Herrera provides environmental compliance services to support the management and control of hazardous materials and generation of hazardous waste.

Our clients include private industry and public agencies, ranging from city, county, state, and federal facilities. Our projects include:

• Baseline Environmental Audits
• Wastestream Inventories
• Regulatory Compliance Reviews
• Development of Waste Management Plans
• NPDES Monitoring
• Engineering Design

Our engineers and scientists have conducted baseline environmental audits at individual vehicle maintenance shops, paint spray booths, electroplating facilities, petroleum storage facilities, and wood treating facilities, as well as across a large Department of Energy site. Our wastestream inventories focus on liquid effluents for individual processes, as well as site-wide discharges that require NPDES permit compliance. We determine the environmental impacts of stormwater and industrial wastewater loading through system monitoring and flow and transport modeling.

Our evaluations of facilities operations extend to site characterization and design of control and treatment units to attain compliance. We perform multi-media sampling (soil, water, sludge and product), oversee monitoring well installations, and sample tanks. Our industrial process reviews range from treatment of high level mixed waste at Hanford with evaluation of RCRA land disposal restrictions to maintenance yard handling of cleaning fluids, pesticides, and road salt to conducting SPCC inspections.

Herrera’s engineering services include design of spill containment structures, wastewater treatment systems, and stormwater flow control; evaluation of alternative waste treatment methods; and evaluation of proposed hazardous waste landfill design.

We provide programmatic support to local and state agencies to identify potential industrial users, to determine typical waste stream profiles for specific industries, and to develop strategies for waste recycling and reduction.

Herrera provides a full range of permitting services for projects that may affect aquatic resources and adjacent areas.

Our permitting experts have obtained permits for projects involving a variety of aquatic environments including marine areas, estuaries, lakes, rivers, streams, ditches, and wetlands. We obtain aquatic permits from federal, state, tribal, and local agencies including the Corps of Engineers, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and various cities and counties. Typical permits include Section 404, Section 10, Section 401, Hydraulic Project Approval, and Aquatic Use Authorization. Often in conjunction with these permits, we provide permitting services for projects adjacent to aquatic resources such as shorelines and buffers. These permits include Shoreline Substantial Development and Critical Areas Permits from cities and counties.

Our focus is obtaining permits in a timely fashion by identifying all necessary permits at the start of project planning, developing a permitting schedule, and coordinating early with permitting agencies. Our experience allows us to provide clients with realistic assessments of permitting timelines early in project development so that our clients can accurately schedule their projects and meet their construction deadlines. Our permitting experts work closely with project engineers and biologists to insure that permit applications are complete upon submittal. We also ensure that permitting agencies are aware of changes throughout the design process.

Key Projects

• SR 518 SeaTac Airport to I-5/I-405 Interchange
  JARPA permit application, Section 404 individual permit, Section 401 Water Quality Certification permit, City of Tukwila Sensitive Area Special Permission permit, Hydraulic Project Approval
  Washington State Department of Transportation
• 136th/Redmond Way Bypass and Stabilization
  JARPA permit application, Section 404 nationwide permit, City of Redmond Sensitive Area permit, Hydraulic Project Approval
  City of Redmond Department of Public Works
• Grapeview Loop Road Improvements
  JARPA permit application, Section 404 individual permit, Section 401 Water Quality Certification, Shoreline permit, Mason County Sensitive Area permit, Hydraulic Project Approval
  Mason County Department of Public Works
• South 277th Street Reconstruction Phase III
  JARPA permit application, Section 404 individual permit, Section 401 Water Quality Certification permit, King County Sensitive Area permit, Hydraulic Project Approval
  King County Department of Transportation

Herrera’s expertise includes all aspects of waste management planning, siting, design, impact assessment, permitting, and recycling.

Our engineers and planners have a thorough knowledge of applicable local, state, and federal regulations. In addition, Herrera is recognized as a regional expert in policy and economic analysis for recycling, reuse, and product stewardship.

Our engineers design solid waste facilities, conduct waste stream analysis and surveys, and evaluate waste management systems and practices (including environmental best management practices and recycling). We provide environmental assessment; stormwater, leachate and landfill gas systems design and management; site utility engineering; permitting; storm and surface water monitoring, sampling, and treatment evaluation; and construction management services for landfills, transfer stations, and recycling and composting facilities.

Key Projects

• Solid Waste Facilities Master Plan Support Services – City of Seattle
• Cedar Hills Regional Landfill Area 6 Closure Design – King County
• Current Management Practices for Construction and Demolition Debris and Recommendations for Increased Recovery – City of Seattle
• Engineering Services Including Investigation, Planning, Testing, and Analysis for Thurston County Wastewater Processing System – Thurston County
• Refocusing Solid Waste Services To Achieve Zero Waste – City of Seattle
• Solid Waste Disposal Options Evaluations for Landfill Closure at the Alcan Border Station near Tok, Alaska – General Services Administration

Herrera scientists have a broad range of experience in shoreline master program and critical area protection program updates.

Our scientists are published and have contributed to the scientific literature considered best available science in wetlands, fish habitat, and geomorphology. Shoreline and critical area protection programs require the application of the latest scientific knowledge as it applies to the specific types of natural resources in each jurisdiction.

We provide our clients with innovative solutions to balance the regulation of property with critical areas protection. In addition to assisting jurisdictions in revising regulations, Herrera has worked with jurisdictions to develop programmatic alternatives that would meet requirements for critical areas protection. Herrera has also prepared the SEPA documentation needed for adoption of new plans and regulations.

We have provided inventories of shoreline and critical area resources, including channel migration zones, floodplains, streams, wetlands, and nearshore marine habitat that are integral to science-based planning required by the Growth Management Act to update shoreline and critical areas protection.

We have assisted many jurisdictions and clients with identifying restoration opportunities for wetlands, intertidal areas, rivers, and streams, and has extensive experience implementing restoration projects.

Herrera assisted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in evaluating the 2003 Shoreline Master Program Guidelines for compliance with the Endangered Species Act. We evaluated how the guidelines would affect development activities in the shorelines of all coastal counties in Washington State. We developed a set of recommendations for local jurisdictions to help ensure compliance with the Act and protection of listed species. Herrera scientists are versed in Ecology’s guidelines for preparing shoreline characterizations for SMP updates and their integration in Critical Area protection.

Our range of local, state, and federal experience related to management, regulation, and protection of shorelines and critical areas makes Herrera uniquely suited to help clients efficiently identify and update their shoreline master program and critical area protection programs.

Key Projects

• Manitou Beach Salt Marsh Restoration Feasibility Analysis and Preliminary Design – City of Bainbridge Island
• Frye Cove Bulkhead Replacement Beach Enhancement – South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group
• Ala Spit Development of Nearshore Process and Habitat Protection Plan – Island County
• Columbia Slough In-Stream Habitat Enhancement Scoping – City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
• Rockaway Beach Shoreline Road Stabilization Study – City of Bainbridge Island
• Washington State Shoreline Master Program Guidelines Programmatic Biological Assessment – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management

Herrera provides the full spectrum of environmental documentation services to support site development under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), including initial Phase I environmental site assessments and corridor studies to identify issues associated with potential contamination.

Our work products include technical discipline reports, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements written in both “reader friendly” and standard formats. We also perform site characterization in support of biological assessments under the Endangered Species Act and in support of designs for site development. We routinely work directly for public agencies, managing environmental documentation efforts, and in support of engineering firms that are involved in project planning and design.

Key Projects

• NEPA and SEPA Environmental impact statements in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington – Sound Transit Light Rail
• NEPA Environmental impact statement, Eugene Federal Courthouse, Oregon – U.S. General Services Administration
• NEPA Environmental assessment, Mukilteo Ferry Terminal, Washington – Washington State Department of Transportation, Washington State Ferries
• NEPA Environmental impact statement, Seattle Federal Courthouse, Washington – U.S. General Services Administration
• NEPA Environmental impact statement, Seattle Federal Courthouse, Washington – U.S. General Services Administration
• Southwest Interceptor Sewer Alternatives Analysis and Design, Renton, Washington – King County Department of Natural Resources, Wastewater Treatment Division