Environmental Planning

Cattle Feedlot, Central Washington State

In 2008, Fulcrum was retained by a local feedlot operation to design and implement a groundwater monitoring plan to simultaneously satisfy Federal, State, and Tribal Counsel regulatory requirements in order to retain groundwater withdrawal permitting. Fulcrum's scope of services included design of a sampling and analysis plan and oversight of monitoring well placement and installation. Fulcrum continues to provide routine groundwater sampling and documentation services to satisfy groundwater withdrawal permit requirements for the feedlot. Tested parameters include temperature, pH, total dissolved solids, ferrous iron, nitrates, chlorides, and fecal coliform.

Coquille Indian Tribe, Coos Bay, Oregon

Fulcrum was contracted and provided oversight of early warning system (EWS) installation for a dam owned and operated by the Coquille Tribe on the Oregon Coast. The purpose of the EWS is to provide communication necessary to avoid loss of life or other serious consequences associated with dam failure or potential dam failure. Data from the EWS system is uploaded directly to the National Monitoring Center (NMC) where the criteria established in the Decision Criteria & Notification Procedures document are used to ensure complete communication during changes to the dam systems. The NMC communicates to the Tribes and other relevant authorities who in turn consult the site specific Emergency Action Plan for implementation of project tasks designed for each phase of changing conditions.

Confederated Tribes of the Colville Nation, Nespelem, Washington

The reservation of the Colville Confederated Tribes spans over 250 square miles in North Central Washington. Virtually all potable water on the reservation is drawn from small, shallow alluvial aquifers vulnerable to contamination from a wide variety of sources. Fundamental objective of our work was to develop a reservation-wide groundwater monitoring plan that would provide the Tribe with timely and meaningful data on aquifer health and character. Secondary objective was to develop a Wellhead Protection Plan (WHP) as the protective framework of the Tribe's groundwater resource. Working closely with Tribal scientists, well production data was reviewed and landuse profiled reservation-wide. Specific contaminant sources were inventoried, their chemical signature characterized, and proximity to critical wellheads delineated. Bellwether wells and analytes were selected as representative of general aquifer character as well as those of specific environmental concern due to landuse pattern or history. The groundwater-monitoring plan will be implemented by Tribal members and Fulcrum is providing training toward that goal