|
|
NATURAL RESOURCES
AKRF provides natural resources
services tailored to environmental impact assessment,
waterfront development, stormwater management, natural
resources damage assessment, or environmental permit
procurement. Our team, including environmental scientists,
ecologists, biologists, environmental toxicologists,
statisticians, analysts, and regulatory compliance specialists,
recognizes the interrelationship of an ecosystem’s
physical, chemical, and biological factors and balances
project needs with preservation.
|
|
| |
Wetland delineation establishes
the boundary between wetlands and uplands (or
non-wetlands). Functional analysis assigns values
to the functions a specific wetland may perform,
such as groundwater recharge, shoreline anchoring,
fish and wildlife habitat, etc. Wetland mitigation
restores, creates, or enhances wetlands to compensate
for impacts or losses caused by human activity.
|
 |
| |
T&E surveys determine
whether species recognized by the federal or state
governments as requiring protection are likely
to occur in a given area. T&E management or
mitigation plans provide guidance for protecting
a species or enhancing its habitat, particularly
if a project is likely to affect that species. |
|
| |
Permits must be obtained from
government agencies for a variety of construction-related
and other activities that may affect natural resources.
Support for permitting can involve preparing applications
and required technical studies, negotiating with
agencies, and developing mitigation or habitat
enhancement plans to meet permit requirements. |
|
| |
A habitat restoration plan
presents a course of action for enhancing or reestablishing
the natural environment of a species or ecological
community. Restoration efforts may be performed
as mitigation for significant adverse impacts
to plant or animal species, or their habitats.
|
|
| |
Vegetation mapping creates
a representation (map) showing the distribution
of plant cover types across the landscape, based
on site inspection and with the help of GIS and
aerial photography. Planting plans present a course
of action for planting and seeding as part of
site mitigation or remediation. These plans typically
specify such details as plant species, timing,
site preparation, seeding rates, planting methods,
plant density, and follow-up monitoring. |
|
| |
Section 316(b) of the Clean
Water Act requires that cooling water intake structures
of power plants and other facilities minimize
adverse environmental impacts, particularly entrainment
(organisms being drawn into cooling water systems)
and impingement (organisms being pinned against
screens or other parts of the intake structures).
Compliance can involve the preparation of comprehensive
demonstration studies to document that a facility
already employs the best technology available
to reduce impacts, or implementation of facility
retrofits or environmental restoration measures. |
|
| |
An EFH assessment determines
whether a project will have adverse effects on
waters or underwater surfaces necessary to fish
for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to
maturity. The National Marine Fisheries Service
has identified those fish species for which EFH
has been designated in any given area. |
|
| |
Water quality modeling predicts
water quality characteristics using mathematical
simulation techniques. Because water quality models
take into account the type and quantity of pollutants,
how they move through a waterbody or channel network,
and other specific factors, they make it possible
to project, with a high degree of accuracy, whether
a project will have impacts on water quality. |
|
| |
This type of sampling selects
representative samples of surface water and/or
sediment to determine the characteristics of a
waterbody or system. It requires the development
of a sampling method or protocol that will be
both accurate and cost effective. |
|
| |
These plans outline best management
practices and other methods for controlling erosion
of land and sedimentation runoff from construction
and land development. Generally, these plans must
be approved by regulatory agencies before construction
can proceed. |
|
| |
This process provides a quantified
assessment of how dredging and other waterfront
development activities may affect water quality
and aquatic resources, and determines whether
adverse impacts are likely to occur, usually by
sampling sediments (and often benthic invertebrates),
near a project. Water quality field or modeling
studies, sampling for fish resources, or ecological
risk assessments may also be needed. |
|
| |
Impact assessments project
how a development may affect plants and animals
on land, and whether significant adverse impacts
are likely to occur. The assessments generally
involve surveys, ecological field studies, and
qualitative or quantitative analysis, depending
on the extent of potential disturbance activities.
|
|
| |
Ecological risk assessment
systematically evaluates the likelihood of adverse
ecological effects as a result of exposure to
one or more “stressors,” such as potentially
harmful chemicals that may migrate through aquatic
and terrestrial food chains. These are evaluated
in terms of risk for species at various trophic
levels. The goal is to help understand the relationships
between stressors and ecological effects to facilitate
informed risk management decisions. |
|
|
| |
NRDAs calculate the cost of
restoring damage to natural resources resulting
from hazardous substances or oil discharges. Damage
is evaluated by identifying the functions or “services”
provided by the resources and quantifying the
reduction in service levels as a result of the
contamination. |
|
|
