Contact Karen Townsend
Ms. Townsend has 21 years of experience providing civil and environmental engineering services to industrial, municipal, and government clients. She provides stormwater monitoring, permitting, pollution prevention planning and compliance assistance; stormwater treatment system design; oil pollution prevention compliance services; environmental permitting; and environmental compliance audit services to many clients. She also develops pollution prevention plans for oil storage facilities; prepares Integrated Contingency Plans and water system emergency response plans; performs oil storage tank system design and audits; and develops sampling and analysis plans for soils, sediments and wastes.
Why I Do What I Do
"As an environmental consultant and engineer, I work with a fascinating range of clients, from industrial, to municipal, military, and academic institutions. I learn about the unique environmental challenges they face and help find workable solutions. It is also exciting and fun to work with and coordinate a team, especially out in the field conducting data gathering efforts. The best projects are the ones where we are challenged to find a solution to a new problem or an old problem with a new twist."
Why I Work at Woodard & Curran
"I enjoy solving problems. When looking for solutions to my clients’ problems, I look for ways to improve upon their existing systems or to develop tools that help them achieve their goals. Woodard & Curran is a company that promotes continuous improvement efforts that have a positive impact on how we deliver our services, as well as our internal practices. On a project level, this could be a project team collaborating to develop a customized electronic tool for efficient data gathering in the field. On an internal systems level, it could be a task force working to streamline our QA/QC review process. I feel my problem-solving skills and interests in continuous improvement are valued here; that’s very satisfying to me."
Project Highlights
Wastewater Survey
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME
In order to identify all wastewater discharges and determine compliance with NPDES and local permits, the Shipyard hired Woodard & Curran to conduct a wastewater survey. Our team of specialists inspected over 50 buildings, housing a fascinating range of activities. Using handheld PDAs, information was collected in a format that could be integrated with the Shipyard’s GIS. The survey identified all the areas where chemical or oil spills could potentially reach sanitary and storm sewer systems. Armed with this information, the Shipyard is in an excellent position to maintain compliance and prevent accidents before they happen.
Petroleum Storage Tank Management Program
Federal Facilities Throughout New England
As part of its management program for petroleum storage tanks and potable water storage tanks, our client hired Woodard & Curran to evaluate the tanks and provide related engineering services at nine locations throughout New England. We conducted evaluations of the tanks to determine the appropriate testing procedures and standards for each tank, developed bid documents and solicited quotes from testing contractors, coordinated the field work of the selected firm, reviewed the results, and prepared a summary report for each location, which included recommendations for addressing issues and estimated costs for corrective actions.
Chemical and Oil Spill Prevention
Confidential Pulp and Paper Mill, ME
Under a state Administrative Consent Order, our client hired Woodard & Curran to perform a comprehensive spill contaminant evaluation of its entire mill site. We identified 71 areas at the mill where spills could potentially occur from storage, handling or use of raw materials, chemicals and oils; pulp and papermaking process tanks; and waste storage. We inspected the areas that represented a risk and developed recommendations to minimize the potential for accidental spills and releases and to keep the plant in compliance with applicable rules.