Green Roof Brings New Life to City of Newark

Green Roof at 132 E. Delaware Ave.

Professional engineer Joe Charma, of Landmark Science & Engineering, is proud to be helping to bring new life to the City of Newark in the form of a green roof system, installed on a portion of the roof of the new mixed-use building currently under construction at 132 E. Delaware Avenue. GG+A is the construction manager that oversaw installation of the green roof shown in this photo.

The Landmark team designed this partial "extensive" green roof for this urban construction project, which primarily helps to address Stormwater Management and Water Quality standards.

Green roof systems offers natural function and beauty, while helping to reduce storm water runoff and the urban heat island effect. They also provide noise reduction, fire retardation, and habitat creation.

We applaud the owner for installing a green roof -- a good and "sustainable" thing to do. Owners of green roofs also benefit from cost efficiencies from roof life extension and energy conservation.

Amy Nazdrowicz registered in DE & MD as Recognized Qualified Bog Turtle Surveyor

Amy Nazdrowicz
Recognized Qualified Bog
Turtle Surveyor

New Castle, DE,  August 22, 2013  Amy Nazdrowicz, an Environmental Scientist  with Landmark Science & Engineering, has become registered as a “Recognized Qualified Bog Turtle Surveyor” in Delaware and Maryland, in accordance with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  She also performs surveys in Pennsylvania and New Jersey under the leadership of another surveyor.

The Bog Turtle is a small, wetland-inhabiting turtle that is federally listed as “threatened” through the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the State of Maryland, and is listed as “endangered” by the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Nazdrowicz earned a M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Delaware and a B.S. in Environmental Science and Forest Biology from S.U.N.Y.  Amy has 11 years of experience, over six with this firm, works in the New Castle office, specializing in wetland creation design and native plantings, monitoring of the plant, wildlife and hydrologic conditions of created wetlands, habitat assessments, and conducting rare, threatened and endangered (RTE) species studies, including Phase I and Phase II Bog Turtle Surveys.  She is accomplished and has been published in professional journals such as Biological Conservation and Restoration Ecology.

Unique planning challenges are presented by Bog Turtles because their secretive nature and seasonal activeness restricts the time of year that a Phase II Bog Turtle survey can be executed to just April 15 through June 15. A Phase I survey can be conducted at any time of year.

Mrs. Nazdrowicz is a volunteer for the Delaware Amphibian Monitoring Program and Delaware’s Adopt-A-Wetland, among other research and educator volunteer activities.

To view an Expert Article about Bog Turtle surveying by Amy Nazdrowicz in the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Journal, click here or copy and paste this URL:  digital.turn-page.com/i/124239/68‎

A Delaware First - The Nanticoke and Indian River Mitigation Bank

The 350-acre James Adkins Tract, previously a Loblolly Pine forest plantation in Sussex County, was purchased by Ecosystem Investment Partners (EIP) in an attempt to establish Delaware's first private wetland mitigation bank, and in 2010 LandmarkJCM conducted a wetland delineation to establish limits of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' jurisdiction.

Now in the final approval stage by the Corps of Engineers, you can contact EIP to discuss Nanticoke & Indian River Mitigation Bank credits available for reservation now and available for transfer in early 2012. The Bank will serve the wetland mitigation needs of Sussex County, Delaware in the Nanticoke and Indian River drainage basins. Mitigation credits generated by the Bank can be used for compensatory wetland mitigation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Take a look at the Mitigation Bank Map or visit EIP at http://www.nanticokebank.com/.

LandmarkJCM is pleased to assist EIP with the transformation of this former paper plantation into a diverse wetland intended for future banking needs.

PA Housing & Land Development Conference

Wednesday, Howard Fortunato presented the NGBS Land Certification program at the Annual Pennsylvania Land and Housing Conference.

Teaming up with client Conor Gilligan (Craftsmen Developers), Howard and Conor presented an explanation of the Certification program available thru the National Green Building Certification Program. The receptive audience of around 75 attendees was comprised of builders/developers, engineers, architects and code officials in Pennsylvania and Delaware. They learned about the program while other speakers addressed land development related topics such as stormwater and bmp’s in Pennsylvania.

The final day of the conference will address housing specific topics such as building science, universal design, flashing details and others.

Nationwide Permits Set to Expire...Are you Ready?

ARE YOU AWARE that ALL Nationwide Permits (NP’s) issued by the Army Corps of Engineers are set to expire on or around March 18, 2012? The expiration of all NP’s occurs every five (5) years so that the Army Corps can re-evaluate and revise their allowable minor impacts (Nationwide Permits), permit language, and permit regional conditions.
DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE a valid Nationwide Permit for impacts proposed on a property?
IF YOU HAVE BEGUN THE WORK involved with the impacts, or if you have the impacts under contract, signed by March 18, 2012, then you will have 12 months to conduct the work. (In other words, you will be “grandfathered” out of the immediate expiration of Nationwide Permits and you will have until March 18, 2013 to conduct the permitted activities).
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE PERMITTED ACTIVITY BEGUN or under contract to be conducted by March 18, 2012, your permit will be considered expired by the Army Corps and we will have to re-apply for a new permit.
THUS, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO GET THE WORK TO BE CONDUCTED UNDER CONTRACT, please make sure that you have some sort of written proof in your files that you have a contract (that is dated prior to March 18, 2012) in case the Army Corps follows up with you or your wetlands consultant.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO OBTAIN A CONTRACT by March, 18 2012, we can discuss with you your options of re-applying for your permit after the new Nationwide Permits are revised and released.

This does not affect the validity of your state permit from DNREC, if you have one.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have and I'll be happy to assist.

Amy Nazdrowicz Environmental Scientist
(302) 323-9377
amyn@landmarkjcm.com

We've Moved! Visit our new Dover and Georgetown Offices

Can't find us at our old office at 29 S. State Street in Dover where we've been in for over 15 years? Well, you won't have to go too far to find us! From the old office, drive 1.1 miles south on S. State Street, and we are on the righthand side at:

880 S. State Street, Dover, DE 19901

We also moved our Georgetown office from 418 N. Bedford Street a short distance into the center of town. We are now located in a suite of offices in the Tunnell & Raysor, P.A. law office building located at the corner of E.Pine Street and S. Race Street, near The Circle.

30 East Pine Street, Suite 1, Georgetown DE 19947

We look forward to visiting with you in our new offices. Please stop by and see us!

Public Servants Among Us At LandmarkJCM

We're proud of Solomon McCloskey and Bob Stronsky for giving back their time and talents to help the communities in which they live to grow and prosper!

Robert "Bob" Stronsky, a Senior Designer working from LandmarkJCM's new Dover and Georgetown offices, has been appointed by the Town of Felton to serve as a Planning and Zoning Commissioner. Bob, who has worked for LandmarkJCM for the past six years, has 26 years of experience in civil/site design and is excited about the opportunty to serve the town where he and his wife, Bonnie, have lived for the past six years. Many of Bob's project have been in the Sussex County area.

J. Solomon McCloskey, a professional civil engineer in our new Dover office, has been been named to served as a Director for the Smyrna Public Library Guild, a non-profit, charitable, all-volunteer organization dedicated to bringing the new Duck Creek Regional Library to citizens of Smyrna, Clayton, Kenton, Leipsic and Cheswold. Solomon has worked for LandmarkJCM for six of his eight years in civil/site design. He and his wife, Lindsey, live in the Town of Smyrna. Many of Solomon's project have been in the Kent and Sussex Counties.