Project Experience:

Utilities

• Represents Black Hills Energy’s distribution team in day to day easement acquisitions and permitting utility and County, DoT, and FHwA crossings.

• Fast track acquisition of additional right of way over historic electric transmission corridor from Pueblo to Canon City, Colorado. 24 miles of right of way in hand in ninety days.

• Acquired transmission easements, substation sites and county, municipal and environmental permits for contentious 55-mile Southern Colorado Reliability Project.

• Acquired land rights for thousands of miles transmission and distribution right of way in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska,  

• Sited gas compressor site, Woodland Park, later, successfully defended work against unsuccessful legal effort to revoke permit and remove facility.

• Successfully sited natural gas facilities, (compressors, regulators, pipelines)

• Represented Public Service Company of Colorado on 30 mile 230kV uprate:  acquisition of temporary construction easements, settlement of crop and surface damages, and landowner liaison.

• Federal Agency and Department of Defense permitting of utility facilities.

• Sited, permitted and acquired sites for electric substations in both urban and rural areas.  Effort includes title examination; public hearings; environmental clearances; negotiations with high level government officers; and fee and easement acquisitions from adjoining private property owners. 

Telecommunications

• Fiber build San Diego to Yuma: Permitted construction of 125-mile underground fiber optic system through San Diego County, the number one county in the U.S. for threatened and endangered species.

• Cable Removal Project, Kansas, (440 Miles): Responsible for environmental permitting and compliance for two-year lead wrapped cable removal project in Colorado and Kansas that involved numerous stream and wetlands crossings, impacts to threatened and endangered species and cultural sites, and stormwater and siltation management issues.

Renewables

• Acquired wind farms and transmission corridors in Kansas and Colorado

Environmental, Siting, Title Research and Analysis

• Researched and examined title, reviewed obstructions and recommended corrective actions for 65 parcels in and around Lake Pueblo State Park. Effort included review of original Department of Interior grants to railroads on either side of the Arkansas River in Colorado.

• Access permitting for environmental surveys over expanding high pressure gas line corridor in eastern Nebraska.

• Wrote corridor studies along Interstate 25 for powerline projects for local rural electric authority. Effort requires extensive coordination with various government agencies, other utilities and CDOT.

• Denver Union Station revitalization: responsible for socio-economic, environmental justice, land-use sections of environmental documents for City of Denver passenger rail station.

• FAA Obstruction Evaluations completed on numerous structures near flight paths on military, civilian, and private air facilities.

• 230 kV line in metro Denver: perfected title on three mile right of way for new urban overhead powerline including identifying and mapping numerous hazardous waste sites and obstructions.

Transportation

• Las Vegas Northwest Beltway: Negotiated, wrote, and implemented Las Vegas Regional Transportation Commission Right of Way plan for 45-mile Northwest Beltway, a joint development project. Effort required achieving consensus among seven competing public agencies.

• E-470 Public Highway, Colorado: Responsible for ensuring donation of 75% of needed land to meet bank financing requirements.

• Light Rail corridors, Denver: Acquired $13.8 million of rail corridors for future transit use; satisfied the “innocent landowner” defense based on due diligence work.

Public Presentations

• Successfully appeared before City, County, State Boards in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, California to gain permits, public acquisitions, licenses for utility corridors, substations, telecom franchises.

• Open House and Community Relations work throughout Colorado in support of renewable and traditional utility projects.

Uniform Act Experience

• Acquired sites for parks and trailheads for City of Aurora. Uniform Act compliant negotiations. Effort involved significant public interaction.

• North I-25 HOV Project, Denver: Assisted in negotiating and developing environmental compliance policies on 25 mile construction project. Ensured agency compliance with government Acquisition and Relocation Acts and compliance with environmental and real property sections of DOT Program Management Plan.

• Relocated residential and business clients along CDOT US 85 widening project.

CLIENTS:

• Black Hills Energy, gas and electric lines and substations.

• Invenergy, Windparks and transmission lines.

• Clipper Windpower, Windpark and transmission lines.

• Colorado State Parks – title work and due diligence studies around Lake Pueblo and Barr Lake State Parks.

• City of Aurora, Colorado, Uniform Act compliant negotiations and acquisitions.

• Pinyon Environmental Engineering, Lakewood, Colorado - environmental corridor studies.

• AT&T, 440-mile Hardened Cable Removal, Colorado and Kansas.

• Public Service Company of Colorado, gas and electric lines and substations.

• Intermountain Rural Electric Authority, electric lines and substations.

• Colorado Department of Transportation, Uniform Act compliant relocations and acquisitions.