Tuesday, March 17, 2009

AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, has been awarded a $3.2 million stream-restoration design project, the largest ever awarded by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR).

The project will involve the restoration and enhancement of sections of Puncheon Creek and Fishing Creek and their tributaries in central Kentucky. The site was selected because bank erosion and flow migration are causing landslides and water-quality degradation.

AMEC?s project scope will include data collection and project design, construction inspection and oversight, coordination with the state?s Historic Preservation Office, federal water quality certification and dredged-material permitting, and post-construction monitoring.

The majority of the work will involve segments of Puncheon Creek, where numerous eroding banks are present and the channel is laterally migrating at many locations. The creek is cutting into the hillside at the upper end of the site, causing landslides. To correct these problems a new channel adding several thousand feet to the overall length of Puncheon Creek will be cut away from the hillside and at other locations to redirect and slow the stream?s flow.

Also, bankfull benches, step pools and other structures will be installed in various areas to slow erosion or create habitat. Additionally, to improve the riparian habitat where trees are sparse or absent, a 50-foot wide strip of trees will be established along both sides of Puncheon Creek and a 25-foot strip of trees will be established along the tributaries.

The project manager is Midwest Geotechnical/Water Unit Manager David Sawitzki from the Louisville, Ky. office. The lead design engineer is Lee Forbes from Houston, Texas. Also involved are Mark Everett, senior water resources engineer in Indianapolis, Ind., and Lance Rasnake, stream restoration and erosion prevention engineer in Knoxville, Tenn. All are from AMEC?s Earth & Environmental Division.

Notes to editors:

AMEC (LSE: AMEC) is a focused supplier of high-value consultancy, engineering and project management services to the world's energy, power and process industries. With annual revenues of over US$3.5 billion, AMEC designs, delivers and maintains strategic and complex assets for its customers. AMEC's Natural Resources, Power and Process and Earth and Environmental businesses employ over 22,000 people in more than 30 countries globally. For further information please see http://www.amec.com/

AMEC?s Earth and Environmental division operates from 150 offices in the U.S., Canada and abroad. The business provides a broad range of environmental, geotechnical, water resources, infrastructure, materials testing, and project management services to public and private clients.