Company Overview

EDM Environmental Design and Management Limited is a planning, design and engineering firm that provides cost effective and sustainable solutions to problems related to the human use of land. The firm uses GIS as a tool to help produce planning and design solutions for clients in the same way that many design firms use CAD systems. The process typically involves a detailed assessment of a planning or design issue, and the identification of key variables that can be modelled in order to provide the client with an appropriate solution. A GIS database is then constructed based on existing data and new data collected by third parties under EDM's direction (e. g., ecosystem classifications, eater quality data, etc.) EDM understands that the cost associated with building a database can take a large portion of any project budget. All too often data are collected because they are available, not because they influence the final planning or design decision. This results in an inefficient use of resources, ultimately increasing the project's cost and time schedule.

Once the database has been built, the firm then uses cartographic modelling techniques to develop suitability maps. These suitability maps rank areas that are appropriate for development and or preservation and are used to inform the physical planning or design process. This provides a scientifically defensible basis for the resulting plans, which are typically more cost effective to build or implement, and result in less impact to the environment.

The following examples provide an indication of the firm's work, and demonstrate its ability to apply the methodology at a variety of project scales (i. e., both large and small projects):

-Watershed Management Plan for Gander Lake. EDM developed a GIS based cartographic model that predicts sediment production in a 1, 500 sq. Kilometre catchment by land use, and calibrated the model to suspended solids and phosphorous concentrations in the lake water. This model will be used by planners to assess the impact of various development proposal and land use plans. -Planning Strategy for North Dartmouth. A land use plan we prepared for 1, 700 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the largest industrial park in Nova Scotia. The client wanted to know where the industrial park could be expanded, while at the same time preserving the environment and keeping site development cost to a minimum. Suitability maps were generated to illustrate areas appropriate for industrial and residential development as well as land preservation. -Kingswood Subdivision Plan. A master plan we prepared for a 200 acre residential subdivision based on a analysis of the land within a GIS. Suitability maps highlighted areas suitable for road construction (avoiding bedrock, wetlands, steep slopes, etc.) As well as areas suitable for on site sewage disposal (soil permeability, appropriate slope, etc.).

The firm is also a member of the Canada Geomatics Group, a consortium of four private companies and two government sponsors, that includes over 250 employees throughout Canada. This consortium provides EDM with a wide array of resources from which to draw on in order to provide its clients with a total geomatics solution. Other member firms include: Hauts-Monts (Quebec);

Triathlon Mapping (British Columbia); GeoNet Technologies (PEI);

New Brunswick Geomatics Information Centre; and, Land Records Management Inc. (Govt. NS). For more information please contact John Heseltine at 902-425-7900 or john@edm. ca

Company Information

Additional Details

Legal Name: EDM Environmental Design & Mgmt Limited

Number of Employees: 12

Contacts

Services

• Biotechnology
• Environmental Planning

  ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING:

  Typical Services -Ecological Planning Studies -Water Resource Management Plans -Terrestrial and Aquatic Site Rehabilitation -Landfill Siting Studies -Stormwater Management Strategies and Design -Erosion and Sediment Control Plans -Environmental Audits and Impact Assessments -Visual Impact Assessment -Community Servicing Strategies and Design -On-Site Sewage System Capability Studies -Wastewater Management District Implementation -Biosolids Management Plans -Wildlife and Habitat Protection and Enhancement Plans -Computer Modelling/Simulation and 3-D Computer Modelling -Environmental Protection Planning Strategies for Communities -Community Consultation

  DESCRIPTION EDM is a firm that specializes in developing plans and strategies for both sustainable development and environmental protection. The essence of Environmental Planning is the informed acquisition and interpretation of information about the environment, and then development of a plan of action based upon that information.

  EDM specializes in managing these complex planning challenges. The firm's integration of engineering, science, economic and planning of professionals allows for comprehensive treatment of the problems, and the opportunity for truly innovative solutions.

  APPROACH The environmental field is dynamic. New science is available daily which affects how decisions are made.

  EDM's approach to this constant change includes keeping current with anew developments. Broadening staff project experience;

  on-going specialized training and education; ' thorough review of journals; participation in conferences and committees: and, on-going research are all company policy. We frequently include world experts as project advisors and always hire sub-consultants when we are outside our field of expertise. Our clients are assured that our solutions are as current as possible.

  Environmental Planning frequently requires modelling in order to predict change and make a decision about how to proceed. Most readily available models were developed for science. These models are frequently more detailed than necessary to make a decision and too narrow in scope to effectively deal with a broad planning problem. EDM specializes in the development and application of models that are specifically tailored to environmental planning problems.

  Finally, our approach to environmental planning is community oriented. We understand that a plan or strategy can only be successful when the users have been consulted throughout the process.

• Environmental Services

  Biological and Ecosystem Studies Dredging Energy From Waste Audits Engineering Design Specifications Environmental Impact Assessments Equipment Or Instrument Development Geomatic (GIS) Applications Mapping of Resources, Land Type Site Assessment Site / Land Reclamations Soil and Ground Water Systems Modelling or design Waste Reduction and Recycling Water Quality

• Land Planning

  LAND PLANNING

  TYPICAL SERVICES;

  -Facility Siting Studies -Resource Development Planning Studies -Development Impact Assessment -Development Suitability Analysis -Municipal Plan/Zoning Interpretation, Review, and Amendments -Land Use Plans -Residential Community Master plans -Industrial/Business Park Master plans -Park and Recreation Master plans -Ecotourism Plans -Waterfront Development Plans -Cost Benefit and Decision Analysis of Development Scenarios -CAD, GIS, Image Capture and 3-D Computer Modelling and Animation -Community

  DESCRIPTION EDM offers a complete land planning service beneficial to land owners who need a plan for where, when and how to implement their development ideas. We also help clients select the appropriate land for an intended use, such as finding the best site for a landfill, school, aquaculture site, or highway.

  Land planning is a complex undertaking requiring the simultaneous resolution of economic, technical, regulatory, engineering, servicing, environmental, and a host of other factors. EDM's mix of professional staff, our willingness to seek out and include expert opinion in the process, as well as our emphasis on creative problem solving, ensures that we excel at finding 'win-win' solutions to these complex problems.

  APPROACH EDM's approach to land planning is established in a strong land ethic. We believe that it is possible to develop land in an environmentally responsible manner. This is accomplished by obtaining a thorough understanding of the relationship between the built environment and the land. The process begins by acquiring information about the existing natural environment and assessing the opportunities and limitations of the land prior to creating a plan. It has been our experience that this approach also results in reduced site development costs.

  EDM specializes in the development and use of computer models in support of the planning process. Models range from GIUS suitability analysis and lake water carrying capacity models, to 3-D project visualization, to model of financial performance. Our land use plans and Master plans are thus scientifically and economically defensible and readily understood by both our clients and the public.

  Our staff work as project teams where the objectives of engineering, landscape, social, environmental, and financial professionals must be met equally if the plan is to be brought forward. We offer staff who have been trained by world leaders in suitability analysis and land planning methods, expertise in alternative community servicing strategies, as well as a track record in effective community consultation.

Products

• Environmental Products And Services
• Principles Of Landscape Ecology, Hydrotechnical Engineering, Environmental Planning And Landscape Architecture.

  Community based, environmental planning combines the professional approach of planners, engineers, landscape architects, and ecologists. The needs of the community are balanced with the ability of the land to support development. Environmental, engineering and economic issues are given consideration along with the needs of the people who stand to be affected by development.

  The approach considers the true value of resources not normally accounted for by economists and engineers acting alone, including ecotourism, water quality, and quality of life. Finding opportunities in what were formerly considered problems, such as using sludge from sewage treatment plants to reclaim or restore nearby abandoned mine sites, is typical of this kind of work.

  Community participation techniques are designed to empower communities, including environmental and social values in decision making, as well as the incorporation of proven, scientific methodologies for demonstrating the impact of development on land and water.

• Solar Aquatics System For Wastewater Treatment.

  The Solar Aquatics System is often chosen by residents as a wastewater treatment facility because they want to take responsibility for their own waste in an environmentally and economically responsible manner. Using conventional technology means having either a mechanical or chemical based plant (or alternatively a large lagoon), sited some distance away from the community in order to avoid potential smells and noise and additional piping and pumping costs.

  Solar Aquatics Systems treats organic waste, which includes sewage, septage and food processing waste. This system is often referred to as the 'wetland in a greenhouse'. The system provides cost-effective, tertiary level treatment without the use of chemicals, and in a manner which is far more attractive to a community than conventional technology. This is because it is odour free, requires little space, and is aesthetically pleasing.

  The Solar Aquatics System is designed to 'live' within a greenhouse. Sewage is not treated as a waste, but rather considered as a food for the biological community resident in the greenhouse. The system uses a combination of bacteria, algae, zooplankton, plants, snails and fish to process the wastewater. These contained in a combination of clear sided solar tanks, solar ponds and engineered marshes all housed within a greenhouse. The entire system works in a concerted manner to consume the organic nutrients in the water. This enables the Solar Aquatics System to provide performance equivalent to that of a tertiary treatment plant, without the use of chemicals, and without producing as much residual sludge.

  This approach to waste treatment offers a solution which is cost-effective; produces high quality effluent; is capable of dealing with strong organic waste; is self-contained, and therefore can be efficiently used to treat sewage flows from 20, 000-500, 000 gal./day, a range which satisfies the needs of most small communities or neighbourhoods within large urban areas.

NAICS Categories

• 541330 Engineering Services
• 541619 Other Management Consulting Services
• 541620 Environmental Consulting Services
• 541690 Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services

Additional Information