SynTerra advocacy

SynTerra’s Gardner and Prater support Harlan County updates and renovations.

Posted June 25, 2021

Karen Roberts Prater (right) and Steve Gardner of SynTerra presented to the Harlan County Tourism Commission recently. Attendees included commission member Lucille Sturgill (left) and Deputy County Judge/Court Executive Colby Goss (center).

Vice President Steve Gardner and Project Administrator Karen Roberts Prater of SynTerra recently presented at three events in Harlan County, Kentucky, regarding the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Pilot Grant Project. The grant funds updates and renovations to the Portal 31 Exhibition Coal Mine, the Lynch Bath House historical restoration, and the Black Mountain High Point Tower Site. The AML Pilot Grant Program was born as a proof of concept for the RECLAIM act, with its focus on community development and economic growth with correlations to historic, AML-eligible mine sites.

The Harlan County Fiscal Court was awarded the $2.55 million grant in 2018. The primary purposes of the project is to upgrade electronics in the Portal 31 Exhibition Coal Mine attraction, restore the historic miners’ bath house, and develop the observation platform at Black Mountain, the highest point of elevation in Kentucky.

The Portal 31 project was launched in 1996 when Gardner began work on transferring the property from Arch Coal to the county. Dr. Bruce Ayers, then President of Southeast Community College in nearby Cumberland, had been working on the concept of an exhibition mine since 1977. Ayers worked tirelessly to obtain the original funding for opening such an attraction. Gardner led the design and construction management team, with Portal 31 opening to the public in 2009. In 2010, the project won an American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Grand Conceptor Award for engineering design.

Gardner and Prater have spoken at the Harlan County Tourism Monthly Meeting, the Harlan County Fiscal Court Meeting, and a special public meeting held in Lynch at the historic Railroad Depot located near the Portal 31 Exhibition Coal Mine.

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.