News
Meet Nicole Bruneel, Staff Chemist
Where are you from and where do you live now? I am from central Idaho, and now I own a small farm in Northern Idaho. What do you do at MFA? I am a chemist and manage projects out of the MFA Kellogg office. Most of the projects…
Erik NaylorA Call to Action: Climate Change Mitigation in the Environmental Field
At MFA, our core purpose is strengthening communities. For many of our projects, strengthening communities involves cleaning up contaminated sites and developing new community amenities. As we enter the last decade in which we can act on the…
Tessa Shabram, EITTax Increment Financing—A New Opportunity for Washington Communities
In Washington State, a recently passed bill provides local governments with a new tool to help spur revitalization in areas where private investment is lacking. Engrossed Substitute House Bill (ESHB) 1189 (also called the TIF for Jobs bill)…
Dylan BassMeet Carolyn Wise, LHG, RG, Project Hydrogeologist
Where are you from and where do you live now? I was born and raised in Northfield, Minnesota—the town that defeated the Jesse James Gang! I moved to Bellingham, Washington, to attend Western Washington University and have lived here now…
Phil Wiescher, PhDResults for ""
Composed by Woody Guthrie and adopted in 1987 as Washington’s official state folk song, “Roll On, Columbia, Roll On” paints a poetic picture of the river cutting through green douglas firs and of the “mighty men” who worked on the river,…
Kaitlyn BrunoOn March 21, 2017, the Oregon DEQ released a draft framework outlining the air toxics program in Oregon. http://cleanerair.oregon.gov/state-releases-draft-framework-for-new-health-based-air-toxics-standards/ At a high level, the draft…
Chad DarbyThanks to the American Planning Association (APA) and author Katharine Logan, LEED AP, we are proud that our work in Spokane’s 500-acre Hillyard industrial district is one of three examples featured in the February 2017 Planning magazine…
Kaitlyn BrunoKudos to Oregon State University’s Cascade Campus for thinking creatively to reclaim underutilized property in the newly-released plan to expand OSU’s Bend campus to meet future enrollment projections. We have been fortunate to work…
Stacy J. Frost, PEWe extend a warm welcome to six new staff members, all of whom specialize in air quality services. Adding expertise in these services further integrates MFA’s engineering and consulting services for facilities that have air emissions and…
Steven P. Taylor, PEAs part of its quarterly “regional snapshot” series, Metro has published a reader-friendly look at brownfields and their impact on economic growth and development in the Portland metropolitan region. While the region continues to see…
Seth Otto, AICP, LEED APThe Whatcom County Council unanimously adopted an update to its Comprehensive Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Plan (the Plan) during a meeting held on January 24, 2017. The adoption is the culmination of a two-year effort led by Whatcom…
Erik Bakkom, PEMFA is honored to receive the Vancouver Business Journal’s award for Best in Business 2016 in the Urban Planner category. “The list of winners was determined by Vancouver Business Journal readers who cast their votes for the companies that…
Alistaire Clary, PEClearly EPA is reading my blog, because only nine days after I posted a summary of lingering questions about proposed PSM/RMP changes (link), EPA has responded with a final version of the updated rule (link) and a summary of frequently asked…
Bill Beadie, CIHPSM/RMP for the uninitiated: The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) both enforce similar requirements for facilities that have more than the threshold quantity of…
Bill Beadie, CIHMFA was a 2016 Nominee for the Secretary of Defense, Employer Support Freedom Award. This award was given “in recognition of exemplary support of National Guard and Reserve member employees.” This Veterans Day, we want to recognize…
Alistaire Clary, PEDuring the Joint Oregon and Washington Planning Conference on Thursday, October 27, the Planning Association of Washington and the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association honored the Port of Skagit, the City of Sedro-Woolley,…
Kaitlyn BrunoLeading brownfield experts Michael Stringer and Jim Darling were recently featured as guest writers in the Seattle DJC. Communities across Washington State are increasingly looking at vacant and shuttered former industrial sites as…
Steven P. Taylor, PEMFA staff led sessions on brownfield development at the most recent Certified Commercial Investment Managers (CCIM) Conference, held on September 29 and 30, 2016, in Bend, OR. Jim Maul, Ted Wall, and Seth Otto prepared a dynamic, informative,…
Seth Otto, AICP, LEED APMaul Foster & Alongi has been awarded a 2016 Top Workplaces honor by The Oregonian. The Top Workplaces are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a research firm that specializes…
Jennifer King, PE, SPHRHats off to Zidell Marine Corporation for over 50 years of success in the barge-building industry and everything they have given to the Portland community and economy. They announced this week that they will be exiting the barge-building…
James J. Maul, RG, LHGTomorrow the Port of Camas-Washougal will celebrate the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of the Washougal Waterfront Park and Trail. MFA is excited to see this project completed, which began with an Integrated Planning Grant that MFA assisted…
Alan R. Hughes, RG, LG, PGThe work MFA does helps our community every day, from cleaning up brownfield sites to planning and designing new neighborhoods. MFA goes beyond that, enabling and supporting their employees to volunteer in our community supporting causes we…
Emily Hess, LHG, RGThe Vancouver Business Journal published an article on brownfields in Clark County. MFA is proud to be the leading brownfield consulting business in the Pacific Northwest. In the article we expand on the concept of the 4th Generation of…
James J. Maul, RG, LHGEcology has made some big changes in their Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). In an effort to balance staff shortages with increasing workloads, Ecology has raised the bar for entry into the VCP and is implementing new policies to streamline…
Alan R. Hughes, RG, LG, PGIn honor of Maul Foster & Alongi’s 20 year anniversary the Vancouver Business Journal published the article below celebrating MFA’s innovation and growth through the years. ‘Before it was just cleanup for the sake of cleanup’, said…
James J. Maul, RG, LHGWe here at MFA are familiar with the race against time. Every week, we come together as a team to produce quality designs, reports, and action plans on time and on budget. However, this weekend some MFA’ers worked overtime to race to the…
Emily Hess, LHG, RGEverything is crisp and fresh. I take a cold breath in and can only respect the awe and unforgiving beauty of the woods I call home. I can’t say I know what it is, but there is something about the woods that will always captivate me. It’s…
Haley McDanielJames Peale, RG, LHG, Principal Hydrogeologist at MFA, authored the recent article, Lead in Drinking Water: Steps to take as a Business Owner, published in the Vancouver Business Journal July 8, 2016. Click the link below to read his full…
Alistaire Clary, PEHere are updates from my recent meetings with Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) staff to discuss the status of Ecology’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. New Checklists and Templates for Voluntary Cleanup Program…
Alan R. Hughes, RG, LG, PGSeveral MFA projects, including Columbia Memorial Hospital/Astoria Landfill Sports Complex, Lake River Dioxin Cleanup, and Zidell Remediation are highlighted in an article by Katharine Logan published in the May/June 2016 issue of USGBC+,…
James J. Maul, RG, LHGMFA is excited to announce the Astoria Athletic Complex project is the recipient of the 2016 Oregon Brownfields Outstanding Project Award! The award will be presented at the 11th Annual Oregon Brownfields Conference May 16th, 2016. This award…
James J. Maul, RG, LHGMFA’s planning efforts on the St. Helens Waterfront Redevelopment project are making the news. Working with our partners from Walker Macy, MFA led a group of St. Helens residents, Waterfront Advisory Committee members, and city council…
Seth Otto, AICP, LEED APThe Governor’s proposed Supplemental Capital Budget includes $25 million for cleanup funds to partially cover the recent shortfall in Remedial Action Grants. The source of the funds will be State issued bonds. The $25 million represents 29…
James J. Maul, RG, LHGEPA recently launched the new Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) to regulate industrial stormwater, but the already more-stringent state permits in California, Washington, and Oregon leave the MSGP a moot-point. Industrial stormwater permit…
Ada H. Banasik, PEPlan Adopted for Redevelopment of Historic Northern State Hospital The Sedro-Woolley City Council has unanimously adopted the Subarea Plan for the Center for Innovation. This is the capstone of two years of planning for redevelopment of the…
Kaitlyn BrunoThe Wahkiakum County Eagle newspaper recently published an article highlighting MFA’s work. After testing sediment the question has arisen, what to do with the material, read about the possible creative solutions MFA has collaborated with…
Steven P. Taylor, PECharacterizing and cleaning up contamination in the aquatic environment can present significant logistical challenges. A sampling of MFA’s recent high adventure aquatic experiences includes: …
Erik Bakkom, PE“Forensics” is a term that may evoke images of an awkward detective linking the dots between crime scene evidence and laboratory DNA results to solve a crime. Environmental forensics applies the same general principle of criminal forensics…
Phil Wiescher, PhDIncremental Sampling Methodology is becoming a go-to approach – for responsible parties and regulators alike – for efficient and robust contaminant characterization. While the method is fairly established for soil characterization, the use of…
Phil Wiescher, PhDMaul Foster & Alongi, Inc. (MFA) has been awarded a 2015 Top Workplaces honor by the Oregonian Media Group. The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a…
Jennifer King, PE, SPHRA 198 miles course with heavy rain and thrashing winds may not sound like fun to most, but MFA’s 2015 Hood to Coast team would argue differently. On the weekend of August 28th MFA’s team, Must Finish Alive, participated in the 34th annual…
Jerry J. Oelerich, EITThomas Mullen, PG, senior hydrogeologist at Maul Foster & Alongi, Inc. (MFA), has officially been appointed by the governor’s office to the Idaho Board of Registration for Professional Geologists. The board’s mission statement is “to…
Alistaire Clary, PEAt the 2015 National Brownfield conference that was held in Chicago in September, the Astoria Municipal Landfill closure and sports complex redevelopment project was awarded the Phoenix Award for USEPA Region 10. MFA is honored to have led the…
Stacy J. Frost, PEThe Oregon Brownfield Coalition is the 2015 recipient of the Brownfield Leadership Award for Innovation & Resiliency, in the category of Statewide Brownfield Innovation. The award is presented by NALGEP (National Association of Local…
Seth Otto, AICP, LEED AP