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.

Old to new

News & Events

From coal power to solar power.

By Steve Gardner P.E., SME-RM (Posted November 4, 2020)

Active mountaintop mine site.

I’m a long-time advocate for mining and its importance to society. After all, coal mining helps provide us with many of the raw materials we use in our everyday lives. Coal is used to produce steel, chemicals, and more. It may also prove to be a future source for the rare earth elements that are necessary for the manufacture of high-tech electronics and solar panels

Equally as important, coal has helped fuel our society for decades. Today, coal still plays a vital part in energy generation in the United States, especially Appalachia, and around the world. But we are in a state of energy transition.

Thanks to advances in technology, once mining is complete, mountaintop mine sites offer a valuable byproduct: land that can be converted to solar farms. In my professional engineering opinion, these reclaimed mountaintop mine sites offer some of the best potential locations for large-scale solar facilities. Many mountaintop mine sites are now plateaus, a good landscape for locating solar farms. These solar farms also help support economic development in coal-mining areas.

Not all sites can be adaptable though. There are many factors to consider, like geotechnical, environmental, drainage, vegetation interfaces, and more. Many sites are located where there is already a grid infrastructure because mining was a large consumer of electricity.

Several industrial parks throughout Appalachia could use the boost that an associated solar development could give by attracting companies that want to use alternative energy as part of their overall carbon-reduction strategy.

With a background in Agricultural Engineering, Mining Engineering, and Environmental Systems, I know a little about the earth and stewardship of the environment. I’ve spent much of my career searching for better ways to mine and farm the earth in more responsible ways.

What better use for a reclaimed mountaintop than energy generation? So, I say let’s use this byproduct of the resource that has fueled the country in the past to help fuel the economic development of Eastern Kentucky in the future.

SynTerra has the experts and capabilities to assist with solar energy, surveying, and more. Check out the below drone footage of a mountaintop in Appalachia, by one of SynTerra’s FAA Licensed Drone Pilots, Gabe Shepherd. For more information on how we can partner with your business, please contact Steve Gardner.