Wetland and Ecological Consulting Services

Jump to: Wetland and Ecological Consulting Staff

Land reclamation and land development often requires consideration of potential impacts to natural fish and wildlife habitats. Issues include wetland losses, impacts to endangered species, loss of riparian habitat and changes to natural hydrology. To maximize the potential use of property, while minimizing impacts to fish and wildlife habitat and populations, it is essential to solicit the help of a consultant who understands the complex regulatory environment and knows how to efficiently navigate the complex environmental regulations that apply to a project. Premier staff have managed projects involving the following permitting requirements:

  • United States Army Corps of Engineers, Section 10 and 404 Permits
  • Federal Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification
  • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits
  • Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Certification
  • State Fish and Wildlife permits
  • Hydraulic Project Approvals

A likely scenario for impacts to biological resources includes the development of a mitigation plan to address the resource impacts as a result of site development. Premier’s approach is to develop a sound strategy to deal with site issues. Typical steps include a site meeting, initial informal discussions with regulatory personnel, compilation of a draft mitigation strategy document, meeting with regulators to present the strategy, revisions to draft strategy based on regulatory agency requirements, and presentation of the final mitigation strategy. Upon presentation of the final mitigation strategy, the property owner/developer has a clear understanding of project timelines, resource commitment and overall costs of mitigation. Premier also assists developers during the due diligence phase of property transactions by providing initial concept-level ideas and approaches to mitigation and their associated costs. This type of information is used by the developer to make a business decision as to whether the project is financially feasible.

Whether your project site is located in the coastal environment or in a desert environment, our professionals can help you get your project completed efficiently. However, we realize that every site is unique, and so is our approach to dealing with a particular project. Where unique local expertise is required, Premier teams up with local, independent biological or ecological experts who are intimately familiar with site-specific conditions. This ensures that the regulatory agency requirements are met and allows for completion of a successful and cost-effective mitigation. Some of the services we provide as part of our wetlands/ecological services include:

  • Permitting and Regulatory Agency Negotiation
  • Wetland Assessments/Delineations
  • Habitat Evaluations
  • Endangered Species Act (ESA) Surveys
  • Cultural Resource Assessments
  • Mitigation Planning, Implementation and Monitoring
  • Natural Resource Damage Assessments
  • Benthic Habitat Assessments
  • Water Quality Assessments
  • Ecological Risk Assessments
  • Fisheries Assessments
  • Stream Relocations
  • Habitat Restoration

Wetland and Ecological Consulting Staff

Corinne Severn, Senior Environmental Scientist

Expertise: Site characterization; database development and programming; Geographic Information Systems; CERCLA, and NRDA.

Ms. Severn assesses the environmental impacts of the release of contaminants and in particular reviews the data with consideration to regulations, such as CERCLA and NRDA regulations. She has reviewed site assessment documents and prepared site reviews on recently listed NPL sites. She wrote and supervised the preparation of Preliminary Natural Resource Surveys, which summarize contaminant issues and natural resources at risk. In support of the analysis of contaminant data, Ms. Severn has designed and supervised the development of data management systems. These systems have addressed a wide variety of data types, interfaces and clients needs.