Atlanta, a city with a metro-area of over five million people, is expected to see a boom of two million more by the year 2020. While Atlanta’s population may pale in comparison to cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, Georgia’s capital is the largest city in the country not built on a large body of water. This has posed water reuse and sustainability challenges unknown to larger metropolitan areas.

A city like Atlanta must have in place a tangible water sustainability strategy in order to survive. This strategy includes policies on water use and reuse, the technology and processes used to treat and distribute water, and creating awareness and responsibility amongst decision-makers and consumers alike.

In response to a well publicized drought, Atlanta has used all three approaches to create a relatively fast set of solutions to the dwindling water supply. Residential demand makes up 56% of the water use in Atlanta and of that nearly 20% is used for outdoor watering. Seeing this as a huge drain on the water supply, the City and surrounding areas instituted strict water restrictions and increased rates. This action aided in curbing wasteful water use and led to public awareness and media coverage surrounding the drought. Communities were vigilant in complying with water conservation efforts, even after some restrictions were relaxed.

The technology and creative problem-solving employed to help during the drought ranged from the expertise of federal and state decision makers and engineers all the way down to local residents exchanging older, more wasteful fixtures with newer, low-flow models. Residents even received rebates for their exchange.

Atlanta has also looked to other cities’ sustainable water visions for inspiration. In the 1980’s, Boston instituted a program of leak repair, new water meters, and water audits. The city now uses less water than it did in the year 1911. Of course, these changes come at a cost: Boston has spent $40 million on the effort. However, that investment will save the city around $500 million in long-term water loss, supply costs, and stabilized rates.

Obviously, an investment of tens of millions of dollars is a large sum. There are risks associated with any investment. But with proper planning, strategy, and commitment, the risks can be mitigated or even eliminated. And the returns on such an investment can be as large as the ones realized by Boston.

The sustainability dream is not going to happen overnight. However, if Atlanta learns from the seriousness of the drought, sticks with conservation strategies, and pays attention to cities who have paved the way, it can ensure a sustainable water supply.

Contributed by Brent Bridges and the Southeast Municipal Market Team

The New Jersey DEP is advancing contaminated site cleanups thanks to new privatized cleanup program. The Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) program has passed the New Jersey legislature and will be signed into law by the Governor. This program, informed by successful similar programs in Massachusetts and Connecticut, will speed cleanup of more than 20,000 contaminated sites that have stalled within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) legislative process due to the volume of cases. This new law will enable qualified professionals to authorize the continuation of site cleanup and drastically increase the number of contaminated sites which are remediated annually, reduce the public's exposure to pollution, create jobs, and increase tax revenues for municipalities.

Cleanups for the majority of environmentally impacted sites will now be overseen by LSRPs. Instead of awaiting direct approvals by the NJDEP, licensed consultants will plan and direct the cleanup needed to comply with environmental laws, and to develop, maintain, or sell the property.

Standards will still be set by the NJDEP, which will conduct audits on 10% of all submissions while maintaining the management over a significant number of challenging cases, as necessary. To perform remediation work in New Jersey, consultants, engineers, and other site remediation professionals must be licensed as an LSRP. LSRPs will have the authority to take a case from start to finish and issue a response action outcome.

Woodard & Curran’s Duff Collins, P.G., Dave MacDonald, P.E., and Michael van der Heijden were closely involved in the development of New Jersey’s LSRP program, providing input to development of the bill and program standards, and testifying before the New Jersey Senate.

This program is a big step forward in getting the backlog of contaminated properties in New Jersey cleaned up and put to beneficial use.

Contributed by Michael van der Heijden

We, as a nation, are more aware of our impact on the environment than we have ever been. We’ve become more conscious about harmful chemicals and toxins in our every day products and instituted programs to proactively protect and rehabilitate the environment. Some parts of our country have felt the impact of natural and man-made environmental disasters more than others. These affected areas have much at stake to protect their environmental well-being, and stakeholders are starting to take action.

The City of Atlanta, GA is at an environmental crossroads unlike anything it has seen before. The issues it faces are unusual in their severity, but not uncommon across the country, and Atlanta's proactive approach is a useful example. A drought has ravaged the water supply, tornados have ripped through towns and smog and pollution are at an all time high. According to the American Lung Association, Atlanta ranks sixth in America’s Most Polluted Cities, based on Year-Round Particle Pollution. The city’s two primary water sources, Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River, have fallen victim to major environmental disasters including low-water levels, over-use, and pollution. All, however, is not lost. The City, with backing from local, state and federal officials, has taken action to create an environmental initiative aimed at helping to sooth the area’s water woes.

The Clean Water Campaign is a community-based program targeted at educating the public on the sources of water pollution and the effects of those pollutants on Atlanta’s water supply, ecosystems, and general quality of life. Started in 2001, the initiative strives to convey facts paired with tangible effects. For instance, more than 1,000 stream miles in the metro-Atlanta area are non-compliant with state water quality standards. This type of education is especially important, as almost 98% of the City’s water supply comes from surface water origins.

The Clean Water Campaign conducts no-cost public workshops with topics ranging from rain gardens to composting to stormwater basics. The campaign boasts an easy to follow “Top 10 Things I Can Do” section for those interested in helping solve Atlanta’s water issues.

Interesting facts from The Clean Water Campaign:

• The highest concentration of pesticides in metro Atlanta’s rivers and streams are found during the month of May. This is attributed to the coming of springtime and the start of growing season.
• More than 800 of Georgia’s waterways already fail federal safety regulation for toxic chemicals and cancer-causing agents. Officials statewide blame runoff from parking lots, roofs, streets, and new development for the dangers.
• Only 14% of the 70,150 total stream and river miles in Georgia are monitored for water quality standards. Of that number, nearly 60% do not meet those standards.
• Only 55% of the 70,150 total stream and river miles in Georgia support a full range of aquatic life. Nearly 16% support no aquatic life at all.

It’s true that Atlanta’s water troubles are at an all-time high. But times of crisis also yield the best solutions. As the water supply decreases, public awareness increases and government actions start to churn. Initiatives such as The Clean Water Campaign are excellent examples of the power of a partnership between local and state officials and the people who elect them. Atlanta’s water issues are far from over, but the City has a public armed with knowledge and a government determined to change things, and that is a recipe for success.

Contributed by Brent Bridges and the Southeast Municipal Market Team

The year of 1818 held a lot of significant event national events. Illinois became the 21st state admitted to the Union. Congress adopted the flag of the United States in the form that we know it today, with 13 stripes and stars for each state. It was the year the 49th parallel was established. It saw the birth of one revolutionary in Frederick Douglass, and the death of another in Paul Revere. 1818 also marked the occurrence of something slightly more obscure: a cartographical mistake allocating 150 square miles of Georgian land to Tennessee.

For 190 years this mapmaking mistake went on without much consequence. However, in early 2008, Georgia began to experience one of the worst droughts in our nation’s history. Lake Lanier, located about an hour and a half outside of Atlanta, is the city’s main water supply. In 2007, the lake hit record low water levels and so began the countdown until Atlanta ran out of water. Georgian government officials, including Governor Sonny Purdue, needed to act fast to preserve the flow of water for the almost 6 million people metro area. Eyes turned to the Georgia-Tennessee border and the forgotten surveying error that just happened to run directly through the Tennessee River.

Flush with billions of gallons of water, the Tennessee River would be able to supply the Atlanta area with water for a very long time. Georgian lawmakers envisioned pipes running from their reclaimed riparian rights and furnishing the parched populous to the south with fresh water. The land, however, belongs to Tennessee, and has for almost 200 years. There is no denying from either side that the lines of ownership were incorrectly drawn, and Georgia has protested this fact in years past, but never seeking court assistance. Now, we could see this dispute end up in the Supreme Court.

Lawmakers from both states have begun a war of attrition, Georgia claiming stakes and Tennessee not budging an inch. Thrown into the mix is the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal agency with no allegiance to either state. Georgia is demanding the water to alleviate their water problems. Tennessee is recommending devoting time, effort and tax dollars to conserving water and restricting population growth.

Piping water to Atlanta would be probably the largest public works project in the history of the Southeast, with experts putting the price tag in the neighborhood of $200 billion. It would take an agreement or court injunction to give or sell the land to Georgia. Even then, a separate deal would need to be worked out with the Tennessee Valley Authority in order to remove even an ounce of water from the river. On top of all of this, there is a Tennessee state law that bans moving any river water out of state.

Tennessee points to Georgia’s poor planning, including building a million-gallon mountain of artificial snow and several outdoor theme and water parks. They also point to Atlanta’s enormous and seemingly unstoppable growth and Georgia’s historical wasteful irrigation of cotton farms.

Georgia, on the other hand, sees their rightful ownership of part of the Tennessee River as a possible solution to the state’s largest ecological crisis ever.

Normally, Georgia and Tennessee fight over whose football team is better. Today, the fight is undeniably more serious. While the litigation has been tabled, it could still end up in federal court. Either way, water is running out and Atlanta is growing by the minute. The year 1818 was an important year in history, but no one thought its most significant event wouldn’t have an effect until 190 years later.

Contributed by Brent Bridges 

October marked the end of another round of college career fairs for Woodard & Curran. After revamping our recruiting efforts at these fairs in the fall of 2007, we narrowed down the list of schools we visit from the original 23, to 9 for fall 2008. This allowed us to focus on environmental-, engineering- and science-specific events.

The schools attended were: Cornell University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the University of Connecticut, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, the University of New Hampshire, Bristol Community College, the University of Rhode Island, and the University of Maine. At these schools, we have often met well-qualified intern and entry-level job candidates in the specialties that we seek to hire including chemical, industrial, manufacturing, civil, environmental, electrical engineering, and other sciences and technologies. 

Whenever possible, Woodard & Curran sends employees back to their alma maters to represent the firm. This gives the students and our representatives a shared experience, and leads to better connections.

Once we’re back from the career event, we review all resumes we collected, and match them up with appropriate job openings as they are available. These events are an excellent way for us to find interns and new employees who are focused on building a career in engineering, science, or operations, and for us to help students understand what this kind of career might be like.

Thanks to all the colleges and universities that hosted events this year. We are excited for another round of career events next fall!  For more information of current job openings, please visit our Career Center.

Contributed by our HR Team

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) held its first auction of greenhouse gas allowances on September 25, 2008. In the absence of Federal regulations, several regional cap-and-trade initiatives began to take shape over the last few years, including the Western Climate Initiative, and more recently, the Midwestern Climate Initiative. Among these, RGGI represents the most developed mandatory program to-date.

RGGI imposes an emissions cap on fossil fuel-fired electric power plants 25 megawatts or greater in size, operating in ten northeastern states (Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont). These power plants (about 225 in total) are responsible for more than 25% of emissions in the region.

The system sets a stabilization target of 188 million tons of CO₂ annually for 2009-2014, then imposes annual reductions of 2.5% per year through 2018. The result is a 10% reduction in emissions over 2009 levels by 2018. Companies subject to the regulations will be able to purchase allowances to account for their emissions at the end of each 3-year compliance period.

These allowances may be purchased either through the quarterly auction process or via the secondary market. RGGI is unique in that it requires the majority of allowances to be auctioned rather than being given away to emitting entities from the governing agency. In contrast, the first phase of the European Union Emissions Trading Program was criticized for giving away too many allowances and thus lowering the value of the carbon traded.

The results of RGGI’s first auction indicated a strong demand for the allowances, with 59 participants (ranging from the energy, financial, and environmental sectors) placing bids for four times the available supply. Since only 6 of the 10 states participated, the 12.6 million allowances which were auctioned represented only 45% of what bidders can expect to purchase in future auctions.

While details were not released regarding who purchased the allowances, Potomac Economics (RGGI’s independent market monitor) noted that regulated entities or their affiliates purchased most of the allowances. The clearing price was $3.07 per allowance, yielding $38,575,783 in proceeds which will be distributed to the participating states (Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont) in accordance to their share of regional emissions allowances. These revenues will be used to promote a shift toward a clean energy economy in the region, by supporting investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

For example, in Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick is directing the state’s $13.3 million share of revenues toward helping municipalities and individuals fight high winter energy costs in 2008-2009. As specified in the Green Communities Act, signed this past July, all RGGI proceeds will go to the Green Communities program ($5 million from this round), to support other energy efficiency and demand response programs ($3.5 million for utility-administered programs and $4.3 million for additional efforts this winter), and to reimburse the state for administrative costs associated with the cap-and-trade program ($500,000). The Green Communities program will provide grants and technical assistance to communities for efficiency and renewable energy efforts.

By establishing a price on carbon, RGGI will create a market signal to power generators, forcing them to incorporate the compliance cost of GHG emissions into their balance sheets, and deterring further investment in fossil-fuel intensive technologies. While costs may be carried over to the consumer through price increases, the revenues from auctions are designed to alleviate the burden on end-users through energy efficiency and/or alternative generation approaches.

The clearing price for allowances during this first auction may not, however, be indicative of future prices for several reasons. As mentioned earlier, this auction represented less than half of the full pool of allowances since some states were not ready to participate. Also, since RGGI is based on 3-year compliance periods, and the first few years are dedicated to stabilizing rather than cutting emissions, allowance prices may be lower at the beginning of the program, increasing as the cap gets tighter.

Some have criticized the program for setting the cap too high, which would suggest that allowance prices would further decrease due to lack of demand. Participating states do have the ability to alter the cap after the first compliance period, so there may be means to address price volatility as the program evolves. Regardless of what happens with allowance pricing, RGGI will provide much needed insight into the cap-and-trade process and will help to inform future efforts to develop an effective Federal carbon trading program.

Contributed by the Sustainability Services Team

On Monday, September 22^nd, Woodard & Curran held its 6^th University of Maine Open House event. This event is held annually to introduce University of Maine Engineering & Science Students to our firm and meet potential interns and full time employees.

With the help of past interns, and Woodard & Curran University of Maine graduates, we got the word out to students via posters, emails, online student profile announcement s, the career center, and University professors. This led to our highest attendance ever, with 67 students and a number of faculty members at the event!

The evening began with a 30 minute panel discussion. Students submitted questions ahead of time, and the panel was hand-selected in order to best address the questions.  After a couple of rounds, the floor was opened for questions from the audience. A lot of the questions revolved around what advice could be given to students to prepare them for life in the consulting world.

After the Panel Discussion, students and faculty moved into a reception area where they were able to enjoy appetizers and mingle with Woodard & Curran employees that were on hand. We provided information about our business, our internships, and our hiring process and open positions 

During the reception, speeches were given by Patty Counihan, Director of Career Services, Chet Rock, Associate Dean of Engineering, and Todd Saucier, Executive Director of the Alumni Association. Frank Woodard and Al Curran presented a $10,000 check to the Engineering Department as part of our ongoing effort to support the program.

Today, we have are proud to have a total of 56 UMaine Grads working at Woodard & Curran, not only in our Maine offices, but our New Hampshire, Dedham, MA, and Atlanta, GA offices as well.

Contributed by our HR Team

EPA has published the final Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) for Stormwater Discharges from Industrial Activities in the Federal Register on September 29, 2008. This final MSGP replaced the MSGP 2000, which expired on October 30, 2005, and was administratively continued for facilities covered under that permit. This affects industrial facilities in areas where EPA is the permitting authority, including the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Alaska, and Idaho as well as all Indian Country lands, and federal facilities in selected states.

If your facililty was covered under the EPA MSGP 2000, or if you began discharging stormwater associated with industrial activity after the expiration of the MSGP 2000, you must update your stormwater pollution prevention plan, begin implementing your updated plan, and submit a Notice of Intent for coverage under the MSGP by January 5, 2009.

There have been several changes to the permit requirements compared with the MSGP 2000. Here are some of the key differences:

• An electronic system will be established for submittal of Notices of Intent (NOI), location of receiving waters, and reporting monitoring data.
• Changes to the information required in NOIs to help EPA determine eligibility and whether additional water quality-based requirements are necessary, and to enable EPA to inform the operator of its specific monitoring requirements.
• New, specific water quality-based effluent limit requirements applicable to impaired waters and State and Tribal antidegradation policies.
• Modifications regarding steps that must be followed to properly certify eligibility under endangered and threatened species and critical habitat protection requirements. 
• Certain benchmark monitoring levels have been revised to provide greater protection to listed endangered or threatened species.
• Adjusted benchmarks for six hardness-dependent metals (i.e., silver, cadmium, lead, nickel, copper, and zinc) so that the benchmark concentrations reflect site-specific hardness levels. For some sectors, the hardness of the receiving water will need to be determined in order to determine the applicable benchmark value.
• Considerably more attention is devoted to corrective actions required of permittees.
• Significant changes were made to the monitoring provisions. Facilities must determine whether their stormwater discharges to an impaired water, and if any approved TMDLs (total maximum daily loads) have been established. If so, additional monitoring may be required.  This will have to be determined on a case-by-case basis and documented in the facility's stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP).
• An annual report must now be submitted to EPA that includes the findings from the annual comprehensive site inspection report and a report detailing any conditions triggering corrective action and the status of those actions taken in response.
• Additional changes were made to individual industrial sectors covered under the permit.

The conditional exclusion for facilities that certify "no exposure" of industrial activities to stormwater is still available under the re-issued MSGP. No significant changes to this provision were made.

Because the changes above will require some effort to address, we suggest that facilities begin preparing NOIs and updating SWPPPs soon. See EPA's page on the MSGP for more information and please contact us if you have any questions regarding compliance with the new requirements.

Contributed by Bob Rafferty, PE and our Stormwater Services team

There is an article outlining the process of carbon footprinting on a college campus in the latest issue of American School & University. It’s intended to give schools considering conducting a GHG inventory general guidance on how to approach the project.

Most schools (or businesses, government agencies, etc) undertaking a first GHG inventory discover that it is difficult to find 100% of the data they set out to collect because records are often incomplete or inaccessible. Fortunately, the process of collecting the data makes these gaps abundantly clear and offers an opportunity to improve record-keeping procedures (or implement them where they don’t exist).

Good record-keeping policies, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, will make it much easier to conduct future GHG inventories and measure the success of GHG reduction programs. Without such procedures, even the most well-intentioned programs can falter.

The staff at our Water Conserv-II facility have not experienced a lost-time injury in over 5,000 days, and were recently recognized for the 12th straight year by the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association for their outstanding safety record.

Obviously, a lot of hard work is behind this achievement: good work procedures; a well coordinated and experienced staff; site-specific training; and management support and dedication. In addition, a major factor in the success of their safety program lies in the commitment of the employees, and the pride they take in themselves and their workplace. The employees are passionate about their workplace, and they are passionate about improving their own health and safety environment.

One of the main building blocks of any successful safety program is strong employee involvement. If management engages employees in the development and implementation of the safety program – through soliciting suggestions, inclusion in decision-making, training, etc. – then employees will feel ownership in the program and a sense of personal responsibility to see it succeed.

Contributed by our Health & Safety Team

In 2007, Woodard & Curran revamped our college career fair schedule in order to target some of the most qualified students and graduates for internship and job opportunities. With the help of our marketing team and enthusiastic employees, we identified a wide variety of exceptional students to add to the Woodard & Curran team.

During the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008, we attended over 30 career-oriented events from the East coast, to the Mid-West, to the Southeast. More than 60 Woodard & Curran employees and interns attended these events in the hopes of meeting students in the fields of Chemical, Industrial, Manufacturing, Civil, Environmental, and Electrical Engineering as well as other sciences and specialties. From the many students we met and interviewed, we hired 15 interns and entry level employees for 2008.

In the Fall of 2008, we plan on attending eight campus events with the hopes of finding more great hires and interns in engineering, environmental science, and natural resource disciplines. Visit our Campus Events page to find out what schools we'll be visiting, or head to the Career Center to search job opportunities.

Contributed by our HR Team

There are a lot of theories and ideas around team building. Many have a magic number of steps or elements that “ensure” that teams are built with a strong foundation. But what is a team? How do they work? And what makes a team successful?

As Dr. Meredith Belbin has written, a team is a group with “a tendency to behave, contribute, and interrelate with others in a particular way.” This is a broad but very useful definition.

The patterns of behavior and characteristics of individuals on a team, in relation to one another, are crucial components of team building. Effective team building results from the exploration and practice of self awareness and self knowledge of the team and its individual members, and their ability to adjust to external pressures and influences.

At Woodard & Curran, we have many “teams”, including but not limited to project teams, client teams, sports teams, and traditional specialty service teams like Marketing or Accounting.

A successful team may look different to different people. The successful client team may be made up of a group of results-driven individuals, who are independent in their tasks and actions but measure results and progress as a group. The successful project team is likely made up of people with a wide range of personalities, skills, and tenure, with a team leader (project manager) measuring and directing group success.

No matter the look and feel of the team, Suzanne Willis Zoglio, Ph.D., writes that “to compete effectively, leaders must fashion a network of skilled employees who support each other in the achievement of corporate goals and the delivery of seamless service.” That mutual support is what we aim for in every team at Woodard & Curran, from the smallest project to the largest service line, and most importantly in the firm as a whole.

So here’s to the team – the forming, the evolving, and the high achieving. They all have a place in our organization, as we grow, develop, and evolve ourselves.

Contributed by our HR Team

ENR's 2008 list of the top 200 environmental firms has been released, and Woodard & Curran is ranked 90th, up 5 spots from 2007. Removing the equipment and construction firms from the list puts Woodard & Curran at #49.

The article that accompanies the list talks about the changing markets for environmental services, noting that international work appears to be on the rise for U.S. firms. Interestingly, despite the economic climate, “wet infrastructure” work (e.g., water and wastewater work) saw significant growth this year and is seen as an area of opportunity. Another area seen as a growing opportunity is water resources management. More and more, communities and companies are trying to plan for the future and be proactive about how they use resources.

On Thursday, June 5th, Woodard & Curran hosted its 2nd Annual Intern Day.  This is a day for Interns, Mentors, and Team Leaders to come together and discuss topics and issues that affect interns and their future career decisions. 

This year, we had 15 interns from 7 of our offices gather at our office in Portland, ME for a day of talks, panels, and discussions on a multitude of topics.  The agenda included:

• Doug McKeown, CEO, welcomed the interns and spoke about the opportunities at Woodard & Curran to follow either a technical track or a business track, or to pursue both.
• Helen Gordon, Vice President and Sr. Project Manager, shared her experience with Northeastern Co-op and what it is like working as a woman engineer in a predominantly male profession.
• Guy Vallaincourt, President, talked about the different types of career you can pursue with an engineering or science degree, including those in industry, government, and consulting.
• Tom Francoeur, Sr. Vice President and head of our Consulting Business, spoke about Woodard & Curran’s culture, and what makes us different from other firms.

Other highlights included:

• A panel of employees with one to eight years of experience who answered questions and discussed their internship experiences.
• Break-out sessions for mentors and interns to discuss what is and isn’t working for them.
• And of course, the ice cream truck! There’s nothing quite like a creamsicle to make people comfortable.

All and all it was a successful and informative event for both interns and mentors that will help us improve our internship program. We look forward to continuing this tradition next summer!

Contributed by our HR Team

Interest in the impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) on water supplies is heating up quickly. Medications for colds, pain, depression, cholesterol control, birth control, hormone therapy, etc, and cosmetics and powerful disinfectants are being found in water samples across the U.S. Some products contain endocrine disrupting compounds that researchers fear may harm aquatic life. Better test methods are revealing the presence of chemical compounds down to parts per trillion.

While some research suggests possible impacts to aquatic life exposed to these compounds, no effects on human health have been detected at this time. Nevertheless, the issue could be significant for the entire water industry if regulations and technology standards arise out of a perception that a problem exists, even if presumptions of potential impacts are not supported by solid scientific evidence.

When it comes to testing water samples for various compounds, as Christian Daughton, chief of the environmental chemicals branch of EPA’s Office of Research and Development in Las Vegas has said, “what you find depends on what you’re looking for... Those chemicals not targeted will elude detection.” Compounds are being found in groundwater, surface water intakes, treated drinking water, wastewater effluents, and biosolids. They get there through human excretion, the flushing of unused medications, and runoff from animal operations where large quantities of antibiotics are used. While households represent a huge non-regulated source of these products, other significant sources include pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, pharmacies, and veterinary operations.

In fact, some studies suggest that nursing homes account for about a third of the medications that are not used. Most of these end up in the sewer system because these facilities must adhere to strict guidelines from the Drug Enforcement Administration requiring that all unused controlled substances be rendered “non-recoverable.” Two health care professionals are required to witness the disposal of these medications. The easiest and cheapest way to accomplish the “observed disposal” of these products is to flush them into the sewer system. Medicare requirements also mandate the witnessed destruction of unused meds purchased through that program.

Some view EPA’s announcement that certain PPCPs may wind up on the 2008 Candidate Contaminant List (CCL) as evidence that the Agency is eyeing regulation of these compounds. However, establishing reasonable limits is a challenge given that gauging the impact of each compound on human health and the environment by studying the fate, transport, mode of action, and toxicity of each individual chemical is nearly impossible. An EPA cross-regional group called the National Regional Science Council PPCPs Team, is studying the issues.

To address the issue, some communities are trying pharmaceutical waste collection programs. These programs sound simple, but can be quite complex. They must take place over the course of a few hours on a designated day and require law enforcement presence. Additionally, some states require that medications collected at these events follow procedures for hazardous waste disposal.

At the present time, there is limited data on treatment options to remove PPCPs from wastewater. Some work shows that longer sludge age helps reduce some compounds but is ineffective for others. The same holds true for powdered activated carbon (PAC). Membrane filters coupled with long sludge age and/or PAC provide the optimum removal for the compounds evaluated.

Despite all the questions around this issue, two things are clear. First, EPA is under pressure to begin monitoring for certain PPCPs as soon as possible and potentially regulate these compounds. Second, the monitoring and removal of PPCPs will necessitate additional funding at the local level – lots of additional funding.

Contributed by Mike Cherniak, CET

Developing a local stormwater law is not easy, and getting it passed can be even more difficult. Business and Legal Reports has written about a presentation on the topic given by Woodard & Curran’s own Wendy Coffin at New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission’s 19th Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference in Groton, CT.

The presentation emphasizes the importance of properly identifying stakeholders, identifying gaps in existing regulations, and effectively communicating the regulations to the public. See the linked article for more details.

Contributed by Bob Rafferty, PE

In honor of Maine's Commute Another Way Week, Woodard & Curran challenged itself to take advantage of commuting options other than single occupancy vehicles. The effort showcased some simple ways to reduce the environmental impacts of getting to work.

Using modes ranging from foot- and pedal-power to telecommuting, car-pooling, and high-efficiency vehicles, more than 50 Woodard & Curran employees made their way to the office by alternative means.

Those 50+ people represent 16% of the offices participating, and together they saved 7% of all possible trips to and from their offices. Both numbers are up from last year, which was the first entire week devoted to alternative commuting – prior to 2007, the event was Commute Another Way Day. CAWW also coincides with National Bike to Work Week.

Two people turned in the longest people-powered trips, each making a 28-mile journey by bike, and one made his 5-mile trip by bike, foot, carpool, and telecommuted one day, logging the most different modes of all participants.

Together, Woodard & Curran’s CAWW challenge saved more than 2,000 vehicle-miles, and an estimated 109 gallons of fuel, and keeping more than a ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere. And that’s from a single week of concerted effort — think what could be accomplished in a year!

Thank you to all those who helped coordinate Woodard & Curran’s CAWW efforts, and to all the dedicated commuters who made it a success.

Contributed by the Sustainability Leadership Committee

As a forward-looking firm, we have made leadership development as a top priority.  To that end, we created a Pilot Leadership Development Program in the fall of 2007, and came up with our initial vision of what leadership development means for Woodard & Curran:

• Leadership can and should occur at all levels in the organization
• Ultimately, all training and development work should contain some components dedicated to nurturing the talents of leaders and recognizing strong leadership as a critical skill for the future of our firm.
• To ensure that Woodard & Curran has talented and versatile leaders ready to move this organization into the future and help to make it a great place to work.
• Leadership development is a mindset; it will become part of what we do every day.

Our Pilot Program includes two different groups to represent both the developing and emerging leaders.  The “developing leaders” generally have less than 10 years of experience, while the “emerging leaders” generally have more than 10 years of experience.

The overall goals of our pilot program are:

1. Relationship building;
2. Developing wider knowledge and understanding of the capabilities and talents of our future leaders;
3. Transferring of the principles and values of Woodard & Curran;
4. Building a better leadership pipeline through a formal strategy;
5. Developing a better understanding of the leadership opportunities available;
6. Establishing a talent pool from which to draw from for corporate initiatives and committee work;;
7. Creating a community of leaders;
8. Creating opportunities for leadership;
9. Recruiting new leaders;
10. Ensuring that the program is sustainable; and
11. Encouraging leadership outside of Woodard & Curran.

The success of the program is measured through one-on-one and group feedback, and by the accomplishments of the candidates and the actual promotion and retention of those in the program group.  The program also provides a forum for education, training, and experience-building for future leaders, and coaching opportunities from senior leaders.

With an orientation, immersion, and three successful sessions under our belt, we believe the program is a benefit to both participants and the firm.  We see it as a sustainable part of the growth and development of Woodard & Curran, and look forward to working with new groups of developing and emerging leaders in the fall of 2008.

Contributed by our HR Team

The clear skies and warmer temperatures are a good indication that summer is on its way, and with the change of season another group of interns arrives. We are looking forward to providing another summer of great experience for these students to take back to the classroom. We welcome their fresh minds and the ideas and enthusiasm that they will bring to each office they work in.

This summer we will host 13 interns and 1 Summer/Fall Co-op student.  They will sit in our Bangor, Portland, Dedham, Andover, Providence, and White Plains offices. In addition to an introduction to the company through “Intern Day,” they will go on field visits, learn about working in an office environment, and make a final presentation on the main project that they worked on over the summer. This real-world experience will help them to refine their technical and communication skills, and begin to teach them how to work with clients in a consulting setting.

We have currently filled all of our internship positions for 2008, but we always accept online applications through the Career Center section of our website.

Contributed by our HR Team

As of 2004, only 17.7% of engineering undergraduates in the U.S. were women, which is only a two percent increase from 1984. For many years, there have been efforts in the industry to encourage more women to choose engineering as a career. None of them have been very successful.

Engineering is a great field to work in. Engineers spend their careers serving the public, designing innovative solutions to complex problems, and, corny as it may sound, building the future of our country and the world. And yet, we have failed to draw enough young people into engineering to meet the need for engineering skills and knowledge.

Studies have suggested that women, and members of other groups underrepresented in engineering, would be more likely enter the profession if they saw more people like themselves in the industry. If this is true, then maybe the way to draw more women into engineering is to promote the accomplishments of women in the industry. That’s an important part why we created the Women’s Leadership Network at Woodard & Curran.

But it’s not the only reason. There are many, many talented women already working in engineering, and the WLN will be a resource for them in their careers. As our mission statement says, “The mission of the Women’s Leadership Network is to foster an environment at Woodard & Curran that values the diversity of women, encourages women to develop as leaders and integrates women in leadership positions within the company” The WLN is a way to share experiences, offer mentoring, and simply help women connect with other women in the company and industry.

We hope that the WLN will not only be a benefit to women working at Woodard & Curran today, but to those that join us in the future. And we hope that this process will raise awareness of the contributions of women working in engineering at Woodard & Curran and in the industry as a whole. In this way, maybe we will help to raise the percentage of women in engineering, until it someday reflects society more accurately.

Contributed by Helen Gorden, PE 

According to two recent studies, LEED-Certified and Energy Star rated buildings save significant energy relative to the national average and make sound investments.

One study, published by the CoStar Group, looked at LEED-certified and Energy Star buildings. It found that these green buildings demand a rent premium, have higher occupancy rates and lower operating costs, and achieve higher sale prices. Essentially, green buildings look like a better investment than non-green buildings.

The other study, conducted by the New Buildings Institute, found that the average LEED for New Construction building use 25-30% less energy than an average building. Ironically, it found that some certified buildings actually use more energy than the code baseline. According to the study, “Variation in results is likely to come from a number of sources, including differences in operational practices and schedules, equipment, construction changes and other issues not anticipated in the energy modeling process. More in-depth analysis of some of the best and worst performers could identify ways to eliminate the poorer outcomes and communicate lessons from the best results.”

Woodard & Curran’s new office expansion in Portland, ME was recently recognized as LEED Certified. When compared to older portions of the building Woodard & Curran also occupies, monthly utility bills in our LEED space show 10% less electricity usage, between 12% and 67% less natural gas usage (heating and cooling season, respectively), and 25% less water consumption.

Our experience confirms the findings of these studies, suggesting that green buildings will soon be the common-sense choice, whether or not states continue to mandate them.

Contributed by Barry Sheff, P.E.

CorporateRegister.com, a directory of corporate social responsibility reports and reporting resources, recently announced the winners of its 2007 Reporting Awards. The awards recognize CSR reports in several categories, including best report, best first time report, best carbon disclosure, creativity in communications, openness and honesty, and several others.

Coca-Cola Enterprises won in the creativity in communications category for its report, Continuing Our Journey. Other category winners include BMW, Novo Nordisk, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. All the award-winning reports, and the runners up, are available for download through CorporateRegister.com, which lists over 16,500 reports from more than 4,000 companies.

Corporate Register.com is a very interesting resource. It’s an easy way to see what companies are releasing CSR reports. As the library of available reports grows, it will also allow us to look back at the history of a company’s reports. This kind of context will be important for tracking progress and understanding how industries are pursuing sustainability and social responsibility.

Contributed by Lloyd Snyder, PE

Many communities and other organizations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts regulated under the NPDES Phase II Stormwater program are struggling with annual reports this year. Because the Phase II General Permit has expired and the new 5-year General Permit has not be issued, it’s not clear what information annual reports should contain and if annual reports should describe future stormwater management activities.

A recent conversation with EPA New England shed some light on the issue. According to the individual at EPA, because EPA’s regulatory plans for the upcoming 5 years are not final, the report does not need to include stormwater management actions for the next General Permit.  However, the report should describe the status of best management practices that are being implemented, i.e. are they fully implemented? If not, what progress has been made? Also, the report should explain what, if any, elements of the stormwater management programs that are not finished and the plan for completing them. 

Good general guidance is also available online at EPA’s NPDES Permits in New England page. If the documents posted there don’t answer your question, feel free to contact me.

Contributed by Bob Rafferty, PE

Tyson Foods recently released a sustainability report covering topics from business ethics, to food safety, to environmental health and safety. Companies in many industries are issuing similar reports to communicate their sustainability and social responsibility goals and achievements.

Tyson’s report, “Sustainability – It’s In Our Nature” (large file, about10MB) is based on the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, which makes it easier to compare to other organizations within the food industry, and across industries. Woodard & Curran has helped clients apply the GRI guidelines, and if you have questions, feel free to contact our Sustainability Services Team.

Contributed by Lloyd Snyder, PE

The Associate for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s staff blog has extensive coverage of the recent Smart & Sustainable Campuses Conference that recently took place on the University of Maryland campus. Several staff members write about topics presented at the conference, including “Vision Planning for Campus Sustainability”, “Why Your Campus Needs an Office of Sustainability”, and “Energy Sustainability and the Green Campus”.

These brief reports are a good resource for campus sustainability personnel – and anyone else working for sustainability on campus – who were not able to attend the conference themselves.

Contributed by the Sustainability Services Team