Chapter News - WCIECA.org

Almost 200 erosion control professionals gathered in Phoenix Arizona this past April to focus on the “I’s” of Erosion Control – Implementation, Installation, and Inspection. The 2004 regional conference hosted by the Western Chapter and co-sponsored by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) paired novices and experienced professionals for four packed days of education and networking.

Professional development courses that kicked off the week included the ever-popular CPESC Exam Review Course, instructed by chapter members Mike Harding and David Franklin, and a relatively new course How to Run a Successful Erosion Control Business developed and taught by chapter member Robert Crowell.


Mike Traubert, ADEQ Water Quality Compliance Section Manager, addresses a packed house.	Chapter President Mike Chase reviews the conference schedule with attendees.

ADEQ took advantage of the momentum of the regional erosion control conference to host a special storm water workshop for AZ municipalities and state staff on Tuesday morning to focus on the new AZPDES program. The workshop attendees then folded into the Western Chapter conference to network and get more detailed information on erosion control and storm water issues. The conference aimed for and achieved a balance of educational opportunities – offering at track of technical paper presentations and two tracks of in-depth symposia at a varying knowledge levels – from beginner to advanced practitioners.

Sprinkled in among the technical sessions were ample opportunities to network and visit with colleagues in the exhibit hall while learning about new products and services available to help prevent erosion and meet regulatory requirements. These opportunities were especially appreciated by the AZ municipal staff newly designated as storm water regulators.

Friday wrapped up the conference with a field trip to see erosion control in action. Featured on the trip were erosion control BMP’s at a recently completed traffic interchange in Florence Junction, stunning views of copper mines in Miami and Globe, stops at bridges and roadway construction of SR 188 Resort Road and Devore Wash Project, eight miles of new roadway with seven bridges, past Roosevelt Dam and returning on SR 87, winner of the FHWA 1999 Environmental Excellence Award.


CA-based board member Tony Pitts obtains a close-up look at erosion control items consisting of progressive seeding, wattles, silt fences, riprap, rail bank, rockblasting techniques, gabions, salvage of saguaros, ocotillos, erosion control matting, and sediment logs on SR188.	“Resort Road to Devore Wash” segment of ADOT’s 8.5 mile long SR 188 highway re-alignment project in Gila County, Arizona. New alignment consists of 7 bridges, over 3 million yards of excavation and reclamation of the abandoned roadway.

View from Mazatzal Rest Area patio overlooking Theodore Roosevelt Lake.	Our guide explains the workings of Theodore Roosevelt Dam.

Theodore Roosevelt Dam’s $430 million renovation included raising the historic dam 77 feet and enhancing recreational opportunities.

The conference was a resounding educational and financial success for the chapter – chapter membership grew, new storm water professionals were introduced to the IECA and its resources, long time members added to their growing expertise, and several new erosion and sediment control specialists and storm water quality specialists were certified by successfully completing their exams at the conference.

As we head into 2005, I want everyone in the Western Chapter IECA (WCIECA) to realize many of the events that are coming your way. Several of these events are WCIECA events, and two are International Erosion Control Association (IECA) events. To start with, we are planning several day events throughout the year in the WCIECA region. These day event are field trips or one day training events depending upon the needs for that area. We are in the process of putting together an event with Shasta College to showcase their erosion and sediment control training center, and Sacramento County and the City of Roseville have asked for a one day BMP training event to take place towards the end of summer. Any other ideas or needs from our membership will be reviewed by the board to help fill these requests.

The real issue for consideration is that there will be three major events taking place in the WCIECA region within the next few years. The first major event will be the IECA annual convention or ECO 06. This event will take place in Long Beach in February of 2006 and will require the WCIECA to help in a number of ways. IECA has provided a time table of projects associated with the convention to complete before the convention to help make the Long Beach event the best annual convention ever. The duties associated with this time table will be broken down so there will not be too much of a load on any one person or any group of people.

The second event will be in Hawaii in May of 2006. Hawaii will be a full WCIECA event. The venue for this event will be Honolulu, and again this will require the help of several chapter members to help make this event happen. The next major event will be ECO 07 in Reno. This will be the IECA’s annual convention for 2007. The time table for this event will be similar to the time table for ECO 06. There will be lots of work and lots of opportunities for WCIECA members. I encourage everyone to look at where you may be able to help with any of these events over the next 2 years. The board will be very involved with these events as well as the day to day activities associated with the WCIECA. We will need to put together several committees and need your help to make these the best events ever. Thank you for you consideration, and please get involved.

Michael Chase, CPESC, WCIECA President & Director
Profile Products, LLC, (661) 343-3679,

At the Board Meeting held on October 11, 2004, in Sacramento, California, new Board members Joe Crea, Laurie Barnes and Gene Steuben were welcomed on deck and immediately set to work as we re-elected Mike Chase to President (and chair of the Conferences committee), and parceled out all supporting functions as follows:

Tony Pitts	Administrative Vice President IECA Headquarters Liaison
Joe Crea	Technical Vice President Inter-Organization Liaison
David Franklin	Secretary Contractor Liaison
Michael Broadwater	Treasurer Intra-Chapter Activities
Laurie Barnes	Education; Communications
Sandy Mathews	Conferences; Membership
Peter McRae	Communications
Gene Steuben	Membership

If you don’t have all the above volunteers’ contact numbers in your telephone speed dial, check them out on the WCIECA.org web site at either “Board Members” or “Committees.” The point I am attempting to make is that most of us are within easy reach if something strikes you as sounding like fun and you’d like to become involved.

Given the wealth of Chapter and IECA activities that are planned to be hosted within the Western Chapter region for 2005-2007, the Board intends to lay out a “road map of involvement” at our earliest opportunity for your perusal. Anyone who wishes to participate on any of the task force teams would be welcome.

Do not be surprised if you find yourself rubbing shoulders with past Board members such as outgoing office holders David Gilpin and Mel Mathews who, like past-Board members before them, continue to step up to the plate when opportunities arise to keep the WCIECA at the forefront of the industry. Similarly, Mike Chase and former Western Chapter President Julie Etra recently upped the ante of their volunteer service (and the Western Chapter’s voice) by joining the IECA Board of Directors.

Peter McRae, WCIECA Board Member, President
Quattro Environmental, Inc. 619-522-0044,

This three day event started off with a fun golf tournament, put together by Chuck Austin, at the “private” Arrow Creek Golf Course. After golf, at the Jon Ascuaga’s Nugget, exhibitors set up and registration was opened at the convention facilities. The welcome party was a wonderful warm up for the first session. Bill Ward, NRCS and Jack Hamby, National BAER Coordinator for the BLM, Washington D.C. presented outstanding sessions on their agencies involvement with Post Fire restoration. After a lengthy question and answer period, Jack Hamby was quoted “I can definitely see the need to get the private sector and agencies working together, especially when it comes to information flow.”

Carol Forrest, GeoSyntec Consultants, and Mike Harding, with Chuck Austin, Great Circle presented the next day on the process, implementation and installation for post fire restoration in and for the County/City of San Diego. This exceptional presentation really showed years of experience and professionalism of their trade. They truly are leaders in our industry.

The afternoon was packed with presentations from Pete Robichaud, USFS, Don Kennedy, Denver Water Board, Robert W. Meyer, USGS, and Mary Stuever, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Rodeo-Chediski BAER Team Leader and Todd Caplon, Parametrix. Some of the highlights were a video from Robert Meyer, USGS showing the debris flows from San Bernardino County fires, results of treatments from the Colorado Hayman Fire and documentation of seeding efforts on the Rodeo-Chediski fire.

Poster board presentations were displayed in the Exhibit hall. The evening reception was hosted by over 45 exhibitors showcasing their products and services.

The next day started with Jon Brazier USFS, BAER Team Leader for the 2002 Biscuit Fire. Not only did he cover the rehabilitation and restoration treatments, but also the environmental impact of this fire. A panel discussion moderated by Mike Harding had the audience asking questions to the majority of speakers. Lunch included door prizes and awards.

Quotes from the attendees include “Experience gained from this conference is invaluable in learning what products are available and what is working to reduce erosion damage”, Bob Miles, Natural Resource Manager ADOT. Ed Hoth, Los Alamos National Lab, NM stated the single most important benefit that he received was “effectiveness of different treatments based on ACTUAL testing”. Others responded that they liked the “interaction with the different groups of technical experts and scientists”. The most common comment regarding the conference, in the evaluation forms was the professional level and expertise of all the speakers. We had participants that represented 16 states, mostly from the Rocky Mountain Region westward.

IECA Photo Contest Winner: CCC crews install fiber rolls on steep slopes in the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area. The slope was also graded, “trackwalked” and seeded after a national off-road motorcycle event. Photo by John McCullah.

Please congratulate John McCullah, president of Salix Applied Earthcare along with staff members Daria Hoyer, Laurie Barnes, Kaila Dettman, and Traci Montrose. The design manual on CD Environmentally-Sensitive Streambank Stabilization (ESenSS) has received the 2005 Excellence in Technology Award from the International Erosion Control Association. This annual award recognizes a new practice, design approach or process that combines technology and environmental considerations to reduce erosion and sediment and to improve air and water quality. The award was presented to McCullah during formal ceremonies at the annual IECA conference in Dallas, Texas.

The design manual on CD reflects three years of development, including literature research, site visits and case study reviews and the analysis and evaluation of surveys sent out to all state departments of transportation. The result is a compilation of 44 different streambank stabilization techniques for use next to highways, near infrastructure, or in stream restoration projects. Some of the technique case studies were implemented in Redding, CA as part of local stream restoration projects.

McCullah also won First Place in IECA’s 8th Annual Photo Contest, in the Challenges of Erosion Control category with his photograph of a California Conservation Corps erosion control project in the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area.

IECA’s Partners for Excellence awards program encourages chapters to work together with IECA for the benefit of the erosion and sediment control profession. The structure of the program aims to help chapters with management, communication, member recognition, working with volunteers and strategic planning. Your Western Chapter won an Honorable Mention in the Chapter Management Award of Achievement category, and won the Largest Chapter Award with 265 members! Congratulations everybody!

Greetings from Shasta College here in Redding, CA! I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that we have some exciting curriculum offered at the college. The Caltrans approved, online SWPPP preparation course is still going strong. The new Watershed Restoration Certificate program has begun, and the Heavy Equipment Operations Certificate Program continues to show growth. Shasta College students in the Watershed Restoration and Heavy Equipment classes get hands-on training by participating in community projects.

Last spring, Shasta College bought a new hydroseeder and the students finally had the chance to use it. A small fire over the summer on a completed community-based restoration project provided the site for the inauguration of the new hydroseeder. Native seed, wood fiber, paper mulch, and guar were applied. Students then mulched the area with native straw and added more guar/fiber slurry. What an excellent hands-on class activity!

The professional SWPPP training course is completely online, self paced and open entry / open exit throughout the semester to provide maximum flexibility for individual students. Over 250 people have taken advantage of this training opportunity since its inception. For the Spring 2005 semester, you are invited to enroll and complete the course anytime between January 10 and March 26, 2005. The cost is $75; to sign up call Sharon Truitt at 530-225-4835 or visit the web page at: http://online.shastacollege.edu:8900/public/CONS197_JC/

When I last wrote about Shasta College, we were in the process of going before the College Board for approval of the proposed Erosion Control Training Facility (ECTF). The ECTF will serve as a place to conduct lectures and hands-on training for people in the application, installation, and maintenance of various Best Management Practices (BMPs), a place to research various erosion and sediment control techniques and their effectiveness, and a site for testing for the future Eco-Tech Certificate. The Board gave its approval, so we are moving forward with the design and planning for the ECTF. The site has been earmarked on campus, and facility design maps have been developed. The Watershed Restoration classes surveyed the site, and developed a list of BMPs that can be demonstrated and tested at the facility.

The next steps are to obtain funding, formally set up the ECTF, develop curriculum, and build the ECTF site. Anyone who is interested in providing funding, grant match funding, materials, or any other support should contact Laurie Barnes at 530-247-1600, or .

Laurie Barnes, Environmental Generalist
Salix Applied Earthcare, (530) 247-1600,

The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region, recently issued a memorandum regarding monitoring requirements for storm water treatment systems that utilize chemical additives to enhance sedimentation.

The use of chemical systems to treat storm water discharges from construction sites is becoming more frequent. These systems can very effective in reducing the sediment in storm water runoff, but the additives used to enhance sedimentation also pose a potential risk to water quality. The Central Valley RWQCB is concerned about the potential acute and chronic impacts that the polymers and other chemical additives may have on aquatic life in surface waters. Polymers released from chemical treatment systems have created significant environmental harm and resulted in enforcement actions by the CA Department of Fish and Game and the Central Valley RWQCB.

Part D.5 of the statewide General Construction Storm Water Permit provides the Regional Boards authority to require additional monitoring and reporting program requirements where appropriate.

In the Central Valley Region, all construction projects that utilize chemical additives to enhance sedimentation must prepare and implement monitoring plans for discharges to surface waters.

The Western Chapter IECA would like to acknowledge and thank the Central Valley RWQCB for the content of this article.

Michael Broadwater, CPESC and WCIECA Board Member
Vali Cooper & Associates, (951) 788-6028,