Battelle was recently awarded a $775K Work Order through their Science and Technology Services Contract with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). The work order is for 26 months and involves placing two Battelle staff onsite at the South Florida Water Management District's headquarters in West Palm Beach, FL. The work involves supporting the staff within the District's Everglades Division by optimizing the functioning of three research facilities needed by Everglades scientists in efforts to restore the Everglades. These facilities include a laboratory for smaller bench-scale studies, a greenhouse, and a large-scale impoundment referred to as the Everglades Living Laboratory. The greenhouse facility is currently used by District scientists to study a variety of issues pertaining to the vegetation of South Florida and the Everglades. The Everglades Living Laboratory provides a facility that can mimic the Everglades ecosystem in a smaller, more controlled setting. Battelle will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of each of the facilities and will draft an operations plan for the facilities that will allow the Everglades Division Scientists to fulfill their important mission in the overall restoration of the Everglades. For additional information, contact Ms. Jennifer Field at (561) 656-6303, fieldj@battelle.org.

Battelle was recently notified of its award as part of a winning team on four separate procurements issued by the U.S. EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). Subcontracts have been signed or are being developed with the prime contractors for three Superfund Technical Assistance and Response Team (START) III procurements and the U.S. EPA's new Decontamination and Analytical Services (DATS) procurement. The START subcontracts are for Region 5 (where Battelle is a subcontractor to Weston Solutions, Inc.), Region 6 (where Battelle is a subcontractor to Dynamac Corporation), and Region 9 (where Battelle is a subcontractor to the AECOM/URS joint venture). The DATS subcontract is with Dynamac Corporation. For each of these procurements, Battelle will provide high-level technical assistance, specialized labor, analytical services, and other technical capabilities related to site remediation, risk assessment, and homeland security in addition to other technical support areas. For additional information, contact Mr. Joe Carvitti at (614) 424-4843, carvittij@battelle.org.

Mr. William F. Precht has joined Battelle's Applied Coastal and Environmental Services (ACES) group as Senior Program Manager of its West Palm Beach, Florida, office. Mr. Precht brings over 25 years of professional experience and leadership in geological, ecological, and biological conservation to Battelle, with emphasis on the restoration and rehabilitation of coastal resources. His expertise includes work on upland, wetland, tidal marsh, mangrove, seagrass, hardbottom, and coral reef ecosystems throughout southeastern United States, Caribbean, and Central America. Mr. Precht comes to Battelle after an extensive ecological sciences program management career with a large A&E firm based in Florida, where he managed various environmental studies projects. These projects pertained to the permitting of dredge and fill for wetland and coastal construction, baseline environmental monitoring studies, endangered species and essential fish habitat studies, wetland evaluation and delineation studies, natural resource damage assessments, as well as NEPA environmental impact analysis and assessment studies. Mr. Precht is a licensed professional geologist and a certified senior ecologist, who earned an M.A. in marine geology and geophysics from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences of the University of Miami, an M.S. in earth and environmental science from Adelphi University, and a B.S. in geology with a concentration in marine biology from S.U.N.Y. at Oswego. Mr. Precht may be reached at (561) 656-6302, prechtw@battelle.org.