40th Environmental Permitting Summer School

Board Certified in State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice. Practicing Environmental and Land Use law since 1977

Holly Andreotta has over 20 years of experience overseeing permitting and compliance for multiple large-scale Everglades restoration projects at the South Florida Water Management District with an emphasis on managing, protecting, surveying, and monitoring of protected state and federal species. She is a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida burrowing owl, gopher tortoise, and Imperiled Beach-Nesting Bird permitted agent and a qualified observer for an array of protected species found throughout Florida.   She coordinates with regulatory agencies, the public, and multiple stakeholders... Read more

After RES (Resource Environmental Solutions) acquired E Sciences in 2022, I am thrilled to continue my focus on major environmental restoration and water quality improvement projects in Florida.As the nation’s largest nature-based solutions company, RES is restoring a resilient earth for a modern world, project by project. RES creates durable, resilient natural infrastructure for communities through solutions for environmental mitigation, stormwater and water quality, and climate and flooding resilience.

🌎 Irela Bagué is the Director of Governments & Water Resilience for Florida & the Caribbean at Black & Veatch, where she advances resilient infrastructure solutions to safeguard water resources and communities. Formerly Miami-Dade’s first Chief Bay Officer, she led groundbreaking initiatives for Biscayne Bay restoration, securing over $70M in funding and shaping key environmental policies. She has held leadership roles with the South Florida Water Management District and the Miami River Commission, and led Bagué Group for two decades, advising public and private clients on climate, water, and resilience... Read more

NPDES and Wastewater Permitting/Compliance
Stakeholder Engagement

I serve as Principal Consultant and Manager of Florida Operations for Trinity Consultants. I specialize in air permitting and compliance, helping industry meet regulations.

Kerri L. Barsh is Co-Chair of the firm’s Environmental Practice and represents public and private clients on an array of environmental regulatory, permitting, and litigation matters, including transactional support and due diligence, environmental assessment and liability matters, climate change, energy and infrastructure projects, wetlands and coastal permitting, complex land use projects, air quality matters, hazardous materials contamination, and other compliance and enforcement cases.

Biography

Mr. Baumann’s practice focuses on civil and administrative litigation focusing on docks, marinas, riparian rights and sovereignty submerged lands and coastal construction matters. Mr. Baumann’s practice also includes Environmental Resource Permitting (“ERP) zoning and land use issues and real estate issues. For more than 25 years, Andy has represented private clients, property owners and governmental entities in environmental permitting and enforcement matters as well as in civil and administrative litigation before state and federal trial courts, courts of appeal and the Florida Division... Read more

Eric Beightel is a nationally recognized expert in environmental policy, infrastructure permitting, and regulatory strategy, with over 25 years of experience across federal, state, and private sectors. He currently serves as the Federal Strategy Director at Environmental Science Associates (ESA), where he advises clients on navigating complex regulatory landscapes and evolving federal policies.

Previously, Eric was appointed by President Biden as the Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council). In this role, he oversaw a portfolio of over $75 ... Read more

I’m working in the Pasco County Office of Strategy & Sustainability on special projects that assist all BOCC departments. Resilience, sustainability, strategic planning, PFAS site, PDRP. Outside of work, my interests include woodworking, travel, books, cooking, house repair, and my dog.

Mitigation banking, development residential and commercial

Power IndustryStrategy
Environmental Permitting
Land Acquisition
Air Quality Permitting & Monitoring
Conservation
Wetland Mitigation

Olivia Cain is a licensed Professional Engineer in Geosyntec’s Clearwater, Florida office. Her environmental engineering practice focuses the characterization and treatment of sites impacted by a variety of environmental contaminants, including PFAS. She is one of Geosyntec’s national PFAS Practitioners and has worked with clients to assess and/or treat PFAS from a variety of sources at over 45 sites across the United States. Her professional PFAS experience includes developing and implementing PFAS sampling programs and studies, evaluating potential PFAS liabilities, sources, and releases...

Grace Campbell is the lead Wildlife Biologist for Lykes Bros Inc.’s Gopher Tortoise Recipient Site program. She oversees land management of the recipient sites and serves as the main point of contact for relocation efforts. Grace also leads customer relations with both public and private entities. She is an Authorized Gopher Tortoise Agent, a certified Associate Wildlife Biologist, and a Certified Prescribed Burner.

I work for Tetra Tech in the Jacksonville office, Authorized Gopher Tortoise Agent.   We offer a full range of natural resource management and biological services to support and augment our engineering and environmental services. We specialize in performing NEPA documents, wetland delineations, environmental base-line surveys, threatened & endangered species surveys, preparing environmental assessments, permitting, and mitigation.

I have over 25 years of diverse experience in the environmental field. I am currently managing the Southeast Natural Resource Team and serve as Senior Environmental Scientist/Biologist managing multiple Solar Energy Center Projects, environmental compliance programs, wetland and wildlife due diligence projects, and environmental permitting services. My experience includes preparing permitting applications and conducting threatened and endangered species surveys, tree surveys and wetland delineations. I am also an Authorized Gopher Tortoise Agent. Additionally, I provide expert natural resource assista... Read more

I am currently an Environmental Scientist with a diverse background in wetlands ecology, wildlife biology, and environmental permitting. I recently started with Patel, Greene & Associates, but have been an environmental consultant for over 10 years. Project activities have included airport wildlife hazard assessments, threatened and endangered species assessments, wetland assessments, wetland jurisdiction determinations, and wetland mitigation design. Prior to environmental consulting, I was a public sector employee for 9 years with the Florida Department of Transportation (District 2) and the... Read more

Been involved for over 30 years in several aspects of the environmental market, from policy making in the public and private sector to project management and developing new areas of business expansion. Attending my 14th straight year. 

I have been working for the US Fish & Wildlife Service for over 22 years, all of them in Vero Beach, Florida. Over that time, I have worked on Everglades Restoration, Habitat Conservation Planning, Conservation Banking, and in our Regulatory section. I am currently the the Conservation Delivery Division Manager for Florida Ecological Services.  In this role I manage our Partners for Fish and Wildlife, Coastal, and Air Force Partnership Programs and coordinate Conservation Banking.  This role is part of our State Office, which may be located in Gainesville, Florida in the future.

Jannek is formally trained as a civil engineer, specializing in coastal engineering from the Technical University of Denmark. He has more than 21 years of experience in marine field investigations, hydrodynamics, linear and nonlinear wave dynamics, numerical modeling, coastal structure design, sea level rise, environmental permitting, nature based solutions, and waterfront projects. He is an expert in coastal resiliency and has been leading several of the largest sea level rise adaptation projects in Florida.

Stormwater Maintenance

John focuses his practice on complex environmental and land use matters. He advises developers, utilities, and other clients on virtually all aspects of development, from initial permitting and entitlement strategy, contamination assessment and remediation, through government approvals; incorporating political and public relations issues. John is experienced representing clients before local, state, and federal agencies and has handled complex regulatory matters involving the National Environmental Policy Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the Clean... Read more

As a Practice Builder at Kimley-Horn and Associates, I manage both surface water and land development projects, perform hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, and provide state and local surface water permitting and development permitting service including NPDES and Environmental Resource permitting. I am a Professional Engineer licensed in the State of Florida with 6 years of experience and a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering.

I have a non-traditional background with experience teaching in civil engineering higher education and leading engineering mission trips in addition to my experience in engineering consulting. As a native Floridian, I am passionate about our state's water quality and the protection of our natural resources and the connection between a environmental sustainability and civil rights. In my career, I have worked and continue to seek out opportunities to find a balance between development and conservation through the use of low-impact development best management practices and green stormwater infrast... Read more

John Coates currently serves as the Director of the Division of Water Resource Management, for the Department of Environmental Protection. He has a combination of biology, chemistry, and engineering degrees, and is licensed as a civil engineer in Florida. John started working in the environmental profession in 1986 and worked in consulting previously.  He has been with the Department for the better part of the last 29 years. John has worked primarily with water resource, waste management, and mining programs throughout his professional career. John believes in the value of communication and problem... Read more

Ms. Colbert is the founder of Smart-Sciences and has 26 years of experience in managing and supervising technical projects and in leading inter-disciplinary teams consisting of engineers, geologists, ecologists and other technical experts. Ms. Colbert has extensive experience in all types of environmental permitting in the State of Florida (including Environmental Resource Permits (ERPs), Local Wetlands Permitting, Coastal Construction Permitting, Tree Permitting, Water Use Permit (WUP), industrial wastewater), as well as practical applications of wetland ecology and surface and groundwater hy... Read more

As a senior engineer and project manager, I provide technical input and engineering analysis for projects involving climate resiliency and assessment, project management, dredging and dewatering planning and design, stormwater design and permitting, environmental design and permitting, and construction administration, engineering, and inspection. I have participated in climate resiliency and assessment projects for parks, facilities, roadways, canals, and stormwater assets. I have conducted field exploration and research on several environmental projects, such as sediment analysis for potential... Read more

Cortney Cortez is Senior Economist of The Balmoral Group, an economic and engineering firm focused on public policy, socioeconomic impacts, and design within infrastructure, water resources, and the environment.

During my 29 years in the environmental permitting field, I have had the pleasure of helping to draft UMAM while at SFWMD; managing a broad range of wetland, wildlife and water quality projects at AtkinsRéalis, and recently earning my FAA 107 (drone) license.  As a new (2026) member of the TBAEP Board, I look forward to further supporting other environmental professionals.

I oversee FWC's Land Use Planning (LUP) Program. LUP coordinates the review of regulated land use changes statewide and provides technical assistance on projects with the potential to affect fish and wildlife species. We coordinate with public planners, agency staff, private landowners, developers, and environmental consultants to promote fish and wildlife conservation on primarily private lands. We also now issue all gopher tortoise recipient site permits and large, programmatic species take permits. 

Talk to me about...
County, state, and federal environmental regulations
Environmental permitting strategy
Marina feasibility
Beach and inlet management
Resilient waterfront park design
Permit compliance
Mitigation assessment and negotiation
Ecological assessment and monitoring
Grant Funding Opportunities
NEPA Documentation and Compliance
Environmental Impact Assessments

Sirena Davila is the District Director for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Southeast District. She oversees permitting, compliance and enforcement programs across seven counties in Southeast Florida, including the Florida Keys.    Sirena has spent her career in environmental regulation and operations, both in consulting and at DEP, and is interested in practical solutions, improving consistency, making permitting processes more effective, building strong teams, and finding ways to protect resources while still supporting responsible growth and infrastructure needs. She always... Read more

With a broad background in water resources, Scott addresses all aspects of surface water quality, including water-resource planning, evaluating best management practices (BMPs), conducting lake studies, assessing water quality, and sampling. His skill set also encompasses compliance strategies for public- and private-sector clients. He uses his deep understanding of water quality permitting and regulations, including NPDES MS4, MSGP, and IWW permitting programs, to help clients reach and maintain compliance. Scott regularly helps private-sector clients comply with environmental liability and permitting... Read more

Water/Environmental Policy consultant/lobbyist; and land use planner.

Dr. deSilva has over 34 years of experience in water and wastewater (Industrial and municipal) engineering, including project concept through construction and start-up. He is an international leader in operations and maintenance, energy management, solids handling processes, construction management, and commissioning wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) throughout the United States, as well as in Japan, France, Australia, Ukraine, Venezuela, Guam, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, UAE, and Iraq. Dr. deSilva is experienced in the evaluation and sizing of treatment processes to remove... Read more

Niki has over 20 years of experience managing protected species monitoring programs and coordinating/conducting field work in Florida. Her expertise is in sea turtle nesting beach management, shorebird/seabird conservation, and habitat conservation planning. Please ask Niki about environmental consulting; protected species monitoring and management; Section 10 ESA Habitat Conservation Planning; Running!