impacts to
aquatic and terrestrial contaminant/physico-chemical sources.
More stringent rules concerning nutrient discharge
criteria, land disturbance, sedimentation effects and physico-chemical/thermal
discharges have refocused attention on performance based permitting for
environmental results as opposed to simply meeting site-specific standards
and criteria. Advanced GeoServices’ scientists and engineers are experienced
in cause and effect screening techniques at the ecosystem, habitat and/or
organism-specific level to evaluate water quality, wetland impacts,
increased eutrophication, terrestrial and wildlife impacts, and suspended
and bedded sediments. Advanced GeoServices can also take these studies to
the next level, providing aquatic and terrestrial habitat restoration when
needed.
In addition, Advanced GeoServices’ sophisticated Geographic Information
System (GIS) is often used to organize and evaluate the typically complex,
multifaceted data collected in such ecological/biological field studies.
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Evaluation and Assessment
Water Quality/TMDL Criteria
Fisheries
Wetlands
Aquatic/Terrestrial Habitats
Upstream/Downstream Differentiators
Bird and Bat Surveys
Suspended and Bedded SedimentsBioassay of Fish, Plankton & Benthos
Aquatic Toxicology
Dredge Spoils
Impact
Analysis
Intake Withdrawal and Discharge Zones
Wind farm Installations
Cooling Towers
Site Development
Once Through Cooling
Greenfield Development
Right-of-Way Corridors
Siting, Stream Crossings
Toxic Spills and Releases
Wetlands Encroachment
Fish Advisories
Risk Management and Communication
Natural Resource Damages
Port & Harbor Dredging |
Ecosystem Restoration & Mitigation
Wetlands Creation & Banking
Habitat Conservation
Brownfields Development
Landscape Design
Alternative Land Use
Floodplain/Riparian Buffers
Site Reclamation
Invasive Species Control Planning & Permitting
NPDES
NEPA
NRDA
Endangered Species
Greenways Planning
Trails and Signage
316 (a) & (b)
ESAs
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Representative Projects
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Nuclear Power Plant
New Jersey
Section 316 of the Clean Water Act requires continuous
monitoring of entrainment and impingement effects of once-through-cooling
system withdrawal on fish and other aquatic organisms. When routine
monitoring of key species in the affected waterbody showed population
declines associated with species-specific losses at the plant, Advanced
GeoServices staff designed, conducted, and managed Eulerian and LaGrangian
hydrological field studies to provide dynamic current velocity, circulation,
temperature, conductivity, and transport data, as well as performing
bathymetric surveys and collecting sedimentation data for input to mixing
zone, water quality, thermal plume, and other computer models. In situ meter
moorings, infrared (IR) overflight ground truth, real-time instrumentation,
fluorometric dyes, and other shipboard navigation-controlled procedures were
also employed. The resulting data were used to direct dredging operations to
achieve velocity reduction in the withdrawal zone and increased dissipation
of the thermal plume to protect and enhance the fishery. |
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Marathon Battery Superfund Site
Cold Springs, New York
An expansive freshwater tidal marsh area along the Hudson River was
constructed/restored following the dredging and mechanical excavation of
100,000+ cubic yards of contaminated sediments. Restoration of the 15-acre
East Foundry Cove Marsh wetland with a geo-composite cap included complete
marsh restoration. As part of the remediation, Advanced GeoServices
developed and implemented a Long Term Monitoring Plan to monitor and
evaluate the re-establishment of the Marsh. This included annual sampling of
several species of birds, fish, invertebrates, and vegetation to determine
if the remediation succeeded in reducing exposure to contaminants, as well
as an annual inventory and visual inspection to document the
re-establishment of vegetation. Supplemental efforts were also employed to
assist in the re-vegetation. These measures included
replanting/transplanting, flow velocity reduction measures to increase the
buildup of sediment and invasive species control. |
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Ashtabula Dredge Disposal Site
Lake Erie, Ohio
Advanced GeoServices’ staff
studied dredge spoils disposal impacts on aquatic food chain based sediment
biota near Astabula on Lake Erie. Multidisciplinary tasks included
biological and sediment characterization, water quality, sediment associated
heavy metals and species specific taxonomy. Review of engineering design
records for channelization and disposal area assignment and scheduling, and
extent of stormwater discharge plumes were also evaluated. Extensive
invertebrate collections, and taxonomic (species level) identification and
analysis resulted in a published technical report
for the US COE. |
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Petroleum Pipeline Company
Southeast Pennsylvania
Advanced GeoServices has worked for a petroleum pipeline company for the
past 14 years and has complete several wetlands/waterway projects for them.
The client owns and operates an 89 mile pipeline from Marcus Hook, PA to
Martins Creek, PA. As part of their on-going maintenance and improvement
program they occasionally install extensions to their pipeline and
frequently replace worn sections of the existing pipeline. Advanced
GeoServices obtained all the environmental permits associated with these
various activities, some of which are described below:
Wetland Disturbance and Replacement - In order to construct a new
metering station in Bucks County PA, a small wetland area needed to be
filled for a permanent access road. The wetland was relocated to an upland
area adjacent to the facility by redirecting drainage to the new area and
transplanting various wetland plants from the disturbed area.
Wetland Disturbance /Stream Encroachment for Pipe Repair – Several
pipeline repairs are performed each year and frequently these repairs are
required where the pipeline traverses a wetland or crosses a stream. We have
obtained eight wetland disturbance or stream encroachment permits in the
past three years for pipeline repair work. These repairs generally involve
excavating an area approximately 50’ x 100’, replacing a section of
pipeline, backfilling the area and restoring the wetland or stream
environment. In one instance, an emergency permit was required and was obtained in three days.
Stream Bank Protection -
Erosion of a stream bank was threatening to expose a portion of the
pipeline. Advanced GeoServices designed and obtained a permit to stabilize
approximately 100 feet of a stream bank to protect the pipeline. |
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State Environmental Quality Review
New York
Advanced GeoServices’ staff were
contracted by the State of New York to evaluate ten candidate regions, from
which five potential sites were selected, for disposal of the state’s Low
Level Radioactive Waste. Based on the areal extent and nature of this
action, a Type 1 State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) was required to
evaluate the potential sites for environmental issues and concerns. SEQR
requires the sponsoring governmental body to identify and mitigate any
significant environmental impacts of the activity it is proposing. Fish and
wildlife were inventoried and field verified, and associated habitat
(upland forest, open areas and vegetation) was evaluated for
subsistence/carrying capacity. Areas of important aesthetic or scenic
quality were also investigated, as well as any inherent ecological,
geological or hydrological sensitivity to change that may be adversely
affected by the project. Specific attention was paid to Critical
Environmental Areas and Endangered or Threatened Species. Avoidance
schemes/mechanisms, protective measures and/or mitigation were recommended
where feasible, while other areas which exceeded exclusionary criteria were
disqualified. |
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Browns Battery Breaking Superfund Site
Hamburg, Pennsylvania
Advanced GeoServices was
the Engineer of Record for remediation of the Browns Battery Superfund Site
located in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. The Site is located along the west bank of
the Schuylkill River at the confluence with the Mill Creek. Work elements
performed in conjunction with completion of the design included bank
stabilization along both the Schuylkill River and Mill Creek and the
creation of the Conservation Easement, which included restoration of the
riparian habitat. To complete the restoration work, Advanced GeoServices’
scope of work included performing assessment/inventory of reference
locations above and below the Site to assist in the selection of the types
and proportions of species for restoration. Over 1,000 trees and shrubs were
planted and biannual tree counts are performed to ensure adequate survival
rates. We also provided field support required to perform surface water and
sediment sampling in the river and creek for bioassays and sediment
chemistry studies. |
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Hydroelectric Plant
Pennsylvania
Advanced GeoServices’ staff
conducted extensive fisheries, water quality and hydrological studies at
this 100 MW impoundment based hydroelectric plant in support of the owners’
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing requirements. Tasks
included investigation of fisheries impacts from flow related habitat
alteration; associated species life cycle modification and population
dynamics; deoxygenation of impounded waters at release depth and associated
downstream impacts; and dam blockage/existing (non-functional) fish ladder
design effects on fish populations. These studies included fish
electroshocking, evaluation of water and sediment quality, and benthic
invertebrate, zooplankton and fish inter-dynamics. |
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Galaxy/Spectron Superfund Site
Elkton, Maryland
This Superfund site in Elkton, Maryland required stream restoration.
Advanced
GeoServices oversaw the establishment of riparian corridors, rapid
bio-assessment upstream, downstream and throughout the site. We focused
remedial design on renaturalization of aquatic habitat and diversity of
hydraulic character (i.e. riffle zones, pools, etc). Fish ladders were
constructed around two 170 year old dams, one located downstream of the site
and the other upstream. The project was performed under the review of the
Maryland Department of the Environment, the USEPA, the ACOE, the Department
of Interior, Fish & Wildlife, and Little Elk Creek Watershed Trustees. |
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Check back periodically to learn about other
ecological projects we've worked on.
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