Josiah Frey
How National Forests Supply Drinking Water in the Southeast
-November 17, 2014
A recently published report by researchers at the National Forest Service’s Southern Research Station in Asheville, North Carolina outlines how forest lands provide drinking water to different regions of the Southeast United States. The report breaks down what municipalities across 13 states receive drinking water supplies from rivers and streams originating in forested lands. The […]
SMG Receives US FWS Training
-October 14, 2014
SMG has been busy keeping up to date on the latest changes in the regulatory world. Recently I attended a training course at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s National Conservation Training Center focusing on endangered species consultation. The week-long course provided an extensive review of the responsibilities of federal agencies and applicants when seeking approval […]
Karen Thompson Reappointed to the Kentucky Geological Survey Advisory Board
-September 3, 2014
Karen Thompson, P.G., with Smith Management Group has been reappointed by Governor Beshear to serve on the Kentucky Geological Survey’s Advisory Board. Ms. Thompson’s new board term will expire on September 1, 2017. Karen Thompson is a Registered Professional Geologist with twenty years experience with environmental projects including hazardous waste remediation, groundwater investigations and remedial […]
Endangered Species Listing in Kentucky
-August 19, 2014
Historically, for those contemplating construction on a new property, the last item many consider is what kinds of bats live in an area. That has been changing over the past few years with the listing of the Indiana Bat as endangered and its potential range spanning every county in Kentucky. Now the US Fish and […]
Wetland Delineation Training
-August 13, 2014
It’s been busy around SMG keeping our clients up to date with various regulations. We have also been busy keeping our staff on top of pressing and influential regulations through training events. I recently attended a week-long wetland delineation training course in Bucks County, Pennsylvania put on by The Swamp School. The training covered the […]
Proposed Critical Plant Habitat in Kentucky (Short’s Bladderpod)
-June 12, 2014
The USFWS is soliciting comment for critical habitat designation of the Short’s bladderpod plant in Kentucky. Three central Kentucky counties – Clark, Franklin, and Woodford- have land being considered for critical habitat designation (http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ID=43DFBC85-DDAA-48AF-E7A5829F4F29C9A6). It appears USFWS is in the home stretch before officially listing this plant as an endangered species. If you have projects […]
2014 Brownfield Grants Issued
-June 4, 2014
Last week, the EPA announced this year’s recipients of Brownfield Investment Grants for 171 communities nationwide. These Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grants provide money to assess and clean-up abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Of the $67 million awarded this year, $23.5 million will be directed towards communities impacted by power plant […]
National Climate Assessment
-May 9, 2014
On Tuesday, the White House released the latest National Climate Assessment addressing everything from natural disasters to changes in infrastructure development driven by climate change. The 829 page report is broken up into sections highlighting impacts of climate change on various sectors of the economy, while also focusing on impacts to different regions of the […]
Little Information Found on NEPA Cost/Benefit
-April 24, 2014
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently performed a study on the number of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses performed each year and the costs and benefits of performing such analyses. GAO found that very little information is available on the cost of these analyses, and even the amount of NEPA analyses performed is not […]
SMG Attends South Wireless Summit
-April 15, 2014
Last week, the Southeast Wireless Summit convened in Nashville with wireless telecommunications providers, developers, vendors, and industry professionals in attendance. The Summit provided significant insight into trends in the wireless telecommunications industry. From the various panels and conversations with industry representatives, a few things stuck out to us. First, it’s clear that the industry is […]