Consider this scenario: you arrive at your home and find a project needs to be completed. You assess the scope of the project and then proceed to your local "one-stop" home-shopping center. You speak to the clerk and describe your particular project. After discussing the situation, you realize other material may be required or a better solution is available. Luckily, everything can be found in one of the aisles.
Most people are familiar with their "one-stop" home-shopping center or at least know of them. This is not the case when it comes to environmental needs. First, few people are even aware that an environmental issue may exist, that is, until it's too late. The other problem is many companies jumped on the "environmental" bandwagon in the late 1980s. So where do you go and whom do you call?
Most times regulators and other affected parties cannot wait to negotiate over who, what, where and when. Where do you turn as a consumer to help you circumnavigate through the maze of requirements, which have amassed over the years?
The nature of competition in our free marketplace has made it necessary for many noteworthy environmental firms to consolidate like many other industries in the 1990s. With these new large consulting firms and growing lists of small start-up environmental companies, in the Metro-New York area, there are a few companies which offer all of the environmental services with "one-stop" capabilities.
While working as a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Spill Responder and Petroleum Bulk Storage Tank Manager, it was frustrating to watch property owners faced with a labyrinth of decisions without any time for planning to carry out costly cleanups. Most of the time the problem could have been avoided through basic knowledge of environmental regulations.
The NYSDEC relies on its own "one-stop" environmental contractors which are called upon as stand-by contractors to carry out a wide array of tasks when a private party was either unwilling or unable to clean up a spill.
Making the right decision when starting an environmental project would be impossible without understanding all of the background and knowing the scenarios involved. Just as in completing a home project, you want advice from an experienced contractor who can help you make the right decisions.
The marketplace has rewarded firms like Fenley & Nicol Environmental, Inc. (F&N) with a growing base of environmental projects. We have seven major departments who can handle most environmental work required by consultants, major oil companies, lawyers, real estate owners, developers and small businesses alike. We are called upon to visit properties, meet you, and prepare comprehensive proposals, sometimes with multiple tasks to get you to spill closure, release from liens, or prepare for sale. Our firm has been successful in obtaining hundreds of "No Further Action" letters from the state.
F&N will mark its 50th anniversary in 2008. Our hard-earned reputation is built upon a willingness to do this problem solving from beginning to end, at a reasonable cost, and under tight deadlines. In the New York Metro Market where everything happens "yesterday," you need to have a "one-stop" environmental company who can pull the whole project together, wrap it up and deliver to you.
F&N is a "one-stop" environmental company offering a myriad of services which include tank removals and replacements, tank testing, service station repairs and replacements, drilling, waste water and soil management and environmental remediation. Our staff consists of trained and certified professionals to assist you. Luckily, everything can be found in one of our "aisles!"
Anthony Sigona, P.E., is the
environmental department
manager for Fenley & Nicol
Environmental, Inc., Deer Park, N.Y. Tags: