National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restoration and Management

In December, OBG, Part of Ramboll (formerly OBG) participated in the National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restoration and Management, hosted by Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) and the Coastal States Organization (CSO) in Long Beach, California. The six-day Summit focused on the theme, Investing in Our Coasts: Environment, Economy, Cu...

Protecting New York lakes from harmful algal blooms

Over the last decade, harmful algal blooms have been increasing in prevalence across New York State and continue to threaten drinking water quality and recreational activities nationwide. In New York, more than 150 water bodies experienced HABs in 2017, resulting in more than 100 beach closures. The Threat A harmful algal bloom, often...

International Conference on Coastal Engineering 2018

OBG recently took part in the 36th International Conference on Coastal Engineering 2018 (ICCE 2018) on July 30-August 3, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. During the conference, OBG’s team of experts shared how OBG’s multi-disciplinary engineering and project delivery solutions are addressing resiliency, vulnerability, and other unique challenges presented by highly comp...

Natural resource damage assessment and restoration

OBG has more than 30 years of experience evaluating the effects of chemical and petroleum releases, including natural resource damage assessment (NRDA), for a variety of state and federal regulatory programs at more than 100 sites across the U.S.  Through this experience, OBG has developed a variety of techniques to...

A pragmatic approach for establishing natural resource damage assessment baseline

Establishing an ecological baseline for restoration and natural resource damage assessment from a spill event can be very different from establishing a baseline for a CERCLA site. OBG’s Denise Kay, PhD recently discussed these differences, as well as the benefits of using a pragmatic approach, at the Law Seminars In...

Dr. Lyle Trumbull discusses restoring a barrier island at CLEAN GULF

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, significant erosion occurred at barrier islands off the central Gulf of Mexico coast, including the Breton National Wildlife Refuge barrier island chain. These barrier islands, located in the Breton Sound 30 miles off the southeast coast of Louisiana, serve as a natural breakwater protecting mainland environments. Because...

Protecting watersheds and coastal settings

Meet Murat Utku

Murat Utku joined OBG in July, bringing leadership in protecting, sustaining, and managing natural features, facilities, and infrastructure in watersheds and coastal settings. His specialized expertise spans resiliency; climate change; ecosystem restoration and mitigation; hydraulic/coastal engineering; river, estuarine, and coastal sediment and pollutant transport processes; dredging; flood damage reduction;...

Watershed/coastal science and engineering

Our nation faces many challenges, including the threat posed to people, property, and infrastructure in vulnerable geographic settings.  While specific circumstances may vary, this vulnerability is often associated with proximity to water. Shifting weather patterns have contributed to increases in precipitation quantity, intensity, and duration, leading to stormwater issues,...

International Oil Spill Conference

OBG recently took part in the International Oil Spill Conference on May 15-18, 2017 in Long Beach, California. This conference provides a forum for professionals from the international response community, private sector, government, and non-governmental organizations to come together to exchange ideas and lessons learned...

Do I need a permit?

Many projects require approval from one or more regulatory agencies before implementation can begin. Approvals are typically granted in the form of a permit, which may be required for a host of reasons, including planned emissions or discharges, withdrawals or resource use, building and construction, or proposed disturbance to...