NEWSLETTER
Our quarterly newsletter captures project spotlights, conferences and events attended, and recent staff updates.

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ISSUE NO. 11 / June 2015 
Taking sound level measurements for the Tren Caguas Rail Project.
As everyone in New England knows, this past winter included record-breaking snowfall and freezing temperatures. Warmer weather was something we were all looking forward to and one lucky member of Epsilon's staff - Staff Engineer Clint Cyr - got to experience this at the beginning of April when he traveled to Puerto Rico to perform an ambient sound level monitoring program for the proposed Tren Caguas Rail Project.

Epsilon teamed with an engineering and architectural firm located in Puerto Rico to analyze the air quality and noise impacts of the proposed project. The rail project, once completed, will provide commuter transportation between the cities of Caguas and San Juan. This was Clint's second visit to Puerto Rico, with the initial sound monitoring program taking place in December of 2013.

Water Quality Monitoring in Danvers


Epsilon Staff Scientists Megan Kearns and Karen Gilbert monitoring
water quality.

Epsilon recently completed water quality monitoring for the Liberty Street Culvert replacement project in Danvers, Massachusetts. Currently, the section of Liberty Street over the Porter River is considered structurally unsafe and is closed to vehicular traffic. In order to re-open this important thoroughfare as soon as possible, the project proponents - the Town of Danvers and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division (MassDOT) - identified limited critical components of the project that needed to be completed this spring during a previously-conditioned Time-of-Year restriction.

 

Epsilon prepared a draft water quality monitoring plan and negotiated approval of a final plan with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). Once the plan was approved, Epsilon conducted daily water quality monitoring for turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS) over a six-week construction period. Epsilon staff provided real-time communication to MassDOT and the project contractor of the monitoring results, and provided weekly monitoring reports to MassDOT, MassDEP, and DMF. These monitoring reports demonstrated that turbidity and TSS values were within the allowable limits, and adverse impacts to marine species were avoided while critical components of the project were completed.

 

This assignment was conducted under an on-call wetlands services contract with MassDOT's Construction Office. Epsilon is pleased to announce that we were recently awarded a similar on-call contract to provide wetland and wildlife environmental support for MassDOT's Environmental Services Section.

Historic Projects Win Tsongas Award 


North Bennet Street School in the North End.
In May, Epsilon attended the Massachusetts Preservation Awards Dinner to celebrate the accomplishments of individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to helping preserve the Commonwealth's historic resources. Epsilon is proud to have been a team member on a number of projects that received the Tsongas Award for historic preservation. These projects included the I.J. Fox Building in downtown Boston, North Bennet Street School in Boston's North End, Lynn & Boston Electric Railroad Company Car Barn in Salem, Waltham Watch Factory in Waltham, and Voke Lofts in Worcester.
ConferenceConferences & Events

Epsilon staff had a busy spring attending conferences. In April, when Principal Les Smith traveled to Martha's Vineyard to speak at the Massachusetts Coastal Erosion Control Workshop. He spoke about Epsilon's coastal erosion control projects in Massachusetts, which included the Seawall Project in Gloucester for the Beauport Hotel, the Beach Management Project for the Town of Swampscott, the Geotextile Tube Project for the Sconset Beach Preservation Fund, and the Squibnocket Project for the Town of Tisbury.

Pictured (from left to right) Rob O'Neal, Alison Me, and Rich Lampeter at AWEA WINDPOWER 2015 in Orlando.

 

In May, Epsilon staff traveled to the IPPNY Spring Conference in Albany, New York. Immediately following that was the Annual New England Energy Conference and Exposition in Groton, Connecticut. Finally, Epsilon ended the month in sunny Orlando, Florida for this year's AWEA WINDPOWER Conference. Check out our event recap here.

 

Later this month, Epsilon Principals Dale Raczynski and AJ Jablonowski will both be presenting at the IDEA Conference taking place in Boston. In addition, Principal Mike Howard will be teaching Wetland Delineation for Beginners - a course offered through the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC) for conservation commissioners new to wetland delineation methodology.

 

Click here to learn more about these and other upcoming events.  
StaffStaff Updates

Epsilon is excited to have recently welcomed two new employees to the Epsilon family. At the end of March, we welcomed Katie Raymond who joined our Air Quality group as a Senior Engineer. Katie has more than 20 years of environmental consulting experience focused on sustainability and LEED Certification. At the end of April, Brielly Allen, who has extensive historic preservation experience, joined our Preservation Group as a Staff Planner. We are also pleased to have Colleen Brothers interning at Epsilon for the summer. She will be working in our Ecological Sciences group with a focus on wetlands delineation work, GPS survey, and wetlands permitting.  

 

The movement towards "greener" sources of energy in the Commonwealth has prompted an increased interest in the use of photovoltaic (PV) devices to generate electricity directly from sunlight. Much like any new energy source, solar installations require careful consideration as Principal Mike Howard describes in his article "Going Green with Solar and the Wetlands Protection Act." The article was written for MACC's Spring 2015 Quarterly Newsletter and includes practical information for conservation commissions when it comes to analyzing the potential impacts to wetland resource areas from the construction of ground mounted solar PV projects. In addition to this article, other helpful resources available on this topic include Epsilon's co-presentation with MassDEP at MACC's Annual Environmental Conference held at Holy Cross College in February of this year, Solar Arrays: Permitting Issues for Conservation Commissions. For a copy of Mr. Howard's "Going Green with Solar and the Wetlands Protection Act" article, please contact us.

 

Epsilon would like to congratulate Senior Planner Geoffrey Starsiak and Staff Planner Talya Moked on becoming LEED Green Associates. In addition, Principal  Steve Slocomb  is now a Licensed  Professional Engineer in the state of Florida. 

 

In April, Principal Steve Slocomb spoke to students participating in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program at Dana Hall in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The class was studying environmental engineering and invited Epsilon to speak. As one of the company's engineers, Steve was able to provide some useful information to the students participating in the program. He spoke to the students about the types of classes he took that helped him do his job and the types projects he and the company work on.
OtherIn Other News...

In May, Epsilon signed a new 10-year lease to stay at the Clock Tower in Maynard, Massachusetts. The new owners of the mill, Saracen Properties, are looking to revamp the space and we are excited to see the changes that will take place over the coming years!