January 1, 2018 was not only New Year’s Day, but day one of the new Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES) Construction General Permit, referred to as the CGP.

When is a CGP needed?

If both of the following two criteria are met:

1. There are areas of ground disturbance or other potential pollutant sources due to the construction activity where a storm water discharge to state surface water can occur.

2. The construction activity has a total area of ground disturbance through clearing, excavating, grading, or placement/removal of earth material which is equal to or greater than one acre

This new CGP is a big deal because there are some changes in both the paperwork and procedures.

PERMIT HIGHLIGHTS

-The form Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) is shorter, 10 pages versus 19 pages.

-Checklists are used to identify ‘potential pollutants’, ‘BMPs’, ‘major construction activity’, and ‘BMP phasing.’

-There are three choices on how to revise the SWPPP (revise SWPPP and site maps, use inspection reports and revise site maps, and updates in a log and revise site maps.

-Inspections can be delayed if severe winter conditions occur.

-Public signage is required beginning in 2021.

WHAT does the new CGP mean for construction projects that were started last year but not ready to be closed?

You need to submit a renewal.  A renewal consists of an NOI and SWPPP.  Additional fees are not needed AT THIS TIME.

WHO provides that service?

WET will gladly prepare renewal packages.  We have an interview form with all the required site information identified.

WHY can’t I take care of the renewal myself?

You can if you are a certified SWPPP Administrator and your certification is current.

WHERE can I get recertified?

WET will gladly help (are you sensing a pattern here?) WET is one of the ‘acknowledged training provider by the state of Montana’.  That means we provided a curriculum to the state, which was reviewed and approved for:

-BMP 201 SWPPP Preparer and Administrator Certification Program and

-BMP 201-R SWPPP Preparer and Administrator Recertification Program.

WHEN are trainings scheduled?

Our 2018 schedule will be announced soon.

Stay tuned!

Water & Environmental Technologies, Inc. (WET) is excited to announce the hiring of Rich West, PE and Shawn Arthur, PE in its Great Falls, Montana office.  “We are very pleased to have acquired professionals of Rich and Shawn’s caliber. WET is committed to growing its presence in the Great Falls region,” said Josh Vincent, Vice President of WET.

Rich is the Great Falls Office Manager and a Senior Civil Engineer with over thirty years of experience in consulting engineering. He specializes in project management, transportation engineering, drainage, site development, and municipal engineering. Rich provides services to a large variety of clients including local, state, tribal and federal entities along with industrial clients and private developers. Rich graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Montana State University.  He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Montana (#8626PE).

Shawn is a Senior Civil Engineer and has worked in the civil engineering consulting industry since 1993. He has significant project management experience encompassing municipal subdivision development; storm water master planning and modeling; storm water interceptor and collector pipeline design; sanitary sewer collection system and pump station design; waste water treatment system design; municipal water treatment, pumping, storage, transmission and distribution system design; environmental permitting; industrial and commercial civil site development; industrial and residential street and parking facilities; ADA compliant municipal sidewalk design and construction administration . Shawn serves as a project manager, construction administrator and engineer on numerous municipal water, sewer and storm drain infrastructure projects; land development and annexation projects and municipal infrastructure master planning projects.

Shawn has experience working with small private developers, nationwide commercial developers and governmental entities ranging from the smallest unincorporated communities to Federal Military Bases, municipalities, and state transportation departments. Shawn graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Montana State University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Montana (#11007PE).

WET is a regional environmental and civil engineering consulting firm with offices in Butte, Anaconda, Great Falls, and Bozeman, Montana. You can reach our Great Falls office at 406-761-2290.

Learn more about the entire WET team and all our locations.

In July 2017, Water & Environmental Technologies (WET) merged with Bozeman engineering consultants Nicklin Earth & Water (NE&W).  NE&W has been in business in Bozeman since 1995 offering professional environmental, hydrologic, and Bozeman engineering services to clients in the region.  NE&W is known for performing environmental investigations and developing remedial alternatives for the Bozeman Solvent Site, developing groundwater models and conducting hydrologic evaluations for energy permitting and development, and evaluating water supply and permitting water rights for municipalities and developments.  “WET is excited to combine forces with a respected firm like Nicklin Earth and Water and expand our services to the Bozeman area”, according to Dave Erickson, President of WET.

NE&W founder, Michael Nicklin, PhD, PE, specializes in groundwater projects and has developed numerous groundwater models for a variety of environmental and engineering projects. He has recently developed four groundwater models to simulate and predict the groundwater response associated with proposed coal mine expansions in eastern Montana.

The WET-Bozeman Team also includes John Carstensen, PE, Stefanie Vandaele and Ashley Flammond, EI.  To provide additional expertise to the Bozeman office, Ashley has relocated from the WET-Butte office to provide full-service site development, subdivision permitting, and civil design services to the Bozeman area. Combined, the Bozeman Team offers over 70 years of professional experience.  The WET-Bozeman team works closely with the other WET offices, accessing significant additional resources and expertise on behalf of our clients.

WET’s Bozeman Team looks forward to providing professional, timely and cost-effective environmental and civil engineering solutions to individuals, businesses, industries, and institutions throughout the region.  The Bozeman office is located at 151 Evergreen Drive, Suite A in north Bozeman.  Searching for Engineering Consultants Bozeman? Please call us at 406-582-0413 to discuss our full service environmental and engineering capabilities.

 To learn more about the entire WET team, visit: httpss://goo.gl/T21iaW.

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The Out of the Darkness Walks are proof that when people work together, they can make big changes in our world. Taking place in hundreds of cities around the U.S. each fall, these community walks raise awareness for an important cause, as well as the resources needed to carry out the mission of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) – to “Save Lives and Bring Hope to Those Affected.” To fully achieve its mission, AFSP engages in the following Five Core Strategies:

• Fund scientific research
• Offer educational programs for professionals
• Educate the public about mood disorders and suicide prevention
• Promote policies and legislation that impact suicide and prevention
• Provide programs and resources for survivors of suicide loss and people at risk, and involve them in the work of the Foundation

Currently, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.   Statistics show that a person dies by suicide about every 12.3 minutes in the United States.  That is approximately 117 Americans every day.

In 1994, I lost my sister to suicide.  I know firsthand the devastation for families/friends after the loss of a loved one due to suicide.  When news of the Out of the Darkness Walk came to Butte, I knew that this is where I needed to volunteer my time.   My husband and I participated in the first Out of the Darkness Walk in Butte last year and this year, on September 11, 2016, Team Pam was formed in honor of my sister.  With WET’s sponsorship of the team and the contributions and participation of many amazing individuals, Team Pam raised $1035.00 for the AFSP this year.  In total, through this year’s walk, the Butte community raised $20,541 for this vital cause.

For more information about this charity, visit httpss://afsp.org/.

In 2014, WET created an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) and became an employee-owned company.  The reason for this move was obvious: we have great people at WET who have dedicated their professional lives to our company and our clients, and we wanted them to share in the benefits of ownership.  It was also a smart business decision: studies have shown that companies with ESOP’s grow at a faster rate than those without.  A 2000 Rutgers study found that ESOP companies grow 2.3% to 2.4% faster after setting up their ESOP than would have been expected without it. Companies that combine employee ownership with employee workplace participation programs show even more substantial gains in performance. A 1986 NCEO study found that employee ownership firms that practice participative management grow 8% to 11% per year faster with their ownership plans than they would have without them.

Since our ESOP was formed, WET has grown from 28 to 44 employees, so needless to say we are believers in the benefits of employee-ownership.  With employee growth has also come the ability to provide additional services to our clients.   We have significantly expanded our engineering geoscience, and Civil 3D capacity, we have a licensed surveyor on staff, and we now provide UAV surveying.  Exciting stuff!

Along with our ESOP we created a Communications Committee consisting of nine employees that meet regularly and keep employees educated on ESOP issues.  We want all of our employees to wear their “owners hat” and bring new ideas to the table on how we can do things better.  We proudly wear our “Employee Owner” stickers on our hard hats, and take our commitment seriously.

Overall, our firm has become a more tight-knit group that is working together to become more efficient, improve performance, and grow our business, which translates directly into increased value for our clients. We’ve also increased our commitment to serving the communities we live and work in by donating our time and money to charities and causes around Butte, Anaconda, and Great Falls.  It’s a WIN-WIN for everyone!

Water & Environmental Technologies – Client and Community Dedicated, Employee Owned.

It’s getting to be that time of year!  The Fall professional conference season is almost upon us.  Here is a list of the conferences you can expect to see WET staff attending in the coming months, either as exhibitors, attendees, or both:

Montana Association of Counties Annual Conference – September 18-22^nd at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center

We will have a booth set up at this conference.  Please stop by to learn more about our services, including UAV surveying, engineering, permitting, and hear about the interesting projects we do for several counties around the State of Montana.

Montana League of Cities and Town – October 5-7^th at the Missoula Hilton Garden Inn

We will have a booth set up at this conference as well.  Come see us and ask about our services, especially storm water and sanitary sewer engineering, surveying, and permitting.

Montana AWRA – October 13-14th at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort

WET staff members will be in attendance at this conference, taking advantage of a wonderful opportunity to learn the latest in regards to Montana’s water resources.

We look forward to seeing many of our valued clients and colleagues this Fall at these various events.  It is a great time of year for our company as these conferences present our staff with the opportunity to take a break from their desks or get out of the field to network and learn with the very people that drive the industries we work in.

HOW ACCURATE IS UAV SURVEYING FOR DETERMINING STOCKPILE VOLUMES? BERNHARD DRAEYER AND CHRISTOPH STRECHA TOOK UP THE CHALLENGE OF COMPARING UAV IMAGERY WITH LIDAR SCANS TO SEE HOW THEY MATCHED UP.

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