EBC Dam Program Series:
Dam Removal and River Restoration
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Foley Hoag Emerging Enterprise Center
Bay Colony Corporate Center
1000 Winter Street, Suite 4000, North Entrance
Waltham, Massachusetts
Co-hosts
Society of American Military Engineers
National Hydro Association
AGENDA
8:00 a.m.
Welcome – Daniel K. Moon, President EBC
Program Chair & Moderator – Peter Walker, VHB
8:10 a.m.
Dam Removal and Fish Passage in the Northeast
John Catena, Northeast Regional Supervisor, Restoration Center
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
9:00 a.m.
State Reports – Dam Removal & River Restoration Programs in New England
 Brian Fitzgerald – VT Dept. of Environmental Conservation
 Jim Gallagher – NH Dept of Environmental Services
 Tim Purinton – Mass Riverways
 David Chopy - RI Dept. of Environmental Management
10:15 a.m.
Networking Break
10:45 a.m.
Case Studies
 A. Catherine Marcinkevage, AECOM
 David W. Andrews, URS Environment
 James G. MacBroom, Milone & MacBroom, Inc.
 Michael Chelminski, Stantec
12:00 a.m.
Adjourn
Program Chair and Moderator
Peter J. Walker, Director, Environmental Services
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
Kilton Road, Six Bedford Farms
Bedford, New Hampshire 03110-6532
(603) 644-0888 (603) 303-1038 (mobile)
Peter Walker, Director of Environmental Services at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., a private
engineering and environmental consulting firm in Bedford, has nearly two decades of
experience in environmental analysis as a consultant and government official. He received his
Bachelors degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from Williams College and a Masters
degree from the University of Vermont. In a former position with the NH Department of
Environmental Services, he was responsible for the Wetlands Bureau’s permitting and public
outreach efforts, and has been actively involved in environmental issues in northern New
England. Peter’s team works actively on river projects in the northeast, including dam removal
and natural channel design projects. He is currently serving as the project manager for the
removal of the Homestead Woolen Mills Dam from the Ashuelot River in NH.
SPEAKERS
David W. Andrews, P.E.
URS Corporation
115 Water Street, Suite 3, Hallowell, Maine 04347
207- 623-9188
David_W_Andrews@URSCorp.com
David Andrews has over 35 years of geotechnical, civil and environmental engineering
consulting experience. He graduated from University of Maine in 1971 with a degree in
Agricultural Engineering and took post-graduate courses in geotechnical engineering at UMO.
He has a broad background in the areas of soils and in the design and construction of earthwork
and civil drainage projects. In recent years. he has been the project engineer on a number of
dam removal and fish passage projects in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and
consults on dam removals through out the URS organization. He has been with URS
Corporation, since 1991 as a Senior Project Manager. He is a registered engineer in Maine and
Vermont.
John G. Catena
Northeast Regional Supervisor
Restoration Center
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930
978-281-9251 978-317-9566 (cell) john.catena@noaa.gov
John Catena is the Northeast Regional Supervisor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s (NOAA) Restoration Center based in Gloucester, MA. He is responsible for
managing NOAA’s restoration activities throughout the Northeastern U.S. from Maine to Virginia
and a staff of 15 professional, technical staff. He is responsible for managing several programs
within the Northeast including NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration
Program, Community-based Restoration Program and Open Rivers Program. John has been
involved in managing, planning, and overseeing habitat restoration projects for over 15 years.
He specifically has experience in the conceptual design, planning, and monitoring of tidal
wetland, shellfish, riverine, and anadromous fish restoration projects including fish passage and
dam removal projects. John has been involved in developing and implementing restoration
plans for over 10 oil spill and hazardous waste sites in the Northeast and dozens of restoration
projects throughout the region. John received his B.S. in Marine Science from the University of
South Carolina in 1984 and an M.A. in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island in
1987.
Michael Chelminski P.E, Division Director
Stantec
30 Park Drive, Topsham, Maine 4086
207-729-1199 cell 207- 837- 2937 michael.chelminski@stantec.com
Michael Chelminski is a senior associate at Stantec and a leader of the firm's Restoration
Services group. His technical work is focused on fish passage and restoration of riverine habitat
and habitat continuity. He is a professional engineer with areas of expertise including upstream
and downstream fish passage, multi-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic modeling, and dam
removal. His recent work includes dam removal studies in Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Maine, North Carolina, and Michigan, and evaluation of downstream fish passage at
hydroelectric facilities in New York and Canada.
David Chopy, Acting Chief
Office of Compliance and Inspection
RI DEM
235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
401-222-1360
david.chopy@dem.ri.gov
David Chopy is responsible for the daily operation of the RI Department of Environmental
Management (RIDEM) Office of Compliance and Inspection (OC&I). The OC&I has a staff of
twenty six, comprised of engineers, environmental scientists, air quality specialists, and
technical staff assistants. The OC&I is responsible for the regulatory enforcement activities
related to Air, Waste, and Water. The OC&I investigates complaints and suspected violations of
environmental laws and regulations relating to: surface water, ground water, freshwater
wetlands, onsite wastewater treatment systems, dams, solid waste, hazardous waste, medical
waste, visible emissions, odors, fugitive dust and exterior lead paint removal. In addition to
complaint response, the OC&I carries out compliance monitoring of regulated activities involving
hazardous waste generators, underground storage tanks, exterior lead paint removal and dams.
Brian Fitzgerald
Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
103 South Main St., Waterbury, VT 05671
(802) 241-3468 Brian.fitzgerald@state.vt.us
Brian Fitzgerald is an ecologist with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources in Waterbury,
Vermont, a position he has held since 1996. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology and
ecology from the State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and
Forestry. He coordinates the Vermont Dam Task Force, leads the state’s dam removal program
and regulates hydroelectric projects and other major water withdrawals.
Jim Gallagher, Chief Engineer
Dam Bureau
NH Dept. of Environmental Services
P.O. Box 95, 29 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03302
603-271-1961 James.Gallagher@des.nh.gov
Jim Gallagher is the Chief of the Dam Bureau of the New Hampshire Department of
Environmental Services. In this position he is responsible for ensuring the safety of nearly 3,200
active dams in the State of New Hampshire. He is also responsible for the design and
construction of repairs needed on 269 State-owned dams, as well as for their operation and
maintenance. Jim is a registered professional civil engineer with over 35 years of experience in
water resources and dam engineering. Jim graduated from Villanova University in 1974 with a
Bachelors of Engineering Degree in Civil Engineering, and he obtained a Masters in Public
Administration Degree in 1981 from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of
Government.
James G. MacBroom, P.E., Vice President
Milone & MacBroom, Inc.
99 Realty Drive, Cheshire, CT 06410
203-271-1773 jimm@miloneandmacbroom.com
Jim MacBroom is Vice President of Milone & MacBroom Inc, a Civil and Environmental
Engineering consulting firm located in Cheshire Connecticut, He has over 35 years of
experience in watershed management, open channel hydraulics, dam repair and removal, fish
passage, computer modeling, fluvial morphology, stream restoration, and tidal systems. Jim has
planned, designed, and inspected numerous river restoration and low head dam removal
projects including earth, timber crib, and concrete structures, with a special interest in sediment
management, channel evolution, and design of natural-like channels. Jim has also participated
in dam management projects, including inspecting and repairing unsafe or aging dams and
providing fish passage at dams with fish ladders, ramps, and by-pass channels. Jim is a
member of the ASCE Stream Restoration Committee, American Rivers Technical Advisory
Committee, and a speaker at the annual University of Wisconsin continuing education course on
dam removal. He earned BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of
Connecticut and is a registered Professional Engineer in five states He developed and teaches
graduate courses in River Processes & Restoration and Applied Hydrology at Yale University.
A. Catherine Marcinkevage, Ph.D. , Environmental Engineer
AECOM Environment
2 Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA 01886
978.589.3330 cathy.marcinkevage@aecom.com
Cathy Marcinkevage is an environmental engineer with AECOM Environment in Westford,
Massachusetts. She focuses on hydrodynamic and surface water quality modeling and stream
restoration work. She has experience in stream bioassessment, ecological modeling,
geomorphic assessment, and water quality evaluation. She has devised and executed multiple
stream sampling protocols for both fish and macroinvertebrates throughout the Midwest. Dr.
Marcinkevage has designed and developed a watershed-scale individual-based model of fish
movement focusing especially on issues of hydrologic connectivity and landscape-river
interactions. She is familiar with watershed analysis and ecosystem biogeochemistry as well as
environmental systems analysis, aquatic chemistry, and environmental site assessments. She
has graduate degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in New York.
Tim Purinton, Acting Director
Riverways Program - MA Department of Fish and Game
251 Causeway Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114
617- 626-1526
Tim.Purinton@state.ma.us
Tim Purinton is Acting Division Director for Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game,
Division of Ecological Restoration. Prior to being appointed the Acting Division Director, Tim was
Riverways Program Acting Director and Restoration Planner.
Tim oversees a division that coordinates multiple river restoration projects across the state
including over 20 active dam removal projects from the Berkshires to Buzzards Bay. The
Department of Fish and Game and partners were recently awarded a Coastal America
Partnership Award for the removal of two dams on a cold water stream in Western
Massachusetts.