I help you navigate those questions you have, but don't want to ask your regulator.
An independent space for clear, unvarnished answers to your toughest questions.
In my career as an engineer, I always tackled the hard projects—both technically and politically—and managed to find practical paths forward. That experience gives me a unique perspective to share. What you are doing out in the field is great. Navigating the invisible wall between fieldwork and agency filing can leave even the most seasoned professionals guessing. Regulatory friction shouldn't stand in the way of a project's progression, yet the hardest compliance questions are often the ones you are most afraid to ask your regulator.
This site is an independent, unfiltered space where I am gathering the content, insights, and lessons I've collected over 25+ years—from supervising radioactive waste cleanups to serving as the State's expert on petroleum remediation systems. Now, I finally have a space where I can say what I want to say, in the exact manner I want to say it, to help you navigate troubled waters.
Everyone is welcome here: consultants, business owners, and the general public. Take what you like and leave the rest. Share your comments and ask your compliance questions safely in the blog. I'll do my best to respond and answer them directly.
Read the Blog
Taking things for granted always bites you in the ass.
I've seen it again and again in my own work and in the hundreds of reports I've reviewed, and not just from consultants. When we get stuck believing we already know all we need to know, then we stop learning. The world is always changing. We have to keep an open mind and stay current, or we will surely mess things up.
Environmental compliance is sheerly a matter of will. We know how to do anything. It's just a matter of having the will to make it happen. Understanding what the desired outcome is, formulating a plan, then doing it. To do that, we must be open to input from others to help us see around our blind spots.
Safe Input. Clear Answers.
Have a complex technical scenario or a field question you aren't ready to take to your regulator? Submit it safely here. I look at every submission and break down the most critical structural issues directly within the blog. There will be a slight delay once you click the submit button. Please wait for the success message to make sure I have your message logged. Thanks.
Core Insights from 25 Years of State Frameworks
NPDES Permitting
Evaluating engineering plans, issuing NPDES permits, and providing field oversight to ensure complex projects are executed safely and substantively in accordance with approved work plans.
RCRA Subtitle C & CERCLA Facilities
Navigating complex waste management protocols, program efficiencies, and compliance negotiations. Operational insights on maintaining institutional consistency and safely managing regulatory uncertainty.
Underground Storage Tank Remediation
Serving as a go-to resource for difficult cases involving bedrock impacts, active petroleum product recovery, and practical, common-sense corrective action planning.
A Career Built on Difficult Projects and Practical Paths.
To truly understand how to navigate regulatory friction, it helps to know the perspective behind the lens. Beyond 25 years inside state environmental frameworks, my approach to complex compliance is supplemented by uncommon teachers—from renovating a 130-year-old fixer-upper to practicing the mutual benefit and maximum efficiency principles of Judo.
Read Steve's Full Story