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Project Websites Foster Community Engagement

Remember when we used to sit at the same table? In 2019, the MFA Communications and Planning teams gathered stakeholders around a table in the Interbay neighborhood of Seattle as part of a thorough public input process. Our MFA planners and…

Taylor Hodges Communications and Outreach, Planning & Community Development
Meet Curtis Riley, PLA, LEED AP, Project Landscape Architect and Planner

Where are you from and where do you live now? I spent my youth in southern California, but I have lived in the beautiful Pacific Northwest for 20 years now, and I call Portland my home. What do you do at MFA? From conceptual site…

Kristi Boon, PE MFA Staff and Culture, Planning & Community Development
New OSHA Rules to Protect Workers from Infectious Disease

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oregon OSHA (OR-OSHA) is preparing rules to protect workers from infectious diseases. The rulemaking process has been dynamic, to say the least, which should not be surprising given the nature of the…

Bill Beadie, CIH Health & Safety
Addressing the Need for Affordable Housing in Spokane Valley

What’s a HAP? In 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed legislation encouraging all cities planning under the Growth Management Act to adopt actions to increase residential capacity, especially in areas with supportive transportation…

Matt Hoffman Local and State Agencies, Planning & Community Development
Planning for COVID-19 Recovery

October is National Community Planning Month and this year’s theme, Planning is Essential to Recovery, highlights how planning and planners can lead communities to equitable, resilient, and long-lasting recovery from the effects of the…

Seth Otto, AICP, LEED AP Local and State Agencies, Planning & Community Development
DEQ Issues New Internal Management Directives

In September 2020, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released two new Internal Management Directives (IMDs) that will strongly influence risk assessment and site characterization activities at cleanup sites under DEQ…

Phil Wiescher, PhD Environmental
COVID-19 has revealed our potential as a society to slow climate change—and our shortcomings so far

It’s nearing the end of September, 2020. I have been working from home for more than six months—still feeling unsettled in the new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rolling out of bed and immediately beginning my workday had its perks at…

Carly Schaefer Air Quality, Climate Change and Resilience, Engineering, Environmental
Meet Heather Good, LHG, Senior Hydrogeologist

Where are you from and where do you live now? I’m originally from New England. After graduating high school, I traded fluffernutters and maple syrup for chicken fried steak and moved to Austin, Texas, for college—hook ‘em horns! From…

Merideth D'Andrea, RG, LG, PG Environmental, MFA Staff and Culture
Mitigation vs. Adaptation: Two Fundamental Approaches to Climate Resiliency

This post was originally written by Michael Tarbert, former MFA Staff Engineer. Maul Foster & Alongi uses data and science to serve communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. We solve challenging and complex problems in service to…

Carly Schaefer Air Quality, Climate Change and Resilience, Engineering, Environmental
COVID-19: Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees

The impact of COVID-19 is so widespread that planning to operate or re-open a business today can be overwhelming. The complex scientific, economic, political, legal, and cultural issues present a daunting challenge to anyone tasked with…

Bill Beadie, CIH Health & Safety
Jennifer King, PE Promoted to Principal Engineer

Congratulations to Jennifer King, PE who has been named principal engineer in recognition of her outstanding commitment to delivering excellence for MFA’s clients and colleagues. For over 15 years, Ms. King has provided a wealth of…

Alistaire Clary, PE Engineering, MFA Staff and Culture
MFA Celebrates a Major Milestone in Remediating the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Superfund Site

As I drive through the Silver Valley in Shoshone County, Idaho, I see a tight-knit community rebuilding. Store fronts once empty and abandoned have come to life, filled with shops and restaurants. I see new infrastructure where festival…

Carly Schaefer Engineering, Environmental, Local and State Agencies, Mining
Maul Foster & Alongi’s Statement Against Racism

We must work to resist and reverse systemic racism in the communities where we live, work, and serve. We acknowledge that our society is built on systems and institutions that oppress Black people and Black communities. We have had the…

Alistaire Clary, PE MFA Staff and Culture
Meet Kate Elliott, Project Communications Specialist

Where are you from and where do you live now? I was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and raised in Ames, Iowa. When I was growing up, my family would spend a few weeks every summer driving big loops around the U.S. to camp in and explore our…

Alistaire Clary, PE Communications and Outreach, MFA Staff and Culture, Planning & Community Development
Meet Emily Curtis: Project Health, Safety, and Environmental Specialist

Where are you from and where do you live now?  I’m from St. Helens, OR, and after living in a few other places in the PNW, I have found my way back to St. Helens. I love the quietness of a “small” town while still having great…

Bill Beadie, CIH MFA Staff and Culture
Celebrating Public Service

This blog was originally written by former MFA Principal Communications Specialist, Charla Skaggs. This week is Public Service Recognition Week, a celebration of all the ways that federal, state, local, and tribal government employees…

Carly Schaefer Local and State Agencies
Now Working at MFA: Eight Professionals Join the Team!

Get to know the eight professionals who have joined MFA! We are always interested in potential candidates who want to join the talented individuals that make up our team. For current job openings, please visit our online application…

Carly Schaefer MFA Staff and Culture
Environmental Compliance During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Over the last few weeks, Oregon and Washington industries have had to implement significant changes to their operations to protect their employees and the public, and comply with shelter-in-place orders and social distancing guidelines related…

Ada H. Banasik, PE Environmental, Food Processing, Forest Products, Health & Safety, Stormwater
Tools for Adapting to a Virtual Reality

With Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order enacted this week and other states doing the same, working from home for the majority of us is no longer a choice—it’s the law. Like many of you, MFA staff have been working from…

Carly Schaefer Communications and Outreach
Meet Brian Eagle, Senior Environmental Scientist

Where are you from and where do you live now? I’m a full-time Oregonian. I was born in Klamath Falls, raised in Forest Grove, and currently live in Oregon City. What do you do at MFA? I am an environmental scientist by…

Merideth D'Andrea, RG, LG, PG MFA Staff and Culture
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak: Practical Protections for the Workplace and Community

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is no joke. The swift spread of this virus and the surrounding news updates have many—if not all—of our Pacific Northwest-based staff thinking about how to stay safe while best practices for addressing the virus are…

Bill Beadie, CIH Communications and Outreach, Health & Safety, MFA Staff and Culture
Welcome to Engineers Week 2020

Welcome to Engineers Week! The purpose of EWeek, as the abbreviation has been coined, is to ensure a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology…

Carly Schaefer Engineering, MFA Staff and Culture
Meet Lisa Parks, Senior Planner

Where are you from and where do you live now? I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and spent most of my grade school years in the Midwest, primarily in northwest Illinois, about 120 miles west of Chicago. In January 1983, halfway…

Kathy J. Lombardi, PE MFA Staff and Culture
Regulatory Compliance Week Recap: Success Stories and How to Learn More

We don’t have to tell our industrial clients twice—regulatory compliance is an important topic. An efficient compliance program helps businesses reduce risk, meet regulatory requirements, and ultimately, run a successful business. In…

Carly Schaefer Environmental, Stormwater
Understanding the Evolving Regulation of PFAS Sites and Sources

If you haven’t heard the buzz and you’re thinking to yourself, “Wait, what’s PFAS?” here’s a recent MFA blog that will introduce you to the topic and get you up to speed. Now that you’ve read the basics, we’re jumping into a…

Courtney Savoie, RG, LHG, PG Attorneys, Environmental
2020 Predictions for the Environmental Industry

It’s hard to believe we’ve entered the year 2020. Although we still can’t teleport or fly our cars to work, there’s no doubt that advancement is all around us (hello, face-scanning phones!). It’s Maul Foster & Alongi’s practice to stay…

Alistaire Clary, PE Engineering, Environmental
SWPPP Permit Updates: What Washington Industrial Facilities Need to Know

Are you an industrial stormwater permit holder? Your permit renews on January 1, and Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) updates reflecting the new permit are due January 30. We know these changes can be confusing, so we have…

Ada H. Banasik, PE Environmental, Stormwater