Valerie H. Rifkin, M.S.

Expertise: Environmental Compliance, Grant Management, Hazard Mitigation Plans

Professional Profile

Since joining ETG in 2001, Ms. Rifkin has coordinated several environmental projects with New York municipalities.   She works on Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plans, Non-Point Contamination Source Studies, and oversees environmental grants relating to flood remediation and drainage issues.  She also focuses on compliance, grant research, and environmental technology alternatives.

Prior to joining ETG, Ms. Rifkin participated in a pilot engineering program at the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air, Noise, and Hazardous Materials.  She spent her tenure analyzing air pollution emissions in the Air Laboratory, and monitoring pollution control devices for the Fossil Fuels and Industrial Processes divisions.    Prior to her work at the NYCDEP, she was the Manager of Real Estate and Zoning for a major wireless communications company, where she was active in the acquisition, zoning, and permitting processes for the network implementation of wireless communication structures in three New York Counties.  Before that, she was a partner in a commercial real estate management company overseeing an extensive portfolio of shopping centers and office buildings. 

Ms. Rifkin is an active participant in ETG’s training and environmental technology seminar programs.  She conducts an educational seminar on Brownfields redevelopment, with an emphasis on New York State legislation and grant funding opportunities.  She also participates in ETG’s Stormwater and Flood Management seminar, where she educates industry professionals on what municipalities need to know about the Community Rating System, floodplain activities, and flood insurance.

Ms. Rifkin earned her Masters Degree in Environmental Technology from the New York Institute of Technology, where she finished at the top of her class.  In addition, she was the recipient of NYIT’s Environmental Technology Graduate Faculty Award.  Ms. Rifkin is a member of The National Association of Environmental Professionals, and is a New York State licensed real estate broker.


 Representative Experience

Incorporated Village of Bayville, New York
  • Oversee NFIP’s Community Rating System (CRS) by coordinating community floodplain management activities to prevent future flood losses in the Village.
  • Report compliance of environmental grants to improve drainage and relieve flooding in the Village.
  • Non-point Contamination Source Study
    • Evaluated alternative onsite wastewater treatment system technologies to reduce the presence of coliform in local bodies of water.
    • Determined the main bacterial water quality indicator standards for shellfish harvesting.
    • Analyzed coliform sampling data for 19 sampling sites located in the Mill Neck Creek, Oyster Bay Harbor, and Cold Spring Harbor.
    • Performed water quality sampling for optical brighteners in the Mill Neck Creek.
Incorporated Village of Pelham, New York
  • Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan
College Point, New York
  • Daily and monthly compliance reporting for the remediation of an 8 ½ acre site under the NYSDEC Voluntary Cleanup program.
Incorporated Village of Manorhaven, New York
  • Researched local impacts of extreme weather conditions in accordance with a Floodplain Management and Hazard Mitigation Study.
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) / University of Puerto Rico
  • Monitored the compliance of a USEPA Consent Decree with PREPA for correction of air, water pollution, and hazardous waste violations on four major electrical generating plants.
  • Analyzed emissions data and prepared quarterly reports.
  • Created educational materials describing types of power plant operations; PREPA’s land acquisition program; the chemical processes of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and ground-level ozone; complete and incomplete combustion processes; opacity measurement methods; techniques for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions; and wastewater treatment.
NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Air Monitoring Laboratory
  • Analyzed daily air emissions of contaminants generated by the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant under the North River Air Quality Monitoring Program.

 

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