This week consisted of a lot of research and in-office work. I was invited to sit in on a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) training session, which opened my eyes to the small details consulting firms must pay attention to when working on a project. I had no idea how much red tape existed when putting up something as common as communication towers! I also reviewed some documents for one of the projects I went to during a site inspection. Site visits really help to tie things together when reading documents or looking over blueprints, mainly because it feels more personal and easier to conceptualize issues that we are looking for.
Since being with SMG, I have learned a lot about how the state determines the quality of a watershed and some of the policies that are also involved in that process. Last week I researched the Kentucky Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment Index (MBI), which deals with the more biological characteristics of a watershed. This week I did research on Kentucky’s nutrient criteria, which focuses on the more chemical characteristics of a watershed. I took particular interest in this research project, because of my water chemistry research background, but also because I learned about the methods and procedures that go into developing a model for the state that goes beyond taking a water sample.
These were just a few of the highlights from my week! I repeat myself every week when I say that I am learning so much from this internship experience, but that is because every week presents new challenges and opportunities!