Awards

Congratulations to LafargeHolcim.

Posted October 12, 2020

Holly Hill canal

Portland Cement Association (PCA) is the premier policy, research, education, and market intelligence organization serving America’s cement manufacturers. PCA members represent 91 percent of U.S. cement production capacity with facilities in all 50 states. PCA promotes safety, sustainability, and innovation in all aspects of construction, fosters continuous improvement in cement manufacturing and distribution, and generally promotes economic growth and sound infrastructure investment.

PCA recently announced their 2020 Energy and Environment Awards. The awards recognize plants across the U.S. for outstanding environmental and community relations efforts. The 2020 awards are evaluated for environmental efforts completed in 2019.

LafargeHolcim, a SynTerra client since 1997, received the Land Stewardship Award for work at its Holly Hill plant in South Carolina. To address safety, economic, and environmental concerns, the plant relocated a diversion canal to a stream that is ecologically beneficial and like its original path. This path was changed prior to LafargeHolcim’s ownership. The diversion canal lacked natural stream features such as floodplains, depth, and width changes. In the case of collapse or structural failure, the canal could endanger employees and the plant, flood, or cause environmental damage.

LafargeHolcim engaged SynTerra to conduct a multi-year, expansive project of diverting the existing canal. The new stream features many improvements including a woodland buffer, a new channel route, enhanced natural habitat, and increased safety. The project required more than a decade in design, permitting, and construction effort. SynTerra assisted with required regulatory approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.

SynTerra on job site.

Congratulations to LafargeHolcim and the Holly Hill plant for their continued success. SynTerra is happy to be a longtime partner and help them meet their environmental and engineering goals.

For more information on the PCA awards visit, https://www.cement.org/awards/2020-energy-and-environment-award-winners.

Kathy Webb, P.G.

Senior Market Leader | Principal

Kathy Webb, who co-founded SynTerra (then known as The Fletcher Group) in 1992, has completed remedial investigations and regulatory compliance projects associated with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities, state and federal Superfund sites, solid waste landfills, brownfield redevelopment, utility coal combustion residual (CCR) management units, and regulated industrial facilities. She has supported litigation as an expert witness related to chlorinated solvents, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Kathy is known for her practical assessment strategy with the perspective of the client’s business objectives. She routinely evaluates groundwater corrective action systems for effectiveness and progress toward achieving compliance objectives. She has co-authored a trade journal paper with case studies of low-impact remedial strategies. Kathy is a licensed Professional Geologist in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Mark Taylor, P.G.

Principal

Mark has worked more than 40 years in natural-resource based industries. His expertise includes mine geology and mine engineering, hydrogeologic and geotechnical investigations, solid and hazardous waste management, and regulatory negotiations. He has published peer-reviewed papers about coal geology, ore geochemistry, mineralogy, and solid waste management. He is a leading expert in mining and environmental permitting for litigation support.

Mark is licensed as a Professional Geologist in South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Washington. He serves on the boards of the Upstate Red Cross and Upstate Forever. He served on the South Carolina Board of Registration for Geologists for six years. Mark holds a Master’s degree in Geological Sciences from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Science from Harvard University.

Andrea Kehn, P.E.

Vice President of Engineering | Principal

Andrea Kehn, leader of our Civil & Environmental Engineering Business Unit, has 28 years of experience in chemical manufacturing and environmental consulting. She leads and supervises staff professionals on multidisciplinary projects for a variety of industrial clients. Andrea’s vast experience and expertise includes: air quality construction and operating permitting; air quality modeling; air permit record-keeping and reporting; Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP); NPDES permitting; water quality modeling; process safety management; risk management compliance and auditing; and RCRA compliance.

Andrea is registered as a Professional Engineer in South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Ruth Albright, P.E.

Vice President | Principal

Ruth has led projects for major industrial facilities throughout the Southeast and beyond. She built her knowledge of environmental regulations and their application to manufacturing operations while working for the second largest chemical manufacturing company in the United States. At SynTerra, she has expanded both her knowledge and reputation working for chemical manufacturing operations of all sizes. She has also worked extensively with other manufacturing operations, including pulp and paper, industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals, food, and automotive parts and assembly. Her experience includes air and wastewater permit compliance, solid and hazardous waste management, solid waste construction permitting, hazardous materials transportation, wastewater treatment systems, air pollution control equipment operations and maintenance, and ambient air monitoring systems.

Ruth is a professional engineer registered in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Michigan, Arkansas, and Kentucky. She is an active member of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Environmental Technical Committee and serves as the chair of the water subcommittee. She has previously served as the program and committee chair for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce Environmental Affairs committee. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University.