A Holistic Approach to Asset Management Can Direct Success

by shannon mcgrath, Director of Asset Management Planning, WSB

The state of Minnesota’s 2022 infrastructure report card was released earlier this year by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the state of our infrastructure is not great. Within the report card, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) was commended for their approach to employing asset management strategies to support infrastructure needs across the state. Collectively, there are opportunities to improve infrastructure at the state and local level through the use of a comprehensive asset management program, but knowing where to start can be overwhelming.

Understanding Infrastructure Asset Management

Asset management is defined many ways. In this context, infrastructure assets should be thought of as any asset used by the public. Roads, bridges, culverts, dams, pipes, and buildings are just a few examples of public infrastructure.

From there, the approach is to develop planning and strategy to minimize total cost of ownership, increase reliability and resiliency, and meet a desired level of service.

Implementing Asset Management into Community Planning

Planning for and implementing comprehensive asset management plans and programs should be thought of as a multi-step process that includes the following:

Defining vision and objectives
Collecting and managing inventory and condition data
Conducting risk analysis
Developing performance measures and targets
Completing a performance gap analysis
Planning for life cycle management, financial, and investment strategies
Implementing technologies to meet an organization’s goal

Asset owners can start in several places, but it’s important to take a thorough, thoughtful look at all assets and plan for how to best allocate funds and time. That means taking a step back to look at the bigger picture of your desired level of service and how to achieve it both efficiently and effectively.

Scalable Solutions

Asset management is a spectrum and can be scaled to any type of asset and any size community or organization. Different communities are at different levels of maturity in planning, but it’s important to recognize a current state and where improvements can be made.

Furthermore, by facilitating discussions holistically and cross-departmentally, rather than driving asset management through a single area, the idea and importance of it can be adopted into the culture. Emerging trends like more efficient technology and tools to capture, store, and analyze data are also driving more informed decision making and helping drive better planning for communities and organizations of all sizes.

Shannon has spent over a decade advancing asset management at local, state, and national levels by serving on asset management committees, advisory panels, and project management teams. While working at MnDOT, Shannon directed the agency-wide asset management planning including projects, research, policy, innovation, strategic planning, and implementation in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.

[email protected] | 651.492.9291

WSB named one of the Top 200 Workplaces in Minnesota by the Star Tribune

WSB is honored to be named one of the Top 200 Workplaces in Minnesota by the Star Tribune – ranking #52 on the top Midsize Employers list. For nine years, we have received this prestigious honor, recognizing the most progressive companies in Minnesota based on employee opinions measuring engagement, organizational health, and satisfaction.

From the beginning, we’ve been firm believers that culture drives results and we’re proud of our staff who continue to help us forge ahead. We want to take a moment to publicly thank our staff for strengthening our culture.

As we look to the future, we remain committed to creating an environment where our staff feel valued, have fulfilling work, and feel like they belong. Together, we look beyond the needs of today to the opportunities tomorrow.

Join our Top Workplace! Learn about our career opportunities here.

Protecting the Pollinators

By Lucas Wandrie, Sr Wildlife Ecologist, WSB

Over the past few decades many populations of pollinating species (such as butterflies and bees) in the U.S. have declined significantly due to invasive pests and diseases, pesticides, herbicides, loss of habitat, and climate change. Due to these declines, efforts are being made to conserve, restore, and maintain habitats that are valuable to pollinators. These efforts include the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) led Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and the CCAA/Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) for bumble bees that is currently in development.

Monarch Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA)

The Monarch CCAA was finalized in April 2020. Since then participation and interest in the program from the energy and transportation sectors has grown with 20 energy and 15 transportation applicants throughout the U.S., thus far.

The Monarch CCAA program has been very successful. More than 815,000 adopted acres have been committed, of which more than 692,000 acres are under an active CCAA; far surpassing the adopted acres target of 215,000 acres.

If you are interested in applying for the Monarch CCAA, please note that a decision regarding the status of the monarch is expected in 2024. If the monarch is listed as threatened or endangered, no new Monarch CCAA applications will be accepted following its listing.

Bumble Bee CCAA/Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA)

Building on the success of the Monarch CCAA, the UIC and USFWS are exploring the creation of a companion agreement aimed at conserving habitats for six listed or petitioned for listing bumble bee species in North America. The Bumble Bee CCAA/SHA may be extended to cover six additional species in the future.

The proposed Bumble Bee CCAA/SHA would provide similar protections as those in the Monarch CCAA, thereunder an approved CCAA/SHA would allow for incidental take of species covered under the agreement for 25 years. With the updated USFWS rusty-patched bumble bee guidance and rulings of listing status for many bee species expected in 2024, the protection of incidental take permit would be valuable. Also, if the program is successful, some bumble bee species may not need to be listed.

There are 49 bumble bee species in the U.S. Since 2017, two have been listed as federally endangered. Most recently, four have been federally petitioned to be listed, five are at risk, and one was considered unwarranted for listing although it has experienced significant population declines. These 12 species comprise approximately 25 percent of the bumble bee species in the U.S. (Table 1). Species that are at risk, but not currently petitioned to be listed may be petitioned in the future if their populations continue to decline.

Table 1. Bumble bee species being considered for coverage under the Bumble Bee CCAA/SHA and their respective ranges in the United States.

Species	Status	Range
Rusty patched bumble bee Bombus affinis	Federally endangered	From Minnesota to Missouri and to the east coast.
Franklin’s bumble bee B. franklini	Federally endangered	California and Oregon.
American bumble bee B. pennsylvanicus	Federally petitioned	Most of lower 48 states. Assumed to be extirpated from Oregon and Washington.
Variable cuckoo bumble bee B. variabilis	Federally petitioned	From the Midwest to the east coast and Colorado and Arizona.
Western bumble bee B. occidentalis	Federally petitioned	Western U.S.
Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee B. suckleyi	Federally petitioned	Most of western U.S. and Alaska.
Yellow bumble bee B. fervidus	At risk, but not petitioned for listing	Western, Midwestern, and north-eastern portions of the U.S.
Cuckoo bumble bee B. bohemicus (formerly ashtoni)	At risk, but not petitioned for listing	Northern half of the lower U.S. and Alaska.
Obscure bumble bee B. caliginosus	At risk, but not petitioned for listing	California, Oregon, and Washington.
Southern plains bumble bee B. fraternus	At risk, but not petitioned for listing	East of the Rocky Mountains through the Great Plains region and east to New Jersey and central Florida.
Crotch’s bumble bee B. crotchii	At risk, but not petitioned for listing	California.
Yellow-banded bumble bee B. terricola	Not warranted	Current range is not known. Most recent records are from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Possibly extirpated from other states where it historically occurred.

Source: Nationwide CCAA for Monarch Butterfly (February 2022) Proposal for a Bumble Bee-Focused Combined Conservation Agreement.

Similarities and Differences between Monarch CCAA and Bumble Bee CCAA/SHA

Where Bumble Bee CCAA/SHA adopted acres overlap with Monarch CCAA adopted acres, the following measures are likely to overlap: the implementation and verification of conservation measures used, targeted herbicide application, timed mowing, and idle-habitat set-asides. Additional measures that will likely be required for these areas include the use of bee-preferred seed mixes, invasive species prevention, and the avoidance of commercial bee management.

Further comparisons between the Monarch CCAA and the Bumble Bee CCAA/SHA are provided in Table 2.

Table 2. Comparison of various aspects between the Monarch CCAA and Bumble Bee CCAA/SHA.

Aspect	Monarch CCAA	Bumble Bee CCAA/SHA
Enrollment	Enrolled acres, including adopted acres.	Commitment areas near known locations.
Tracking net benefit	Track conservation measures and adopted acres.	Verify conservation measures used in mapped commitment areas.
Monitoring	Assess milkweed and nectar plant presence.	Assess flowering plant cover and diversity.
Reporting	Annual report describing sum of adopted acres, implementation, monitoring, changes, and challenges.	Will be like the Monarch CCAA except for sum of commitment acres. Tracking will be simplified, monitoring protocol will be different, and reporting will be separate.
Section 7 compliance	Tiered approach to verify that actions avoid and minimize take to avoid impacting other listed species.	Maintain consistency with the Monarch CCAA. Currently exploring additional Section 7 consultation for listed species.

Source: Nationwide CCAA for Monarch Butterfly (February 2022) Proposal for a Bumble Bee-Focused Combined Conservation Agreement.

Looking for more information?

Interested in learning more or getting involved in these programs? WSB natural resources staff are actively involved in these programs and have helped multiple entities through the Monarch CCAA application process and beyond.

Lucas has over 15 years of experience in wildlife ecology and consulting. His specialties include providing desktop and field-based wildlife services for wind and solar projects and has supported the successful completion of these projects in 34 states.

[email protected] | 612.452.0540

Tips for Safely Maneuvering Construction this Summer

By Jason Daugherty, Director of Safety and Risk Services, WSB

Between the increased number of travelers and the many road construction projects underway this summer, this time of year is one of the most dangerous times to be on the roads. According to the United States Department of Transportation, there were over five million crashes in 2020 alone and as the country moves into a post-pandemic landscape, that number is anticipated to increase.

As a Director of Safety and Risk Services at WSB, it’s my job to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to keep drivers, passengers and road crews safe when moving through a zone where our surveyors and engineers are working, ensuring everything from signage and lights to proper barricading is in order. There are plenty of steps drivers can take to ensure the safety of those around you as you hit the road for summer travel.

Make sure your vehicle can go the distance.

Swimsuit? Check. Sunscreen? Double check. You may have nailed your packing list, but your vehicle needs just as much attention. Make sure your tire pressure and tread are up to par, and that your spare tire is looking good too. Don’t forget to keep a break-down/emergency kit handy as well. This includes a jack and tools for any flats or blow outs that may occur.

Plan ahead.

Knowing whether there is road construction on your route is important. Check with your local Department of Transportation or city website for project updates, detours and road closures in your travel area.

Stay alert.

Don’t count on coffee to keep you vigilant while driving. You may be itching to get to your destination, but make sure you take regular breaks and get at least eight hours of sleep before hitting the road.

Adjust your speed.

Speed is the number one cause of accidents and fatalities in construction zones. Move over for parked emergency or maintenance vehicles, and slow down to 20-miles-per-hour when passing.

Practice defensive driving.

It may take a bit of a driver’s ed refresh, but defensive driving is key. Accidents in construction zones are often a result of drivers having little or no reaction time, leading to rear-end collisions. Avoid distractions, cell phones, passengers, or anything that is taking your attention away from the road. Allow plenty of stopping distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you, a minimum of two car lengths.

Do NOT drive impaired.

It seems obvious but driving while under the influence is a leading cause of death in construction zones, second only to speed. If you choose to indulge, be sure to have a designated driver.

As we all look forward to summer travel, keep these tips in mind. This simple list could be the difference between getting to your destination safely, and not getting there at all.

Jason Daugherty is the Director of Safety and Risk Services at WSB and has been a safety specialist and safety manager for over 20 years in construction, pipeline, aviation, DOT, environmental, and incident/accident investigation. Jason served as the emergency response officer/safety specialist for the State of New Mexico responding to, supervising, investigation and remediating incidents related to Occupational Safety and Health.

[email protected] | 612.352.8455

City Planners Helping to Secure Federal Infrastructure Funding

by Lori Johnson, Sr Community Planner, WSB

Last year’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure funding package is a once-in-a-generation investment into our nation’s infrastructure. Because there is such a large influx of dollars for communities in every corner of our country, this is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity for city planners to make strategic investments in projects that improve communities’ livability, development, sustainability, and more.

City planners may think that this bill has little to do with their daily activities because of the bill’s infrastructure focus. This is not necessarily true and now is the time for planners to think outside the box and help their communities take advantage of this historic funding. Here are some thoughts to consider.

Explore and update your comprehensive plan.

City Planners are the keepers of a community’s comprehensive plan and are often responsible for the implementation of this document, which usually contains chapters on transportation, water/wastewater, sanitary sewer, and sustainability. Now is the time to take a deep dive into your plan and think about what items are on your wish list. This may include projects that have previously lacked funding or need to be bumped higher in your priority list. With so much funding available, don’t be afraid to think big.

Now is also the time to think about master plans. If you have been waiting to do a master plan on a specific area of your community due to time or budget constraints, the new bill can help fund some of your implementation measures.

Collaboration is key.

Additionally, now is a great time for city planners and engineers to come together and assist each other in the completion of city-wide projects. Interdepartmental cooperation can strengthen relationships and provide amazing learning opportunities, and planners can often assist in helping do research, writing grants, and more.

Make sure your city ordinances are up to date.

Federal funding is helping spur infrastructure investments in areas like electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, broadband, and more. If your community’s ordinances are not up to date, you may miss out on key funding opportunities, so now is the time to examine your local laws and work with the city council and planning commission to make changes as needed. City planners may also need to examine their staffing levels and hire to help facilitate and manage some of these investments.

How WSB can help.

Whether it’s taking a look at your ordinances, creating a community sustainability plan, applying for grant funding, or planning and designing infrastructure projects – WSB can work hand-in-hand with city planners to take advantage of the federal infrastructure funding.

City planners are advocates for their community and its residents, and WSB can help ensure your community is competitive when pursuing infrastructure dollars to advance your priorities.

Lori has more than 25 years of experience working in a municipal planning department, having worked her way up through the planning department at the City of Blaine to become their city planner. She has worked in all aspects of city planning activities including project management, site plan and application review, public participation and long range planning.

[email protected] | 612.364.3029

Learn How the ‘Safe Streets for All’ Program Can Strengthen Rural Communities

By Mary Gute, Sr Transportation Planner, WSB

Funding for the ‘Safe Streets for All’ (SS4A) program is now available thanks to the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Bill passed in Washington last November. The SS4A Program aims to improve road safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities. This program could help your community make strategic planning, infrastructure and safety investments to improve the lives of residents.

The notification of funding for SS4A, as well as the application process, went live in May of this year, and the deadline to apply is September 15, 2022. The first round of funding will make $1 billion available to communities, with more rounds expected to be available annually through 2026.

Who Qualifies?

The grant program is targeted for local, tribal, and regional entities. States, including DOTs are not eligible. However, applicants should consider coordinating with state agencies as appropriate.

This program is structured with equity in mind, to ensure equitable investment in safety needs of underserved communities. To this end, 40 percent of the SS4A funding is intended to go to low income and underserved communities. This includes rural areas to address disproportionality high fatality rates. Rural communities, especially if have lower income levels or experience persistent poverty/inequality, may benefit from SS4A funding.

Partnership is Important

By partnering with other communities, or applying for funds to address multi-community or regional safety issues, applications are more likely to receive approval and receive larger awards. The grants cover up to 80% of plans for projects and recipients are expected to match at least 20% on their own from non-federal sources; which is another reason cross-entity partnerships are beneficial. Identifying and collaborating with partners for larger, strategic projects can create a greater advantage to receive funding.

Two Application Categories

Communities can apply for funding under one of two categories: action plan grants or implementation plan grants.

Action plans are created to study and understand what safety issues exist and what strategies would best address safety issues. The award amount for an action plan, based on cost assessments, is between $200k and $1 million.

Implementation grants are for the actual project design and construction to make safety improvements to infrastructure. The possible award amounts are between $5 million and $30 million for approved projects.

Applicants may only apply for one grant type – an action plan or an implementation grant. Receiving a grant to prepare an action plan grant will not preclude applying for and receiving an implementation grant in future rounds of funding.

The SS4A program will not fund:

Projects where the primary purpose isn’t safety
Projects focused on non-roadway modes of transportation
Capital projects to construct new roads
Projects to expand capacity or improve mobility for motorists
Maintenance activities

How WSB Can Help

Is your community looking at how SS4A funding can help support safety-related projects? WSB can help determine if your proposed plan or project would be eligible; identify partnership and collaboration opportunities; help write applications; and answer any questions you may have about the process.

The federal infrastructure bill provides once in a generation funding for critical infrastructure needs and can greatly help enhance rural community infrastructure.

Mary has 20 years of progressively complex transportation planning and project management experience, gained from working on a variety of transportation projects for modes including roads/bridge, transit, and trails. Several these projects have included environmental documentation considerations – either pre-NEPA, or through NEPA and/or MEPA processes.

[email protected] | 612.741.7055

Communities Can Prepare for Flooding and Build Resilience into Systems

By Jake Newhall, Project Manager, WSB

Extreme rainfall events are occurring with increased frequency. Due to climate and environmental changes, many cities and communities are facing an increased flood risk and must act to protect their communities, residents, and infrastructure. A 2019 report by the National Institute of Building Sciences noted that Natural hazard mitigation saves $6 for every $1 spent on infrastructure resilience.

*Source: National Institute of Building Sciences*

How can community planners, engineers, and elected officials prepare for and protect their communities from flooding? Here are some guidelines to help reduce flood risk in your community when a storm hits.

Preparing for and Understanding the Weaknesses in Your Systems

Flood vulnerability and resiliency studies are a process for evaluating a community’s ability to withstand rainfall and identify flood risk. These studies look at the existing systems and determine the risks, and where improvements can be made to protect priority infrastructure. This is vital for communities to reduce risks and flood damage to property and public infrastructure – especially in densely populated areas and those near major roadways.

As we face more extreme weather events, communities should consider increased rainfall depths and intensities so they can be proactive in system planning. The current storm probabilities available have not been updated since 2014, yet rainfall trends show increases over the last decade. Communities can greatly benefit if they anticipate the future probabilities of storms and construct systems that can handle more intense rainfalls. Using a range of design storms, you can determine flood depths, frequency, duration and assign risk to help prioritize funding.

Completing a risk analysis and inundation mapping utilizing existing modeling can be a low-cost way to start evaluating your system.

Identifying Projects to Reduce Flood Risk

Locating the areas of risk in your community is critical to flood prevention. That could include finding where your system needs more capacity and storage to reduce flooding, determine what properties are prone to flooding, and creating solutions such as relocation, emergency response, or additional flood protection investments.

Where collected water goes is important when examining and determining updates for your systems. The primary options are to either pass the water downstream into creeks and rivers, or store it in drainage ponds, underground systems, or other storage areas. Another option is to reduce the impervious footprint to reduce the amount of runoff that is generated. Emerging technology allows for predictive rainfall systems that can generate additional storage ahead of a large rainfall event by releasing water early and prior to a peak event through a critical area.

The risk with moving the storm water downstream is the possibility of flooding and eroding the creeks and rivers. If conveyance capacity is increased to the downstream system, it is necessary to make sure that proper measures are taken to avoid flooding and erosion that can harm waters and ecosystems. Water storage options like drainage ponds or underground storage, are options for many communities to utilize. Balancing needs, functionality, and the cost of storage and land is important for communities to explore. Water quality and pollutant removals can be a secondary benefit of many stormwater storage systems that can help communities achieve other goals at the same time.

Finally, for most communities, the needs often outweigh the budget available to accomplish them all. WSB helps clients navigate flood vulnerabilities, pursue grant funding, and help make informed decisions that best serve a community’s individual needs.

Jake has more than 15 years of engineering experience designing and managing many types of water resources projects, including modeling, planning, design, maintenance programs, and construction. Jake has worked with various municipalities, counties and state agencies to solve challenging water quality and water quantity problems.

[email protected] | 763.231.4861

The Top Takeaways from the 2022 Minnesota Legislative Session

Bart Fischer, Senior Public Administrator, WSB and Gary Carlson, Intergovernmental Relations Director at the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC), unpack the issues communities should pay attention to post-legislative session and how to prepare for a potential special session.

BF: Thanks for joining me Gary for another legislative recap. As always, there were some predictable outcomes and other issues that created a wild ride this session. What were the top takeaways that communities should be paying attention to?

GC: The biggest question for everyone is whether there will be a special session. There were a lot of things left in limbo when the legislature adjourned. Many people, on both sides of the aisle, are wondering where we go from here.

BF: Yes, I’ve been checking every day to see whether or not a special session will be called. What bills did not pass that are making things feel unfinished?

GC: There are two big bills that were not passed: the Tax Bill and the Bonding Bill. More and more, you’ll see that legislators are piling everything into these bills. To gain more support, they compress everything into a few bills, and if they don’t have agreements, then everything dies. Much of what is traditionally in the Tax and Bonding Bills have direct impact on our communities.

BF: What are the impacts if a special session isn’t called?

GC: Well, the Tax Bill generally contains local sales taxes, tax increment financing, lodging, entertainment taxes, etc. Without this passage, communities are kind of left hanging. An even bigger issue is that the Bonding Bill was never unveiled. Usually, committees would release a compilation of projects they want to include, but they never got that far.

The lack of a Tax Bill has a tremendous impact on the 15 cities that had local sales tax requests. In addition, it also impacts the 18 cities that received sales tax authority last year that have not yet conducted the referendum. Many of those projects have seen unexpectedly large construction cost increases due to rising labor costs and supply chain disruptions and those cost increases would have been partially addressed in the omnibus tax bill agreement that never made to a final vote.

BF: What did get accomplished this session?

GC: There were some pretty significant bills were passed including the Frontline Worker Pay Bill and the Unemployment Insurance Bill as well as the opioid settlement bill which will distribute $253 million to counties and many larger cities over the next 18 years. The state budget is in place and there is a surplus, so we’re in good shape there. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t a lot done that relates directly to cities and counties.

BF: Any advice for communities post-session?

GC: There is no time limit on when a special session can be called so be on the watch for it. There is still so much uncertainty. If a city or county has a project as part of the bonding request or local sales taxes, they should continue to push their legislators for a special session.

BF: Thank you, Gary. As always, I appreciate your expertise and the valuable insight you provide.

Still have more questions? Connect with the League of Minnesota Cities Intergovernmental Relations staff.

Bart Fischer

Bart Fischer has over two decades of experience in public administration. Throughout his tenure, he’s worked in five Minnesota communities as the city or assistant city administrator. Bart joined our firm in 2019 as a senior public administrator and focuses on lending his public service expertise to our clients.

Gary Carlson

Gary Carlson has 37 years of experience in government affairs. As the Intergovernmental Relations Director at the League of Minnesota Cities, Gary leads the League’s legislative efforts that matter to cities including aid to cities, economic development, employment and human resources, pensions and retirement, public finance, taxes, tax increment financing (TIF) and workers’ compensation.

PHMSA Advisory Bulletin Review

Pipeline Safety & Integrity, as Related to Geohazard Risk

On May 26, 2022, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued an updated advisory bulletin (Docket No. PHMSA-2022-0063) to remind owners and operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines about the potential for damage and safety-related issues caused by geologic hazards (geohazards), including earth movements and climate-related hazards. Geohazards are naturally occurring and dynamic processes, capable of causing widespread damage, loss of property and/or injury and loss of life.

Earth movement hazards include slope instability, subsidence, frost heave, soil settlement, erosion, scour, and earthquakes. The causative factors of earth movements are myriad and complex but rooted in the understanding of regional geology, environmental conditions, and human influence. Earth movements can be exacerbated by local surface conditions (variable, steep, and rugged terrain), changing subsurface conditions, and climate-related hazards (e.g. heavy rainfall, flooding, washouts, weakened or unstable soil). It is important to understand that natural geohazards rarely occur in isolation but instead as hazard cascades: events that precipitates another, increasing resultant risks and consequences. Thus, it is imperative to consider and examine all possible geohazard factors when determining risk.

As outlined in 49 CFE 192.103 and 49 CFR 195.110, gas and hazardous liquid pipelines must be designed to withstand external loads, including those imposed by geohazards. In addition, PHMSA requires operators to take preventative and mitigative measures to avoid pipeline failure and consequences, such as those caused by geohazards (49 CFR 192.935 and 49 CFR 195.452). Additionally, integrity requirements pursuant to geohazards can be found under 49 CFR 192.917 and 49 CFR 195.452.

To ensure pipeline safety and integrity against geohazards, operators should consider taking the following actions:

Identify areas surrounding the pipeline which may be prone to earth movement and other geohazards. For each identified location, plans should be developed, with the assistance of geotechnical engineers, outlining design, construction, and monitoring procedures, based on site-specific hazards.
Monitor environmental conditions and changing weather patterns. Note, soil stability can be adversely impacted by changing weather patterns; evaluate soil and surface materials regularly.
Mitigation measures should be designed and implemented, as need be, based on site-specific conditions.

Due to the complexity and variability of geohazards, WSB’s Energy Sciences team recommends comprehensive geohazard risk assessments be performed for energy pipelines on five-year schedules. Our team of scientists and risk assessment specialists can help you identify, mitigate, and manage geohazard risks through services tailored to meet regulatory requirements and individual risk profiles.

WSB places #42 on Zweig’s Hot Firm List

WSB was recently named a 2022 Hot Firm by the Zweig Group for the ninth consecutive year. The list honors the fastest growing firms in the AEC industry in the U.S. and Canada. Firms are ranked based on three-year growth in revenue, by both percentage and growth. WSB ranks #42 on this year’s list, climbing 16 spots from 2021.

Hot Firm #42

The Zweig Group is the leading research, publishing, and advisory services resource for firms in the AEC industry. The Zweig Group’s awards programs recognize and celebrate top AEC industry firms in several categories. Winners will be recognized at the 2021 Elevate AEC Conference in November.

View the complete list of Hot Firm Winners.