Each lake is unique and varies in size, depth, clarity, etc.  As a result, these dynamic systems are a challenge to understand, yet alone manage.  Our inland lakes are living, complex ecosystems that:

– Change over time and from season to season – i.e. natural seasonal life cycles of lakes or warmer, dryer seasons

– Can be entirely effected by one variable – i.e. invasive species or nutrient loading

– Each respond differently – i.e. effectiveness among management techniques

As we have seen greater fluctuations in seasonal variability, new invasive species, and increased human activity on our lakes, is your association prepared to adapt to these changes?   Soon most lake associations will begin meeting again in preparation for this upcoming summer, so it’s important to build an adaptable seasonal plan while still maintaining sight of your long-term goals. EnviroScience’s Lake Management Division can assist you in coming up with a plan that works for your lake’s management needs, now and in the future.

CUYAHOGA FALLS: Work on demolishing two dams on the Cuyahoga River to restore the river’s health will likely get under way in mid-June.

Julie Bingham, a restoration biologist with Stow-based EnviroScience, laid out the plans Wednesday to 75 people at a public meeting organized by the city of Cuyahoga Falls to update the community about the nearly $1 million project.

The meeting, held at Cuyahoga Falls Library, was designed for the project team, RiverWorks, the city and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to answer questions from residents, said Valerie Wax Carr, the city service director.

Work on the Sheraton Dam is scheduled to begin on June 17 and likely run through June 30, Bingham said.

The work will be done from a floating barge with a track hoe with a hammer attachment, she said. It will be floated in the river above the dam near Broad Boulevard.

The equipment will enable the demolition company to break up and remove one foot of the dam at a time before attacking the next one-foot layer. The dam is 50 feet wide and 9.8 feet high.

The old power house next to the dam will remain on the Sheraton Suites property and the owners want to keep it intact, she said.

The debris from that dam will be placed behind a 6-foot-high wall on the hotel side of the river above the dam. It will be landscaped to look rocky and natural.

The reflecting wall on the hotel side of the river will also be used to keep water in the reduced stream away from the power house.

Once that work is completed, the focus will shift to the LaFever Dam north of Portage Trail and behind the old Samira restaurant. This dam is about 100 feet wide and 11.1 feet high.

Its removal is scheduled from July 1 to 19, although the plans are dependent on weather and the river’s flow, Bingham said.

No barge will be used there, and the debris will be placed behind a concrete wall on the restaurant side of the river.

Just a few small waterfalls are likely to be uncovered in the pools behind the two dams, she said.

What will emerge is a narrower stream, officials said.

RiverWorks will work with the city to identify areas that may need bank stabilization after the dams are removed and the dam pools drained, Bingham said.

The removal of the two dams was first proposed five years ago by the Ohio EPA, said Mayor Don Robart.

The city is looking at the possibility of whitewater rafting and kayak trips being offered on the Cuyahoga River.

The project in December won approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Ohio EPA also gave its blessing.

Dams were removed from the Cuyahoga River in Kent in 2004 and lowered in Munroe Falls in 2005 to 2006 to boost water quality.

The money to remove the two dams came from the Ohio EPA through the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District in Cuyahoga County.

Cuyahoga Falls will host a second meeting on the dam removals at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at the library, 2015 Third St.

By Bob Downing
Akron Beacon Journal staff writer

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.

STOW, OHIO.  EnviroScience, Inc. (ES) is unveiling a new logo in 2013 to complement a number of exciting recent and upcoming changes to our 23 year old company.  The new simple graphic in the logo represents ES’s expertise in land and water environments, and the company’s focus on the interaction of those elements.

EnviroScience provides specialized environmental and related services both in the laboratory and in the field.  The new tag line Excellence in Any Environment underscores the company’s commitment to providing the highest level of expertise and accuracy possible in all of our service areas. Our major areas of emphasis include:

• Ecological surveys including stream/wetland permitting,
• Endangered species surveys and documentation,
• Commercial diving and marine services,
• Ecological restoration,
• Emergency response to environmental disasters,
• Lake management,
• Bioassay services, and
• HAZMAT consulting services.

2012 was an exciting year for ES, with the award of our largest EPA contract to date to support the National Aquatic Resource Survey (NARS) program, the addition of the new Nashville, TN office, and the addition of key new staff in the HAZMAT emergency response service area.  2013 promises to be even more exciting as ES plans to move into a new, larger facility on a 22-acre campus in the upcoming months to accommodate EnviroScience’s continued growth. More details to come!

During the week of November 12, 2012, CSX Transportation invited consultants and a variety of CSX staff members from throughout their system to attend the inaugural Hazardous Material Sentinel Training at the CSX REDI Center in Atlanta, Georgia.  Three members of the EnviroScience Emergency Response Team were invited to attend a thorough training course to prepare attendees for responses to railroad hazardous material incidents.  Course material included tank car construction, hazardous material chemistry, response health and safety, incident management structure, and hands on response techniques such as plugging and patching, tank car transfers, and grounding and bonding.

The course participants received the opportunity to demonstrate their response skills in the CSXT HazMat Olympics.  The EnviroScience led team exceled in the hands-on competition that included plugging a leaking fuel tank, donning Level A personal protective equipment, and applying chlorine and Midland kits to leaking tank car valves.  The course culminated in a late night mock derailment.  The EnviroScience team demonstrated their response skills by conducting real-time transfers, flaring, and tank car repair.

Czayka, Willaman, & Woodlee at the CSX Training

EnviroScience Opens Nashville Office and Expands Capabilities into Hazardous Materials and Ecological Damage Assessments

NASHVILLE, TN (August 30, 2012) – EnviroScience, Inc. has opened a Nashville, Tennessee office and has hired local employees with extensive chemistry and toxicology backgrounds.  The new office will bring additional capabilities of ecological damage assessments and HAZMAT cleanup solutions to the business.  In addition, the office is expected to greatly expand EnviroScience’s key business area of biological monitoring throughout the Southern U.S.

“We’re very excited about the growth opportunities these experienced employees bring to our company’s capabilities,” said Martin A. Hilovsky, President of EnviroScience, Inc. “Our new employees have an extensive amount of valuable experience in environmental chemistry and HAZMAT management. With our new Nashville office, we’re able to expand our capabilities in ecological response and extend our reach to the Southern U.S.”

An extensive knowledge in industrial accident cleanups enables the Nashville group to quickly identify spilled or released chemicals in the environment, quantify and dispose of spills, and determine the toxicity effect on the environment.

The Nashville office also implements ecological damage assessments, by reviewing historical environmental data. They can then identify the level of toxicity biologically and chemically determine the company of origin.

Randall Woodlee joins the company as the Field Analytical Chemist and holds over 20 years of valuable experience and extensive knowledge of field work. Roger Street has been brought in as Biologist and Aquatic Toxicologist, with more than 10 years of experience in the environmental sciences and compliance assistance. These new positions expand EnviroScience’s capabilities in the areas of HAZMAT cleanup solutions and ecological damage assessments.

“During an industrial fire involving hazardous chemicals, those chemicals may survive the fire but frequently the containers and labels don’t,” said Randall Woodlee. “Being able to quickly identify the type of chemicals and the quantity of the spill is imperative in containing the damage.”

Biologist David Czayka has been promoted from the Stow, Ohio headquarters to manage the Nashville office. Czayka has been an employee of EnviroScience for eight years and has previously worked alongside Woodlee and Street on several of the nation’s worst environmental incidents. Czayka’s knowledge of the company’s key services and personnel, as well as his strong ecological background will help springboard EnviroScience’s services into the South.

Ohio was the first state to implement biological criteria for water quality standards, a process that looks at the types and assemblages of organisms present in a given environment, such as fish and insects to determine water quality. EnviroScience has 20 years experience working with Ohio water standards and is poised to lead the country as other states and the Federal government adopts the standards.

The expansion of capabilities will also help support a five-year $37 million EPA contract awarded to EnviroScience this past March.

The Nashville office is located at 1722 General George Patton Drive, Suite B100, Brentwood, Tennessee.

For more than 20 years, EnviroScience, Inc. has provided ecological services, aquatic environment studies, commercial diving, and lake management solutions throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Recognized for excellence in marine services, ecological restoration and biomonitoring, EnviroScience, Inc. provides technology, recommendations and solutions to meet environmental needs. Recognized with numerous honors, the award-winning company was selected as one of the fastest growing businesses and top places to work in Northeast Ohio for the past two years. For more information, visit their website at www.EnviroScienceInc.com or call 800-940-4025.

EnviroScience, Inc. Awarded Five-Year $37.3 Million EPA Contract for National Aquatic Resource Surveys

STOW, Ohio, March 26, 2012 — EnviroScience, Inc. has been selected as a prime contractor for a five-year $37.3 million contract with the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) program.

“The expertise of our biologists, lab specialists and fishery scientists makes us a natural fit for the EPA’s requirements of gauging the health of the nation’s water,” said Martin A. Hilovsky, President of EnviroScience, Inc. “It’s exciting to be selected for this contract. We expect to add at least eight new employees to our staff of fifty.”

The NARS program provides statistical surveys by working with state, tribal and other federal agency partners of over 1,500 randomly selected lakes, rivers, streams, coastal waterways and wetlands around the country. Each year the NARS program focuses on different waterbody types and tasks.

EnviroScience will ensure that the proper monitoring designs, indicators and methods allow the EPA to combine the information from all over the country to effectively answer questions about the quality of the nation’s waters.  The company will be monitoring and assessing the condition of water across the U.S. over a five year period by designing tests, gathering field samples, measuring lab results and reporting data.

Because EnviroScience has been awarded the contract as a prime contractor, they will be bidding on various task orders each year. To aid them with completing all the governmental task orders, EnviroScience is teaming with Great Lakes Environmental Center (GLEC) from Traverse City, Michigan. EnviroScience’s well documented experience with lake management, environmental field testing, biomonitoring and quality control combines well with the GLEC’s prior experience with EPA and the NARS program. As a result, EnviroScience expects to successfully win a large number of the tasks that will be awarded as part of the $37.3 million contract. In addition to the  EnviroScience/GLEC team, a Herndon, Virginia company has also been selected as a potential contractor on the EPA award contract.

For more than 20 years, EnviroScience, Inc. has provided ecological services, aquatic environment studies, and lake management solutions throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Recognized for excellence in marine services, ecological restoration and biomonitoring fresh water, EnviroScience, Inc. provides technology, recommendations and solutions to meet environmental needs.  For more information, visit their website at www.EnviroScienceInc.com or call 800-940-4025.

EnviroScience presented 2011 CSXT HAZMAT Special Recognition Award

CSX Transportation’s Hazardous Material Systems group presented EnviroScience with their Special Recognition Award for 2011 at CSX’s Public Safety and Environment Conference in Atlanta, GA.  The award recognizes EnviroScience’s technical leadership, responsiveness, and continued commitment to safety during emergency response activities.  EnviroScience provides specialized technical services to CSX during emergencies and non-emergencies alike, particularly when sensitive natural resources may be at issue.  The 2011 award follows Special Recognition and Performance Quality Awards presented to EnviroScience in 2010.

EnviroScience Receives The 2011 CSX Special Recognition  Award

Council of Small Enterprises (COSE) Announces EnviroScience, Inc. as Top Weatherhead 100 Company
CLEVELAND, OHIO – EnviroScience, Inc. of Stow, Ohio, has been named one of Northeast Ohio’s fastest growing companies
and is the recipient of the 2011 Weatherhead 100 award. EnviroScience is a nationally recognized ecological consulting firm that has experienced significant sales growth over the past five years.

“We are honored to have been recognized by COSE and the Weatherhead School of Management for the second time for our company growth,” said Martin Hilovsky, president of EnviroScience, Inc. “We continue to operate with a philosophy that our team is our greatest asset and vehicle to growth. We encourage and recognize winning ideas and promote and reward those people that make it happen.”

EnviroScience provides ecological monitoring, lake management and eco-friendly solutions to the overgrowth of intrusive plants and insects. They also offer emergency response divers, toxicology reporting on wetlands and waterways and ecological restoration plans. The company has grown significantly over the past five years.
“Our entire staff of scientists, commercial divers, technicians and office personnel is the driving force behind our growth and success,” said Hilovsky. “They truly understand the needs of the companies and communities we serve and provide creative solutions for continued ecological improvements.”
EnviroScience ranked 44 in the top 100 companies in 2011, increasing their rank from the 64th place in 2010. EnviroScience was also awarded the Top Place to Work Award last summer by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Top Place to Work Award recognized EnviroScience as the 6th top ranked place to work in Northeast Ohio.

The Weatherhead 100 award recipients are determined by a percentage of sales growth based on having a minimum of $100,000 of sales in 2006 and an excess of one million in sales by 2010. Additionally, winning companies must have employed a minimum of 16 full-time employees in 2010.  EnviroScience and the other 99 winning companies were honored by the COSE at a black tie gala in Cleveland in early December.

For more than 20 years, EnviroScience, Inc. has provided ecological services, aquatic environment studies, and lake management solutions throughout the US and Canada.  Recognized for excellence in marine services, ecological restoration and biomonitoring fresh water, EnviroScience, Inc. provides technology, recommendations and solutions to meet a wide range or variety of environmental needs. For more information about, visit their website at www.enviroscienceinc.com or call 800-940-4025.

EnviroScience, Inc. receives 2011 Weatherhead 100 Award in Cleveland on December 5, 2011. From left, Gregory F. Zimmerman, Vice President, Daniel G. Dunstan, Chief Executive Officer, Cathy Gore, Administrative Director, James Krejsa, Executive Vice President. Not pictured: Martin A. Hilovsky, President.

EnviroScience has been nominated in the 2012 Akron Beacon Journal’s Best Environmentally Green Business. Vote early and vote often! Between now and August 31, 2012 you can vote once per day for ES as one of the Best Professional Services – Environmentally Green Businesses. Click on Akron Beacon Journal’s Best to vote!

One of the many goals of EnviroScience stream and wetland restoration projects is to provide a foundation for ecological recovery and habitat enhancement. Here mink was observed swimming and running through the project area at Laurel Creek, a tributary to Tinkers Creek in Twinsburg, Ohio located within the Cuyahoga River watershed. This project was a stream and wetland restoration completed in 2011 by RiverWorks, an Akron based partnership for stream and wetland restoration consisting of EnviroScience, Inc., GPD Group, and RiverReach Construction.