EBI News for April 23, 2025 – Kleinfelder accelerates growth in Midwest
EBI News for April 23, 2025 – The following news section contains the latest stories for the environmental industry. Including, Kleinfelder accelerates growth in Midwest, acquisitions, and more!
Verdantas announces five strategic acquisitions
Verdantas (Tampa, Fla.), a consulting firm serving the environmental, water, and energy transition markets, has completed five strategic acquisitions, establishing a notably stronger Northeast presence and enhancing the firm’s expertise in water, environmental engineering and remediation. Joining Verdantas are: Horizons Engineering headquartered in New Hampshire; Aqua Engineering (Utah and Colorado); Advanced Earth Sciences (Southern California); Atlantic Resource Consultants (Maine); and Atlantic Environmental Consulting Services (New Jersey). The largest acquisition, Horizons Engineering, brings a team of almost 100 professionals with expertise in environmental consulting, water resources and civil engineering. Horizons Engineering establishes a platform for Verdantas in Vermont and Maine while also strengthening the firm’s presence in New Hampshire. Verdantas is backed by Sterling Investment Partners.
Kleinfelder accelerates growth in Midwest
The Kleinfelder Group Inc. (San Diego, Calif.), an environmental, engineering, design, construction management and materials inspection/testing firm, has acquired Veenstra & Kimm Inc. (V&K, West Des Moines, Iowa). Founded in 1961, V&K provides design, engineering, and environmental solutions throughout the Midwest and is active in the transportation, water resources, land/site planning, and municipal markets. The V&K organization is spread across nine offices in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri and now comprises Kleinfelder’s newly created Midwest Division. “Establishing Kleinfelder’s presence in the Midwest is an exciting new chapter for us,” said Kleinfelder President and CEO Louis Armstrong. Kleinfelder is backed by the private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg.
Monash water filter removes small PFAS molecules
Researchers have developed a water filtration membrane that removes small PFAS molecules, overcoming a significant challenge faced by conventional water filters, according to Australia’s Monash University. The Monash research team has designed a beta-cyclodextrin modified graphene oxide membrane with nanoscale channels that selectively retain PFAS while allowing water to pass through. In tests, the membrane significantly outperformed traditional polyamide membranes, which typically remove only about 35% of short-chain PFAS. The team also confirmed that the membrane creates an energetic barrier that prevents PFAS movement, effectively blocking contamination.
Enertech partners with Dandelion on geothermal
Enertech Global (Greenville, Ill.), a manufacturer of geothermal heat pumps, has been selected as the manufacturing partner for Dandelion Energy (Mount Kisco, N.Y.), a provider of geothermal heating and cooling solutions, in what Enertech describes as one of the largest deployments of geothermal heating and cooling in U.S. history. Over the next two years, Dandelion Energy will drill geothermal ground loops and install Enertech heat pumps for over 1,500 homes across 14 Lennar communities in Colorado. Homeowners are expected to save approximately $30 million over 20 years compared to using air-source heat pumps. Homebuyers will also be eligible for a 30% federal tax credit for residential geothermal HVAC installations.
Veolia to lead major water supply expansion in Florida
Veolia North America (Boston, Mass.) has finalized an agreement with Tampa Bay Water (TBW) to lead design, construction and operation of a $181-million expansion at TBW’s Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant in Tampa. Veolia’s proposal was approved under a progressive design-build model. Veolia North America, through a predecessor company, built the utility’s existing infrastructure and has been providing drinking water services to the region since TBW was founded in 2000. Tampa Bay Water approved a five-year extension to its operating contract with Veolia in 2023, and both parties finalized their agreement to move forward on the expansion project in March. TBW delivers drinking water to more than 2.5 million customers along the Gulf Coast of Florida.
AECOM to support Sydney Water
AECOM (Dallas) has been selected as a design development partner for Sydney Water, Australia’s largest water utility. The company will help Sydney Water to deliver a capital investment program over the next decade, addressing rapid population growth, aging assets and environmental pressures. “This contract builds on numerous, recent major Water wins across our business, and we look forward to applying learnings on some of the world’s most complex water programs to support a more reliable and climate-resilient water supply for Greater Sydney,” said Beverley Stinson, chief executive of AECOM’s global Water business. Sydney Water provides drinking water to 5.3 million customers.
Superfund microbes show potential for cleanup and resource recovery
Using advanced DNA sequence analysis, a research team led by NYU Tandon School of Engineering has discovered that tiny organisms in Brooklyn’s highly contaminated Gowanus Canal have developed a comprehensive collection of pollution-fighting genes. The team identified 455 species of microorganisms wielding 64 different biochemical pathways to degrade pollutants and 1,171 genes to process heavy metals. Researchers say this suggests the potential for cheaper, more sustainable, and less disruptive methods for cleaning contaminated waterways than dredging. Researchers also discovered 2,300 novel genetic sequences that could enable microbes to produce potentially valuable biochemical compounds for medicine, industry, or environmental applications. Findings were published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.
TIGRIS Aquatic acquires LakePro
Tigris Aquatic Services LLC (Bordentown, N.J.), a platform company for aquatic management and environmental services, has acquired the aquatic services company LakePro Inc. (Swartz Creek, Mich.). This marks Tigris’s entry into the Michigan market, enhancing its reach across the Midwest. Founded in 2001, LakePro provides science-based aquatic vegetation control, water quality management, and lake consulting services throughout Michigan and Northern Indiana. A portfolio company of Plexus Capital, Tigris is pursuing a national expansion strategy and now operates in over a dozen states.
Study confirms plant leaves absorb airborne microplastics
A study by Chinese and American scientists has demonstrated that plant leaves can absorb and accumulate airborne microplastics. Previous studies have shown that plant roots can absorb microplastics in soil, but uptake is slow. The new study, published in the online journal Nature, indicates that airborne microplastics may present a worse threat. Using mass spectrometry, researchers detected widespread presence of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) polymers in plant leaves across various environments. These levels increased with atmospheric concentrations and leaf growth duration. Concentrations of PET and PS polymers reached up to 104?nanograms per gram dry weight in leaves at the high-pollution areas studied near a Dacron factory and landfill, and 102–103 nanograms per gram dry weight in open-air-grown leafy vegetables.
NovaSource and Doral Renewables partner on agrivoltaics
NovaSource Power Services (Chandler, Ariz.), a large solar O&M provider, announced that it is partnering with Doral Renewables on the Mammoth Solar Project, one of the largest agrivoltaics facilities in the United States. Located in Pulaski and Starke Counties, Ind., this multi-phase project will deliver nearly 1.6GWdc of clean energy. By integrating solar power generation with agricultural use, the project advances both clean energy and sustainable farming practices and allows local farmers to diversify their revenue stream while maximizing land use. NovaSource is a portfolio company of Clairvest Group Inc. and OMERS Private Equity. NovaSource manages over 30GW of solar assets worldwide.
Terracon celebrates 60th anniversary
Terracon (Olathe, Kansas), a national provider of environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials consulting engineering services, celebrates its 60th anniversary in April. From its founding in 1965 as a small engineering firm in Iowa, Terracon today has more than 7,000 employees in 180 offices throughout the United States and is ranked among the top 20 in Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms. Terracon began as Soil Testing Services of Iowa Inc., with Gerald Olson, P.E., as founder. In 1980, the company was renamed Terracon Consultants, Inc., moved to the Kansas City metropolitan area, and became 100% employee owned. It passed $1 billion in revenues in 2022. “This anniversary is an opportunity to recognize the clients who trust us with their business and the terrific team of Terracon engineers, scientists, and technicians who work every day to efficiently navigate the complexities of their projects,” said Gayle Packer, president, and CEO.
Tetra Tech secures $8 million wastewater contract
Tetra Tech Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.) announced that the city of Gloucester, Mass. has awarded the company an $8-million contract to provide engineering design and technical services for a $100-million wastewater treatment modernization program. Tetra Tech will design advanced wastewater treatment solutions for the city’s aging Water Pollution Control Facility, one of the last primary treatment plants in the United States. The company says its innovative alternative design concept will minimize disruptions to plant operations, position the city to adapt to future capacity and regulatory requirements, reduce energy consumption, and enhance flood protection.
Wind turbines linked to doubling of golden eagle deaths
Research published in a recent edition of Biological Conservation (Elsevier) estimates annual median golden eagle mortalities from wind turbines in the western United States more than doubled from 110 in 2013 to 270 in 2024. Figures were estimated using a Bayesian collision risk model. Researchers predicted areas where golden eagles are at lower or higher risk of turbine collisions. They found that from 2013 to 2024, estimated “turbine hazardous volume” (space surrounding a turbine that poses a risk of collision) in the lower- and higher-risk zones increased by 198%, and 119%, respectively. Despite the number of turbines in the higher-risk zone decreasing, risk increased primarily due to the larger size of new and repowered turbines. “Anthropogenic mortality is the primary cause of death in adult golden eagles and recent trends indicate their population may be declining,” the authors concluded. “If the current rate of growth of the wind energy industry continues, it could have conservation implications for golden eagle and other raptor populations.”
Mott to provide agricultural wastewater filtration
Mott Corporation (Farmington, Conn.) has entered into a nearly $40-million agreement with a large U.S. dairy farm to deploy custom filtration using Mott’s proprietary Microfiltration and Sub-Induction Time Reverse Osmosis systems. This strategic partnership will implement filtration systems designed to treat over two million gallons of wastewater per day. “This agreement is more than a business deal – it’s a benchmark for advanced, scalable, and sustainable wastewater treatment solutions in the U.S. industrial and agricultural sectors,” said Pat Hill, GM of Clean Water, Process Systems and CTO at Mott.
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