Please join us in congratulating Cory Warnock on his recent promotion to Regulatory and Licensing Discipline Lead. In his new role, Cory will be responsible for the management of the day-to-day activities associated with the regulatory and licensing technical group. He will directly manage the team, working closely with them to ensure high quality product delivery and support to a variety of water resource projects. Cory will work closely with Greg Allington, Permitting and Environmental Discipline Lead, with a focus on sharing resources to maximize the utilization of these two groups. Additionally, Cory will work closely with Marissa Emmons, Vice President and Water Resources Business Development Lead, to expand the program with existing and new clients. Cory will continue to serve as the Project Manager for our current multiyear contracts with Homer Electric Association, Energy Northwest, and Nushagak Cooperative as well as regulatory and natural resource study program management for our existing projects with Chugach Electric and Avista Utilities.

Cory has over 19 years of experience specializing in FERC licensing, relicensing and compliance. He provides clients with strategic and technical support related to all aspects of hydro licensing and compliance and has extensive experience facilitating process and collaborating with and presenting to federal and state agencies and FERC. Cory has substantial experience with the three fundamental FERC licensing structures and is currently managing licensings associated with both the Traditional and Integrated processes. He has spent a significant amount of time communicating with and testifying in front of state and federal legislators related to a variety of project-specific and global regulatory issues. Cory regularly manages and mentors his staff on the key regulatory aspects of licensing/relicensing including strategy, schedule and planning, study program development and implementation, meeting facilitation, document development, and agency and FERC interaction. In addition to this skillset, Cory has a background in fisheries biology which directly lends itself to the management of the inherent component of natural resource study program development and implementation. This background provides him with a firm understanding of the aquatic assessments that typically come to the forefront when dealing with hydroelectric study programs. Cory regularly coordinates and collaboratively manages the technical leads from the initial strategic and study planning phases through logistical preparation, in-field data collection, analysis, report development and incorporation into the fundamental licensing documents. He has experience with fish behavior impacts related to hydroelectric facilities and possesses experience in native salmonid habitat suitability evaluations and preference curve development, instream flow studies, anadromous and resident salmonid presence and abundance evaluations.

When Cory isn’t focused on licensing hydroelectric projects you will find him spending time coaching his kiddos in soccer and basketball. The rest of his free time is spent with his wife, Sara, and his kids camping and salmon fishing in the San Juan Islands and along the British Columbia coast.
Congratulations, Cory!