The mission of PEER is to innovate the use of stormwater compliance expenditures by developing accessible and reliable infrastructure that also provides community benefit and supports resilience.
PEER envisions green spaces consistently spaced throughout neighborhoods in Philadelphia and throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
PEER Environmental is an experienced and innovative stormwater infrastructure developer and consultancy. We implement stormwater solutions for municipal and private sector clients. We have completed multiple isolated stormwater projects and seek to innovate by aggregating multiple projects within a defined radius to provide a broader localized impact on flood reduction, climate resilience and community benefit.
PEER is a proud participant in The Resilient Communities Stormwater Initiative, a two-year program funded by the William Penn Foundation. The other participants in this six-member team are: The Nature Conservancy; Greenprint Partners, Clean Water Fund, Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and Drexel Sustainable Water Resource Lab.
PEER is the parent of PEER ESG, a 501c(3) organization created to acquire abandoned or under-utilized properties for stormwater management and wetlands restoration projects that provide benefit to under-invested communities. Additional information is available on the website, www.peeresg.org.
Acres Managed
$ Saved in monthly fee in Philadelphia
Gallons of Water Managed per "1" rain event
We have completed projects on 15 properties since 2015.
2301 N 29th Steet
Philadelphia, PA
PEER constructed three large underground slow release basins that manage stormwater runoff from 13.6 acres of paved surfaces, reducing the amount of endemic flooding in the neighborhood by over 400,000 gallons for each 1-inch of rain.
Review current stormwater flow patterns and primary concerns. Assess available information.
PEER completes a remote assessment of the feasibility of constructing stormwater infrastructure on a property or cluster of properties. Factors such as Floor Area Ratio, on-site and off-site drainage patterns, and historical property use are considered.
The key next step is to engage the property owner. Some owners are incentivized to reduce stormwater costs, others by the potential to create property improvements. Owner support is critical for obtaining funding.
Stormwater projects can include multiple stakeholders. PEER coordinates each stage of the project with community groups to minimize surprises.
PEER works with a short list of trusted firms to design and construct the project. Both Union and non-Union firms are considered, depending on the size and location of the project as well as the requirements of the funding source. PEER oversees the effort to ensure that the work is consistent with project goals.
Ongoing responsibility for maintaining the completed infrastructure needs to be defined in order to assure the continued financial and community benefit.
35+ Years' Management Experience / Stormwater Management
Environmental Compliance / Liability and Risk Assessment
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Alumni
PEER is led by its founder and managing member, Dennis P. Shelly, P.E. He has worked with stormwater management for 12 years, following more than 35 years working as an environmental engineer in the management of environmental risk . The founding of PEER in 2013 was catalyzed by the Philadelphia Green City Clean Waters (GCCW) program and PEER has committed to working with the Philadelphia Water Department to implement the objectives. His experience with Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) is largely centralized in Philadelphia, but he has consulted throughout the northeastern region. Embedded in the ethos of PEER are triple bottom line values - People, Planet, Profit. The experience of PEER and our holistic approach have led the William Penn Foundation to award grants for three years to participate in efforts to better direct stormwater investment towards community benefit in targeted communities. PEER is genuinely committed to providing quality and durable GSI solutions to communities.
In the interest of increasing the opportunity to provide impact, PEER has formed a 501c(3) organization, PEER ESG (Environment, Social, Governance). PEER ESG was formed to acquire abandoned properties for management of stormwater with greenspace, transferring title on completion to community groups. Through PEER ESG, we also are pursuing the acquisition of rights to property along the Delaware River for the development of wetlands.
PEER works with a select group of advisors in the development and implementation of every project, calling on their individual expertise as the situation dictates. Our consistent board of advisors assures continuity of the PEER vision for each project.
We believe that to sustain and grow our business, we need to constantly remind ourselves that "Good Enough" is not good enough, ever. We rely on our reputation with property owners, our subcontractors and with governmental stakeholders to move our business forward.
We will not achieve perfection, but we strive to:
Our company name, PEER, is an acronym that stands for “Practical, Experienced and Effective Response”. You deserve nothing less. We will respond to emails and phone calls within hours, and use our experience to find the most practical and effective solutions for your needs. We treasure our “satisfied” clients, but do our best to move them to “happy”.
We work on your property, but we strive to treat is as if it was our own, leaving it better than it was before we started.
We hire based on potential, provide opportunity for growth through on-the-job and support of classroom development, and challenge our people to stretch their skills so that we can promote from within.
There is no one solution that works for all situations. Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) is the goal. Green can be achieved through vegetative practices, but property retrofits generally are constrained by ongoing property utilization needs. Green also is achieved by reducing the volume and sediment load of runoff, protecting waterways and reducing downstream flooding. Our experience incorporates rooftop, surface and subsurface systems.
Or contact Dennis Shelly directly cell (610) 766-1938.
PEER coordinates maintenance services through Raintain, LLC., a division of American Sitework. PEER has worked with American Sitework on multiple projects and know that they will continue to provide the same responsiveness and quality of service for maintenance that is expected by PEER clients.
Raintain can be contacted as follows:
Ryan Boyle: rboyle@raintain.com
Andrew Paluszkiewicz: Andrew@americansitework.com