Current Projects

Off-Highway Vehicle Trail Improvements & Dam Stabilization

MEI completed managing two related projects in the Lake Berryessa watershed for the non-profit organization Tuleyome in late 2024 and now supports pro bono a new project being implemented by Tuleyome staff. The work is being conducted in partnership with the federal Bureau of Land Management Ukiah Field Office in their 17,700-acre Knoxville Recreation Area and with the neighboring University of California Davis’ McLaughlin Natural Reserve. The projects improve off-highway vehicle (OHV) trails for long-term stability/ erosion control with improved water management.

Mountain Lakes Management

MEI is supporting the Pine Mountain Lake Association and Lake Wildwood Association in managing their eponymous lakes in Sierra Nevada foothills. The lakes stores on the order of 4,000 to 8,000 acre-feet of water from a 25-54 square-mile watersheds behind roughly 100-ft tall earthen dams. MEI’s work supports monitoring limnological conditions, reporting on dam instrumentation and water rights, communicating with community leaders and members, and as-needed services such as managing invasive species and surveying the bathymetry.

Mercury Material and Water Treatability Studies

MEI completed a project to apply MercLok, a product developed and patented by Albemarle Corporation, to amend mercury-rich mining material on an abandoned mercury mine site in northern California. Additional potential sites being evaluated include more abandoned mercury mines, a freshwater reservoir being dredged, a saline hot spring, and a floodplain wetland.

Mercury Monitoring and Mitigation Planning for Aggregate Mine Pit Lakes

MEI is supporting aggregate mine site landowners with regulatory compliance for their pit ponds. MEI’s roles at one site have included developing and implementing a mercury monitoring plan, monitoring for a dewatering permit, recommending mercury corrective actions, comparing mercury conditions in the adjacent river, and reviewing the site’s Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan. MEI’s role at another site is to plan, design, and support implementation of several alternative fish mercury control options for a series of adjacent pit ponds.