Bio

Mr. Petru has over 20 years of experience in ecosystem restoration design and planning. He provides assistance in all aspects of stream and wetland restoration projects, including site search, feasibility studies, aquatic resource assessments (including Ohio Rapid Assessment Method (ORAM), Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) and other assessments), Bank Erosion Habitat Index (BEHI) assessments, restoration planning, restoration design, floodplain coordination, Clean Water Act permit coordination, and project and construction management services. He has designed and/or constructed over 36,000 LF of stream channel restoration and over 450 acres of tidal, riparian, headwater and stormwater treatment wetland habitat. He has led and participated in the design and construction of large scale wetland and stream channel restoration projects using natural channel design principles. Mr. Petru is Rosgen IV certified. He has led and participated in the design and construction of wetland restoration projects ranging from 0.3 acres to over 55 acres in size. The majority of Mr. Petru’s experience has focused on the reclamation of agricultural and industrially influenced landscapes back into productive ecosystems. He has conducted surface water delineations, perennial flow determinations and other natural resource inventories on utility lines, military bases, private development projects and restoration sites in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey. He has routinely coordinated Section 404 and 401 of the Clean Water act with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and state agencies. He has produced and acquired Level 1 and Level 2 Isolated Wetland Permits and Director’s Authorization requests with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) and has routine exposure with Nationwide Permit (NWP) compliance documentation, Pre-Construction Notifications (PCNs) and Section 10 Authorizations with the USACE. Mr. Petru also remains actively involved in post-restoration monitoring and applied research efforts. As a Certified Arborist, he has conducted numerous forest stand inventories and produced the resulting existing conditions, impact and revegetation plans for local and county municipalities. A majority of his career has focused on the feasibility, Inter-Agency Review Team (IRT) approval, design, construction oversight, monitoring and compliance coordination of numerous wetland and stream project specific mitigation and mitigation banks.