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

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

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:

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

$23 Million for Affordable Housing Funding in Seattle

Lots of happy faces, hugs, and cheers at a recent June press conference as Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund director, Catherine Buell, announced the $23 Million award to Gardner Global for their Central District project; Mt. Baker Housing Association for their Grand Street Commons project; Mt. Baker Housing Village projects; and to El Centro de la Raza for their El Centro Columbia City project.

Over several years, Aspect has partnered with Mt. Baker Housing, Lake Union Partners, and Gardner Global on revitalizing several key brownfield cleanup sites in south Seattle for Affordable Housing goals.

Learn more about Aspect’s affordable housing work here: Affordable Housing — Aspect Consulting

This week, Aspect staff attended an event featuring Jaebadiah Gardner with Gardner Global, David Tan with Mt. Baker Housing Association, Estela Ortega with El Centro de la Raza, as well as Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.

A Legacy of Aging Underground Storage Tanks in Washington

The Seattle Times recently focused on a long-simmering environmental concern unfolding in many states: aging underground storage tanks (USTs) (subscription may be required to preview the news article) on commercial properties. These USTs store gasoline and diesel fuel at gas stations across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It’s not a question of ‘If’ but ‘When’ these tanks will leak.

With nearly 2,500 known UST sites in need of cleanup in Washington, and over 7,500 USTs either beyond or rapidly approaching the end of their useful life, there is likely a UST site in your area. Here’s a map from the Washington State Department of Ecology for finding out what is in your neighborhood.

Where are the Contaminated Properties?

Current status of contaminated sites in Washington State (includes UST sites). This WA Dept. of Ecology interactive map makes it easier to see where known cleanup sites exist.

While leaking USTs can be a threat to the environment, the good news is that they often do not pose an acute health risk to people. Once a site has been properly investigated for environmental and human health risks, there are strategies that will manage the risk and cost of cleanup over time—particularly if the property is going to continue to be used for commercial purposes.

This corner store in Forks, WA recently had an old UST removed, fortunately only a small cleanup effort was needed

For small business owners – for example, the people running “Mom & Pop” gas stations — the cost alone of replacing aging USTs before they leak can be too much of a burden. And that is before the cost of a potential cleanup of any contaminated soil, which can balloon into a big financial liability.

Tools for Managing the Cost of Cleanup

In addition to the costs involved, the regulatory and cleanup process involved in addressing a leaking UST can feel overwhelming.

An environmentally impaired property does not have to be abandoned – there are paths to continuing business operations while successfully navigating the complexities of the cleanup. If you own a UST site, consider these initial steps for managing the cost of cleanup and avoiding a big financial burden all at once:

  1. Complete a remedial investigation (RI) to define the extent of the contamination. If you don’t have insurance and you have questions about what this means for you financially, the Washington State Pollution Liability (PLIA) may be able to help through their revolving loan and grant program.

  2. Evaluate the cleanup standards to see how to keep business going. If you are willing to accept certain restrictions on the property (e.g., no residential use), consider whether less stringent cleanup standards would still meet your business objectives while safely limiting risk to workers and customers.

  3. Assess whether your site is eligible for the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Model Remedy process. This can streamline the cleanup selection process. If the USTs are still in the ground, removal of USTs and contamination to the extent practicable will still be required.

  4. Talk to your environmental consultant about lower-cost options like environmental covenants for the property, engineering controls (like capping), and long-term monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of residual contamination. These strategies can be an effective way to reduce uncertainty around the future cost of managing the long-term environmental liability attached to a property and improve marketability.

Looking Towards Thriving vs. Blighted Properties

While these strategies do not always result in a “100 percent” clean bill of health for a property, they are proven and effective ways to add value back into environmentally impaired sites – both for the local community and the economy. A thriving corner store provides much more benefit to the community than a blighted, unused property where contamination remains in the ground anyway. There are better options for maintaining the productive use of the land while keeping people and the environment safe.

Contact Associate Engineer Eric Marhofer to learn more about UST site remediation and management strategies.

How SNOTEL Sites Show Our Water Future 2022 Part 2: Halfway Through the Water Year

It has been a rollercoaster of unpredictable weather in the Pacific Northwest so far in water year 2022, yet as of early May, the snowpack remains above normal at 107 percent.

Aspect staff monitoring water levels along the Cedar River in western Washington.

In early May 2022, we’re officially more than halfway through the ‘Water Year’, which starts counting on October 1. This is also the time we typically reach maximum snowpack depth and begin the period of springtime run-off as warmer temperatures and longer hours of sunlight transport the snowpack stored in our mountains downstream into lower basins. If you’re outdoors right now in the PNW and looking near a river or stream, you’ll notice a robust color and churn in the water that only happens this time of year– that is born from the melting snow rushing down into lowland regions.

How is the PNW Water Year Looking in Spring 2022?

Relentless weather cycles have guided our snowpack through periods of below- and above-normal times, resulting in an exciting and volatile track of the 2022 SNOTEL data. Let’s take look back at how we ended up here.

An early trend of warm temperatures and atmospheric rivers in fall 2021 delivered an abundance of rain across Washington state. However, the warm temperatures and exceptional torrents of rain stunted the initial snowpack development state-wide, bringing worries of yet another below-normal snowpack. By early-December, the snowpack was at a dismal 40 percent of normal across the Pacific Northwest Region.

Figure 1. Snow Water Equivalent in Pacific Northwest Region. The black line shows 2022 SWE trends to date. The green line shows normal “median” snowpack blue and red lines show the max and min (% median). 

Then, cold temperatures accompanied by snow in mid- to late-December 2021 rocketed the snowpack on a trend well above normal. On January 8, 2022, the snowpack was nearly 140 percent of normal – a dramatic comeback from the previous month. Still, the uptrend was short lived and by mid-January and into February, the snowpack growth plateaued.

So Far, Is the Snowpack Feeding Our Water Needs?

Part 1 of this blog series ended with snowpack right near historical normal values. Since then and into spring, we’ve witnessed wild swings in weather resulting in uncertain snowpack conditions. We ended April with colder than average temperatures slowly reviving the snowpack and bringing it once again back above normal.

In Washington, most basins remain above normal, with the central Puget Sound basin leading the state with the highest snow water equivalent values, at 136 percent of normal to date. Only the Lower Yakima basin is below normal, at 90 percent.

Figure 2. Snow Water Equivalent in Washington . As of early May 2022, most basins are above normal.

Not all regions in the western US are faring well in the battle against below normal snowpacks. Zooming out, the northern states of Washington, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming all have snowpacks near or above normal while Nevada, Utah, and Colorado face below normal snowpack and challenging hydroclimate conditions ahead.

Figure 3. Snow Water Equivalent in Western US basins. Most basins to the north are above normal while basins in the south continue to struggle.

SNOTEL Forecast Secrets Unpacked

This two-part blog series that put a magnifying glass on 2022 Pacific Northwest snowpack shows how water supply from our largest and most valuable reservoir is constantly changing.

A useful key to forecast the security of our water supply and adapting to the everchanging conditions is the integrated network of nearly 300 SNOTEL climate monitoring stations scattered across the state.

Forecasting Washington’s water future is vitally important as communities, farmers, industries, and habitat all depend on this resource when the ‘reservoir’ stored in the snow transforms into streamflow that replenishes river and groundwater basins

Tips for Waterfront Homeowners: Promoting Shorelines and Protecting Property

Puget Sound has 2,500 miles of some of the most breathtaking shoreline and nearshore habitat in the world. From a geologic perspective, these shorelines are a dynamic environment – with the waves naturally eroding the base of the slopes above while carrying important, nutrient-rich sediment to build back up the beaches. For waterfront residents, the dynamic shoreline is often the reason they choose to live there.

Recent regulatory focus by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) increasingly emphasizes nearshore habitat goals, which means waterfront homeowners frequently grapple with what can feel like competing interests:

  • Preserving and protecting the land between shorelines and homes

  • Allowing natural shoreline erosion and processes to occur to feed marine habitat

Example of a soft shoreline system along the Cornet Bay shoreline in Island County. Source: Washington State Department of Ecology

Photo Credit: Hugh Shipman

What’s New in Waterfront and Nearshore Habitat Permitting?

In July 2021, WDFW approved a revised code requiring an Alternatives Analysis for replacing waterfront structures. This analysis follows a prescribed flow chart that considers options ranging from complete bulkhead removal to installation of a soft shoreline to in-kind hard structure replacement

Graphic source: Aspect Consulting

Bulkhead removal and soft shoreline systems are increasingly favored by state and local jurisdictions, to emphasize nearshore habitat development. The soft shoreline systems emphasize strategically adding large woody debris (i.e., anchored beach logs); placement of beach sand; and planting native vegetation to keep slopes stable and help the shoreline environment. As WDFW and other agencies (both local and county) begin enforcing and implementing this new code, waterfront homeowners need to be aware of how to both protect their waterfront while also promoting shoreline health.

What Should Shoreline Homeowners Be Aware Of?

As waterfront residents consider how to maintain their property, it’s important to consider shoreline erosion as a benefit for ecological function so that the beauty and dynamic nature of the shoreline remains for future generations. If you own property along the shoreline, there are a few things that you can do to preserve this important habitat:

  • If you have a bulkhead, get to know it by inspecting it at low tide, take photos and measurements on a regular basis. Look for things like damage to the structure, undermining of the foundation, and signs of over-topping during high tides and/or wind storms. Don’t delay maintenance and document changes over time.

  • Know and understand your stormwater system, including the final outfall. This includes catch basins, yard drains, roof-gutter downspouts, foundation drains, curtain drains, etc. If these systems are not maintained or are poorly designed to begin with, they can increase the rates of erosion behind or on the shoreline.

  • Plant and maintain native vegetation to help control surface water and rain water, and resulting erosion.

  • Measure distances from the closest point of all structures (sheds, residences, utilities) to where the vegetation along the shoreline ends to:

    • Document changes over time

    • Comply with bulkhead maintenance requirements for your jurisdiction

To learn more, contact Engineering Geologist Ali Dennison.