Theodore A. Barten, PE
Founding Principal
Theodore Barten has more than 30 years of experience in engineering and environmental consulting. He served as Co-Managing Principal of Epsilon for 20 years and was one of the original founders of the firm.
His principal technical focus is siting, environmental analyses, licensing, permitting, and compliance work for merchant power, electric utility, and industrial clients. His projects involve route selection or site selection studies; adjudicatory level environmental review; a full array of federal, state, and local level permits; extensive regulatory agency interface; and public presentations. Mr. Barten’s expert testimony experience includes twelve successful Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board proceedings.
Mr. Barten is a Registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Illinois.
Margaret B. Briggs
Managing Principal
Peggy Briggs has an extensive track record of successfully assisting clients through the regulatory processes associated with development, institutional, and infrastructure projects. She plays a major role in Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), Article 80, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) projects. She regularly collaborates with lawyers, project proponents, and regulatory agencies in strategic discussions of permitting, and project planning. Her experience and knowledge of past precedents with MEPA, NEPA, Article 80, and waterfront permitting helps Epsilon develop the most streamlined approval process available.
She is the past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Business Council of New England.
Principals
Dale T. Raczynski, PE
Principal
draczyns@epsilonassociates.com
Dale Raczynski, PE has 35 years of experience in engineering and environmental consulting for industries, utilities, developers, institutions, and public agencies. His primary specialty is air quality engineering. He manages complex multi-disciplinary licensing efforts for many major and controversial energy projects. He has obtained and negotiated air permits for numerous new and modified industrial and energy facilities and has provided engineering and regulatory support in defense of several major enforcement actions and lawsuits. He also has extensive expert witness testimony experience.
Mr. Raczynski is a Registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts. He is on the Executive Board of Directors (Treasurer) of the Northeast Energy and Commerce Association.
When Epsilon was founded, we were determined to build a first rate environmental consulting firm, a firm that would be among the best at what we do. As a Principal owned firm, we were equally determined to transition ownership from the founding Principals to ‘the next generation.’ Now at a total of fourteen Principals, our leadership continues to grow with the company and contribute to its success. More detailed resumes are available upon request.
Cindy Schlessinger
Principal
cschlessinger@epsilonassociates.com
Cindy Schlessinger, Manager of Epsilon’s Planning Group, develops strategies for the completion of regulatory processes to ensure that clients finish the entitlement phase of their projects efficiently. Proficient at coordinating project teams and working effectively with agency staff, Cindy helps clients negotiate paths through permitting and review processes that enable projects to proceed to construction. Prior to beginning her consulting career, Ms. Schlessinger was a project manager at the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) and retains an excellent working knowledge of the BPDA.
Lester B. Smith, Jr.
Principal
Lester Smith, Jr. is a coastal geologist/environmental scientist with more than 30 years of experience in the environmental field, including work in government and private sectors. His experience includes waterfront and marine permitting; coastal geology, shoreline change and coastal hazard analysis; dredging analysis; beach and coastal management plans; and permitting of linear, large commercial , and government projects involving complex environmental regulatory analysis. Early in his career, Mr. Smith directed the scientific and engineering staff at the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Office where he co-authored the Massachusetts Coastal Wetlands regulations and assisted in the writing of the CZM policies. Mr. Smith also served as a NOAA Commissioned Officer conducting marine surveys in the Pacific and hydrology studies in the Great Lakes.
Robert D. O'Neal, CCM, INCE Board Certified
Managing Principal
Robert O’Neal is a member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) with more than 30 years of experience in the areas of community noise impact assessments, meteorological data collection and analyses, and air quality modeling. Mr. O'Neal's noise impact evaluation experience includes design and implementation of sound level measurement programs, modeling of future impacts, conceptual mitigation analyses, and compliance testing. He also provides expert witness testimony on noise impact studies and air pollution modeling in front of local boards, courts of law, and adjudicatory hearings.
Mr. O'Neal is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist, INCE Board Certified, and he previously served on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA.
Douglas J. Kelleher
Principal
dkelleher@epsilonassociates.com
Doug Kelleher has more than 25 years of experience in historic preservation planning, architectural design review, state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits, and regulatory compliance. Mr. Kelleher’s prior experience includes numerous years as a Preservation Planner with the Massachusetts Historical Commission. He specializes in providing public and private sector clients with strategic consulting for complex real estate projects involving historic resources for compliance with local, state, and federal historic preservation regulations. Widely recognized as a leader in the preservation community, his well-established expertise is a cornerstone of Epsilon’s historic resources and historic tax credit practice.
A.J. Jablonowski, PE
Principal
ajablonowski@epsilonassociates.com
A.J. Jablonowski has experience with a variety of industries, including power production, surface coating, chemical production, waste treatment, metalworking, electronics, food processing, and groundwater treatment. His work includes environmental licensing, compliance and due diligence audits, air permit applications, pollution control studies, accidental release prevention, and regulatory applicability studies. He reviews operations at a variety of industrial and power facilities and recommends process changes for regulatory compliance. He uses strong technical engineering skills and an ability to grasp regulatory nuances as part of his problem-solving approach. He acts as a technical resource for air pollution capture and control options, emissions tracking, and air regulatory interpretations.
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Principals
Michael D. Howard, PWS, CWS
Principal
Michael Howard has more than two decades of experience in wetland ecology, wetland restoration and replication, wildlife biology, vernal pool assessments, natural resource inventories, impact statement preparation, environmental regulatory analysis, and environmental permitting. He is an experienced biologist with extensive experience in wetland delineation and functional assessments using federal and state methodologies. He leads Epsilon’s Ecological Sciences group.
Mr. Howard is a Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS), and is a Certified Wetland Scientist (CWS) in the State of New Hampshire.
Stephen H. Slocomb, PE
Principal
sslocomb@epsilonassociates.com
Stephen Slocomb is a licensed professional chemical engineer with more than 25 years of experience in engineering and environmental consulting for a variety of utilities, developers, institutions, and public agencies. Working with power developers, Steve provides siting, licensing and permitting support for large power plant and combined heat and power projects. In the air quality engineering field, he prepares and negotiates operating and pre-construction air permit applications, including air emission inventories, RACT/BACT/LAER analyses, and investigations of new air pollution control technologies. He sets up environmental compliance and recordkeeping systems, prepares reporting documents for agency submittals, prepares SPCC plans and SWPPPs, performs multimedia audits, and assists with SARA and TURA reporting.
Mr. Slocomb is a Registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts and Florida.
David E. Hewett, LEED AP
Principal
Dave Hewett has 30 years of experience in the field of environmental impact analysis and permitting. His work focuses on permitting for large private sector development projects in Massachusetts, particularly in Boston. He helps clients develop an overall permitting strategy and manages the preparation of documentation under MEPA and Article 80 of the Boston Zoning Code. Mr. Hewett also has experience specific to environmental permitting for public infrastructure projects, including highway, bridge, rail, and airport projects. He has led the preparation of NEPA documentation and permitting for public projects throughout New England.
Mr. Hewett is a LEED Accredited Professional.
Dwight Dunk, LPD, PWS, BCES
Principal
Dwight Dunk is a senior environmental scientist whose professional practice, and academic research, has focused on developing interdisciplinary solutions to environmental challenges. He has applied his ecological and policy expertise to projects nationwide servicing federal, state, local and private-sector clients. Dr. Dunk’s scientific expertise is in the fields of freshwater and coastal wetland ecology; while his permitting and policy expertise focuses on developing and implementing strategies to secure approvals for National Environmental Policy Act documents and state level equivalents, as well as federal, state and local environmental approvals.
Dwight’s external credentials include, Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS), New Hampshire Certified Wetland Scientist (CWS), Board Certified Environmental Scientist (BCES), and Certified Ecologist (CE).
David Klinch, PWS, PMP
Principal
David Klinch has more than 20 years of experience in wetland ecology, wetland delineations, wildlife habitat evaluations, environmental regulatory analysis, impact statement preparation, and environmental permitting with a strong focus on the energy sector. Mr. Klinch is an environmental regulatory specialist providing environmental permitting, consulting and regulatory compliance, and due diligence services associated with natural gas pipeline projects, and electric generation and transmission project siting and permitting. He also provides regulatory agency coordination, wetlands and waterway assessments, waste site characterization, and construction management and oversight services.
Mr. Klinch is a Professional Wetlands Scientist (PWS) and a Professional Project Manager (PMP).
Maria Hartnett
Principal
mhartnett@epsilonassociates.com
Maria Hartnett specializes in environmental permitting and scientific analyses for offshore wind energy development, coastal and marine projects, dredging and disposal activities, and waterfront developments. For more than 18 years, she has been providing environmental consulting services in support of permit applications at the local, state, and federal level. Ms. Hartnett’s areas of expertise include environmental regulatory analysis, preparation of impact assessments, coastal studies, geochemical evaluation of sediments, and development and implementation of monitoring and mitigation programs. Ms. Hartnett advocates effectively for clients with her strong grasp of scientific principles and clear, well-organized, and persuasive technical reports and presentations.
