Environmental Services

From concept to closure, we work with our clients to better integrate projects with the biophysical environment. We guide engineering projects through regulatory frameworks and help incorporate environmental management into our projects for responsible and sustainable development of our cities, resources, and infrastructure. Our teams have worked on hundreds of environmental projects worldwide, including some key infrastructure and resource development projects.

Our environmental teams include specialists in hydrogeology; geochemistry; surface water quality; aquatic habitat and fisheries; terrestrial ecology; and soil science and geomorphology. When and where practical, we team up with local environmental consultants and manage teams that are most suited to complete the work for our clients with consideration and understanding of the communities and natural environment in which our clients work. When possible, KCB partners with Indigenous-owned companies and consults with Indigenous communities to provide services that enhance local participation in major projects.

Collaborative Approach

While there are many engineering firms and companies providing environmental services across North America, what sets us apart is our collaborative approach. Klohn Crippen Berger (KCB) has a proven track record for the provision of solutions through internal, engineer-scientist interactions. On many fronts, we have tapped into KCB’s highly reputable engineering services and added experienced, skilled scientific staff who have diverse expertise in regulatory support and permitting services.

Constant interaction between engineers, designers, and environmental scientists is initiated when our clients bring us their project vision. The assessment of designs within a regulatory and ecological context can begin very early in the design process so that final designs are readily approved for construction. The early identification of potential impediments to successful project development can provide key information required for accurate project financial and logistic planning.

The KCB collaborative approach is successful because the adjustment of designs under the consideration of regulatory and ecological constraints throughout the design process leads to successful and timely approvals. In addition, whether a project is to be built on a brownfield or a greenfield, KCB has the scientists in-house to support a project through environmental review and permitting processes.

Biophysical Capabilities

Our scientists and managers from the fields of terrain and stability, soil sciences, surface and groundwater, fisheries and aquatics, vegetation and wetlands, and wildlife bring their expertise and experience in environmental assessment scoping, baseline study design, effects recognition, and mitigation strategy development. Our scientists know the regulations, know when those regulations are applicable and can develop the roadmap to compliance to obtain approvals for our private, public, and Indigenous clients.

KCB has developed strong relationships with sub-consulting firms that provide historical resource assessments, Indigenous Peoples Consultation, air quality and noise monitoring, and socio-economic assessments. The KCB process has the goal of informing all stakeholders of project benefits and potential environmental and socio-economic effects. It is our intent to develop trust through the demonstration of transparency from conceptual design to project closure.

KCB scientists can:

  • Assess aquatic habitat and fisheries
  • Conduct studies on wildlife species at risk and their habitat
  • Conduct migratory bird surveys and pre-disturbance sweeps
  • Conduct pre-disturbance surveys and assessments for soil and landforms, rare plants and rare plant communities, and wetlands
  • Collect and analyse for water quality assessments
  • Develop habitat compensation models
Geoscience Services

We offer both practical and technical approaches to the assessment of geosciences projects. These services include conceptual to detailed design studies, field investigations, data management and organization, and a variety of technical assessments including water supply and environmental monitoring. We have in-house specialist scientists and modellers experienced in 2D and 3D groundwater flow, unsaturated flow, and geochemical modelling.

KCB scientists can:

  • Measure and assess hydrogeology and groundwater quantity and quality
  • Conduct geochemistry studies
  • Develop model to study pre-disturbance flows and assess potential project effects
  • Provide field and data management services
Environmental Assessments, Regulatory Approvals, Environmental Management, and Monitoring

Environmental assessments and permitting require the study of current biophysical conditions of a proposed development site, the determination of how the proposed project will affect the environment, and the development of mitigation strategies to reduce or remove potentially adverse effects. Approved and or permitted projects come with conditions that are to be met during the construction, operation, and decommissioning of projects. Environmental management plans such as environmental protection plans, erosion and sediment control plans, and wildlife management plans can be developed to help track and monitor approval conditions.

Compliance monitoring occurs during all phases of a project’s life span from implementation to post-reclamation. Compliance monitoring is the real-time effort that determines if approval or permit conditions are being met, and or whether strategies of environmental management plans are being followed. Environmental monitoring can also be used to determine if conditions have been met at closure and post-reclamation.

KCB scientists can:

  • Provide government agency and community liaison services
  • Conduct ecological and regulatory constraints analyses
  • Design and conduct baseline studies
  • Manage and write multidiscipline environmental impact assessments
  • Obtain regulatory approvals
  • Manage permitting applications and permit acquisitions
  • Environmental management planning and audits
  • Provide construction monitoring and management
  • Write environmental management and protection plans
  • Conduct environmental risk assessments
  • Develop and implement environmental impact mitigation strategies
Reclamation and Remediation

We understand the balance among client, community, safety, and environmental objectives for end land use. Our compliance and closure teams have worked to develop cost-effective strategies to keep clients in compliance with ever-changing regulatory requirements and to implement remediation and reclamation strategies.

KCB scientists can:

  • Conduct Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental site assessments
  • Develop conceptual site models
  • Design in-situ and ex-situ soil and groundwater remediation strategies
  • Develop reclamation plans
  • Develop re-vegetation and habitat restoration plans