Groundbreaking Celebrates the Start of Affordable Housing Along the Bellingham Waterfront

May 7-13 is Affordable Housing Week, championed by the Housing Development Consortium to highlight the role affordable housing plays in stabilizing our communities. See a recent affordable housing story below and more of Aspect’s Affordable Housing work here.

Staff from Aspect’s Bellingham and Seattle offices were on hand for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the first phase of the Millworks development, which will bring affordable housing to the Bellingham waterfront.

Banners at the construction site announcing both Phases of the Millworks redevelopment

Millworks is a partnership between the Port of Bellingham, Whatcom Community Foundation, and Mercy Housing Northwest (Mercy). Phase 1 of Mercy’s development includes 83 units of workforce and family rental housing plus a YMCA early learning center. The development should be ready to welcome residents next year.

Mercy Housing Northwest’s project manager Ellen Lohe (left) emceed the groundbreaking event, and Port Commissioner Michael Shepard (right) delivered remarks.

The Millworks development sits on 2.3 acres at the corner of the larger 67-acre Georgia-Pacific West cleanup site. Once home to a pulp and tissue mill, the site has undergone massive cleanup and redevelopment over the last decade, including the City of Bellingham’s popular Waypoint Park. Aspect’s environmental, geotechnical, and stormwater teams have worked extensively within the former mill’s footprint.

The building’s foundation is in place with framing starting, only 4 months after cleanup completion. Photo courtesy of Mercy Housing NW.

For the Millworks project, Aspect completed a pre-design investigation, developed a cleanup action plan, oversaw a formal public comment period, authored the engineering design report, executed an excavation compliance monitoring plan, reviewed construction plans/specs, and provided bid support. We provided oversight on the soil removal project, which also accomplished the substantial grading and site prep needed to start work on the new building. All of this occurred within a highly expedited 12-month schedule to meet Mercy’s funding requirements.

Principal Hydrogeologist Steve Germiat, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony, managed Aspect’s project team, which includes Adam Griffin, Jane Gregg, Matt Eddy, Nikolai Carroll, and Baxter Call. They worked in close coordination with the Port, RMC Architects, and the rest of the Mercy team, as well as the Washington State Department of Ecology, to reach this key milestone.

Whatcom Community Foundation’s planned Phase 2 development will include more affordable housing units and a local food campus featuring a commercial kitchen for use by food trucks and nonprofits like Meals on Wheels. Phase 2 construction is expected to begin in 2025.

Meet Shelby Cutter

Aspect recently welcomed Shelby Cutter to our Seattle office. Here are Five Questions we asked to get to know her better.

1. Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?

I was born and raised in Bend, Oregon, and have spent most of my life in the Pacific Northwest, other than a short stint in Santa Cruz, California. I’ve lived in Walla Walla and Longmire, but came up to Seattle to get my master’s degree from University of Washington in Geotechnical Engineering.

2. What inspired you to pursue Geotechnical Engineering? What made you curious about it?

I started out getting my bachelor's degree in geology from Whitman College. After that, I was lucky enough to work at Mt. Rainier National Park as a geomorphology intern and completed a risk assessment of the Nisqually River but my work didn’t include any actual mitigation work, nor did I have the background to do any such thing—that left me unsatisfied. After working at a geotechnical engineering firm in the Bay Area, I knew I wanted to pursue a master's degree in geotech. I love identifying possible geological risks but I want to also find ways to fix/mitigate them as well.

3. What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?

Geotechnical engineering is always changing. New technologies and techniques are being put into practice all the time, and while it might be hard to keep up with, it keeps things interesting.

4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

In the months from December to May, you can find me alpine skiing at Stevens, Crystal, Whistler, Mt. Bachelor, or in the backcountry. Outside of skiing, I also love to powerlift and find new/wild flavors of beer, and I just recently got into downhill mountain biking.

5. Where in the world would you like to travel next?

I would love to visit Norway, specifically the Lyngen Alps and Tromsø. I would go backcountry skiing and to the floating saunas on the water, and I would love to see both the midnight sun in the summer and the Northern Lights/eternal night in the winter.

Kitsap County’s Washington Boulevard Landslide Stabilization Project Honored at AWPA’s Spring Conference

Aspect joined staff from Kitsap County Public Works (County) at the American Public Works Association (APWA) Spring Conference in Tacoma to celebrate the County’s Washington Boulevard Landslide Stabilization project, which earned the APWA’s 2022 Public Works Project of the Year award in the Disaster or Emergency Construction Repair (less than $5 million) category.

Members of the Washington Boulevard Stabilization team accepting their award (from left to right): Andrew Nelson, Kitsap Public Works Director; Tina Nelson, Kitsap Senior Program Manager; Joe Rutan, Kitsap County Engineer; Tim Beachy, Kitsap Project Manager; David Dinkuhn, Parametrix Civil Engineer; Andrew Holmson, Aspect Consulting; Steve Nichols, Kitsap Construction Manager; Tom Abplanalp, Sound Pacific Construction; Phil Struck, Struck Environmental; Paije Abplanalp, Sound Pacific Construction.

Washington Boulevard traverses a steep coastal bluff along the eastern Puget Sound shoreline in Kingston, Washington, leading into the town center and regional ferry terminal. Part of the road crosses a large deep-seated landslide complex that for decades suffered failures after heavy rains, frequently cutting off the sole access to the town and emergency services for 22 homes along the road. The Washington Boulevard Landslide Stabilization project constructed a horizontal drain system, stormwater improvements, and mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) slope to stabilize the roadway and provide a reliable path to the town and services for residents.

Roadway damaged after slope movement in 2011.

Temporary roadway protection measures in place.

In the winter of 2006, a period of extreme rainfall triggered significant landslide movement and damage to the roadway. Kitsap County engaged Aspect to complete detailed geologic investigations to characterize the nature of the landslide, conduct emergency monitoring, help the County decision-makers understand the risks the landslide posed to the roadway, and to develop viable stabilization alternatives. After over a decade of active monitoring and management, the increasingly frequent road closures and need for repairs due to landslide movement prompted County decision-makers to start design and construction of the preferred stabilization alternative.

Horizontal Drain Drilling (HDD) near the steep bluff.

Aspect led design of the horizontal drain system to dewater the body of the landslide, roadway stormwater improvements to enhance collection and conveyance of stormwater on/near the roadway, and a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) slope to achieve grade transitions at the landslide headscarp and support the roadway embankment. This solution struck an elegant balance between effective stabilization targeting the root cause of instability (elevated groundwater), an environmentally permittable, sustainable, and beneficial design, and cost.

Roadside Drainage Improvements and Roadway Base Preparation.

Final paving of road reconstruction with guardrail.

Aspect and the County worked in close collaboration with Parametrix for civil design and Struck Environmental for environmental permitting to deliver a pragmatic design meeting the project objectives, schedule, and budget. The project was successfully constructed by Sound Pacific Construction with key support from Jensen Drilling, Inc.

Senior Associate Geotechnical Engineer Andrew Holmson, PE, who has worked on the project since 2008 alongside over a dozen Aspect geologists and engineers, joined Tim Beachy, Tina Nelson, Andrew Nelson, and Joe Rutan from Kitsap County; David Dinkuhn from Parametrix; Phil Struck from Struck Environmental; and Tom and Paije Abplanalp from Sound Pacific Construction for the awards ceremony.

The full list of this year’s APWA Washington Project of the Year winners and project photos are available on their website.

Boiling Groundwater and Steaming Soil: A Unique Cleanup for a Distinctive Site

The Spic’n Span property in Seattle’s International District has a unique story -- serving as the neighborhood’s only dry cleaning business for over 50 years, until it closed in 2019. It also has a unique story through the lens of a brownfield project. To clean up the chlorinated solvents and mineral spirits left in soil and groundwater from a half century of dry cleaning operations, the project team applied an innovative type of in situ thermal treatment, electrical resistance heating (ERH). ERH heats the shallow soil to an average temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 Celsius), until the groundwater starts to literally boil, which then allows the vaporized contaminants to be captured and removed.

A Tailored Cleanup in a Historic Neighborhood

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The Spic‘n Span building is in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District and care needed to be taken to follow the neighborhood’s preservation goals during site remediation.
Photo Credit: grego1402, as licensed under Creative Commons

The Spic‘n Span building sits in Seattle’s International Special Review District (ISRD), which is one of Seattle's eight historic districts. The ISRD is a collection of early 20th-century commercial and hotel buildings in the center of this historically Asian American community. It also has the Seattle Chinatown National Register Historic District within it, which helps spotlight the important contributions of the Chinatown/International District area on a national level.

From a pure remedial design perspective, knocking the former dry cleaner building down and excavating the contaminated soil and groundwater directly beneath it likely would have been chosen as the solution at a similar site. But because of the ISRD’s preservation goals, there are established processes for reviewing changes to any existing building within the district. Keeping the existing building as-is during treatment allowed for a smoother approval process with the ISRD.

Not only does ERH treatment result in less ground disturbance compared to a remedial excavation, but contamination is permanently removed and destroyed in the subsurface without requiring excavation and off-site disposal at a landfill. It can target a very specific treatment depth interval, without the need to remove overlying uncontaminated fill or deal with excavation shoring or dewatering. ERH treatment can also potentially reach areas where excavation isn’t possible, such as underneath the sidewalk. The advantages of ERH for this specific site made it a clear winner for the project team.

What is Electrical Resistance Heating?

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ERH runs electrical current through arrays in shallow soil, the current heats the soil, which in turn heats groundwater to a boiling point where it vaporizes. The vapors are captured and treated and then safely discharged.
Photo Credit: TRS Group, Inc

ERH is a relatively new remediation technology that can be the right fit for certain cleanup sites. It involves passing an electrical current through moisture in the soil between an array of electrodes. As the current flows through the moisture in soil pores, the resistance of the soil produces heat.

The heat strips the volatile contaminants out of the soil and vaporizes groundwater and non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL), if present. steam and contaminant vapors produced by the heat are captured by subsurface vapor extraction systems, conveyed to the surface, and then treated for permitted discharge. ERH is a highly effective remediation solution for contaminated soil, as it is able to reduce contaminated soil and groundwater concentrations up to 99 percent. It has been successfully implemented at over 300 sites worldwide.

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Fall 2021 temperature reading of soil cores, still at 130 F, from the active ERH operation phase of the project cleanup.
Photo Credit: Aspect Consulting

The Spic‘n Span site was a good fit for this type of treatment, as ERH would eliminate the majority of contamination without having to disturb the building. However, care had to be taken to confirm that the subsurface was the right makeup for ERH. For instance, the soil type dictates the soil resistivity, which determines how readily the soil will conduct electricity—a low resistivity will require large amounts of electrical current, and a high resistivity will require high voltages. The fill and historical marine deposits (sandy silt, stiff silt and medium dense silty and gravelly sands) at Spic‘n Span fell in the sweet spot of optimal ERH performance.

Another consideration for ERH application is high concentrations of organic carbon in soil, which can cause chemicals to stick to the soil and not evaporate easily and ERH is less effective for heavy petroleum compounds. Lastly, ERH demands careful logistical planning and constant and methodical monitoring to confirm that the heat generated doesn’t affect underground utilities (especially plastic ones) or change the soil properties resulting in damage to the structural integrity of the building. All of these considerations were closely evaluated before and during the ERH implementation at the Spic’n Span site.

Plugging In 52 Electrodes to Power Cleanup

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Over 50 electrodes and 40 vapor recovery wells were installed across the 0.3-acre site.
Photo Credits: Aspect Consulting

Aspect led the remediation evaluation and technology selection, working closely with the City’s ISRD team to confirm that proper care would be taken during the cleanup selection. Aspect partnered with the TRS Group, who are ERH specialists, to design and build the system at the property. Bench scale testing was conducted to confirm the effectiveness of ERH for site soils and contaminants, and provide the basis for the full-scale design.

The Site was divided into four areas based on depth of contamination and 52 electrodes – 15 feet apart – were installed into the shallow subsurface. Over 40 vapor recovery wells along with a vapor recovery system were installed to capture and convey the permitted discharge. A temporary transformer and power poles were installed by Seattle City Light to power the ERH system. Once the system was in place, the team was ready to flip the switch.

Treatment Goals Achieved

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At system shutdown in early 2022, the average temperature in shallow soil was 97 degrees Celsius in the focused treatment area.
Figure Credit: Aspect Consulting

The ERH system powered up in August 2021. Over about 6 months of operation, the cleanup action removed approximately 800 pounds of air phase petroleum hydrocarbons and 42 pounds of perchloroethylene. Once confirmation soil samples were below cleanup levels, the system was shut down and the post-treatment “cool-down” period was initiated. Fast forward to 2023 and, following 12 months of post-treatment monitoring, contaminant concentrations detected on the property are below cleanup levels.

ERH is a remediation solution that is suited for very specific brownfield situations. In this case, the restrictions of having to leave the building intact and treat contamination in place led to the selection of this innovative cleanup solution. Unique site challenges require unique solutions, which is what makes our job so exciting as environmental consultants.

Contact Principal Engineer Jeremy Porter or Project Engineer Delia Massey for more information.

From Contaminated Land to Affordable Housing: Celebrating The Maddux

Aspect’s Principal Geologist Dave Cook and Senior Hydrogeologist Andrew Yonkofski joined representatives from Mount Baker Housing Association (MBHA), staff from Perkins Coie, Beacon Development, WGClark, Mithun, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office, and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) along with community members at the public grand opening celebration of the Maddux on Friday, March 17.

Then: Former Mt. Baker Cleaners sign, circa 1968

Now: Andrew Yonkofski, Dave Cook, and Barry Baker from Mt. Baker Housing Association with the refurbished sign at the Maddux grand opening.

The Maddux is a set of buildings—Maddux North and Maddux South—at 2807 and 2810 South McClellan Street, about two blocks from the Mt. Baker Light Rail station in south Seattle. The buildings are composed of 203 affordable housing units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Applicants’ income cannot exceed the maximum allowable income based on their household size, and their eligibility is determined based on screening criteria.

This new affordable housing complex paved the way for a first-of-its-kind funding agreement with Ecology. “The new funding agreement allowed us to formally study and cleanup the soil and groundwater on the property where a dry cleaner and gas station once stood,” said David Tan, executive director of MBHA, in a press release for the opening celebration. “Because of The Maddux project, the Department of Ecology created a grant funding program for affordable housing developers to restore and utilize other urban brownfield sites in Washington State that would otherwise sit dormant.”

Aspect started working with MBHA on the Maddux in 2016 as they set out to acquire these properties, which were blighted by contamination from previous use as gas stations, auto shops, and a dry cleaner. Our work over the years has ranged from extensive environmental and geotechnical investigations with over 150 soil borings and 40 monitoring wells, excavation and removal of 18,000 tons of solvent- and petroleum-contaminated soil, chemical treatment of contaminated soil and groundwater that couldn’t be excavated, and design of an innovative ground improvement technique using displacement rigid inclusions to strengthen site soils in the event of an earthquake. Dozens of Aspect’s staff—from field technicians, engineers, and geologists to technical editors, the marketing team, and our contracting staff—have supported Maddux from the first monitoring investigations to the final construction inspections.

Shoring for Maddux North starts, October 2020

Contaminated soil is excavated from the northeast corner of Maddux North, late 2020

First rigid displacement inclusion ground improvement, January 2021

The Maddux is the first of several brownfields-to-affordable housing projects Aspect is supporting under Ecology’s new funding agreement. Construction is underway just 2 miles north of The Maddux at MBHA and Lake Union Partners Grand Street Commons project, which includes 360 affordable units at the future Judkins Park light rail station near I-90. We are also partnering with GardnerGlobal for the future Town Center development in Skyway, one of King County’s most diverse neighborhoods. 

A drill rig is lowered into the Grand Street Commons site, October 2022.

Other projects in the Seattle area include environmental and geotechnical due diligence for a new residential community in SeaTac led by African Community Housing & Development, a new community center and future affordable housing for Estelita’s Library on Beacon Hill, and a potential large mixed-use development for Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority, Lake Union Partners, Goodwill, and Community Roots Housing at the Dearborn Goodwill site.

Aspect congratulates MBHA on this historic milestone and looks forward to more opportunities to work with Ecology and public and private partners to improve diverse neighborhoods by turning contaminated properties into thriving communities.

New Grant Funds Help Fuel Fish Passage for City of Hoquiam

The City of Hoquiam (City) recently received $1.2 million dollars from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve salmon habitat while strengthening the City’s drinking water supply. The project was one of 10 funded in Washington state, and 36 funded nationwide.  

Funding from NOAA’s Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal grant will go towards the City’s West Fork Dam Removal and Groundwater Source Replacement project. The West Fork Dam is a major barrier to salmon—in fact, it is the second-highest priority fish barrier within the Chehalis Basin. Removing the dam will restore the ecosystem to its natural floodplain and allow salmonids unimpeded access to additional habitat and cooler waters upstream. Reducing diversions from the river will also provide increased flows needed during drier seasons.

A Win for Salmon Thanks to Chehalis Basin Stakeholders

The City has been making plans to remove the West Fork Dam for more than 20 years due to the high maintenance costs, elevated potential for contamination of the West Fork surface water source, and aging infrastructure. The project has local support from groups such as the Chehalis Basin Partnership and Chehalis Basin Habitat Work Group. The Partnership’s and Work Group’s diverse memberships consist of cities, counties, the Quinault Indian Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, along with water purveyors, state and federal agencies, and citizen stakeholders.

Work under this project phase includes developing predesign of the dam removal, developing a groundwater well field source, and permitting the water rights needed for the new groundwater source. The City also maintains the dam as a drinking water diversion to serve the City’s water service area.

Aspect’s Project Geologist Kelsey Mach, Principal Water Rights Specialist Jill Van Hulle, and Associate Hydrogeologist Jon Turk began working with City Manager Brian Shay in 2019 to support the planning and permitting process for the dam removal and groundwater source replacement. They helped the City identify and apply for the NOAA grant, which was awarded in December 2022.

Congratulations to the City of Hoquiam for securing funding to move forward with this critical project.

From Mills to Maritime: Restoring Everett’s Working Waterfront 90 Years Later

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Caption: The newly redeveloped Norton Terminal, in the top left of the photo, allows the Port of Everett to double their cargo space and revive this dormant piece of their working waterfront.

Photo Credit: Port of Everett

Decades after pulp and paper mill operations first began on the same spot, the Port of Everett’s Norton Terminal – a new 40-acre marine cargo facility – opened in December 2022 to once again make this piece of Everett’s waterfront a working site. As the first all new cargo terminal on the West Coast since 2009, the Port estimates that terminal will restore almost 1,000 jobs – hundreds of which were lost when the original mill shuttered in 2011 – and help support the nearly 40,000 jobs generated by surrounding seaport operations from the Port and U.S. Naval Station Everett. This restoration success story was over a decade in the making after the mill shut down and left subsurface contamination on-site.

Cleaning Up 90 Years of Pulp and Paper Mill Operations

Caption: Though ownership changed hands throughout the years, this was a steady working mill for over eight decades, up until closure in 2012.

Photo Credit: City of Everett library digital collections

The original mill became operational in the 1920s – milling pulp and creating paper products – and continued active operations until it shut down in 2012. Left on the site were heavy metals and petroleum, including releases from fuel bulk storage facilities that pre-dated the mill. Aspect, working on behalf of the owner, Kimberly Clark, led the Washington State Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) upland cleanup process. This involved a years-long remedial investigation to understand the extents of soil and groundwater contamination across 55 acres, a feasibility study to assess cleanup options, and three cleanup actions to expedite the overall cleanup and redevelopment. The main remediation culprits at the site were heavy metals and petroleum, including releases from fuel bulk storage facilities that pre-dated the mill.

300,000 Tons of Material and One Cap Later = Terminal is Open for Business

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Caption: Over 300,000 tons of material removed to clear the Site for the environmental cap

Photo Credit: Aspect Consulting

The first two interim cleanups excavated and landfilled more than 56,000 tons of contaminated soils, permanently removing the primary sources of contamination to groundwater. Approximately 250,000 tons of crushed concrete and brick generated during mill demolition were also hauled away, clearing the site and removing a major source of alkaline pH to site groundwater. The finishing step was putting a 9-inch-thick asphalt layer across most of the site, which does double duty as an environmental ‘cap’ and a surface sturdy enough for 40-ton cargo containers to sit on. The environmental cap also includes a state-of-the-science stormwater treatment system to protect the adjacent East Waterway.

Six years after demolition of the former mill infrastructure and considerable cleanup work, Kimberly Clark sold the property to the Port of Everett, supporting the Port’s plans of doubling their marine cargo capacity so West Coast container ships can more quickly get import/export goods to market. Congratulations to the Port for reviving this important piece of the Everett waterfront—restoring both jobs for the regional economy and the site environmental conditions to protect human health and habitat.  

The Path to Professional License: Hannah Cohen, LG

In the science and engineering industry, seeing a “PE”, “LG”, “PMP”, or other initials behind someone’s name shows that person went through years of work experience that culminated in a substantial test to confirm the right to practice their area of technical expertise. Many go through this licensing journey but few outside that group know what the process is really like.

We’re telling those stories here. Aspect’s professionals are writing a series of articles that capture the trials and successes of studying for and receiving these career-defining milestones.

Hannah Cohen, Licensed Geologist (LG)

Date of Test: October 2022

Date Awarded: November 2022

Hannah sailing a wooden boat (sloop-rigged Blanchard Junior) on Lake Union.

Where did you start with your test prep?

I had kept my study manual from my Fundamentals of Geology (FG) exam (the exam one takes to gain Geologist-in-Training [GIT] status) that I took back in 2017 as well as many of my course readers and notebooks from school. Going over all the basics was a good start, but I found the LG exam required more specific knowledge in each of the topics, which can often be found in textbooks and regulatory publications.

One of the next things I did was take the Reg Review weekend online course in August. It was a good way to figure out exactly how the test was structured, what topics were emphasized, and which subjects I knew the least about (it was Economic Geology for me). I would recommend people take the course more like 6 months before their test instead of when I did…which was only 2 months before. Oops.

What should a person gearing up to do this know about the mental, physical, and social challenges of test prep?

You’re going to feel stressed about it and you will probably have to decline or cancel many of your weekend plans (sorry). I noticed the stress of the exam bleeding into all the other parts of my life, no matter how hard I tried to prevent it. It happens! When I felt myself getting tense and anxious, I would try to go for a walk or watch some terrible reality TV (Love Island always gets me to laugh and relax).

Test prep is going to occupy all your time for a few months, but if you give yourself some grace and find ways to positively motivate yourself to study, you can—and will!— make it through.

Walk us through the Big Test Day…

I took the test at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center. I tried to sleep in as much as possible (I couldn’t) and made sure to have coffee and eat some breakfast. I remembered packing a few snack bars for me to have just before or during the test, but I was way too nervous to eat them.

The test was scheduled for 1 pm, after the FG test was administered. I arrived at the test center around noon, planning to go over some flash cards before heading into the test (I didn’t; I was too jittery). When I found the right floor in the convention center, I checked in with some very nice middle-aged ladies, got my sealed test booklet, and went into a large, brightly lit conference room. It’s notable that I took the last paper test that ASBOG is offering for the LG; it will be a computer exam starting in March 2023.

It’s a four-hour exam and it took me (and many of the other candidates in the room) about three and a half hours to complete. I remembered feeling pretty confident for the first 5 to 10 questions, but by the time I reached the halfway point, all of that was confidence gone. When I finished the exam and left the convention center, I felt almost certain I didn’t pass.

I drove home in complete silence, wondering desperately what had happened to me and how in the world they thought up some of those questions (try not to do this). When I got home, my partner was very supportive and encouraged me to have some wine, pat myself on the back for being done, and then think about literally anything other than the test (I would recommend doing this).

How did you feel when you got the results?

Forty-one days later, I was shocked, surprised, delighted, and relieved. I received two back-to-back emails informing me that I had “successfully completed the ASBOG exam(s) and all requirements for [my] Washington State geologist license” with the PDF license attached. I was so stunned that at first, I couldn’t quite parse if I had passed the exam because neither email say so explicitly. I was also in the middle of the 8-hour HAZWOPER refresher course with a dozen or so of my fellow Aspect folks, so it felt very surreal. I turned to my right, showed the email to (Aspect Senior Geologist) Ali Cochrane, and asked her, “Does this mean I passed?” She said yes, obviously. Thanks, Ali! 

What lessons did you learn that you’d want others to know?

• Don’t spend time fretting over your practice test scores or trying to calculate the final score of your real exam. I remember pacing around my house trying to figure out if my scores on the practice tests I took would be considered passing scores—don’t do this -it doesn’t matter!! The exam review process is complicated and a little mysterious, and every exam is completely different from the one before. I’m a big overthinker, so I struggled with this. Feeling nervous and stressed is totally normal, but try not to let it eat you up. Use your stress to motivate you to get a few more hours of studying in.

• I found the Reg Review practice tests to be much different (and less difficult) than the real exam, so if I hadn’t passed the first time, I would have used what I could remember of the exam to study for the next one.

• Study with at least one other person. It’ll keep you focused during study sessions, and you won’t feel as alone. I usually studied along, but when my partner could help with the flashcards, it felt better. And when you feel your mind wandering or you get stuck on a practice question, you’ll have someone to turn to for help and support.

The Path to Professional License: Henry N. Haselton, PE

In the science and engineering industry, seeing a “PE”, “LG”, “PMP”, or other initials behind someone’s name shows that person went through years of work experience that culminated in a substantial test to confirm the right to practice their area of technical expertise. Many go through this licensing journey but few outside that group know what the process is really like.

We’re telling those stories here. Aspect’s professionals are writing a series of articles that capture the trials and successes of studying for and receiving these career-defining milestones.

Henry N. Haselton, Professional Engineering (PE) License

Date of Test:  October 2021

Date Awarded: December 2021

Henry at a residential reconnaissance site.

When did you start with your test prep?

I think around July, but I didn’t hit it too hard until August.

What were your study tactics? How did you get started?

Lots and lots of practice exams was my study tactic. I started by talking with Aspect folks and other friends that had just taken the exam to see what worked for them in terms of studying techniques and planning. A big first step I did in July was to outline on a calendar what days I would study and the number of hours I would spend each day to get myself up to 100 hours of study time. I don’t think I hit my exact goals, but this gave me a good outline and schedule to hold myself to.

What should a person gearing up to do this know about the mental, physical, and social challenges of test prep?

Just try to not get stressed out about the test prep and studying. At first it is intimidating because a lot of the material you review is on topics you haven’t seen since college, but in reality most of the material in the general civil category involves very simple calculations.

Walk us through the Big Test Day…

I don’t have any unique tips for the big test day, just the classics of get a good night sleep, try to stay relaxed and not stressed, and trust your studying and intuition. Test day for me was pretty funny as I showed up in a dark parking lot to see people with wheelbarrow-sized carts full of books walking across the street like zombies while I just had a little bag of books. Once I got signed into the test center and placed at my desk, I went to the bathroom while we were waiting for them to pass out tests and got scorned for doing that without permission. So overall not the best start, but it still worked out.

How did you feel when you got the results?

New PE Henry in Mexico.

It was a huge relief for sure, because you take the test and afterwards it is hard to gauge how you did or what the passing grade will be, then a couple months go by before you know anything. It’s worth mentioning though that there is no shame in not passing it on your first go; it’s just a reminder to study a little more next time around and come in more prepared and relaxed. My great friend from college who is an excellent engineer ended up failing the same test I took but passed it the next time around and is better for it. 

What lessons did you learn that you’d want others to know?

For many of us, academic life was a huge series of tests that determined your grades and continuation in school. This is just one more test in a long series, and possible the last major one you ever take. So enjoy that feeling of walking out of a big exam that you were well-prepared for. That amount of closure can be hard to find in the professional world.

Perspectives on Stormwater Design and Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest

During the 2022 NEBC Stormwater Conference, which focused on emerging stormwater practices in the Pacific Northwest, a city engineer asked if the next update for Western Washington’s Hydrology Model (WWHM) will consider global warming factors. Climate change has been a prominent topic of conversation in the stormwater world recently, prompting industry professionals across all levels to ask similar questions in how tools like WWHM will accurately model future conditions so stormwater designs effectively protect water quality, communities, and habitat.

Floodwaters covered Iowa Street in Bellingham after historic rainfall in November 2021. (Image Credit: City of Bellingham)

Stormwater engineers design and size facilities using past hydrologic event models and observations – for example, western Washington uses precipitation records starting in 1948 through water year 2009 to estimate total rainfall and peak events. While this calculation method was suitable in the past, the impact on stormwater runoff due to more recent changes in precipitation and air temperature suggest that drainage infrastructure designed to manage storms based on historical data may be undersized for future storm scenarios.

According to the April 2022 Stormwater University “Climate Change Impacts to Stormwater” webinar led by Clear Creek Solutions, Inc.’s co-founder Doug Beyerlein, engineers should consider the following factors when calculating stormwater runoff in order to effectively design for future climate conditions: (1) expected changes in rainfall intensity, frequency, and duration, and (2) expected changes in evaporation and evapotranspiration. Anticipating future climate conditions at the design phase will help reduce the risk of unmitigated stormwater causing flooding, erosion, and threatening the health of aquatic species and their habitat.

Stormwater in Washington State

Stormwater management is heavily scrutinized in Washington state. The state helped jump-start the nation’s development of municipal stormwater permit programs in the 1990s and continues to be at the forefront of modern stormwater management approaches. The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) issues water quality permits to cities, counties, and the state’s department of transportation (WSDOT) to ensure that stormwater runoff is being regulated and managed. These public agencies are then responsible for making sure that projects comply with permit requirements through the development and enforcement of flow control and stormwater treatment standards. Stormwater experts routinely use hydrologic models (such as WWHM) to help permit applicants and public agencies monitor stormwater conditions and forecast how stormwater will behave in the future.

Current Stormwater Calculation Methods in Washington State

From a stormwater perspective, Washington state is a tale of two lands. Western Washington (defined, regionally, as land west of the crest of the Cascade mountains) gets annual precipitation between 30 and 200 inches per year depending on location. Within this area is the Puget Sound region, home of the state’s densest population and urbanization. It receives a lot of rainfall, thus impacting runoff and stormwater management codes that influence water quality in receiving waters like the Puget Sound. Eastern Washington, the state’s more arid region, receives from less than 10 to 60 inches per year depending on location.

Washington State Annual Precipitation Map. (Image Credit: Washington State Department of Commerce)

Due to the unique climate and rainfall pattern differences between western and eastern Washington, two separate stormwater design manuals were developed for each region outlining different stormwater calculation methods (i.e., continuous simulation (applying to western WA) vs. single-event hydrology (applying to eastern WA)). Analysis of precipitation data and patterns within Washington define these two methods:

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Click to Enlarge Summary of Commonly Used Hydrologic Analysis Methods and Software in Washington State

1. Rainfall in western Washington often occurs over longer (multi-day) time frames and with relatively moderate intensities compared to eastern Washington. To accurately model and compare pre and post development runoff, it is important to account for the influence of preceding storm events and longer durations of continuous precipitation. Therefore, continuous simulation modeling is required for designing flow-based stormwater quality treatment systems and flow control systems in western Washington. Conveyance systems and some erosion and sediment control systems in western Washington can be sized using either continuous or single-event modeling.  

2. Rainfall in eastern Washington usually occurs in shorter (often under 1 day) time frames and with relatively high intensities (like during a thunderstorm) compared to western Washington. Therefore, single-event modelling is used to size all stormwater quality treatment systems and flow control systems in eastern Washington. Conveyance systems and erosion and sediment control systems in eastern Washington are typically sized using single-event modeling.

Current Challenges to Adding Climate Change Assumptions to Stormwater Design

The design of our current drainage systems is often based on a traditional assumption that storm events are static or unchanging (also referred to, statistically speaking, as ‘stationarity’ where assumptions for future events are based on past data). However, recent studies conducted by the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group (UW CIG) indicate that storms are expected to become more severe with climate change. These projected changes in extreme precipitation in the Pacific Northwest due to a changing climate can be visualized using UW CIG’s online tool, as shown below. The example here shows that a 6-hour-long, 25-year storm event in Seattle will likely increase in intensity by 27 percent by the 2080s relative to the 1990s, assuming a high greenhouse gas scenario.

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This tool provides extreme precipitation projections as a function of decade, duration, and frequency.

Links: (1) Guillaume Mauger, (2) Projected Changes in Extreme Precipitation Tool, (3) Heavy Precipitation Projections Tool

In order to accurately capture changes in heavy rainfall events, engineers may consider the projected changes in extreme precipitation for single-event modeling. For use in a continuous stormwater simulation like WWHM, engineers may need to incorporate the climate model projections that have been bias-corrected to match the statistics of a particular rain gauge. Click here for hydrologist Jeff Burkey’s presentation about possible impacts to King County’s stormwater design standards from projected increases in storm sizes due to climate change.

What’s Next for Stormwater Prediction Methods in Washington State?

Engineers attempting to design conveyance, treatment, and flow control systems to account for future conditions are currently stuck in a gray area. With climate change, the assumption of stationarity and exclusive reliance on historical observations for estimating future conditions is questionable.

While updates to continuous and single-event modeling techniques can be implemented using UW CIG’s regional climate model projections, software developers and public jurisdictions have limited resources and funding to quickly do so. Therefore, the current pace of change will likely continue to rely on public agencies (like Ecology and King County) to update guidance for stormwater design manuals, evaluate the capacity of their existing infrastructures to focus on locations to prioritize needed upgrades, and find ways to optimize the effects of retrofit facilities to help mitigate climate change impacts to stormwater.

Contact Stormwater Engineer Cleo Pineda to learn more.

Celebrating the Start of New Affordable Housing Projects Around the Puget Sound

Principal Geologist Dave Cook recently attended multifamily real estate development firm GardnerGlobal’s (GC) kickoff celebration for the next stages of the Skyway Towncenter, a new affordable housing project in Skyway—one of King County’s most diverse and most underserved neighborhoods.

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Dave raises a glass with attendees at GardnerGlobal’s celebration.

The Skyway Towncenter, which is still in the planning phase, will include both market-rate and affordable housing, some of which will have rent-to-own options. This option creates an opportunity for residents to have not just more housing stability, but to be able to build wealth and truly invest in their community.

Unlocking Needed Housing Projects in Skyway, Seattle’s Central District, and SeaTac

Aspect is working with CEO and Owner of GG Jaebadiah Gardner and consulting partner Loundyne Hare of Hare International, along with environmental attorney Mike Dunning of Perkins Coie to help GG through due diligence, cleanup planning, and procurement of over $1M in cleanup grants from the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Affordable Housing program. The grant will help fund environmental investigation and a portion of the cleanup of solvents spilled from a dry cleaner that once operated at the site. Senior Geologist Ali Cochrane is leading our environmental team as they investigate contamination. Once building design and construction planning starts, Aspect will lead the cleanup design and geotechnical engineering services.

Public outreach has begun related to early phases of transitioning this contaminated property to new use. On October 20, Ali and Dave spoke alongside Jaebadiah Gardner and Loundyne Hare at the Holy Temple Evangelistic Center in Skyway on environmental conditions and the investigations at the Towncenter site. These meetings and engagement with Ecology will continue so that Skyway residents can learn how the cleanup will result in a new residential community.

Attendees review plans to address contamination at the Skyway Towncenter site during a public outreach meeting on October 28th.

Aspect is also working with GC on the Sarah Queen Development, planned as a seven-story mixed-use building near the corner of 23rd Avenue and Union Street in Seattle’s Central District, where half of the units will be for affordable housing. Our geotechnical engineering team, led by Senior Geotechnical Engineer Eric Schellenger, recently started work on design and construction recommendations for the building foundations.

Also at GC’s kickoff celebration were Hamdi Abdulle and Bilan Aden. This mother and daughter team are the Executive Director and Associate Director, respectively, of African Community Housing & Development, (ACHD) a nonprofit that creates housing stability and economic development opportunities for African Diaspora immigrant and refugee communities in King County. Aspect will conduct environmental and geotechnical due diligence for a site ACHD is looking to acquire for a future residential community in SeaTac.

From left to right, Loundyne Hare, Hamdi Abdulle, Jaebadiah Gardner, and Bilan Aden.

Over 500 Affordable Housing Units Nearing Completion

These projects are starting as Aspect is nearing the end of two major affordable housing projects in south Seattle for Mt. Baker Housing Association (MBHA). Geotechnical special inspections are finished for construction of The Maddux, a two-building development that will add 203 units of affordable housing two blocks from the Mt. Baker Light Rail Station. Our work has included extensive cleanup of contaminants left from a dry cleaners and auto repair shop that once operated on the site and an innovative ground improvement technique to address liquefiable soils that could threaten building stability during an earthquake.

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Left: Ground improvements consisting of displacement rigid improvements start at Maddux in Jan. 2021. Right: Maddux nears end of construction in October 2022.

Installation of aggregate piers and auger cast piles has started at Grand Street Commons, just south of the future Judkins Park light rail station near I-90. Construction is underway on three mixed-use buildings with a mix of affordable and market-rate housing and retail. The project is creating 776 new apartments, 360 of which will be affordable units.

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A drill rig arrives via crane at Grand Street Commons, October 2022

For more on Aspect’s support for Affordable Housing, visit our Affordable Housing website.

Aspect's Bodie McCosby Presenting at AEG's Chapter Meeting

Staff Geologist J. Bodie McCosby, GIT, will give a technical presentation at the Puget Sound Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG) Chapter meeting in Seattle on Thursday, October 27.

Looking across Eightmile Lake as the drilling crew sets up for geotechnical explorations.

Bodie’s talk, “Eightmile Lake Restoration Project - Characterization of a Landslide Dam,” chronicles his and Aspect’s ongoing geologic and seismic studies to modernize the dam infrastructure at the remote Eightmile Lake dam, which was built on an ancient landslide in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area of the Cascades.

The meeting is at 6pm at Art Marble 21 in South Lake Union, with an online attendance option available.

Meet Jackie Reinhardt

Aspect recently welcomed Jackie Reinhardt to our Seattle office. Here are Five Questions we asked to get to know her better.

1. Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?

I am from Seattle! I went to college in Portland, OR and then returned here so I’ve never really set foot outside the PNW.

2. What inspired you to pursue drafting and design? What made you curious about it?

I studied civil engineering for my Bachelor’s degree, but since college I’ve wandered from copy editing and engineering consulting to boat building and harp building. Landing on drafting and design was an exercise in finding the common thread through all those roles, and I’m so happy with the conclusion!

3. What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?

I like problem-solving, drawing, and organizing. Keeping details crisp, sheets clean, and xrefs orderly can be very exciting but also very Zen. I like having lots in front of me and patiently working my way out of the chaos!

4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

I like to run, rock climb, play music, draw, read, write, sew, collect records, work with wood, tinker with electronics (Gameboys and iPods are my current obsession), and also sometimes sleep.

5. Where would your dream house be located?

I would love to live in an out-of-service lighthouse—not one of the creepy ones where you’re out on a rock in the middle of the ocean and waiting for Willem Defoe to turn into Poseidon, but one of the cozy ones on a cape in Maine or Norway or somewhere, near a town. I want to be high up looking out at the ocean from my warm little house. Maybe I’ll have a studio up where the bulb used to be so I can play music super loud and spook the birds.

A New Perspective for Conservation Districts in Washington State

On a recent Sunday near Moses Lake, drones soared over Rocky Fork Creek, one of the few riparian habitats in the Columbia Basin area and home to a variety of native animal and fish species. The drones, taking pictures of the meandering waters below, were being guided by members of conservation districts around the state. The districts are seeking to add drones to their data collection tool kit for a variety of uses—from collecting eye-catching footage to share with project stakeholders and the community, to collecting multispectral and thermal imagery over farms to support irrigation efficiency efforts. Aspect Project Geologist Kelsey Mach, LG, is teaching them how to do it.

Kelsey is a licensed FAA Part 107 drone pilot and an adjunct professor at Big Bend Community College (BBCC) in Moses Lake for their Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Certification Program. BBCC recently partnered with the Columbia Basin Conservation District (CBCD) to put on a week-long hybrid virtual/in-person class to help conservation district employees get prepared to take their Part 107 drone license exam, learn some drone basics, and get resources for starting and maintaining a drone program.

Representatives from several Washington State conservation districts took part in the class, including employees from the Grays Harbor, Pacific, Klickitat, Pend Oreille, Snohomish, Columbia Basin, and Cascadia conservation districts, the Executive Director of the Washington Association of Conservation Districts, and the North Central and Northeast regional manager for the Washington State Conservation Commission.

Aspect's Mark Swank and Bodie McCosby Presenting at AEG's Annual Meeting

Aspect’s Infrastructure team will be at the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG) 65th Annual Meeting this month in Las Vegas. Associate Engineering Geologist Mark Swank, CEG, LEG, and Staff Geologist J. Bodie McCosby, GIT, will present as part of the Dams and Levees Technical Symposium on Thursday, September 15.

Bodie’s talk, “Eightmile Lake Restoration Project - Characterization of a Landslide Dam,” chronicles his and Aspect’s ongoing geologic and seismic studies to modernize the dam infrastructure at the remote Eightmile Lake dam, which was built on an ancient landslide in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area of the Cascades.

Drill rig at the remote Eightmile Lake site

Mark’s presentation, “River’s Edge – The Story of a Levee Setback and Restoration Project,” is on Aspect’s recent project for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe to build a new levee setback and restore natural river processes along the Lower Dungeness River near Sequim. Earlier this year, the River’s Edge Levee Setback Project won in the Geotechnical category of the Seattle Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Local Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Awards.

Aerial view of the new levee setback – photo courtesy of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

Mark will also moderate the “Wild Problems, Unique Solutions, and Lessons Learned” panel on Friday, September 16.

Meet Megan Wanlass

Aspect recently welcomed Megan Wanlass to our Seattle office. Here are Five Questions we asked to get to know her better.

Megan Wanlass, Staff Water Rights Specialist

Megan and husband Chris.

1. Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?

I am from Utah, specifically Tooele Utah, which is about an hour west of Salt Lake City. I met my husband, Chris, in 2016. Chris was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and had always hoped to come back. We came to Washington after he was offered a promotion at work, and we jumped at the opportunity!

2. What inspired you to pursue water rights? What made you curious about it?

I received my BS in Mining Engineering and initially applied to many job opportunities, including with Utah Division of Water Rights (The Utah equivalent to Ecology). I eventually started working with the Utah Division of Water Rights in the Adjudication section without really knowing anything about water rights.

I continued to pursue water rights in my career because I felt a sense of accomplishment in bringing clarity to water use and water availability, particularly in the west. I was most intrigued by the interpretations of water law and how that effects the decisions we made at work and how that might make a difference to the water users.

3. What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?

What I like about water rights is that even though there are similar situations with each project, all of them are different and deserve different approaches. I am excited to see water rights from the consultant perspective and learn how the water law differs in Washington.

Bandit.

4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

I have always enjoyed painting, drawing, and other artistic hobbies. Recently I have been loving baking, cooking, and gardening. I also like to go hiking and site seeing with my husband and dog, Bandit.

5. Where would your dream house be located?

Now that Chris and I have moved to the state we ultimately wanted to live in, we would love to live on Whidbey Island. Chris grew up there and we often visit during the weekends. Ultimately, I would love to have a yard and be able to garden more!

Meet Hanna Winter and Alec Melone

Aspect recently welcomed Hanna Winter to our Bellingham office and Alec Melone to our Seattle office. Here are Five Questions we asked to get to know them better.

Hanna Winter, Project Environmental Data Scientist

Hanna and son on the Oregon coast in Seaside.

1. Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?

I was born in Finland and grew up in Bellevue. I’ve been in Bellingham pretty much since moving here to attend Western Washington University.

2. What inspired you to pursue Environmental (Data) Science? What made you curious about it?

As a kid, I was an avid recycler and organizer of litter-cleanups. I dreamed of being a scientist who helped solve environmental challenges. Now, I have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in environmental science and have worked in water quality, wetlands, NEPA, soil carbon cycling, and sustainable agriculture. So I’ve covered a lot of topics!

My favorite part of each of these specialties was working with the data: analysis, visualization, and reporting. I’m a stickler for details and am always striving to learn new skills. That’s what inspired me to join Aspect’s Data Team.

3. What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?

I enjoy nothing more than working with data to answer questions, tease out trends, and find the best way to present the results. I love working in R – especially for data wrangling, data visualization, and automating routine analysis tasks. I’m passionate about streamlining workflows, ensuring process transparency, and providing clear documentation, reporting, and communication.

Since I’m just starting on my environmental data science adventure with Aspect, I’m excited about the variety of work and projects, continuing to learn and grow my data management and analysis skills, and working in a team to solve complex data puzzles.

4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

Gardening and yard projects, cooking and preserving, hanging out with family and friends, taking walks, reading, watching movies, and camping or just having a campfire in the yard.

5. Where would your dream house be located?

In Bellingham with a secret 5-acre yard in the back, a sauna, and a portal in a closet so I can get to Finland quickly. Of course, I would also have an apartment in Helsinki to house the other end of the portal.

Alec Melone, Staff Geologist, GIT

Alec at Tuck Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Note the geologically appropriate shirt - ‘Wait, I See a Rock’

1. Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?

I grew up in Farmington, Connecticut where I went to Hamilton College thinking to study biology or history and took an introductory geology class to gain a better understanding of the rocks I’d been collecting as a hobby since childhood. After the intro course succeeded in hooking me and I’d finished my degree, I went to Central Washington University in Ellensburg to continue studying igneous petrology in a master’s program.

2. What inspired you to pursue engineering geology? What made you curious about it?

I fell in love with geology for the greater understanding of the world around me that could be gained and working in the geotechnical field allows me to better understand that natural and man-made world. With Aspect, I get to do field explorations where I am discovering the geology of places that may never have been studied in detail, as well as seeing everything that sits below the roads and buildings around us.

3. What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?

It’s always satisfying to me to visit a site at the end of a project and think back to how it looked at the start, to compare the before and after and see the improvement. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment, and it’s good to know that the work I do gives clients peace of mind going forward.

4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

I love reading/listening to audiobooks, hiking in the woods, and playing board games with friends! Always looking for new book/game recommendations or cool places to check out! Also love trivia competitions and would love to talk your ears off about Tolkien lore!

5. Where in the world would you like to travel next?

I’d love to go to Italy someday to see the old Roman ruins, visit Pompeii, see Vesuvius and Etna. I’d also love to see the southwest US and hike the Grand Canyon, visit Petrified Wood National Park.

Data Teams as Gatekeepers to Unlock Brownfield Cleanups

Environmental data teams methodically confirm cleanup levels and visualize the 'cleanup finish line' with the regulatory criteria and client end goals

What is the measure of ‘clean’ at brownfield sites? Before any digging of contaminated dirt or treatment of contaminated groundwater, there is much upfront work by regulators and project teams – chemists, data analysts, geologists, engineers, and more – to determine the appropriate cleanup levels to use for a given site. The cleanup levels are the north star that every brownfield cleanup team steers by.

To Succeed, Be Sure What ‘Clean’ Looks Like

Aspect’s environmental data team regularly keeps the finger on the pulse of regulatory databases and uses tools – such as the open-source programming language R – to streamline brownfield cleanup projects.

Using R to automate screening level updates allows project teams to:

• Make changes quickly and confidently

• Minimize the risk of errors and omissions

• Provide much-improved process transparency

• Streamline communications across the project team

Keeping up on the best available science gives project managers greater assurance that their sites are being appropriately measured against regulatory criteria, providing a smoother path forward in the management and remediation of contaminated sites.

A Peek into Regulatory Data World with CLARC

CLARC is the Washington State Department of Ecology’s (Ecology) Cleanup Levels and Risk Calculation spreadsheet that is the basis for calculating cleanup levels under Ecology’s Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). MTCA is Washington state’s cleanup rule which governs over 13,000+ known or suspected contaminated sites. CLARC is a key measure of what defines success at these cleanup projects and a living document that is maintained and updated by Ecology, as needed, with major updates every six months to align with changes to state and federal regulatory (e.g., US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)) criteria.

Aspect engineer evaluating a vapor intrusion system at Art Brass Plating – a South Seattle cleanup site. The measure of success for these systems — and projects — rely on knowing the correct and up-to-date cleanup level criteria

The data tables in CLARC provide the various input parameters used to calculate screening levels for a huge array of chemicals in soil, groundwater, surface water, soil gas, and air—as well as the resulting calculated cleanup level values themselves. The calculated values are routinely used by remediation project managers to screen analytical results (from samples collected in the field) against federal, state, or other regulatory thresholds.

What is R and How Does it Accurately Automate Away Manual Data Entry?

R is an open-source software environment used for statistical computing and graphics. Recently, Aspect’s data team wrote a package of R code to use CLARC’s input parameters to calculate a suite of specific screening levels. The same code can be run any time the input values in CLARC are updated, generating quality assurance tables to alert Aspect’s data team of potential issues, and providing summary tables for Aspect project managers to review cleanup level changes and consider their potential impact to their various environmental sites.

Various input parameters, including regulatory requirements, chemistry, site use, human safety and environmental quality are entered into our custom R tool to make and maintain a reliable, reproducible metric set for project success

Since there are usually screening levels for hundreds of different analytes at remediation cleanups  – e.g., petroleum and diesel, arsenic, tetrachloroethylene and more – when the CLARC database is updated by the regulator, it can be difficult to see if there have been any changes and which analytes may have been affected.

Aspect uses the industry standard EQuiS environmental data management system. The R tool helps us better use EQuIS to manage and screen environmental data against cleanup levels. Before using R, preparing CLARC-based screening and cleanup levels for upload to EQuIS required tedious data wrangling in Excel and institutional knowledge of what analytes should be compared to which screening levels. With R, the process involves little more than a click of a button

Data Problem Solving that Makes Remediation Easier

R simplifying the complexity of the brownfield cleanup level process

Brownfield remediation cleanups require imagining a range of scenarios for the future use of a ‘clean’ property. Will the site be used for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes? What pollutants are present and where? It all starts with the cleanup level criteria.

Overall, this work by Aspect’s data team – who are meticulous at knowing the state-of-the-science regulatory criteria – ensures Aspect’s project teams have the correct screening or cleanup levels based on the most current toxicity guidance, which helps avoid rework later on in the process and saves time and money for the client.

2040 Temperature Check on One of North America’s Biggest Watersheds

More water earlier and less snow – the Columbia River Basin’s water health was recently forecast into 2040 as the result of a two-year study across the Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State University, University of Utah, State of Washington Water Research Center, and Aspect Consulting in the 2021 Long-Term Water Supply & Demand Forecast.

Photo Credit: Robyn Pepin, Aspect Consulting. Columbia River near Entiat

This mammoth water evaluation project – done every five years since 2006 – looks across the Columbia River Basin, which includes 34 eastern Washington watersheds. Hydrological modeling, economic modeling, regulatory context, remote sensing, surface water and groundwater monitoring and more all are studied to predict the future of water for agriculture, population growth, and instream flow health under a changing climate in this critical basin.

Forecast Insights for the 4th Largest Watershed in North America

Image Source: 2021 Columbia River Basin Long-term Water Supply and Demand Forecast

The Columbia River Basin is the 4th largest watershed in North America, running down from headwaters in Canada and mainly into four states – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Some notable details and insights from the recent forecast include:

• Wet months getting 15% more water and dry months getting 28% less water

• Earlier planting dates and more heat stress during the hot months

• 17% higher population growth across Washington state leading to increases in demand for residential water and hydroelectric power

• Trends in groundwater levels across the last 20 years were predominantly declining across the basin. The steepest declining trends correspond with the most heavily pumped layers and areas such as the Grand Ronde aquifer in the Odessa Sub Area and the Wanapum aquifer in parts of the Yakima Basin and Horse Heaven Hills.

Expected changes that will influence future water supplies and demands. These expected trends inform the scenarios explored in the 2021 Forecast.

Graphic Source: 2021 Columbia River Basin Long-term Water Supply and Demand Forecast

A 2040 Water Crystal Ball: Water Retiming Means More Water Earlier

Among the many takeaways in this report is the impact of climate change on water cycles. Chief among those is the prediction that peak surface flows – that feed the historically typical April – October agricultural season – will begin earlier, thus leaving less water available later in the summer when demand for that water is higher. Snowpack – the Pacific Northwest’s natural water reservoirs – will likely melt earlier because of warmer temperatures.

This ripple effect will influence agriculture starting earlier in the growing lifecycle; instream flow challenges with higher temps for fish habitat; and populations in arid regions will likely be incrementally more dependent on groundwater to serve future water supply. Declining groundwater trends mean that alternative water supplies may not be available in some areas so additional solutions are needed.

Time (in years) until the average available saturated thickness has declined by 25% in at least one aquifer layer in each groundwater subarea.

Image Source: 2021 Columbia River Basin Long-term Water Supply and Demand Forecast

State-of-the-Science Research

Aspect teamed with the project team and the scope of the science and monitoring over the last two years is impressive. A team of scientists and engineers looked at remote sensing and telemetry data across eastern Washington; climate change forecasts; population growth projections; well logs; and water rights. Some of the months-long study details of that include:

• Integrated hydrological, river operations, crop production, and municipal, domestic and industrial water demand modeling in 34 watersheds under 34 potential climate change scenarios

• Groundwater level trend analysis on 670+ wells

• Automated well log review of over 4,000+ well logs

• Manual well log review of 300+ well logs

Learn more also at WA Ecology’s project StoryMap here.

Peer Praise: Staff Shoutouts and Celebrations

We all work with a team. Our project and client and career successes rely on each other. Here are some stories where we put a spotlight on our peers that help us shine, as told by their colleagues. There are so many great tales like this and we’ll keep telling them in this ongoing series.

Daniel Babcock, Project Geologist

Shoutout by Jasmin Toro, Project Engineer

How does your colleague help you?

Daniel is one of the most positive young professionals at Aspect I’ve been around. He supports a variety of environmental cleanup projects and is now exploring new territories as the Environmental Health and Safety representative. This is a key role that keeps our staff safe and our projects on point. He is also learning the ins and outs of project management while remaining closely engaged with the environmental field staff group. Without him, it’s unlikely we would have as strong a commitment in the field staff team in our environmental group.

What do you appreciate the most about your coworker?

Daniel is an available shoulder to lean on. Even when he’s well beyond a full work week, he’s available to help. Daniel is always a pleasure to communicate with; is proud of his work; and happy to share his skills with others. He does exactly what Doug Hillman – a recently retired Aspect owner – encourages us all to do: “Empower Others.”

Any other ways they stand out to you?

Across many projects this year – whether sampling a well or being patient with a hurried call from field staff or a client – Daniel leans into the unknown and embraces it. He’s fearless and wears many hats and wears them very well.

Carla Hanafee, Contract Specialist

Shoutout by Owen Reese, Principal Water Resources Engineer

How did your colleague help you?

Carla is a true specialist in one of my least favorite parts of project management – evaluating and negotiating contract terms. We’re all excited to get going on a project, but first there’s the hurdle of insurance, and limitations on liability, and other contract terms.

All critically important, but not particularly fun (at least for me). Carla’s always there to help me through this phase thoughtfully and quickly.

What do you appreciate the most about your coworker?

I really appreciate the care and ownership Carla brings to the contracting process – she proactively works to propose solutions to sticky contract terms and follows up with clients to see those changes through.

How else do they stand out?

We consistently get workable contract language that’s fair to the client while protecting Aspect from undue risk – all because of Carla’s help in sorting through the details.

Jill Van Hulle, Sr. Associate Water Rights Specialist

Shoutout by Kelsey Mach, Project Geologist

Jill (on the left) and Kelsey (on the right) at MLK volunteer event in January 2022.

How did your colleague help you?

Jill is my sounding board and often second brain when it comes to water rights projects. It’s a regular occurrence that I say “Jill, I got a puzzler for you” and she always seems to have thoughtful and helpful insight to provide.

What do you appreciate the most about your coworker?

Jill is good at having my back. I appreciate the feedback but also the overall support and unwavering confidence in me and my abilities.

How else do they stand out?

Ultimately, she helps to not only make my work environment better, but also to make the quality of work we produce at Aspect better.