Highlighting MB&G’s Planning and Permitting – ESG’s 25 Year Anniversary

MB&G is excited to share that 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of our Environmental Services Group (ESG). Throughout 2022, this important milestone will be commemorated by looking back at the group’s formation, highlighting a few key projects, and featuring current work.

Spring is a time for planning and starting new opportunities so this month we are featuring the group’s planning and permitting services. Our environmental planning and permitting specialists provide clients with strategic solutions that support a wide range of project needs.

ESG includes staff who specialize in environmental regulatory compliance and have a thorough understanding of the regulatory requirements for planning and permitting tasks. Our staff provide environmental planning services at every phase of project development and implementation, such as preparation of environmental baseline reports, analysis and documentation of impacts and alternatives, preparation of permit applications, negotiation with regulatory agencies, environmental construction monitoring, and post-construction compliance and mitigation monitoring.

Other planning-related tasks include:

• Assessing environmental impacts associated with planning-level design alternatives.
• Designing, conducting, and reporting biological surveys to assess baseline conditions.
• Preparing NEPA documents (Categorical Exclusion, Environmental Assessment, Environmental Impact Statements).
• Designing appropriate mitigation strategies to offset a project’s environmental impacts.
• Serving as third party staff for public agencies performing a variety roles including species experts, technical report writers, regulator compliance experts, and permit application reviewers. MB&G regulatory compliance specialists and biologists work as a member of local, state, and federal agency staff to assist agencies in need of additional trusted resources on a short- and long-term basis.

ESG permitting specialists prepare and coordinate permit application packages for compliance with a broad range of regulatory requirements that include, but is not limited to:

• Clean Water Act
• Endangered Species Act
• State/County Wetlands Removal/Fill laws
• Oregon Fish Passage Law
• City, County, and Federal floodplain regulations