Wood Rodgers’ environmental team provides the expertise needed to navigate the complex and ever-changing landscape of environmental regulations. Our environmental specialists are integrated in projects throughout the company, working hand-in-hand with our transportation, water resources, flood protection, civil engineering, and land development departments. The consistency of having both environmental and design experts routinely working together has provided the company with a history of successful projects, where communication, productivity, and project delivery are optimized.
Wood Rodgers’ environmental team understands that the goal of any project is to see it successfully constructed rather than just completing the environmental document or obtaining a permit. This mindset leads to development of sustainable and implementable mitigation. Our team works on projects with a wide range of size and complexity, yet retains the ability to make rapid, effective management decisions and efficiently handle unanticipated challenges. Our project history includes environmental compliance on local, state, and federal public works projects as well as private development projects throughout California and Nevada. Our environmental team’s comprehensive knowledge and expertise facilitates the success of our clients’ projects, from feasibility studies and initial scoping documents all the way through environmental construction monitoring and support.
Technical analysis is often needed to support CEQA or NEPA documents and regulatory permitting. Wood Rodgers provides a wide array of specialty analysis to meet local state and federal requirements on all types of projects.
Regulatory protection of special status habitats and species has become a major part of the environmental approval process. In-house experts work alongside the engineering and design team to develop innovative avoidance alternatives, and develop mitigation strategies when full avoidance isn’t possible.
Our team of environmental planners work hand-in-hand with project Lead Agencies to secure all levels of National Environmental Policy Act and California Environmental Quality Act. Wood Rodgers specializes in federally-funded projects, including NEPA compliance with the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and others.
Understanding federal and state permitting regulations is a requirement to ensuring a project is completed on-time. Wood Rodgers team of regulatory specialists provides permitting services for a wide range of regulatory agencies, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California State Water Board and Regional Boards, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Wood Rodgers takes pride in seeing our projects get built. Providing environmental support from project concept through construction gives our clients a consistent expert presence which reduces construction change orders, and lowers construction costs.
Wood Rodgers services included environmental technical studies, CEQA and NEPA documentation, regulatory permitting, compensatory mitigation coordination, restoration plans, and construction monitoring and support for the RD 1001 Auxiliary Drainage Pump Station Project. The project will construct an auxiliary pump station to serve as supplemental pumping capacity and will help to minimize flooding in the event of an electrical outage at the District’s Main Pumping Plant.
Technical analysis included biological and cultural studies supporting determinations of the project’s CEQA Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration, and NEPA Categorical Exclusion. Wood Rodgers provided extensive support for NEPA compliance through the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, including Section 106 Consultation with SHPO, and Section 7 Endangered Species Act consultation for Giant Garter Snake and anadromous fish. Additional permits secured by the team included, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 and 408 permits, 401 Water Quality Certification, CDFW Streambed Alteration Agreement and Incidental Take Permit, and a floodplain encroachment permit from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board.
Project construction is anticipated in 2024. Wood Rodgers will provide full service environmental construction support, including special status species surveys and monitoring, environmental commitments compliance, and implementation of the habitat restoration plan.
The Wood Rodgers environmental team is providing CEQA documentation, biological resources services, and technical analysis and reporting for a roadway safety improvement project along Carlsbad Boulevard in the City of Carlsbad, California. Improvements will consist of a single-lane roundabout at the intersection of Carlsbad Boulevard and Tamarack Avenue, as well as crosswalks, pedestrian ramps, widened sidewalks, and buffered bike lanes along Carlsbad Boulevard to enhance pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The roadway is adjacent to Agua Hedionda Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean, presenting unique environmental challenges to project implementation.
Wood Rodgers has completed a Biological Resources Technical Report, including habitat assessments, botanical surveys, and USFWS, CDFW, and CNPS database research for impacts to state and federally listed wildlife and plant species. Wood Rodgers’ qualified biologist coordinated with the Carlsbad Habitat Management Program (HMP) to determine necessary mitigation measures for unavoidable impacts to vegetation communities, wildlife, and plant species within coastal habitats. Wood Rodgers prepared a CEQA Initial Study with Mitigated Negative Declaration and will obtain all required regulatory permits and coastal development permits from the City of Carlsbad and California Coastal Commission. Construction of this project is scheduled to begin in 2025.
The Wood Rodgers, Inc. environmental team is providing professional services including NEPA documentation and environmental technical analysis for a transit and safety improvement project along the Virginia Street corridor in the City of Reno, Nevada. Improvements, consisting of roadway reconfiguration for a new bus-only lane, utility modifications, new street lighting, and the installation of ADA-compliant facilities at eight existing transit stations, are intended to enhance connectivity and safety along the Virginia Street corridor and improve accessibility to transit in the area.
Wood Rodgers has prepared a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) NEPA Categorical Exclusion Checklist through coordination with the FTA, the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (RTC), and the Project Management Oversight Contractor (PMOC). Supporting the NEPA CE are several environmental technical studies including a cultural resources report documenting historic buildings in downtown Reno adjacent to Virginia Street, and Phase I Hazardous Waste Initial Site Assessment (ISA) Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2024 to 2025.
