Environmental consulting firms locally were flat to minimally higher on OC billings and workers for the year ended Dec. 31, with some companies reporting robust work levels because of new regulations or projects—or both.
The Business Journal list ranks firms based on the first metric—money for work completed through the OC office. The 15 companies on this list saw a cumulative $409.7 million in local billings, flat year-over-year.
Most firms represented work well beyond Orange County borders—several are global operators with 10-figure toplines. But they find a steady source of income from local offices, with most of the larger company locations centered around Irvine, coastal areas, or state and county agencies in central OC.
The Business Journal raised the bar to qualify for the list this year, tightening billing qualifications to focus on these larger firms.
Familiar Faces
Several of these are recognizable to OCers, not least because their names—Tetra Tech and Aecom for instance—grace buildings facing local roads, freeways and construction which, in a nice twist, might involve projects the firms are involved with.
Pasadena-based Tetra Tech is No. 1 again this year, with OC billings of about $71 million, up 10% year-over-year. Its local base is at the corner of Von Karman Avenue and Main Street, not far from John Wayne Airport.
L.A.-based Aecom is No. 4, with just more than $35 million in local billings, down 22%.
Its local offices are in Orange.
Aecom rounds out a quartet that didn’t change their rankings since last year. The top 10 environmental consulting firms locally are largely unchanged, in fact, with some jockeying and one newcomer.
Global giant Stantec—$1.3 billion in companywide billings, up 19% year-over-year—jumped eight slots to No. 10, with $16.5 million in local dollars, up 51%.
Irvine-based Stantec’s name often comes up in discussions of the local freeway system. It’s done extensive work on the 405 Freeway. A spokesman said it has a “robust transportation practice [in] planning, design and engineering.”
The company notes “strong working relationships” with Orange County Transportation Authority, as well as state and federal transportation agencies and it has seen “significant growth in OC wastewater treatment, water resources management [and] development planning and entitlement services.”
Tait Up
Another recognizable name: No. 8 Tait, in Santa Ana. Its CEO, Tom Tait, is the former mayor of Anaheim.
Chief Operating Officer Jim Streitz said the company does a lot of work for utilities and municipal agencies. One big area in the last year involved work driven by new EPA regulations on underground storage tanks for diesel and gasoline. The fuel powers backup generators that kick-in during emergencies.
“The power has many purposes,” Streitz said. “For the phone company, it keeps the dial tone up; for a large building, it might keep the elevators running. The power goes down, the generators go up.”
Tanks can range from 500 to 20,000 gallons. Clients this year had to replace them, perform new tests on them, and upgrade systems to include elements that protect against leaks, test for pressure, prevent fuel from moving if a tank is too full, and so on.
Tait’s job here is “to keep groundwater clean by ensuring … proper installation, testing and routine inspection.”
Billings were also up on “a good economy, lots of construction, as well as increased need for backup power.”
Tait’s client list includes PG&E and the Federal Aviation Administration; Ontario Airport saw Tait workers this past year, Streitz said. Looking ahead, “based on current backlog, we see pretty good growth this year.”
California is reliably regulatory and work “is pretty constant, and there are regulations increasing nationwide,” Streitz said.
An affiliate headed by Tom Tait last year was approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to develop the 375-acre Coyote Canyon former landfill property in Newport Coast.
The property, near Sage Hill School, is expected to see a golf course built, alongside trails for the public. A hotel and spa are also being considered for the site.
Coronavirus Update
Tait Environmental Services Inc. COO Jim Streitz said the coronavirus has put some of the company’s clients in a wait-and-see mode with, for instance, a state water board.
The issue involves regular required inspections and Tait is waiting to hear if the state will allow delays in completing such tests.
Typically, “only one person is going out to do these” inspections so they might not fall under new temporary rules related to the virus, but “our clients are asking those questions.”
He said the clients ideally would want the inspections so they can stay on schedule.
The FAA, another Tait client, is also in a holding pattern, with projects “put on hold if they’re not critical,” meaning if they’re “not subject to a regulatory deadline.”
