In June 2011, the Mouse River flooded, causing the evacuation of more than 11,000 people and more than $700 million in damages. In response, Barr and a team of subconsultants completed preliminary design for flood-risk-reduction system improvements throughout the river valley. Construction of phases 2 and 3 in Minot, which represent nearly two miles of flood-risk-reduction features, was completed in fall 2020.
One part of Barr’s design work involved park and landscape design. We worked with the City of Minot, the Minot Park District, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design trails on the flood-risk-reduction system’s levees. We also designed a dog park, streetscapes, and parking lots while collaborating with the park district to set priorities for park features and layout. In addition, we developed a landscape management plan; created resilient plant communities that can thrive on the area’s dry, exposed slopes and in the river floodway; and selected tree species for streets, parks, and the floodway.
In 2023, the Minnesota Department of Commerce contracted with Barr through the agency’s Energy Environmental Review and Analysis (EERA) group to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) on its behalf for the proposed Northland Reliability transmission line. The project would involve constructing 140 miles of new double-circuit 345 kV transmission line and replacing 40 miles of the same type of line. As EERA’s third-party consultant, Barr prepared the EA to guide the state’s route-selection process.
Members of the public submitted more than 135 comments, which resulted in 42 proposed route and/or alignment options. Of those, 40 were carried forward for analysis, pursuant to Minnesota Rule 7850.3700, Subpart 4.
For each of those options, the EA evaluated potential impacts on people and the environment. Barr’s technical review considered a range of complex issues: aesthetics; air quality; biological resources (including protected species, migratory birds, bald and golden eagles, and invasive species); corridor analysis; cultural resources and historic properties; cumulative effects; floodplains; human health and safety; land use and ownership; noise; socioeconomics and environmental justice; transportation; water resources; and wetlands.
To help regulators and the public compare the route options and understand the advantages and drawbacks of each, we divided the EA analysis into seven geographic regions and featured maps, charts, and tables to clearly and efficiently convey the impacts of each proposed route to nontechnical readers.
EERA approved the EA, which was published by the Department of Commerce in June 2024, and public hearings took place in July. Barr then assisted EERA staff in responding to substantive comments. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved a certificate of need and route permit for the project in January 2025.
Barr’s computational fluid dynamics (CFD) specialists helped the City of Minneapolis solve the problem of stormwater “geysers” erupting on a road during especially intense rainfalls. The jets of water and air, which would shoot up through 16-inch-diameter drains connected to a stormwater tunnel about 100 feet below ground, were forceful enough to dislodge metal drain covers, and posed a safety risk to nearby pedestrians and vehicles.
By developing a CFD model to simulate turbulent flows and pressure fluctuations in mixtures of air and water, our CFD specialists were able to simulate the tunnel system’s hydraulics and evaluate two causes of geysers: surges in water pressure (known as transient flows) and the presence of large pockets of air that can become entrained, or trapped, in the water and lead to explosive releases at the surface.
To calibrate the CFD model, Barr used pressure measurements taken in the tunnel during storm events, as well as maintenance records of drain-hole covers being displaced. We then ran numerous model simulations to test various methods of preventing stormwater geysers, included enlarging the drill holes, relocating them, and installing surge chambers below the road to accommodate excess stormwater.
The simulations indicated that the most effective solution would be to install surge chambers. Barr used the model results to develop hydraulic design criteria for the surge chambers, which would contain stormwater while allowing air to escape.
No geysers or dislodged covers have been observed since construction of the chambers in 2019, which ultimately translates into improved safety for vehicles on the road and pedestrians close to it.
In June 2012, a 9-plus-inch rain event caused significant flooding, erosion, and slope failures in northeastern Minnesota. Barr provided evaluation, permitting, design, and construction-observation services for stabilization of multiple trout streams in the City of Duluth. In many streams, the slope failures were so severe that gravel and debris jams choked off the main stream channels.
Barr performed initial damage assessments to identify priority areas for stabilization in order to protect public infrastructure from further damage and to restore trout habitat on these urban streams. We also assisted the city with applying for state funding. As the design engineer, Barr developed detailed design for project reaches on four trout streams. The largest project includes 1,200 feet of newly created, high-quality trout habitat and a fish-passage culvert on Coffee Creek, which runs through a city-owned golf course. The varied conditions of the streams required using a number of stabilization and restoration methods. The restorations feature toe wood, root wads, and rock-vane structures for bank stabilization, as well as rock and log vanes for grade control. The designs also included vegetated reinforced-soil stabilization for geotechnical stabilization, as well as natural channel restoration, floodplain connectivity, and daylighting. All of the restoration projects were completed by 2015.
The Doe Run Company’s former Block P mill and mine sites are located in Montana’s Barker-Hughesville mining district within the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Concerns about environmental impacts associated with historical mining activities at the sites prompted the company to evaluate the impacts of metals leaching and acid rock drainage at six inactive mine sites in the upper Galena Creek watershed, the inactive lead-zinc mill site, and associated tailings basins. Doe Run’s primary concerns were mobilization of lead, zinc, and other metals to groundwater; direct human and environmental contact with low-pH materials; the impact of acidic drainage on surface water bodies; and ongoing discharges of contaminated water from mine adits (horizontal passages to the surface).
Barr assessed groundwater in the bedrock and alluvium, and then evaluated potential sources of inflow to the mine workings. We conducted a geotechnical evaluation of waste-rock piles at the site and assessed potential waste-rock repository locations to conclude that consolidating waste rock in a central location and capping it with an engineered cover will minimize the potential for precipitation infiltration, reducing the likelihood that infiltrating water will become acidic drainage. Barr designed the repository and stream channel, planned and implemented revegetation and long-term monitoring and maintenance programs, including a post-excavation sampling program comparing geochemistry of existing soil quality with project objectives, and provided construction observation.
In 2024 and 2025, a renewable energy developer hired Barr to provide environmental planning and permitting services for a proposed solar-generation and battery-storage project in New Mexico. The 350 MW photovoltaic solar and 350 MW battery energy-storage project encompassed approximately 4,000 acres of tribal, state, and private lands.
Barr conducted natural resources investigations, compiled resource baseline reports, and drafted the project’s plan of development and environmental assessment (EA) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA was tiered to the Bureau of Land Management’s 2024 Western Solar Plan.
As part of preparing the plan of development, we also prepared plans for decommissioning, reclamation and weed management, health and safety, and management of hazardous materials and waste. Our project team coordinated with an American Indian tribe, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the New Mexico State Lands Office, and the local county planning department.
Field studies included evaluations of aquatic resources and surveys for raptors and migratory birds; wildlife; vegetation; federally listed, sensitive, and invasive species; and cultural resources.
Early in the project planning process, Barr prepared a Phase I environmental site assessment, a permit matrix, and a critical-issues analysis. We also prepared applications for geotechnical investigation permits, obtained documentation of project Clean Water Act compliance, conducted public outreach, and performed environmental compliance monitoring during project construction.
The project is slated to come online in early 2027.
Barr developed a new probable maximum flood (PMF) study for the Upper Peninsula Power Company. The project included hydrologic and hydraulic modeling and analyses on the upper three reservoirs on the Dead River, a tributary to Lake Superior near Marquette, Michigan. The study covered a 141-square-mile area. HEC-HMS was used to develop a hydrologic model of the watershed. Because there were no stream gages along the study reach, model calibration was performed by adjusting the model parameters to match observed reservoir water levels for storm and snowmelt events. NEXRAD data from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) data archive were used to develop precipitation input for the storm events. Snowmelt events were based on the change in regional snow water equivalent (SWE) gridded data obtained from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The calibrated model was used to simulate the PMF. The probable maximum storms (PMSs) resulting from the 24-hour mesoscale convective storms and 72-hour synoptic storms were estimated using the WMPMS computer program, based on updated estimates of probable maximum precipitation (PMP) for Wisconsin and Michigan. The PMS was estimated for cool and warm seasons. For the cool season, the 100-year SWE was also inputted into the model. The analysis was documented in a report and reviewed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) Chicago and Washington dam-safety staff.
Suncor Energy Inc. (Suncor) operates and develops a few oil sands mining and processing facilities near Fort McMurray, Alberta. These sites have several ponds and embankment dam structures that provide containment for tailings and process water—some of which are registered as extreme consequence dams under Alberta’s Water (Ministerial) Regulation. The regulation requires that a dam safety review (DSR) be undertaken every five years for “Very High” and “Extreme” consequence structures. A DSR is a systematic evaluation of the safety of the tailings facility, which includes a specific focus on the associated dams.
In 2022, Barr conducted a DSR for one of the external tailings facilities and its containment structures, which is registered as an extreme consequence facility.
Suncor wanted an independent review of the safety of this facility, including an evaluation of the currency and adequacy of the safety of the tailings facility and associated structures. The DSR included review of dam risks inherent in the design, operation, and performance of the structure, as well as review of associated external risks that could impact the safety of the facility and its dams.
During the DSR, Barr evaluated the adequacy and currency of the structures and provided a report on the safety and performance of the facility along with potential recommendations for improvement. In addition to design and construction of the facility, Barr reviewed and verified each component of the safety management system; verified that the current safety systems are up-to-date, appropriate, and properly implemented; and identified areas for further investigation or improvement from a dam-safety standpoint.
Barr’s independent safety review was conducted in compliance with the requirements of Part 6 (Dam and Canal Safety) of Alberta’s Water (Ministerial) Regulation and utilizes the Canadian Dam Association (CDA) Dam Safety Review Guidelines as a secondary source of standard engineering practice for dam safety.
Trunk highway 494 (I-494), managed by MnDOT, carries an average daily traffic count of over 290,000 vehicles. Since 2002, there has been a surface depression and subsidence on the edge of the road, adjacent to a near-surface storm sewer system of tunnels.
The sinkhole formed because of the ongoing migration of material into the stormwater system. For many years, the surface depression was handled through roadway patching. However, the rate of sinkhole development began increasing in 2013, and increased amounts of sediment began accumulating in the nearby Penn Avenue Lift Station, requiring more frequent maintenance by MnDOT to remove and dispose of the sediment.
MnDOT hired Barr to investigate the sinkhole and develop a solution for rehabilitating and eliminating its progression without disrupting nearby traffic patterns. Barr’s services included performing a desktop study of historical data, completing field investigations (geotechnical soil borings, laboratory testing of soil samples, and a tracer study), and developing a remediation design. Using our design, MnDOT completed construction in 2017.
Part of the environmental permitting effort for PolyMet’s proposed copper-nickel and precious-metal mine included tailings-basin closure planning. Barr evaluated both wet and dry closure approaches for the basin. A “wet closure” approach would consist of a large pond surrounded by wetland and meadow areas to cover the basin, limit oxygen intrusion into the tailings, minimize water-quality impacts, and accommodate wetland mitigation at the time of basin closure. A “dry closure” approach would include surface contouring to shed surface water, a hydraulic barrier to limit water infiltration, and a vegetated soil cover. We studied water-quality impacts for both of the closure options, as well as constructability, long-term maintenance, and slope-stability factors of safety for the basin.