About Ripple Environmental
Functional. Resilient. Ecological. Design.
***Serving South Carolina and
Northeast & Coastal Georgia***
Specializing in stormwater management - specifically design, inspection, and maintenance activities, including conventional practices, but also those related to Green Infrastructure (GI), Low Impact Development (LID), and Nature-based Solutions.
Services Provided
- Erosion and Sediment (E&S) Plan Reviews (GA and SC)
- E&S Site Inspections (GA only)
- Post-Construction BMP Inspections and Maintenance Plans (GA and SC)
- Pond Inspections and Maintenance Plans (GA and SC)
- Stormwater BMP and Constructed Wetland Design (SC only)
- Watershed Planning (GA and SC)
- Wetland Habitat Evaluation (GA and SC)
Principal Partner
Dan Hitchcock, Ph.D., P.E., has 30+ years of experience in water resources research and education, including in the areas of stormwater, flood, & wastewater management, ecological & environmental design, BMP inspection & maintenance, and watershed planning. Dan holds a Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from the University of Georgia (2001). He has been a registered professional Civil Engineer in South Carolina since 2007 and is also a Certified Level IB (red card) land disturbance site Inspector (2023) and Level II (gray card) Plan Reviewer (2024) in Georgia.
Before diving into Ripple, Dr. Hitchcock was an instructor for the Certified Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Inspector (CEPSCI), Certified Stormwater Plan Reviewer (CSPR), Master Pond Manager, Master Rain Gardener, and Post-Construction BMP Inspector Certification programs with Clemson University until his departure in 2022. He is also a Past-President of the American Ecological Engineering Society (AEES). He serves on the Board of Directors for the Winyah Rivers Alliance, currently as President (2024-).
A self-proclaimed "nature nerd", Dan enjoys hiking, paddling, fishing, birding, camping, and just about anything related to water and other natural resources in all habitats. As a kid, he always loved being in the rain, stomping in the mud, examining water flow, damming up ditches, building bridges over "small" streams, and exploring drainage culverts and pipes.
Regulatory and Design Resources
U.S. EPA Impaired Waters (303d-listed) and TMDL Program:
https://www.epa.gov/tmdl/impaired-waters-and-tmdls-program-your-epa-region-state-or-tribal-land
Georgia NPDES MS4 permit (2017):
https://www.accgov.com/DocumentCenter/View/48084/Phase-II-2017-final-permit?bidId=
Georgia Stormwater Management Manual (GSMM, 2016):
https://atlantaregional.org/natural-resources/water/georgia-stormwater-management-manual/
GSMM Coastal Stormwater Supplement (CSS, 2009) (served as a reviewer, currently a reviewer of the ongoing revision):
Low Impact Development in Coastal South Carolina (2014) (served as a reviewer):
https://northinlet.sc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/LID-in-Coastal-SC.pdf
Community Outreach Resources
EPA's How's My Waterway?: https://mywaterway.epa.gov/
USDA Web Soil Survey: https://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Wetlands Inventory: https://www.fws.gov/program/national-wetlands-inventory
Carolina Wetlands Association (NC and SC): carolinawetlands.org
Winyah Rivers Alliance (NC and SC): winyahrivers.org
Upper Oconee Watershed Network (UOWN) (Athens, GA and vicinity): uown.org
