Continuing with our  #Shalebenefits highlights, Energy in Depth – Ohio recently visited with Mr. Rob Lauriello, vice president, of Rettew Associates, Inc.  The company, whose slogan is “We answer to you”, came to Canton in December 2011.  In their words, “the oil and gas industry brought us to Ohio.”  Fueled by the Utica Shale,  that industry has also helped the company grow from 25 workers to 47, with plans to grow up to 80 before year’s end. While unique, it’s another example of the many opportunities available to Ohioans thanks to shale development.

The company is based in North Canton and its engineers’ design and implement regulatory approved engineered solutions to protect human health and the environment. One of the key areas of business for Rettew is servicing the oil and gas industry. The projects that Rettew’s engineers work on every day, and are known for their best practices, range from groundwater availability and aquifer recharge to waste-water collection and treatment.

If past is prologue, their will be plenty of opportunities for Ohioans to join the company in the near future.  According to a recent press release, the company has seen significant growth in recent years which has catapulted it up the Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) annual list of top 500 design firms in the country. From the release:

The firm’s expansion in the energy and utilities market served as the primary driver of RETTEW’s increase in ranking on ENR’s top 500 list. From 2009 to present, RETTEW has jumped more than 300 spots on the list.

With a story like that, and plenty of opportunities coming for Ohioans, we stopped by for a visit as part of our new series.  Rob Lauriello, PE, vice president of RETTEW’s civil/municipal and transportation engineering services, explains the company, and it’s work in the below video.

“We do offer full service engineering to the oil and gas industry, that’s what really brought us here to Ohio.” -Rob Lauriello

In the below video, Rob explains the wide range of professionals employed by Rettew, as well as the systems employed, to reduce the entire impact of natural gas operations from “cradle to grave.”

 “We really view our role with the industry as helping the oil and gas companies protect the environment.” – Rob Lauriello

Finally, Rob explains the unique regulatory and project understanding the company has developed in helping a wide-range of clients   implement environmental protections over the past four decades.

“One of our primary roles is to help our clients understand the rules and regulations and the importance of complying with those regulations that protect the environment.” – Rob Lauriello

We also spoke with Ryan Mastowski, EIT, a project engineer in Rettew’s Flowback division. This division develops systems for flow-back water and produced water from natural gas production wells. The engineered systems Ryan and his colleagues build collect this water, treat it, and provide reusable water for use in additional well stimulations.  Overall, the process significantly reduces the fresh water needed to produce natural gas from the Utica Shale.

“We have hired 16 folks for this process, 30% of which are returning veterans.” -Ryan Mastowski, Project engineer

We also talked with Charles Hauber, a licensed engineer and surveyor, who serves as a project manager with the land development services division of Rettew.  Chuck, and his colleagues, develop engineering plans for impoundments and well pads to minimize their environmental footprint and localize their impacts.

“We install erosion and sediment control practices on the site to prevent sediment from leaving the site during construction.” – Charles Hauber, Project manager

The story of Rettew is reflects our growing economy and serves as good example of how exploring for and producing natural gas goes hand in hand with protecting the environment.  We look forward to more stories of the company’s success in protecting Ohio’s environment while responsibly producing the homegrown resource that has the ability to make us all a little more independent.