Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) Superior California Chapter Webinar Geotechnical Engineering Investigations: CEQA/NEPA Review Strategies and Regulatory and Permitting Compliance
Date: July 24, 2025 (webinar): 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Format:Zoom Webinar (Webinar Link will be emailed to registrants July 21) Cost: Free for AEP members, $30 for non-members
AICP Credit Pending
Join us for a deep dive into geotechnical engineering and the essential strategies for navigating CEQA/NEPA regulatory and permitting requirements. Through compelling case studies and interactive discussions, we’ll explore three key areas that shape compliance and project success:
Geotechnical Investigations – An overview of the spectrum of geotechnical activities, and the critical components of geotechnical reports, highlighting their role in project planning and development.
CEQA Review Strategies – Approaches to achieving compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Regulatory Compliance – Best practices for navigating state and federal environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
This session offers valuable insights for professionals seeking to integrate geotechnical engineering investigations with environmental planning while ensuring adherence to legal and regulatory frameworks. Panelists: Hailey Wagenman, Geotechnical Project Manager at Terracon, specializes in developing exploration procedures, logging borings and excavations, as well as conducting percolation and infiltration testing for transportation projects. She has extensive experience in developing proposals, coordinating fieldwork, managing projects, analyzing both field and laboratory data, performing geotechnical analyses for foundations and structures, providing recommendations based on those analyses, and preparing geotechnical reports. Hunter Watkins, Environmental Planning Project Manager at Terracon, develops environmental documents, regulatory permits, and mitigation measures. He collaborates with biologists, archaeologists, and other experts to assess environmental resources at project sites. Using ArcGIS, he calculates potential impacts and coordinates with clients, stakeholders, and regulatory agencies to address them. Mary Lynn Coffee is a Senior Environmental Partner specializing in water quality, wetlands, and endangered species at Nossaman LLP. She has 34 years of experience providing legal and regulatory advice related to compliance with and permitting under CEQA, NEPA, as well as state and federal water quality, wetlands, endangered species, and other natural resource protection laws. Her experience includes negotiating, obtaining, defending, administratively challenging, and moderating NEPA/CEQA clearances and environmental permits for large public infrastructure projects in water, transit, transportation, energy, and logistics sectors, as well as for more than 28 privately developed master planned communities covering over 95,000 acres in California. Moderator:Stephanie Parsons, Founder and Principal of CreativEnvironment Group. Stephanie offers practical strategies for project and program delivery, specializing in environmental processes from concept to implementation. She excels in fostering teamwork, managing complex projects, and developing creative solutions. Her expertise includes navigating State and federal regulations, permitting, resource mitigation, compliance, and integrated project delivery. Stephanie has worked on significant projects like the Delta Conveyance Project, Sites Reservoir Project, and California High-Speed Rail System.
If you have any issues with registration, contact Janet Dallas, AEP Chapter Treasurer at janet.dallas@aecom.com.
Non-members may pay via PayPal on the registration website or check payable to AEP.
Mail check to AEP c/o Janet Dallas, AEP Treasurer, 2020 L Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, CA 95811.
If those payment options don’t work for you contact Janet Dallas at janet.dallas@aecom.com, and we can work something out with you. more info...
Noise Impact Assessment Webinar Presented by Association of Environmental Professionals, Superior California Chapter Date: Wednesday, August 13, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Format: Zoom Webinar. Link will be emailed to registrants Monday, August 11 Cost: Free to AEP Members, $30 for non-members
AICP Credit Pending
This presentation provides an introductory overview of noise analysis as required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Noise is a key environmental issue addressed in CEQA documents due to its potential community impact. This introduction outlines the fundamentals of environmental noise, regulatory framework, and standard methodologies for assessing noise impacts for projects subject to CEQA. The discussion will also provide an introduction to collecting baseline noise measurements, modeling techniques, applying appropriate thresholds of significance, and crafting effective mitigation measures. Designed for planners and environmental professionals, this presentation serves as a foundational resource for conducting technically sound and legally defensible noise evaluations. The panel will also discuss recent case law and implications for environmental noise assessment.
Speakers: Josh Carman, INCE, Rincon Director of Technical Services. Josh Carman, INCE, has over 20 years of experience in the field of acoustics and air quality and has participated in the environmental review and monitoring process for a wide variety of projects in California, Washington, Nevada, and New York. Josh prepares noise, air quality, greenhouse gas, and community health risk assessments for environmental impact studies (CEQA/NEPA) and technical studies using federal, state, and local guidelines and methodology.
Joanne Dramko, AICP, HELIX Environmental Planning Discipline Leader. Joanne Dramko, AICP, is the Environmental Planning
Discipline Leader and a Principal Noise Specialist at HELIX Environmental Planning with over 25 years of experience preparing environmental reports under CEQA and NEPA. She brings a blend of technical knowledge, environmental planning expertise, and regulatory understanding to evaluate environmental noise impacts associated with development projects throughout California.
Alejandro Garcia, ECORP, Senior Noise Consultant. Alejandro Garcia recently joined ECORP in October 2024 as their in-house acoustics specialist. Since graduating in 2016, he has conducted CEQA/NEPA project-level and plan-level noise impact analyses, California Title 24 Noise Insulation Standards acoustical studies, and other local noise ordinance compliance studies across California. He has also conducted live concert noise monitoring at Wrigley Field Stadium, home of the Chicago Cubs, and conducted industrial hygiene noise surveys across the U.S. and in Mexico. He holds a B.S. in Acoustics from Columbia College and is an active member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE-USA) and AEP’s Noise and Vibration Committee.
Claudia Garcia, City of Vacaville Assistant Director of Community Development. Claudia Garcia has been in the environmental planning industry for 12 years in both the private and public sectors. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Community Development at the City of Vacaville, where she helps to oversee current and long-range planning projects. In her spare time, she serves as a Director-at-Large for the AEP State Board, East Bay Regional Activity Coordinator for the CA APA Northern Section, and volunteers for the Trails for Richmond Action Committee.
If you have any issues with registration, contact Janet Dallas, AEP Chapter Treasurer at janet.dallas@aecom.com.
Non-members may pay via PayPal on the registration website or check payable to AEP. Mail check to AEP c/o Janet Dallas, Treasurer, 2020 L Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, CA 95811. If those payment options don’t work for you contact Janet Dallas at janet.dallas@aecom.com or (916) 607-1775, and we can work something out with you.
