In response to growth and development projected in the Coastal Georgia region, as well as the increased demand for environmentally sensitive developments, national engineering and project delivery firm O’Brien & Gere has opened an office in Richmond Hill to serve Savannah and the Georgia Coast.

The office will be in partnership with Eco-Sciences of Georgia, Inc., a new firm run by Nick Ogden, who previously served as Chief of the Regulatory Branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Savannah District. During his 11-year tenure in that position, he was responsible for all Section 404 wetland issues in the state of Georgia. He also served as a District Conservationist for the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service for 16 years.

Eco-Sciences of Georgia, Inc. is affiliated with Register-Nelson, Inc. an environmental consulting firm specializing in clean water and wetland issues in Metro Atlanta. O’Brien & Gere is a leader in providing total environmental and water solutions and capital & facilities programs with 25 offices nationally.

“This new venture is all about helping this region,” said Ogden, who has worked extensively with reservoir, road, and infrastructure projects, as well as commercial, industrial and residential development in his past roles. “Eco-Sciences of Georgia, Inc. and O’Brien & Gere bring to the table expertise, skills and resources that have not been available to governments and developers in the past.”

“Our goal with this partnership is to combine Nick’s unique skills, the reputation and expertise of Register-Nelson, Inc. and the innovative engineering approach of O’Brien & Gere to bear on a coastal market that is in need of sensible, innovative, and environmentally friendly solutions,” said O’Brien & Gere Vice President Robin Chasman, who directs the firm’s municipal business development for the Southeast region and has extensive municipal engineering experience throughout Georgia.

O’Brien & Gere, a national leader providing a full-service engineering approach to clients in a variety of industries, has deep experience in areas that are critical to the future of coastal Georgia. Its environmental solutions, total water solutions, and capital and facilities solutions are geared towards providing 360-degree, full project lifecycle work for clients. The firm recently hired Mark Ray, the past president of the National Wetland Specialist Registration Board and a Professional Wetland Scientist, to grow its Southeastern Eco-Sciences™ group, which is dedicated to strategic planning, design, and implementation of ecological solutions. Ray has performed more than 450 coastal and freshwater wetland and stream projects in 28 states, and has been published extensively on ecological issues including wetland law, mitigation banking, regional watershed planning.

Ray will work closely with Ogden, who in addition to his Corps experience, served in the United States Army in Vietnam and South Korea. He earned his Bachelor of Science from Fort Valley State University and completed graduate studies in public administration at Georgia State University. Ogden is a member of Governor Sonny Perdue’s Environmental Advisory Council.

Register-Nelson, Inc. is an environmental consulting firm specializing in Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, stream/wetland permit and mitigation issues, endangered species identification and coordination and coordinating on state stream law issues. They were founded by the former Chief of the Atlanta Section of the Corps of Engineers, who was responsible for all Section 404 issues in north Georgia. The company operates on the principle of providing environmentally practical solutions to problems associated with development.

O’Brien & Gere is an employee-owned engineering and project delivery company with 800 scientists, engineers, construction and operation personnel located in 25 offices across the United States.

Courtesy of The Business Report & Journal