HAPPY ANNIVERSARY F. X. BROWNE, INC! CONGRATULATIONS ON 30 YEARS OF SERVICE

September 2007 marks the 30-year anniversary of the founding of 
F. X. Browne, Inc. by our President, Frank X. Browne, Ph.D., P.E. Over the years, F. X. Browne, Inc. has become known as a leader in the field of science-based environmental consulting using the latest innovative techniques and cost-effective management practices. 
F. X. Browne, Inc. is a nationally-recognized, award-winning environmental consulting firm with offices in Lansdale and Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania and Saranac Lake, New York. We have a 25 person staff consisting of civil and environmental engineers, environmental scientists, biologists, and planners. 

 

Some of F. X. Browne, Inc.'s biggest accomplishments include:

  • 30 years of watershed management experience. 
  • Performed over 75 successful watershed management projects.
  • Performed over 200 lake studies. 
  • Wrote major portions of the EPA Clean Lakes Manual. 
  • Wrote chapter in the EPA Lake and Reservoir Management Handbook. 
  • Co-founded the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS). 
  • Founded the Pennsylvania Lake Management Society (PALMS).
  • Wrote the stormwater management chapter of the McGraw-Hill Environmental Handbook. 
  • Wrote the Stormwater Management and Non-Point Source chapter of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Environmental Engineering. 
  • Served on the review committee that developed the statewide Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual for Pennsylvania.
  • Trained participants at Pennsylvania DEP-sponsored workshops in the use of the Pennsylvania Stormwater BMP Manual. 
  • Very high success rate in obtaining federal and state funding to implement watershed management plans. 
  • Extensive experience in decentralized wastewater management to solve failing septic system problems.

F. X. Browne, Inc. projects have won numerous awards including:

  • 2006 Stormwater Best Management Practices Award Recognition (F. X. Browne, Inc. stormwater retrofit)
  • 2006 Stormwater Best Management Practices Award Recognition (Stony Creek Farms stormwater design)
  • 2004 PADEP Stormwater Management Award (Overbrook Environmental Education Center)
  • 2005 Philadelphia Area Stormwater BMP Award 
  • 2004 Northeastern Pennsylvania Environmental Partnership Award (Twin and Walker Creeks Watershed Conservancy Management Plan)
  • 2004 Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions Award (Crosswicks Creek/Doctors Creek Watershed Regional Planning Group Greenway Plan)
  • 2004 New Jersey Environmental Excellence Award for Innovative Technology (Central Avenue Wastewater Treatment Facility)
  • 1998 Governor's Award for Excellence in Environmental Education 
  • 1991 North American Lake Management Society Outstanding Corporation Award 
  • 1990 Lake Wallenpaupack Take Pride in Pennsylvania Award 
  • 1989 Shawnee Take Pride in Pennsylvania Award 
  • 1988 Franklin Lake, New Jersey, Take Pride in America Award

In addition to the awards and accomplishments listed above, F. X. Browne, Inc. is proud of the following significant water quality, stormwater, and wastewater design projects:

Republic of China (Taiwan) Environmental Protection Administration (EPA)

F. X. Browne, Inc. provided expert consulting services for the Republic of China (Taiwan) Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). Funded by the U.S. EPA, Dr. Frank Browne inspected various water supply reservoirs in Taiwan and developed and presented a water quality and watershed management seminar. A conceptual watershed management program for water supply reservoirs in Taiwan was developed.

EPA Nationwide Urban Runoff Study (NURP)

F. X. Browne, Inc. managed the $1.2 million, three-year Nationwide Urban Runoff Program (NURP) for the Kansas City Area, one of eleven nationwide urban runoff studies. F. X. Browne, Inc. was responsible for designing the NURP study, designing and installing the sophisticated, automated nonpoint source monitoring equipment, coordinating the activities of one county and one city, collecting and analyzing the data, developing a management plan, writing the final report, and presenting the results to EPA and congressional staff.

The NURP studies produced the best, most reliable information on nonpoint source loading rates and Best Management Practices (BMPs) treatment efficiencies. Regional basins and ponds were definitively analyzed during the NURP studies, resulting in excellent design criteria for regional detention basins.

Penn State Runoff Model (PSRM)

F. X. Browne, Inc. was the first firm in the nation to convert the mainframe Penn State Runoff Model for use on the IBM-PC. The microcomputer version of the model was developed to analyze the impacts of land development in the Crackerneck Creek watershed in Independence, Missouri. F. X. Browne, Inc. wrote The PSRM User's Manual and The PSRM Applications Manual as part of this EPA-funded project and has given seminars on the use of the Penn State Runoff Model throughout the country.

Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District Watershed Management Plan

Lake Wallenpaupack is the largest man-made lake in Pennsylvania. In 1978, F. X. Browne, Inc. developed the organizational plan for the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District and assisted the three local counties and 14 municipalities to incorporate the district. F. X. Browne, Inc. then obtained an EPA Phase I Study grant for the District and developed a comprehensive watershed management plan for the 219 square mile watershed. In 1998 and 1999, F. X. Browne, Inc. assisted the LWWMD in obtaining a total of $2,200,000 from two EPA grants. 

The watershed management programs included the design and construction of Best Management Practices (BMPs) throughout the watershed to control nonpoint sources of pollution to Lake Wallenpaupack. F. X. Browne, Inc. developed a runoff control ordinance, performed watershed investigations, installed, operated and maintained five automated sampling stations on major tributaries draining to the lake, designed educational curricula and presentations, performed numerous workshops and seminars, developed educational brochures, developed a volunteer water quality monitoring program, and designed numerous agricultural and developed area BMPs in the watershed including streambank and shoreline stabilization measures. F. X. Browne, Inc. developed a program whereby all existing and new wastewater treatment plants must voluntarily provide advanced tertiary treatment to reduce phosphorus in the effluent to 0.5 mg/L. In 2006, F. X. Browne, Inc. prepared an update to the 1982 Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management Plan.

Canaan Valley Institute New Headquarters Facility

As part of 50,000 square foot, state-of-the-art green-building facility, F. X. Browne, Inc. worked to create an artful, yet functional site and stormwater management plan for the new headquarters of the Canaan Valley Institute. Working as part of a large interdisciplinary team, we used ecological restoration and low impact design techniques to recreate natural woodland, meadow, and wetland landscapes on an existing, highly disturbed site. Stormwater management features, which included infiltration gardens and treatment wetlands, also served as key landscape elements. Sustainable Development Numerous pedestrian paths, terraces, and walking bridges allow staff and visitors to experience the natural landscape from a variety of perspectives. Infiltration based-stormwater management techniques resulted in no-net increase in stormwater volumes up to and including the 100-year storm. To demonstrate the connection between stormwater and land forms, a chain of step/pool channels and rain gardens conveys stormwater from roof tops and terraces, promoting water quality treatment and infiltration and creating hydrologic conditions similar to perched wetland communities found elsewhere on the site. The site incorporates state of the art sustainability technologies, receiving LEEDTM Certification credits based upon our designs for reducing site disturbance, stormwater management, and innovative wastewater technologies and is targeted to be certified at the Platinum Level.