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First Environment’s site investigation and remediation practice has been a hallmark of our organization since our incorporation in New Jersey in 1987. Since that time, we’ve built on this early base to provide innovative and efficient solutions to the often complex environmental challenges we face. Our firm has grown and expanded from its early roots in Rockaway, New Jersey. Today, we employ a robust team of Professional Engineers, Professional Geologists, LSRPs, Certified Ground Water Professionals, PhD engineers, environmental scientists, wetland specialists, biologists, certified asbestos and mold assessors, remedial design engineers, FAA-certified drone pilots, and more.

We’re continuing to grow this practice beyond the New Jersey LSRP program, and are excited to announce some of the recent initiatives we’ve undertaken in this area.

This year First Environment initiated a major effort to expand our site investigation and remediation services and capabilities. As part of this effort, Devin DeMarco, CHMM, CPEA, CQM, was named Director of our National Site Investigation Service Area in January 2023, expanding upon his role as Director of Federal Programs. Devin is a skilled program and client manager with experience across a range of complex project types. Devin also works in close partnership with First Environment’s senior management team including Tod Delaney, PhD, PE; Scott Green, PG; N. Mete Talimcioglu, PhD, PE, CGWP, LSRP; Ken Cwieka, LSRP; and Arthur Clarke, JD, who collectively have decades of site investigation and remediation experience.

Devin recently led our pursuit and successful award (just within the past month) of a 5-year, $12M IDIQ task order contract to perform Biological, Environmental, and Cultural Resource Services for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New York District.

Devin has also been central to our newly announced small business Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture with CT Consultants, a reputed engineering, architecture, planning, and construction services firm with geographic reach throughout the Midwest. We’re excited to grow this new relationship and leverage our mutual capabilities to provide streamlined environmental engineering services to our clients.

Scott Green, PG, Director of First Environment’s Insurance Consulting Service Group, continues to lead one of the nation’s first PFAS remedial investigations and pilot studies evaluating remedial technologies at a commercial and general aviation airport adjacent to a drinking water reservoir (as well as other locations in the Northeast).

In June 2023, President of First Environment, Dr. Tod Delaney, testified on a site investigation and remediation case involving recovery of costs for the cleanup of PCBs at a former manufacturing plant in South Bend, Indiana. Applying his knowledge of PCB transformers and PCB fate and transport, and supported by First Environment’s litigation support team – led by Arthur Clarke, JD – his testimony established that the transformer damage was a result of flooding, not operations, and that the remediation efforts had not complied with TSCA. Based on his testimony the jury awarded $25 million in compensatory damages to the owner, $13.1 million of which was for the TSCA cleanup of the site, and $77 million in punitive damages due to bad faith.

In addition, in September 2023 First Environment is scheduled to install a multi-million-dollar groundwater remediation system at an active manufacturing plant in Mississippi where chlorinated solvents were released over decades of industrial use. The system consists of horizontal pumping wells running underneath the plant and exterior pumping wells within a three-acre source area which extends under the building. The pumped water will be air stripped and discharged to the nearby creek. The system complements the vapor extraction system installed under the building to prevent worker exposure and a chemical curtain installed at the property boundary to prevent further offsite migration of the plume. Both systems were previously designed and installed by First Environment.

If you’ve been following us on social media you may have met some of our new talent. Our technical team has been growing and includes experts in the following subject areas:

• Licensed Site Remediation Professionals
• FAA-certified drone pilots
• Certified asbestos and mold assessors
• Professional Wetland Scientists
• Chemical engineers
• Cultural resource specialists (including architectural historians and Registered Professional Archaeologists)
• Natural resource specialists (including endangered species specialists for bats and bog turtles)
• GIS specialists
• Data management specialists
• NEPA specialists

One final note: as part of our effort to refresh and expand our site investigation and remediation services, our marketing team – under the leadership of Kristy Cerullo – has engaged an outside consultant, Substance151, to perform a brand perception survey. Your feedback is essential to helping us position ourselves to serve you better. You may hear from someone on our team soon so that you may provide your opinion and we hope you will help us continue to improve.

We’re excited to share these plans with you and look forward to continuing to be your go-to environmental engineer and consultant. Please reach out to us with questions and follow us for more news and updates!