New York—Leapfrogging 13 places in the rankings, S&ME, Inc., moved up to number 154 nationally on ENR’s 2011 Top 200 Environmental Firms List.

The annual listing is based on gross revenues of the firm’s reporting.  Though records are not complete, this is likely the highest ranking S&ME has achieved on the Top 200 Environmental list.  The listing shows S&ME gross revenue in environmental services at $35.7 million and reports that figure as 32% of the firm’s entire revenue for the previous year.

This ranking among the nation’s top environmental firms comes on the heels of the company’s ranking of 97^th among ENR’s 2011 Top 500 Design Firms list, which was released in April.  That ranking was 41 places higher than in 2010.

ENR (Engineering News-Record) Magazine is a construction, building and engineering magazine published by McGraw-Hill, headquartered in Rockefeller Center, New York City.

S&ME gained an Honors Award as lead engineer for Bristol Motor Speedway for natural resource permitting and stream mitigation design at the race track in Bristol.  S&ME performed stream morphological and habitat assessments, prepared a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, gained a “no-rise” certification, coordinated with regulatory agencies, and designed 2,900 feet of onsite stream enhancement that integrated stormwater management components.

The project reach of Beaver Creek at the Speedway had several exposed sewer line crossings and severely eroded banks. In-stream structures and a cellular confinement retaining wall were used to improve the stream within the limited construction corridor that accommodated existing Speedway infrastructure. The goal of the restoration was to stabilize the banks and address the geomorphologic imbalances to encourage a self-sustaining system, in contrast to the self-degrading system previously in place. The vegetated swales were designed so that they would not have to be managed differently than the surrounding area, making them easier to maintain over time. They also allowed the Speedway to continue using the grassed areas for parking during high-attendance events.

S&ME has given our client excellent, comprehensive assistance to meet its regulatory requirements and improve Beaver Creek, while fully supporting its strong sensitivity to ecological values and onsite operations. This project, providing socioeconomic benefits and overcoming sustainability challenges, is a long-term benefit to the community and to the Speedway.

Project Description

S&ME worked with client PDC Consultants to overcome difficult problems in permitting and stream location at the site of the new Cleveland, Tennessee Municipal Airport.  The team gained a Tennessee Department of Environmental and Conversation Individual Construction Stormwater Permit, one of the first in Tennessee requiring monitoring of Stormwater discharges.

S&ME performed natural resource permitting and mitigation design, including a half-mile of stream relocation for Little Chatata Creek that integrated with the site plan and met Federal Aviation Administration requirements.  S&ME also conceived a stormwater monitoring approach using automated in-stream monitors for turbidity and stage, allowing the permit’s required continuous monitoring with minimal personnel intervention.

S&ME was lead engineer for all natural-resource permitting and design for stream and wetland mitigation.  Our natural-resource services included a biological assessment, natural-resource evaluation, permitting of stream and wetland impacts. The creek had been impacted by past agricultural practices including cattle intrusion. S&ME also provided and executed a plan to continuously monitor construction stormwater leaving the site, as well as the instream monitoring stations in the creek. The project shows how unique requirements, such as limitations on tree height and wildlife attraction, can be incorporated into stream realignment while still returning adequate ecological uplift for regulatory approval.

Project Description

Through a subcontract with PDC Consultants, S&ME was responsible for stream and wetland permitting and mitigation design for the new municipal airport in Cleveland, Tennessee.  S&ME provided natural resource services including a biological assessment, natural resource evaluation, Rosgen survey, No-Rise Certification, permitting of stream and wetland impacts, and design of a half-mile of stream relocation for Little Chatata Creek that integrated with the site plan and met Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.

Extensive regulatory coordination has been performed with multiple agencies, including the three lead permitting agencies, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the Tennessee Valley Authority.  The project has also involved S&ME as the technical lead for the public meeting held by the permitting agency as part of the permitting public notice process.  The stream relocation plan utilized natural channel design techniques modified to address FAA design standards for water resources and vegetative canopy.  Extensive modeling of the proposed stream relocation was performed by S&ME using USACE Hydrologic Engineering Center – River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) to calculate flood elevations in the planned stream corridor and demonstrate a no-rise condition.  The modeling included a new 700 ft. long box culvert that allows the new runway to cross the realigned stream.

S&ME also provided and executed a plan to continuously monitor construction stormwater.  An Individual Construction Stormwater Permit issued by TDEC is one of the first in Tennessee requiring monitoring of stormwater discharges.  S&ME devised an innovative approach using automated in-stream monitors for turbidity and stage (converted to discharge using a rating curve) that allowed the permit’s required continuous monitoring with minimal personnel intervention.

Our client has expressed satisfaction and appreciation for our efforts in overcoming challenges to meet and exceed the project’s rigid needs and schedule.  We worked closely with the client’s and owner’s representatives to complete tasks on schedule and within budget.

S&ME was lead engineer for Bristol Motor Speedway (Speedway) for natural resource permitting and stream restoration design and implementation at the Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.  S&ME provided natural resource services including a stream morphological and habitat assessment, a “no-rise” certification, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) preparation, coordination with regulatory agencies, and design of 3,200 feet of onsite stream enhancement that integrated stormwater management components.

S&ME worked to enhance and restore stream hydraulic and habitat functions along an existing stream corridor, in a highly developed urban setting with adjacent infrastructure encroaching on the channel.

S&ME’s design of the Beaver Creek in-stream structures:

• stabilized adjacent banks
• hid sewer crossings from view
• protected crossings from debris
• improved the pool habitat within the stream channel

Where feasible, S&ME maintained existing mature trees to preserve aesthetics of the stream, reduce the effect of thermal pollution on the stream following construction, and reduce the cost of replanting.  Our establishment of vegetative swales and the inlet retrofit provide pretreatment of stormwater runoff, improving water quality.

The Speedway was grateful for the technical solutions we brought to bear on the project.  We worked closely with the owner to complete tasks on schedule and within budget.  Our client has expressed satisfaction and appreciation for S&ME’s achievements in overcoming challenges to meet and exceed the project’s rigid needs and schedule.  Speedway Vice President of Operations & Development Scott Hatcher said, “BMS is well pleased with the project.  The aesthetics and overall appearance have been enhanced with the structures in the stream as well as bank stabilization.  We had a lot of positive comments during our August race”.

Broker Breeze
Wilmington, NC

Recently, WRAR selected S&ME, Inc. to provide the Special Inspections and Testing Services on the new WRAR building on Sir Tyler Drive.

S&ME also offers free consultations to REALTORS® with questions regarding particular sites or a project. Typical questions involve environmental issues such as: CAMA Permits, Wetlands, Septic Tank Permits, Underground Storage Tanks, Contaminated Soils, etc.

They can advise you on the most practical and cost effective solutions. Speaking with one of their Environmental Consultants or Engineers can many times save you &/or your client a lot of time and money. S&ME encourages you to call them about issues you’re having regarding : (1) Environmental or Natural Resources Issues (2) Soil Science/Geotechnical Engineering (3) Construction Testing QA/QC or Special Inspections Services.

For more information on S&ME, Inc., please visit: http://www.smeinc.com.

Spartanburg District 6′s new STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program

For a select group of students at Dorman High School’s freshman campus, the experiments, the information gathering, the team building and independent thinking are becoming routine. It’s the foundation for Spartanburg District 6′s new STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program, offered for the first time this year. The program’s mission is to inspire, prepare and encourage students to pursue STEM-related college programs and careers.

An initial cohort group of 56 ninth-graders will be the program’s pilot class. Students will have the opportunity to follow a STEM track through to graduation, then carry their knowledge and experience into the college realm and job market.

Thomas Webster, District 6 director of science education, said STEM allows students to gain relevant experience, either in the classroom (both at Dorman and R.D. Anderson Applied Technology Center) or eventually through internships. The STEM program also will benefit from partnerships with Mary Black Health System, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Converse College, Spartanburg Community College, University of South Carolina Upstate, Wofford College, Duer/ Carolina Coil, S&ME, Wade Crow Engineering and Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“We want them excited and knowledgeable,” Webster said. “We want hands-on as opposed to a theoretical understanding of the material.”

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Overcoming challenges, making use of opportunities

In Tennessee, S&ME helped a grateful client and a grateful community bring to life a long dormant industrial park, overcoming numerous complex challenges.  Below are two sections of the entry’s project description.

Future Value to the Engineering Profession

This project provides examples to the profession of, 1) how multiple societal needs can be met by being open to unusual opportunities and 2) that applying innovative thinking to site selection and design issues can be significantly beneficial.

Rather than have a mine site (that must be reclaimed) and a separate industrial park site, we combined the two here.  The Spring City Plant/Mine provides an unusual opportunity for Spring City Industrial Park authorities to better market the park.   The mining activities will eventually leave a rough-graded site for future industries, rather than hilly land.  The city and county also gain a new employer and tax revenues much sooner than if they had waited for the site to sell on its own, including revenues from a clay royalty paid by General Shale.

The plant and mine sites represent an “industrial ecology” where raw materials are located near their point of use.  Production is the most energy-efficient available and located near appropriate transportation infrastructure. By-products of the production are beneficially reused nearby.

Meeting and Exceeding Owner/Client Needs

Construction of the mines would not have been possible without careful coordination of the future use, permitting, and design requirements of all stakeholders.  S&ME made sure the team understood the needs of General Shale as well as the local development and permitting authorities.  These were incorporated into our team’s design and permitting documents.

Our client has expressed satisfaction and appreciation for S&ME’s achievements in overcoming challenges to meet and exceed the project’s rigid needs and schedule.  We worked closely with client and owner representatives to complete tasks on schedule and within budget.    A General Shale manager, called S&ME “instrumental in the planning…,” with its work “wide-ranging and highly professional.”  He said we brought the project “added value,” and were “critical in bringing it to a successful conclusion.” –For more information, contact Ken Barry, PE, WRE, Knoxville.

Once the design was complete, S&ME prepared the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan and bid documents/specifications and assisted the County with coordination with the Georgia Department of Transportation regarding Federal Highway Administration funding.  We also prepared bid documents and bid evaluation.

Construction at the stream mitigation site began in September 2009. During the construction, S&ME provided construction observation and contract management services for the client. While the stream channel was under construction, several sections were re-aligned to take advantage of existing site conditions identified during the construction grading. The revised alignments provided a savings in the construction costs of the project. The project is currently under construction, and completion of the project is anticipated in February or March 2010.