TERRY HUFFMAN, PHD
President /Senior Wetland Regulatory Scientist
Terry has a unique combination of in-depth experience with ecological research and the environmental regulatory process. Prior to starting Huffman-Broadway Group, Inc., he was the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Chief Wetlands Scientist at the Corps’ Environmental Laboratory in Vicksburg Mississippi, where he developed the wetlands definition used by the Corps and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He pioneered the combined use of multiple environmental factors of wetland vegetation, soil and hydrology conditions and their identification through the use of field indicators to determine the presence or absence of wetlands subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act. This seminal work led to the development of the wetland delineation methodology in use by the Corps and EPA today. As noted in the preface to the Corps’ 1987 Wetlands Delineation Manual, Part II of the Manual is based on Terry’s 1980 paper entitled “Multiple Parameter Approach to the Field Identification and Delineation of Wetlands.” As a lead technical representative for the Corps, Terry also played a major role in developing the language pertaining to wetlands in the EPA 404(b)(1) Guidelines for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the US, including wetlands. His nearly 35 years of work with the Corps and as a private consultant has provided Terry with extensive onsite experience with virtually all types of aquatic and wetland environments and a unique understanding of the environmental permitting and compliance process.
GARY DEGHI
Vice President, Senior Environmental Scientist
Gary has nearly 40 years of experience in environmental consulting. His areas of expertise include wetland ecology and wildlife biology, environmental impact analysis, regulatory permitting, the application of federal and state resource management regulations and policy and project management. Gary has been at HBG since 1992 conducting evaluations pursuant to a variety of federal and state statutes including the federal Clean Water Act, feferal Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), among others. Gary has assisted both public and private clients in conducting environmental impact analysis for development projects and obtaining regulatory approvals from agencies including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers California Regional Water Quality Control Boards, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and others. He is skilled in preparing a variety of technical environmental evaluations in support of regulatory permitting. He has managed the preparation of over 200 Environmental Impact Reports, Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments pursuant to NEPA and CEQA requirements.
Robert F Perrera
Senior Wetland Regulatory Scientist
Mr. Perrera, a former Regulatory Project Manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, is a project manager with HBG providing environmental consulting services for residential and commercial development, creek and wetland restoration projects, and levee construction and maintenance. His areas of expertise include obtaining Clean Water Act Section 404 and Section 10 Rivers and Harbors Act authorizations, CDFW 1602 Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreements, State 401 Water Quality Certifications, and San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission permits. In support of obtaining environmental entitlements, he conducts wetland delineations, prepares biological resources reports, biological monitoring, and conducts surveys for protected species such as the burrowing owls.
In addition, Robert is experienced with obtaining Bank Enabling Instruments for proposed wetland mitigation banks. He successfully obtained and executed the first full tidal wetland mitigation bank on the San Francisco Bay. He has experience working with environmental agencies in California, Utah, Nevada, Georgia, Alabama, and Hawaii.
TUNSTALL LANG, JD
Senior Environmental Specialist
Ms. Lang has over 28 years of environmental consulting experience. An environmental attorney, she is familiar with the major federal and California environmental statutes and regulations. She has provided regulatory compliance assistance for clients including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as private sector clients. At Huffman-Broadway Group, Inc., she specializes in preparing individual and nationwide Corps of Engineers permit applications, wetland mitigation plans, resources management plans, and mitigation and conservation banking documents. She has provided litigation support for expert witness testimony by HBG president Terry Huffman, PhD. For a previous employer, she was project manager for numerous Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), including a number of multi-site assessment programs and/or projects that required the subsequent completion of Phase II investigations. She was closely involved in the preparation of remedial investigation/feasibility study reports for CERCLA sites. She has prepared Public Participation Plans in accordance with California guidance and Health and Safety Plans for highway construction, building demolition, and other projects. Ms. Lang has been involved in Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activities both professionally and, from 1994 to 2004, as community co-chair of the Restoration Advisory Board for former Hamilton Air Force Base, Novato, California.
MARK BYARS
Senior GIS Specialist
Mr. Byars has over 20 years of experience as a GIS Specialist and GIS Project Manager in environmental and land management projects. He has extensive experience working with various GIS, mapping, and remote sensing software, including ESRI ArcGIS and its extensions; and Erdas Imagine and Stereo Analyst, as well as AutoCAD and AutoCAD Map 3D. He also has experience setting up and administering ArcGIS Server map server software for sharing GIS data over intranets and the internet. He has 19 years of experience working with GPS field collection gear and post-processing software and training others in the use of GPS for field data collection, using it on projects in the United States and abroad, including work in South America, Europe, and the Middle East. He has worked on all phases of environmental GIS and mapping projects from cost estimation and project design to implementation and supervision of projects. He has also provided liaison with clients and the transfer of GIS and mapping deliverables to clients’ computer systems. He has worked extensively with wetland and habitat mapping, bringing together GPS field collection data, aerial and remote sensing data, topographic data, hydrographic data, and soils data in a GIS database for analysis and identification. He has conducted numerous inventory, project constraint, project impact, project site selection, and project management analyses using these methods, working closely with engineers, biologists and planning staff. He has worked as a Staff Archaeologist/GIS Specialist for a cultural resources management firm, working on GIS and GPS field mapping projects in California, Oregon, Washington, Israel, and the Ukraine. He has also served as a staff researcher at the University of California, working on a GIS project mapping the habitat and range of primate species worldwide and building a primate species diversity index, additionally he has modeled habitat encroachment patterns to identify and rank threats to habitats rich in primate species diversity. His responsibilities as a staff researcher included finding and contacting the organizations responsible for and acquiring environmental and habitat data for all areas in the world with non-human primate populations.
GREG HUFFMAN
Environmental Scientist
Greg specializes in natural resource regulatory issues associated with energy, residential, commercial, transportation, and other projects. He has extensive expertise in aquatic and terrestrial biology, wetlands, sensitive species, water quality, environmental impact assessment, GIS, remote sensing, permitting, and regulatory compliance. As an Environmental Scientist with Huffman-Broadway Group, Mr. Huffman is responsible for overseeing natural resource regulatory aspects of energy, residential, commercial, transportation, and other projects. Principal tasks include wetland delineations, habitat assessment, and other field investigations; preparing environmental impact assessments and other analyses in support of permit applications; coordinating with state and federal agencies to obtain project approvals; developing mitigation and monitoring plans to compensate for project impacts; coordinating with project developers and contractors to ensure compliance with permit conditions; project management; marketing; and new business development.
Hugh Barroll, JD
Senior Environmental Regulatory Specialist
Mr. Barroll provides Clean Water Act environmental regulatory policy and permitting advice for Huffman-Broadway Group clients. More information on Mr. Barroll to come.
TOMAS G. YOCOM
Senior Scientist
Tom is a former National Wetlands Expert for US EPA Region 9. As such he served as national resource on EPA wetlands policies and procedures; consulted with wetlands regulatory and enforcement section on technically-challenging or controversial permit or enforcement issues; conducted training on 404 and wetlands jurisdictional delineation in California, Hawaii, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, and the Republic of Palau; assisted EPA’s Superfund Division on wetland delineation, mitigation, and restoration issues; assisted other EPA Regions and Corps of Engineers Districts on permitting and enforcement issues/cases. He also assisted in the 1997 interagency agreement leading to the purchase and restoration of Bolsa Chica, third largest remaining wetland in southern California and served on interagency team that negotiated the purchase and future restoration of over 20,000 acres of salt ponds in South San Francisco Bay.