What's New at Cunningham Environmental Consulting

What’s New

Survey research can be intriguing with its process of discovery. We recently reported the findings of the Bellevue Surface Water Issues Project, where we interviewed 100 business owners and managers in person followed by two focus groups. This research, with its unpredictable results, was conducted to support an education outreach program for the business community as required by the NPDES Phase II permit. If you’re interested in the results, please contact us for an electronic copy of the report.

This fall we’ll begin working with Kitsap County to identify and explore business practices that impact stormwater quality. The research results will be used to develop an educational and outreach program for county businesses.

Also, we were recently awarded a contract on the King County STORMing Puget Sound Regional Educational Campaign as part of the Frause Team. Cunningham Environmental will take the lead on evaluating a media campaign aimed at changing behaviors that affect stormwater runoff. The evaluaton will focus on formative research to identify barriers to and benefits of behavior change associated with stormwater pollution, as well as key characteristics of target audiences.

When a disaster strikes and the volume of material overwhelms current infrastructure, it’s essential to have a plan of action to deal with alternatives to standard solid waste collection and processing. We have been working with CH2M Hill as a key player in the formation of a regional UASI Disaster Debris Management Plan. For Phase I, the plan template was crafted through workshops held with stakeholders in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Cunningham Environmental researched legislation and policies that address disaster debris and identified strategies for formulating a cohesive strategy. For Phase II, we will be providing direct technical assistance to more than 40 jurisdictions as they develop their own operational disaster debris management plans.