News
Planning for Environmental Justice
This blog was co-authored by Project Environmental Scientist Haley McDaniel. What Is Environmental Justice in Planning? National Community Planning Month is an opportune time to consider how pollution doesn’t impact all people…
Sarah SieloffEPA Proposes Designating PFAS as Hazardous Substances under CERCLA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 26, 2022, that it is proposing to designate two of the most common and most studied PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) compounds as hazardous substances under the…
Erik NaylorShould You Be Pursuing an EPA Brownfields Grant? Now is the Time to Decide
Why first-movers may see advantages this year It’s the most wonderful time of the year, sort of. EPA recently released updates related to this year’s competition for grants in its Brownfields Program. The 2022 call for grant applications…
Sarah SieloffMeet Amanda Bixby, GIT, Staff Geologist
Where are you from and where do you live now? I grew up in Wenatchee, Washington. In 2014, I moved to Bellingham, Washington, to attend Western Washington University and have lived here ever since. What do you do at MFA? As an…
Audrey HackettResults for ""
In recognition of National Maritime Day, Maul Foster & Alongi salutes our ports and maritime sector! MFA is fortunate to work with public ports and other maritime sector clients across the Pacific Northwest to help them achieve their…
Abbi RussellRecognizing the Service of Our Public Partners Since 1985, Public Service Recognition Week has been observed during the first week of May. The week is dedicated to recognizing the people who serve our nation as federal, state, county,…
Charla SkaggsOn Friday, April 16, 2021, I had the opportunity to work as an administrative teammate. I was told to be on-site in our Portland office at 8:00 a.m., bring a mask, and remember social distancing requirements. I decided to get to the office a…
Steven P. Taylor, PEIn 2019, MFA launched a diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. Three core values guide DEI at MFA: Everyone deserves a safe, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We can better serve the communities where we work by increasing…
Jennifer King, PE, SPHREphrata is an eastern Washington town of fewer than 9,000 people. Born at the turn of the twentieth century, Ephrata, like many nearby communities, was first a hub for workers who were supporting the federal government’s rural…
Abbi RussellWhere are you from and where do you live now? I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. I made a five-year stop in Moscow, Idaho, for university and then migrated west and have called Portland home for the past 13 years. What do…
Phil Wiescher, PhDRemember 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 HodgesIn 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, CIHWhat’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 HoffmanOctober 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…
Ashlyn SalzmanIn 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, PhDIt’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…
Ashlyn SalzmanWhere 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, PGThis 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…
Sidney CountsThe 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, CIHCongratulations 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, PEAs 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…
Ashlyn SalzmanWhere 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, CIHThis week is Public Service Recognition Week, a celebration of all the ways that federal, state, local, and tribal government employees make our communities better! At Maul Foster & Alongi, we have the privilege of working alongside…
Charla SkaggsGet 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…
Jennifer King, PE, SPHROver 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, PEWith 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…
Charla SkaggsWhere 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, PGCoronavirus (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…
Kate ElliottWelcome 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…
Jennifer King, PE, SPHRWhere 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, PEWe 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…
Ashlyn SalzmanIf 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…
Erik NaylorIt’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, PEAre 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, PEGet to know the four new 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…
Jennifer King, PE, SPHRThis post was originally written by Heather Good, former MFA Senior Hydrogeologist. Updates to Vapor Intrusion Investigations and Short-Term TCE Toxicity On October 1, 2019, the Washington State Department of Ecology released…
Amanda Bixby, GITThis post was originally written by Heather Good, former MFA Senior Hydrogeologist. Thanks to years of hard work and diligence, Bellingham Public Schools (BPS) has had a lot to celebrate recently. In August 2017 BPS celebrated the grand…
Carolyn R. Wise, LHG, RGOccasionally, I look around and realize that things have changed. It’s usually a small thing here and little thing there, and then I realize that the world has evolved into a different place. Recently, I realized that the world of ammonia…
Bill Beadie, CIHHugo House is a Seattle-based nonprofit, with the mission of being “a place to read words, hear words, and make your own words better.” This literary house provides a home to everyone who loves books or has a drive to write. One of Hugo…
Charla SkaggsInternational Bridges, Tunnels and Turnpikes Association Summit Recently, Charla Skaggs and I attended the IBTTA Communication and Change Management Summit in Seattle. This conference is especially relevant to the work of MFA’s…
Kate ElliottEach spring, the fifth graders at Kalama Elementary head to Cispus Learning Center in Randle, Washington, for a day of learning in the great outdoors. I spent a beautiful May day at the learning center with these students, teaching them about…
Meaghan Pollock, LG, RGTiger Oil was a Texas-based company with locations across the United States, including several in Yakima, Washington. This string of gas stations and accompanying mini marts ceased operations in the town in the early 2000s. One of the former…
Carolyn R. Wise, LHG, RGCompliance at industrial facilities is important 365 days a year, and each season comes with its own compliance challenges. As we head into the summer season, here are our top tips to ensure your facility remains compliant. Stormwater…
Ashlyn SalzmanMFA’s participation in this year’s Bike More Challenge was a great success! The Bike More Challenge—a program started by the nonprofit organization The Street Trust to encourage people to ride bikes—inspires fun and friendly…
Alex BraschMFA’s award-winning remediation work for the Zidell Yards property on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon is featured in a new film by local filmmaker, David Bee. Beginning its operation in the early 1900s, the Zidell Yards property is…
Erik Bakkom, PEYou may have heard of “PFAS” in a documentary or in the news recently. You also may have heard that, in the U.S., PFAS chemicals are in drinking water and in people’s blood. And you would be right to say—what!? How can this be? This…
Erik Naylor