Russ Frydenborg, President
A native Floridian with 35 years of experience with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Russ has sampled, analyzed, and interpreted physical, chemical, and biological data from virtually all 67 Florida counties, including stream, spring, lake, wetland, and estuary systems.
As the former administrator of the Florida DEP Water Quality Standards Program, he oversaw development and incorporation of biological assessment tools (Stream Condition Index, Lake Vegetation Index, Rapid Periphyton Survey, and Linear Vegetation Survey) into water quality standards (Chapters 62-302 and 62-303, F.A.C).
Russ has been instrumental in the adoption of statewide Numeric Nutrient Criteria (NNC), updating Dissolved Oxygen (DO) criteria, crafting an improved process to revise the designated use classification of surface waters, and designing studies to assess point source discharges for NPDES permitting decisions. Russ supervised an overhaul of the Quality Assurance (QA) Rule (Chapter 62-160, F.A.C.), including creation of the current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for field sampling activities, and establishment of an extensive QA training and auditing program.
With diverse abilities and experience, ranging from serving on the Governor’s Springs Task Force, writing policy documents on Emerging Substances of Concern, conducting Everglades and Minimum Flows and Levels studies, chairing the Deadhead Logging Committee, to testifying in court as an expert witness on numerous cases, Russ has the knowledge of state rules and the objectivity to properly assess and interpret environmental data in the context of regulatory requirements.
Certifications and Skills
- FDEP Stream Condition Index and Habitat Assessment
- Linear Vegetation Survey
- Rapid Periphyton Survey
- Lake Vegetation Index
- Expert Witness
Florida State University, B.S. Biology
Beck Frydenborg, Senior Scientist
Beck is an interdisciplinary ecologist with extensive expertise in study design,
aquatic assessments, microbiology, statistical analyses, data visualization, and
GIS.
She has a diverse background in biological research, including microbial ecology, coral ecology, developmental biology, plant genetics, molecular biology, epidemiology, environmental health, and bioinformatics.
At Frydenborg Ecologic, she collects biological and water quality data using FDEP
SOPs, performs statistical analyses and data visualizations using R and QGIS,
writes reports interpreting data in the context of Florida environmental statutes,
and coordinates with regulatory agencies on behalf of clients.
She has extensive experience with projects concerning Numeric Nutrient Criteria,
Site Specific Alternative Criteria, NPDES compliance, Microbial Source Tracking,
policy reviews and meta-analyses, and ecological restoration.
Certifications and Skills
- FDEP Stream Condition Index and Habitat Assessment
- Linear Vegetation Survey
- Rapid Periphyton Survey
- Lake Vegetation Index
- AAUS Scientific Diver
- Microbial source tracking
- R Programming for Statistical analysis and Data visualization
- GIS
University of Georgia, M.S. Environmental Health Science
University of Florida, B.S. Microbiology and Cell Science