Extensive experience meets technical expertise
Obelus Design Group provides specialized engineering services for coastal, riverine, and wetland systems, with a focus on the planning, design, and construction of waterfront and in-water facilities.
Larry R. Demich, P.E., Ph.D.Principal Engineer/Scientist
Providing technical expertise regarding coastal, riverine, and wetland environmental processes, as well as regulatory compliance for federal funding.
Analyzing environmental forces, including the causes and effects of erosion and accretion around shoreline and in-water facilities.
Assisting with statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements for Federal funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Managing complex design projects and planning processes from initial conceptualization through the production of construction documents.
Directing development, planning, and multi-stakeholder coordination for ports, harbors, and marine terminal facilities.
Evaluating existing structures and defining key criteria to establish successful project pathways.
Inspecting existing structures to identify necessary repair, maintenance, and facility improvement requirements.
Developing preliminary solutions, estimating project costs, establishing schedules, and conducting rigorous alternatives analyses.
Work in this area is organized into supported delivery tasks.
Support includes Developing quantifiable metrics.
Support includes modeling tools.
Support includes customized design processes to define facility programs.
Support includes streamline planning.
Support includes Work in this area is organized into supported delivery tasks.
Analyzing hydraulic performance in complex environments, focusing on sediment transport and vegetative interactions.
Evaluating and predicting physical changes, erosion, and deposition patterns in channels, inlets, and river basins.
Designing engineered wetlands for water treatment, environmental mitigation, and habitat restoration.
Helping communities and public agencies plan for disaster response and successfully document recovery efforts for federal funding.
Developing compliant documentation under the Stafford Act, Code of Federal Regulations Title 44, and relevant policies.
Marine · Transit · Government · Federal · Water Resources · Environmental & Remediation
Louisiana · Federal · Client: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Served as the primary Subject Matter Expert for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in a $586 million arbitration case regarding recovery claims for barrier islands in Louisiana, providing historical research, grant application documentation, and testimony.
Seattle, WA · Transit · 2025 · Client: Washington State Ferries
Provided Project Design Management services for the $466 million terminal replacement, overseeing the re-design and construction phase design completion of the terminal building, timber trestle replacements, and pedestrian connectors.
Water Resources
Conducted basic research using live aquatic vegetation to study flow interactions, establishing laboratory and near-field scale channels to develop quantitative tools for estimating flow impacts in irrigation canals.
Washington · Transit · Client: Washington State Ferries
Developed systematic planning tools focused on traffic queue modeling, operational programming, and passenger holding area design guidelines for Puget Sound and San Juan Islands terminals.