Brad Davis/The Register-Herald
Nick Akers, an engineer with the Beckley Sanitary Board, describes the qualities of a new high-tech permeable parking lot at the Commission on Aging Wednesday afternoon. Situated on a grade, the upper portion of the lot (seen behind Akers) is surfaced just as any other lot would be, while the lower portion, seen at left, is permeable to allow runoff to seep back into the ground before it can run off into streams below.