by Lizzie Wratten Take a quick stroll around any Pacific Northwest neighborhood and see if you can locate the petty annoyances left behind by some contractor who didn’t fully compact the soils. In order to understand the consequences of these improperly compacted soils, we first need to understand what is…
by Tait Russell Because much of an applied geologist’s work affects the health, safety, and wellbeing of people and the environment, a professional geologist licensure is an important safeguard. Obtaining licensure shows the geologist has satisfied stringent education, knowledge, and experience requirements. Any consultant in Washington State must be competent,…
by Collin McCracken There is a saying in construction: “It has to get worse before it gets better.” While building your project, you may run into several roadblocks that require a lot of effort to work around. One common obstacle we encounter during construction in Western Washington is an…
How a Quick Phone Call Can Save You Headaches and Setbacks by Collin McCracken In most densely populated areas in the US, many utilities such as water services, electrical and communication cables, and sewer and storm water conveyance systems are buried underground. This keeps them out of the way of…
by David Baumgarten Very early in my consulting career, the firm I was working for had an in-house workshop for the new staff. One of the firm’s principals posed the question to the group “What do we do?” Answers included, we do geotechnical engineering studies, hydrogeology studies, environmental assessments, slope…
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) are facing many new challenges due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Environmental engineering firms are considered support for essential business services, such as banks and grocery stores, which allows RGI’s environmental professionals to conduct the necessary fieldwork required for these assessments. However, in some cases,…
AN INTERESTING RIDE (2014 Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington) by David Baumgarten Navigating Minimum Requirement #5, List #1, & List #2 can be an interesting and at the same time frustrating ride. It seems pretty straight forward: identify which Minimum Requirements your project triggers and then go to…
by David Baumgarten After evaluating infiltration potential for hundreds of sites over my career, there are some sites I know will not infiltrate. It may be past experience in the area, or we may have a previous geotechnical engineering report with soil and groundwater information. A simple tech memo addressing…
by David Baumgarten All current stormwater manuals have some requirements to evaluate the potential to infiltrate some or all stormwater runoff for new development, redevelopment or even additions to existing homes. Even if there is an existing stormwater infrastructure to connect to, you will most likely be required to complete…
11/28/23 172 Capitol Hill units gain polish for next review 11/27/23 Family First Community Center 11/17/23 52 Lynnwood units planned, all to be affordable 11/6/23 2023 AIA Seattle Honor Awards Winner: Dockside 10/31/23 30 Renton units planned near airport 10/4/23 The Riley Group Adds New Team Member 7/14/23 Mass timber office project could be yours to build…
