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Janet Savoie

Janet Savoie
Senior Science Advisor

Janet Savoie

Senior Science Advisor

Ms. Savoie is a senior environmental scientist with more than 40 years of experience in marine studies primarily involving monitoring, assessment, and fate and effects of discharges into the marine environment that are largely related to oil and gas industry development. She has performed discharge monitoring and other support for a variety of dischargers under permits administered by the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and the State of Alaska’s Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (APDES). Her work has included the preparation of discharge and mixing zone applications and associated antidegradation analyses as well as the preparation of supportive docu...

Ms. Savoie is a senior environmental scientist with more than 40 years of experience in marine studies primarily involving monitoring, assessment, and fate and effects of discharges into the marine environment that are largely related to oil and gas industry development. She has performed discharge monitoring and other support for a variety of dischargers under permits administered by the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and the State of Alaska’s Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (APDES). Her work has included the preparation of discharge and mixing zone applications and associated antidegradation analyses as well as the preparation of supportive documents, such as quality assurance project plans (QAPPs) and best management practices (BMP) plans. She has participated in numerous multidisciplinary long-term monitoring programs and taken part in many research surveys in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and areas of Alaska such as the Beaufort Sea, Prince William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, and Cook Inlet. She has performed field sampling efforts for all types of environmental projects, including dredged material assessments, scientific responses to oil spills in both Alaska and California, and various marine monitoring, assessment, and permit compliance programs that have included everything from intertidal beach sampling and small-boat harbor work to deep water (>2000-m) sediment, water, and infaunal sampling and fishing. In addition, Ms. Savoie has worked in the Arctic in both summer and winter conditions, and this work has included under-ice sampling in the Beaufort Sea in Alaska.

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Environmental Monitoring

Municipality of Anchorage NPDES 301(h) Monitoring Program, Alaska Currently supports (and previously performed as) the assistant program manager for the Municipality of Anchorage's NPDES 301(h) secondary treatment waiver compliance monitoring program for the Asplund Water Pollution Control Treatment Facility (WPCTF). Performed all aspects of a study that included field sampling of receiving water, in-plant sampling, data analysis, quality assurance, data interpretation, and report writing. Other components of this study have addressed water and sediment quality, discharge criteria, ocean currents and dispersion, benthic invertebrates, toxicity, bioaccumulation, and permit and regulatory compliance determinations. Participated in various special studies and evaluations, including those addressing biochemical oxygen demand and chlorination issues that have been conducted in support of the WPCTF’s existing permit.
Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility’s Asplund WPCTF NPDES Permit Renewal for Discharge to Cook Inlet, Alaska Acted as assistant manager and provided field and interpretive support on a large multiyear and multidisciplinary effort for the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility in support of efforts to renew its NPDES 301(h) variance from secondary treatment. One of the key permitting issues for this facility is that the discharge is in critical habitat for Cook Inlet beluga whales. Field responsibilities included the collection of water and sediment to document contaminants and ascertain quality, sampling of benthic infauna and fish for community analysis, and collection of fish species for bioaccumulation assessment. Involvement also included logistics planning, data interpretation, data quality assurance, and preparation of technical memoranda used in support of the permit application.
Willow Marine Monitoring Program, Western Harrison Bay, North Slope of Alaska Performed as assistant manager and participated in all aspects of the program, from fieldwork to final reporting, to provide baseline data in support of an environmental impact statement preparation needed for the Willow Development. The program focused on obtaining representative chemical, physical, and biological data to characterize the Harrison Bay marine environment with emphasis on potential oil-industry contaminants in sediments as well as conventional parameters required by dredge investigation and regulators. The study also included water quality, oceanography, nearshore fisheries, and benthic infaunal components.
Seawater Treatment Plant NPDES Monitoring, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Participated in various North Slope oil-industry permit monitoring programs, including the Prudhoe Bay seawater treatment plant (STP) NPDES compliance monitoring program. Sampled water and sediments from Prudhoe Bay during the winter (through the ice) and summer (open water conditions) for analyses of permit-required parameters. Work also involved data analysis and report preparation. In addition, served as the assistant program manager for the Kuparuk STP and Kuparuk Wastewater Treatment Plant NPDES monitoring programs, both of which involved effluent sampling and receiving water monitoring for toxicity and water quality parameters.
Northstar Development Project NPDES Monitoring Studies, North Slope of Alaska Supported the Northstar development project NPDES monitoring studies, which involved sediment chemistry, benthic infauna, and water quality in the vicinity of the Northstar development and discharge. Prepared annual monitoring reports that included in-plant effluent chemistry and whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing programs. Under a separate project authorization, addressed permit compliance issues for the Endicott and Prudhoe Bay Waterflood operations. In addition, assisted in the implementation of NPDES database and monitoring software that was use at seven North Slope facilities in support of permit-required and operational monitoring activities.
Alaska LNG Studies, North Slope and Cook Inlet, Alaska Performed as assistant manager on various studies that took place in 2011–2019 in support of the proposed Alaksa liquified natural gas (LNG) Project. Performed all aspects of the study, from fieldwork through reporting. North Slope studies included sediment grabs and coring to assess chemical properties in sediments along with water quality, nearshore fisheries, and benthic infauna in the Prudhoe region to assess the impact of proposed dredging and dredge material disposal. Work in the Cook Inlet involved sediment quality and ichthyoplankton studies in the vicinity of the proposed LNG terminal at Nikiski to examine potential impacts from that facility.
Kuparuk STP and Kuparuk Wastewater Treatment Plant NPDES Monitoring Programs, Alaska Monitored effluent and receiving water for toxicity and water quality parameters. Participated in the APDES/NPDES permit renewal effort for the Kuparuk STP, which included the preparation of a BMP plan and QAPP. Supported other APDES permit activities that included the preparation of SWPPPs for the Beluga River Unit and Kuparuk Airport as well as Kuparuk North Slope General Permit and APDES permit applications for the Kenai LNG Plant and the Tyonek A Platform.
Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council’s Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Program, Valdez, Alaska Served as program manager for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council’s Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Program and managed all aspects of the project, from design and implementation to field sampling and final interpretation, data handling and interpretation, and reporting. The program was designed to monitor the potential impacts of petroleum hydrocarbons on biota and sediments in the Prince William Sound and Gulf of Alaska. Mussels were used as bioindicators of hydrocarbon accumulation in intertidal environments while subtidal sediments, collected by both grab sampler and divers, were analyzed to provide information on long-term inputs to the marine environment. The program also included emergency sampling in response to spill events at the Alyeska Marine Terminal.
Cook Inlet Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council’s Environmental Monitoring Program, Shelikof Strait Program, Cook Inlet Sediment Characterization and Toxicity Study, and Kenai River and Estuary Investigation Project, Alaska Managed or performed as assistant manager, performed as field lead or assisted with fieldwork and logistics, performed data handling and interpretation, and prepared reports for programs focused on the potential environmental effects of oil-industry activities in the Cook Inlet. Program designs have included monitoring sediment chemistry and toxicity, water quality, bioaccumulation in fish and mussels, benthic investigations, and the use of bio-surrogates (semipermeable membrane devices) to monitor hydrocarbons in the water column.

Ocean Modeling

APDES/NPDES Permit and Mixing Zone Applications, Various Alaskan Locations Assisted with the preparation and submission of numerous APDES/NPDES permit applications, the work for which included the performance of reasonable potential analyses, antidegradation analyses, and mixing zone evaluations along with the production of permit application materials. This endeavor has included various classes of discharges, such as those from oil industry facilities, municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities, fish hatcheries, and hotels that discharge cooling water. More recent work has included the APDES permit and mixing zone applications for the Eagle River Wastewater Treatment Facility, Prudhoe Bay STP, Kuparuk STP, Endicott STP, Prudhoe Bay Central Sewage Treatment Facility, Kenai LNG wastewater discharge, proposed Colville River Crossing horizontal directional drilling effort, City of Kotzebue Water Treatment Facility, Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association Kitoi Bay Hatchery discharge, and seven discrete hatchery discharge operations for the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association. Also provided permit compliance documentation support for various hotels discharging cooling waters into freshwaters in Alaska. In addition to permit applications and mixing zone applications for these facilities, authored or assisted with the production of a variety of facility-specific QAPPs, BMP plans, stormwater prevention plans (SWPPPs), and other permit-required documentation, such as notices of intent for various entities holding discharge permits.

Sediment Investigation

Nome Harbor and Navigation Channel Sediment Characterization Program, Nome, Alaska Performed sediment characterization for the Port of Nome and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assess the level of contaminants (metals, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, semivolatile organic compounds) within Nome’s harbor and navigational channels. Involved in all aspects of the program, from field sampling (vibracoring) to final data interpretation and submittal.

Data Analysis

Synthesis of Contaminants Data for Cook Inlet, Evaluation of Existing Data and Recommendations for Further Monitoring, Alaska Assisting with database preparation and report writing on a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management project that aims to compile and synthesize existing regional Cook Inlet environmental data with a major focus on concentrations of hydrocarbons and metals in water, sediment, and tissues. The compiled data set was evaluated for comparability, utility, and completeness, and data were integrated into a single database for which new visualization tools are being developed for exploration and presentation of the data in an interactive GIS-based format. Data assessment is being used to produce recommendations for methods and new studies to monitor the fate and effect of contaminant inputs to the Cook Inlet and the areas associated with Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) lease sales. Final deliverables include the database along with associated visualization and presentation tools and a written report summarizing the database contents, methodology, analysis, and recommendations for future use in terms of both data rescue (collection of scattered data sets) and monitoring gaps and needs.

Marine Biological Science

California OCS Monitoring Program, California Served as laboratory supervisor, data manager, taxonomist, and field lead for a large, multidisciplinary, Minerals Management Service-funded, 5-year California OCS monitoring program involving both soft- and hard-bottom community assessments along with chemical assessment and oceanography. Managed the benthic laboratory and all phases of benthic analysis, from initial sorting through taxonomic identification, quality assurance, and data reporting. Participated and led benthic and biological sampling, which included box-coring and sediment grab collection, water quality and oceanographic profiling, and hard-bottom video surveying via a remotely operated vehicle.

Marine Science

U.S. North, Mid-, and South Atlantic Slope and Rise Studies and Georges Bank Monitoring Program, U.S. Atlantic Ocean Performed as field crew, benthic sorter, and taxonomist for an intensive study of deepwater benthic communities and the potential impacts of oil development on these communities in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean. Fieldwork included box-coring; sediment grabs; conductivity, temperature, and depth profiling; water sample collection; trawling; photographic sled transects; and sediment trap and recolonization arrays.

NRDA For Oil Spills

Pipeline P00547 Incident, Huntington Beach, California Provided field support for oil spill resource damage assessment activities for the 2021 Huntington Beach oil spill. Conducted fish and invertebrate collection by employing proper state-specified sample collection, handling, and chain-of-custody procedures for analysis of hydrocarbon body burdens in support of the State of California’s fishing closures due to the potential hydrocarbon contamination of recreational and commercial fish species. Trapped invertebrates (lobster, crab, and gastropods) and conducted trawling for fish offshore on both small and larger vessels along the southern California coast.
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS), Prince William Sound, Kodiak, and Gulf of Alaska, Alaska Performed as a scientist and field lead managing many studies performed in response to the 1989 EVOS. Programs included water and sediment quality assessments, fate and effects studies, and cleanup/treatment efficacy studies. Also acted as chief scientist for the 1990 Bioremediation Monitoring Program, a study jointly funded by EPA, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and Exxon. Participated in field sampling, sample documentation and tracking, database management, and reporting. Developed comprehensive sample control protocols and a spill-wide labeling system that enabled the simultaneous sampling of water, sediment, and biota during the initial response by numerous scientific programs and contractors working concurrently across the spill response area. Authored field sampling standard operating procedures for use during the EVOS response and subsequently for the oil industry for use on the North Slope and in other regions of Alaska.
Pac Baroness Spill Response, Point Conception, California Lead field crew for sediment quality and macroinfauna sampling and analysis performed in fall of 1987 off Point Conception in response to the sinking of the Pac Baroness in approximately 430 m of water after a collision with another vessel. The U.S. Minerals Management Services funded this phase of the spill response.
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