Becky Baker

Becky Baker is an environmental planner at KLJ Engineering with a background in environmental documentation and permitting.  She has over 12 years of experience in providing environmental compliance services mainly within the Dakotas and Wyoming.  She is located in Sioux Falls, SD.  She has previous experience in:
- Developing NEPA documents that meet the following federal requirements: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Emergency Management (FEMA), National Park Service (NPS), US Forest Service (Forest Service), and the Department of Energy (DOE).
- Managing projects through open, honest communication with clients.
- Coordinating with agencies to help clients to navigate the regulations in an effective, efficient manner and ensuring all environmental compliance requirements are met.
- Provide opportunities for public involvement on projects through public meetings, presentations, websites, newsletters, landowner meetings, etc.
- Completion of wetland delineations, wetland mitigation and Selection 404 permitting.

Kevin Heiberger

Mr. Kevin J. Heiberger works in the Mining & Energy business unit of RESPEC as a Staff Engineer in the Geomechanics division. Mr. Heiberger has experience in performing geomechanical analyses of underground excavations in domal and bedded salt formations for the solution-mining, hydrocarbon storage, and potash production industries. His geomechanics project experience includes the structural assessment of solution-mined and underground conventional mining excavations. Mr. Heiberger’s background includes technical team leadership and project management roles for Department of Defense (DoD) programs in the aerospace industry, in addition to detailed component design and system development experience.

After obtaining his Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology with high honors in 2007, Mr. Heiberger was hired by Caterpillar’s Transmission Business Unit as a Controls System Engineer. Prior to joining the RESPEC team in 2015, Mr. Heiberger worked in lead engineering roles for Triumph Gear Systems and L-3 Communications-CSW, serving the military aerospace industry. His responsibilities included both technical and project management aspects spanning multiple levels of internal and external customers and sub-contractors. His strong technical skills in design and development were paired with his team leadership skills to provide solutions to challenging engineering problems within stringent project constraints. His education and work experiences as an engineering professional have provided him a solid foundation of technical, interpersonal and project management skills that he leverages to exceed customer’s expectations.

Gabe Laber, PE

Gabe earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2003.  Since graduation, Gabe has worked as a consultant helping communities throughout eastern South Dakota with their municipal infrastructure.  He is currently employed by HDR Engineering, Inc. in their Sioux Falls office and serves as a Senior Project Manager - Water/Wastewater.  He is married to Kristi and they have six year old twins Briley and Brayden.  Gabe and his family live north of Brandon. 

Josh Larson, PE

Josh Larson grew up on a farm near Vermillion, SD.  He left coyote country to attend South Dakota State University where he earned a BS in Civil Engineering in 2000.  He then joined McLaury Engineering, Inc. and works in the Sioux Falls office where he serves as the Engineering Manager of four office locations.  Josh enjoys the opportunity to work with a variety of clients including local developers and communities in southeastern South Dakota, to the South Dakota Department of Transportation and other government agencies, all providing unique challenges and the opportunity to interact with many great people.

Josh and his wife Katie currently reside in Sioux Falls, SD, with their two daughters, Stella and Hayva.

Pete Rausch, PE

Mr. Rausch is a civil engineer at RESPEC with a background in water resources engineering. The core of his experience is in small project planning and design applied to stream channel restoration and agricultural irrigation systems. Mr. Rausch also has extensive experience in surface-water monitoring and data analyze for both quality and quantity. He has designed and implemented multiple remote monitoring and control systems for irrigation canal automation and surface-water monitoring. Mr. Rausch is experienced in urban stormwater management and best management practices (BMP) design. He has also been involved in water rights evaluation and has experience with the requirements for their transfer. Mr. Rausch regularly and effectively communicates and coordinates with individual landowners, agricultural producers, and client personnel. Mr. Rausch is proficient with AutoCAD Civil 3D, ArcGIS, and several water modeling platforms, including EPA SWMM, XPSWMM, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, and EPANET.

Scott Schneider, PE

Scott Schneider, PE, is a civil engineer specializing in construction administration services for construction and reconstruction of streets and highways in urban and rural settings at Sayre Associates, Inc. in Sioux Falls, SD. He has a BS in Civil Engineering from South Dakota State University. Prior to joining Sayre Associates in 2006, Scott worked as a project engineer for the South Dakota Department of Transportation at the Huron, SD DOT Area Office. Scott lives in Sioux Falls, SD, with his wife Mandy, two daughters (Anna and Bethany), and two sons (Corey and Caden).