Week of January 1, 2024
Biden Administration Invests in Future Water Conservation Projects in the Colorado River System
The Biden-Harris administration announced that it will invest $295 million into projects for water conservation and water efficiency in Lake Mead.
In Nevada, The Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner along with Tribal and state leaders pledged to assist in the effort to conserve 643,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead through agreements with the Coachella Water Valley District and Quechan Tribe.
Projects that will be funded from these agreements have yet to be announced.
The Biden Administration previously announced $281 million for water recycling projects and $233 million for water conservation funding in the Colorado River Basin through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
NCEES Revamps Civil Engineer License Exam to Focus on Specializations
In April, the Civil Engineer License Exam will eliminate the general knowledge section to highlight disciplinary specializations.
This change aims to more accurately represent the knowledge needed for professional engineers to work in each of the five civil engineering disciplines: construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources and environment.
This decision arose from surveys of engineers currently working in the field. At large, they emphasized that individual engineers have become specialists instead of generalists, making an exam section with questions from all five disciplines obsolete.
While the length and methods of the exam will remain the same, the number of questions in each section will likely shift.
January 2, 2024
Tighe & Bond, a Massachusetts-based engineering, design, and environmental consulting firm, has acquired Coastal Engineering Co., Inc. (Coastal), a Massachusetts-based civil, structural, and waterfront/marine engineering firm that specializes in projects located in environmentally sensitive areas. The acquisition bolsters Tighe & Bond's breadth and depth of services, especially to those clients in the Cape Cod, coastal Massachusetts, and Rhode Island regions. Bob Belitz, President and CEO of Tighe & Bond, said of the acquisition, "To create a more sustainable future, there is a growing need to shore up our coastal assets and infrastructure, both existing and new. We believe adding coastal to our team will help support our clients' growing needs in these areas. In addition to our aligned missions to make a positive difference in the built and natural environment, our firms both have strong cultures of employee ownership: we are collectively invested in our clients' outcomes."
January 3, 2024
Farallon Consulting, a Washington-based environmental and engineering consulting firm, has acquired Grette Associates, a Washington-based natural resources and strategic permitting firm for public and private clients in the Pacific Northwest. The acquisition expands Farallon Consulting's suite of services to include aquatic and shoreline permitting; wetlands and critical areas; habitat migration and restoration; construction monitoring and permit compliance; and habitat surveys. Commenting on the transaction, Amy Essig, CEO of Farallon Consulting, stated, "Both firms' commitments to client service, the absence of service overlap, and the potential for mutual growth were the main factors in this acquisition. The strategic move reflects Farallon's goal to continue enhancing its service offerings and expanding its geographic reach."
January 3, 2024
IMEG, an Illinois-based engineering and design firm focused on the built environment, has acquired Engineering System Solutions (ES2), an Idaho-based engineering firm providing structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design solutions to the commercial, corporate, education, healthcare, hospitality, and housing sectors. The acquisition expands IMEG's breadth of services and geographic presence in several markets. Paul VanDuyne, President and CEO of IMEG, said of the acquisition, "ES2 has built a solid reputation for providing high-quality design and, like the rest of IMEG, is community- and client-centric. We look forward to what this merger means for our continued growth in the western part of the country."
January 3, 2024
IMEG, an Illinois-based engineering and design firm focused on the built environment, has merged with E&D Company, an Idaho-based civil, rail, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering design firm. The merger expands IMEG's industrial portfolio and enhances IMEG's full line of services and geographic reach in the Northwest. IMEG President and CEO Paul VanDuyne, said of the merger, "E&D has built a solid reputation for providing innovative design with a client centric approach and we look forward to what this merger means for our industrial clients and portfolio growth."
January 3, 2024
IMEG, an Illinois-based engineering and design firm focused on the built environment, has merged with JQ Engineering, LLP (JQ), a Texas-based structural and civil engineering, land surveying, and facility assessment solutions firm serving the aviation, commercial, education, government, healthcare, hospitality, housing, science and technology, and sports and recreation sectors. The merger expands IMEG's Texas-based staff to more than 200 team members and adds structural and civil expertise to the firm's suite of services.
January 4, 2024
Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a California-based environmental consulting firm, has acquired Janicki Environmental (Janicki), a Florida-based environmental consulting firm specializing in estuarine and aquatic science. The transaction strengthens ESA's aquatic science and water quality and quantity capabilities as well as expanding services for clients in the water, transportation, and natural resources management markets. Leslie Moulton-Post, ESA President and CEO, commented on the transaction, "Our trusted, long-standing teaming relationship with Janicki made it easy for us to mutually start the discussion of incorporating Janicki into the ESA team. Together, the ESA-Janicki team will be a dominant force in key water quality and aquatic ecological health technical services that are in substantial and consistent demand in Florida and are growing steadily across the country."
January 4, 2024
Poole & Company, an Alabama-based architecture and design firm, has merged with Line Scale Form, an Alabama-based architecture firm. The merger brings the two well-known Birmingham entities into an expanded team and combines the experience and expertise of Poole & Company principals John Poole, Kyle D'Agostino, and Kelly Mullins with Line Scale Form former owner Bruce Herrington.
Burns & McDonnell’s Battle of the Brains competition, held at Science City at Union Station, a family-friendly interactive science center in Kansas City, has selected its top 20 finalists from nearly 740 teams. Each finalist is guaranteed a share of over $155,000 in grant money for their school’s STEM initiatives. The grand prize-winning team will receive a $50,000 grant and the opportunity to work with STEM professionals to transform their winning idea into a permanent exhibit at Science City. This competition underscores the integral role of the AEC industry in fostering STEM education and its commitment to nurturing the next generation.