OCE is pleased to announce that Andrew Sample has earned his Professional Wetland Scientist Certification and will hereby be referred to as Andrew Sample, PWS! Wetland Delineation is an important process that helps identify the boundaries of wetlands and protect a vital environmental resource by reducing potential on- and off-site pollution. By earning his Professional [...]
We are happy to announce that OCE's GIS Specialist Matthew Durst has earned his Remote Pilot Certificate. The Remote Pilote Certificate is granted by the Federal Aviation Administration as part of their Small Unmanned Aircraft System Rule (Part 107) and allows Matthew to utilize aerial drones for commercial purposes. Matt has been quick to put [...]
At the Addison County Chamber of Commerce's Annual Meeting, held at the historic Vergennes Opera House on October 26, 2023, Otter Creek Engineering was proud to accept the Business of the Year Award. Chamber Board Member Marty Kulczyk (and owner of the Robert Frost Cabins in Ripton) presented OCE with the award, and Marty had [...]
One consequence of the crisis in Flint, Michigan is that it elevated public awareness that a substantial number of service lines connecting individual homes and businesses to public water systems may contain lead components. This means that even if the water source and transmission lines do not contain lead, the water could become contaminated prior [...]
Otter Creek Engineering was proud to support this year's LEGO Contest and Exhibit at the Bixby Memorial Free Library. This is the fifth year the Bixby Library and Boys & Girls Club of Greater Vergennes held the event, and OCE's own Robert M. Clark, P.E. presided as one of three judges. The competition, which included [...]
Otter Creek Engineering has been working on a two-phase water system improvements project in the heart of historic downtown Middlebury. This section of water main provides both potable water service in a critical business district and fire protection for the entire community. This main is particularly important because it acts as a key transmission main [...]
Over the last 6 months, OCE’s Natural Resources Ecologist, Mary Beth Poli, PWS, has been leading a group of about 20 dedicated Vermont wetland professionals in forming a new organization, the Vermont Association of Wetland Science (VAWS). A primary goal of VAWS is to provide Vermont-specific continuing education. The group worked together to plan and [...]
Every summer, OCE seeks interns for its East Middlebury office in order to support future generations of engineers and environmental scientists. In 2022, we were lucky enough to welcome two Environmental Engineering college students: Will Crawford, a Worcester Polytechnic Institute student, and Kaitlyn McNamara, an undergraduate at Clarkson University. The two had a lot to [...]
In 2022, The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission's (NEIWPCC) 32nd Annual Nonpoint Source (NPS) Conference was held April 27-28 in Woodstock, Vermont. NEIWPCC describes the conference as "a regional forum to share information on NPS pollution issues, research, and related projects." At this year's conference, one of OCE's own, Craig Jewett, P.E., was [...]
Following the closure of a Teflon-coating plant, it was found that 60-70 residential wells in North Bennington had been contaminated with Perfluorooctanoic acids (PFOAs), ranging everywhere from trace amounts to a thousand parts per trillion (ppt)—Vermont’s standard is not to exceed 20 ppt. OCE produced a preliminary engineering report that recommended the Village abandon a [...]
