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Keith Tolson

Hydropower Licensing and Compliance

2026-09-23T13:26:26-06:00April 15th, 2026|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

To help clients achieve stringent water quality goals, Geosyntec provides rigorous assessment and modeling services to assess the sources and factors that affect the delivery of critical pollutants across watersheds. Through our comprehensive studies and analyses, we provide technically defensible tools and approaches that can be used in the development of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) calculations and watershed protection plans. In addition, we frequently turn to Use Attainability Analyses to examine site-specific water quality criteria that affect attainability goals under natural, human-caused, and economic conditions. Our hydrodynamic and water-quality models integrate inputs from point and nonpoint sources to support our engineers and scientists as they study impacts on water quality in receiving water. These models allow us to understand the assimilative capacities of a given body of water, propose best management practices that can affect pollutant impacts, and predict the time required for a system to recover after being altered. Using watershed studies, water quality monitoring, and hydrological and hydrodynamic modeling, we also can assess compliance with local, state, and federal water quality standards. Using all this information, we are better able to evaluate the magnitude, frequency, and duration of impacts of a wide variety of pollutant sources. Our practitioners offer extensive experience with geographic information system applications for spatial analysis, planimetric and thematic mapping, and data representation. We employ watershed models including the Watershed Characterization System (WCS), Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS), and the Watershed Assessment Model (WAMView). We also employ the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP), the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC), and the Stream Water Quality Model (QUAL2K) for hydrodynamic and water-quality models. Our practitioners are at the forefront of policy analyses, regulatory compliance, and technology applications that promote sustainable water resources management and ecosystem restoration. We have extensive experience helping local governments develop and negotiate long-term control plans for combined sewer overflows, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, and consent orders. We also comment on Clean Water Act issues at the state and national level, including the development of new recreational use criteria for water bodies across the county and for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new framework for integrated planning for wastewater and stormwater.

Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE)

2026-07-02T07:32:56-06:00March 27th, 2026|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Lead Practitioners Nothing Found

Regulatory Update: U.S. EPA Updates Toxicity Values for Benzo[a]pyrene

2026-03-15T10:20:07-06:00January 24th, 2017|Tags: , |

On January 19, 2017 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program released its final assessment of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), the last step in process that required about six years to complete.

Rapid Assessment and Removal of Coal Combustion Products JEA St. Johns River Power Park Area II Landfill

2026-04-02T15:28:28-06:00July 24th, 2015|Tags: , , |

The JEA St. Johns River Power Park is a 1,260-MW coal and petroleum coke fired power plant located in Jacksonville, Florida. Coal combustion products (CCPs) generated at the facility are disposed in an on-site CCP landfills. Stormwater (also referred to as “contact water”) from the Area II CCP Landfill discharged to a single retention pond where suspended CCPs were allowed to settle before the contact water was pumped to the facility’s industrial wastewater treatment system. As part of the Area II CCP Landfill Final Closure, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) required that JEA clean close the retention pond and provide documentation that all CCPs had been removed from the pond.

Vapor Intrusion Assessment & Remediation

2026-09-30T13:29:12-06:00February 12th, 2015|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When a site involves volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in soil or groundwater, those chemicals can volatilize and migrate into nearby buildings presenting a health hazard to those inside. Not only that, but most buildings also contain other sources of volatile contaminants that are related to ongoing operations or consumer products. Because the same chemicals can be present in the subsurface, in chemicals used on-site, and in other products, investigation and mitigation can become complicated.

Risk Assessment and Applied Toxicology

2026-09-29T14:34:40-06:00February 12th, 2015|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Geosyntec's human health and ecological risk assessment services identify the proper approach to remediate sites impacted by a wide variety of contaminants. Our risk assessment specialists work in conjunction with our remediation practitioners to develop site-specific solutions that achieve the needed levels of protection while optimizing financial commitments and operational practicalities for our clients. Our specialists also provide expert consultation and testimony on environmental exposure health issues for our legal clients. Through our technical specialists in biostatistics, epidemiology, information management, and contaminant fate and transport modeling and other specialized practitioners, we provide an exceptional quality of work that has become the envy of the industry.

Brownfield Redevelopment Planning & Design

2026-09-23T12:52:09-06:00February 12th, 2015|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Working with public- and private-sector clients, Geosyntec provides award-winning redevelopment strategies for brownfield sites worldwide. From site identification, investigation, and remediation to design, permitting, and construction management, we provide the services necessary to redevelop an environmentally impacted property to an end use that meets environmental stewardship, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder needs. We employ appropriate and efficient geotechnical engineering and environmental remediation services to solve our clients’ brownfield redevelopment challenges. Geosyntec approaches each brownfield site individually by tailoring investigations, risk assessments, and remediation approaches to the client’s planned end use. We work with regulators, developers, and insurance providers to realize the full economic and social value of their sites and develop solutions that are amenable to all parties. We provide stakeholders with start-to-finish consistency and reassurance that the environmental elements of development are being managed by one firm because of our expertise in regulations, risk assessment, groundwater and soil remediation, soil vapor mitigation, geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, and solid waste and environmental management.

Overview of Building Health Evaluations and Rehabilitation

2026-04-21T09:36:22-06:00November 12th, 2014|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Geosyntec provides quality assessment services to aid building owners, employers, and government agencies as they identify, diagnose, and solve occupant health problems associated with the built environment. Our certified industrial hygienists and toxicologists conduct scientific assessments and work alongside our construction services professionals to develop project-specific solutions to address a wide range of human health, exposure, and causation matters ranging from combustion products to Legionnaires’ Disease and mold. Through our additional services in product and material testing and risk communication support, we can provide a holistic approach to our clients needs that address every aspect of their building health issues from initial assessment of the building and communicating the risk to occupants, to controlling or eliminating the problem.

Overview of Contaminated Site Assessment and Cleanup

2026-08-18T14:34:36-06:00November 12th, 2014|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Geosyntec practitioners rank among the world's top professionals in providing site assessment and remediation services at a wide range of impacted sites using innovative technologies and solutions that consistently advance the state of the practice. Through our use of innovative technologies and solutions, we provide our public and private sector clients with a wide array of services to address their toughest challenges. Our contaminated site practitioners guide our clients through a specialized remediation plan, consult on regulatory strategies, and develop a comprehensive cleanup approach. We can address numerous types of media, including contaminated soils, sediments, and groundwater. Advancing the State of the Practice Geosyntec's practitioners are pioneers in site assessment and remediation. Our senior practitioners have developed and authored guidance material and courses for local, state, and national agencies and associations on remediation techniques and technologies. Working with the Interstate Technical Regulatory Council, Geosyntec practitioners taught a training course on vapor intrusion, including mitigation options for the development of vapor-impacted brownfield sites. Geosyntec practitioners also wrote the guidance document on evaluating, optimizing, or ending post-closure care at impacted sites, including brownfield sites, and developed a patented approach for sub-slab vapor migration mitigation allowing residential, commercial, and industrial development on sites impacted by vapor intrusion. Our specialists routinely collaborate with prominent national researchers from academia and government agencies to provide innovative and defensible strategies for sites with contaminated sediments. For example, we collaborated with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to remediate chlorinated solvent-contaminated marsh sediments by applying a bioreactive mat system embedded with a dehalogenating microbial consortium, a technology Geosyntec helped develop. This project and partnership earned our client recognition as a finalist for the Service to America Medal awarded by the Partnership for Public Service. Through a collaborative research project with the University of Florida, Geosyntec professionals helped develop the FLUCL software package for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. This software is used to calculate exposure point concentration statistics in risk assessment and was the first of its kind to contain algorithms for censored datasets. FLUCL has received endorsements from several United States Environmental Protection Agency regions and the California Environmental Protection Agency. Geosyntec scientists also pioneered the use of genetic molecular tools to characterize microbes in environmental media and are engaged in applied research and development with top academic institutions around the world, including the University of Toronto, Cornell University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Natural Resource Monitoring

2026-04-23T13:04:19-06:00March 28th, 2014|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Geosyntec uses biological assessment and monitoring to create an accurate picture of the affected environment. Our services reliably evaluate the health of streams, rivers, lakes, and ocean environments. In addition, we can offer a less expensive alternative to complex chemical testing programs. Relying on deep experience, our team evaluates the ecological health of a given environment to show how organisms integrate the effects of varied stressors at your site over time. This means Geosyntec can characterize long-term ecological issues and understand the status of highly valued biological communities. By examining a variety of species, their life stages, their survival, and their health, Geosyntec deciphers complex relationships among habitats, bioregions, and ultimately, water and sediment quality. Geosyntec has experienced biologists who efficiently conduct fish and invertebrate collection for both site investigations and NPDES-permit compliance. We also partner with industry-leading laboratories to analyze samples, compile metric scores and data into a project database, and use geographic information system capabilities to define spatial relationships and ensure data consistency and comparability. Geosyntec's biological monitoring services include fish tissue collection for analysis of chemicals of concern; fish population and macroinvertebrate/plankton community studies; fish-kill investigations; and sediment infaunal invertebrate studies. We also conduct habitat inventories and assessments; sediment and water quality toxicity testing; ecological risk assessments; and Natural Resource Damage Assessments. Our practitioners compile environmental impact statements for compliance with National Environmental Policy Act requirements and consult with clients on Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 wetland permitting, Section 401 water quality certification, and threatened and endangered species surveys related to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Section 7 requirements. For more than a dozen clients, Geosyntec has monitored the concentrations of chemicals found in fish tissue over many years. Often, the fish community is exposed to chemicals via direct or indirect uptake from contaminated sediments. By monitoring the fish tissue concentrations over time, the effectiveness of an environmental remedy can be evaluated. Additionally, biota-sediment accumulation models can be developed and refined to support informed management decisions. This has been used for both active remedies (like dredging) and passive remedies (like MNR). These monitoring data provide our clients and the regulatory agencies with an accurate picture of the affected environment.

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