EBJ News for December 3, 2019

EBJ News for December 3, 2019 – The following section highlights the latest stories in the Environmental Industry.

TRC boosts environmental business in Pacific Northwest

TRC Companies (Lowell, Mass.) has acquired Environmental Partners Inc. (EPI, Issaquah, Wash.), positioning TRC “as the top player in environmental engineering and remediation in the Greater Seattle market.” Around 30 of EPI’s geologists, engineers, and scientists have joined TRC’s Engineering, Construction and Remediation group. Founded in 1990, EPI specializes in environmental and geo-science investigation and remediation for all aspects of uplands and waterfront sites including soil, sediment, groundwater, surface water, vapor intrusion, and indoor air quality. Terms were not disclosed.

 

Tetra Tech announces record fourth quarter

Tetra Tech (Pasadena, Calif.) announced revenue in the fourth quarter ended September 29, 2019 of $842 million, up 14% year-over-year. Revenue for fiscal 2019 totaled $3.1 billion and adjusted net revenue was $2.4 billion, up 5% and 9%, respectively. According to Tetra Tech’s Chairman and CEO Dan Batrack, growth continues to be driven by continuing “strong broad-based demand” for high-end consulting and engineering services for critical water and environmental programs. Growth was led by projects for U.S. state and local clients, which have increased organically at a double-digit rate for more than three years. Commenting in an earnings call on the outlook for water and environment markets, Batrack noted increased funding in the water market has been spurred by concerns such as sea level rise, with the cost of upgrading shoreline protection in the United States alone estimated at $400 billion over the next 20 years. Funding is also increasing for resiliency and sustainability, with FEMA having established that 6% of its disaster funding will be spent on pre-disaster mitigation.

 

NOAA, NFWF announce second year of coastal resilience grants

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), joined by partners Shell and TransRe, have announced $30 million in new grants to support coastal resilience projects in the United States. The National Coastal Resilience Fund aims to restore or expand natural features such as coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, and mangroves that help minimize the impacts of extreme weather and rising sea levels on communities and habitats. The 44 grants will generate $60 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $90 million.

 

CDM Smith acquires BioScope Environmental

CDM Smith (Boston, Mass.) has acquired Bioscope Environmental (Perth, Australia), a provider of mine lifecycle management from early approvals through to post closure and environmental monitoring. After serving the mining, industrial and infrastructure sectors for a decade, BioScope will assume the CDM Smith name and relocate to CDM Smith’s Perth office. CDM Smith has more than 5,000 employees in 125 offices worldwide.

 

Arlington Capital to sell Quantum Spatial for $303 million

Arlington Capital Partners announced that portfolio company Quantum Spatial (Saint Petersburg, Fla.) is being acquired by the consulting and engineering company NV5 Global Inc. (Hollywood, Fla.) for $303 million. Quantum is a geospatial data firm providing information to government and corporations to mitigate risk, plan for growth, and better manage resources. Peter Manos, a managing partner at Arlington Capital, said, “Through significant investments in technology and people, Quantum Spatial has achieved significant organic growth during our ownership and solidified its role as the largest independent geospatial data firm in the United States.”

 

Aging water infrastructure drives $234 billion pipe network forecast

Bluefield Research has forecast more than $234 billion of capital expenditures (CAPEX) over the next decade to address aging municipal water and wastewater pipe infrastructure. According to Bluefield’s new report, pipe networks and hardware like manholes, hydrants and valves make up 37% of total forecasted municipal CAPEX that includes water and wastewater treatment facilities. Water losses through leaks for U.S. utilities average 15% annually, with some communities losing more than half of all water pumped and treated for distribution to customers. As a result, pipe rehabilitation is the fastest growing spend category, increasing annually from $253 million in 2019 to $576 million by 2028.

 

Trinity acquires air quality and acoustic consultancy

Trinity Consultants (Dallas) has acquired Air Noise Environment Pty Ltd (Brisbane, Australia), an environmental consulting firm providing broad air quality and acoustic assessment services, from source emission testing to control solutions and mitigation. Founded in 1998, Air Noise Environment also helps clients with related concerns such as environmental auditing, impact assessments, and environmental management systems.

 

Black & Veatch Demo Day showcases sustainability solutions

Seven U.S. entrepreneurs chosen to participate in the Black & Veatch (B&V, Overland Park, Kansas) IgniteX Cleantech Accelerator were showcased in November. The Demo Day was preceded by a 12-week accelerator boot camp with B&V personnel and other industry experts. Presenting companies included Aware Vehicles (smart drones); Ecospears (green remediation of PCBs and dioxins); Extensible Energy (software to reduce demand charges in commercial buildings); Novonutrients (converting industrial CO2 emissions into protein-rich feed); and Infralytiks, (AI data analytics for sustainable infrastructure improvement).

 

NOAA reports second hottest October on record

The globe had its second hottest October on record last month, according to NOAA, just behind 2015. The average global land and ocean surface temperature for October 2019 was 1.76 degrees F (0.98 of a degree C) above the 20th-century average. The 10 warmest Octobers have occurred since 2003, with the five warmest Octobers occurring 2015-19. It was also the second-warmest January through October period in the 140-year record. Arctic sea ice coverage was the smallest ever recorded for October at 32% below the 1981–2010 average.

 

Water utility debuts nation’s first sniffer dog for leak detection

Central Arkansas Water is using a former rescue dog to help find surfacing and non-surfacing leaks in its water system. The black lab mix, named Vessel, has been trained to differentiate between groundwater and treated water. Central Arkansas Water CEO Tad Bohannon told KUAR news, “We’ve tried lots of things including satellite detection and many of the other technical responses. But even then, it’s a time-consuming process.” Vessel is proving a cheaper and quicker alternative by sniffing out the chlorine in treated water and lying down and barking when she finds a leak. Other utilities are reportedly following Vessel on social media to see how she does.

 

Nordic Group to buy environmental engineering firm Envipure

Nordic Group has bought environmental engineering firm Envipure for $14.8 million in cash. Envipure is an environmental engineering company with expertise and proprietary technologies in air and odor pollution control, water and wastewater treatment, and generation of climate-friendly renewable energy though mini-hydro, biogas and solar-PV. Both companies are headquartered in Singapore.

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