Acquisition enhances West Coast environmental compliance, engineering services

Sacramento, Calif. – Terracon proudly announces, effective December 31, 2020, it has acquired Burleson Consulting, Inc. (Burleson), a leading provider of environmental compliance and engineering services for federal, state, municipal, and industrial clients throughout California.

Burleson provides quality environmental compliance, site assessment and remediation, biological habitat restoration, and water resources services to government and private-sector clients from its headquarters in Folsom, California, and additional location in Monterey, California. Burleson’s professionals have environmental experience and in-depth knowledge of the latest technologies, developments in environmental compliance, remediation, and permitting services. The firm provides expertise in NEPA, CEQA, CERCLA, RCRA, and water quality permitting and monitoring.

“We’re excited to join Terracon as the next step of our company’s evolution and growth,” said Nadia Burleson, P.E.,QSD, Burleson president and CEO. “Our clients will continue to enjoy the responsive, trusted service they’ve come to expect, along with access to Terracon’s national presence and resources.”

All Burleson’s employees will immediately become part of Terracon. The firm will continue to operate locally as Burleson Consulting, Inc., A Terracon Company, and the transition will be seamless for clients.

“Burleson team members bring valuable experience in NEPA, CEQA, habitat restoration and more to our environmental clients,” said Joe Aldern, P.G., Terracon West Coast Division manager. “We look forward to leveraging their expertise on a wide variety of projects.”

“Navigating the environmental compliance and permitting process can be challenging and time-consuming for many of our clients,” said Gayle Packer, Terracon president and CEO. “The addition of Burleson further strengthens our existing environmental practice in California and the Western U.S. and complements our focus on delivering an outstanding client experience throughout the project life cycle.”

The new acquisition is supported by Terracon’s existing California offices in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as others throughout the state and region. Burleson joins other West Coast Terracon acquisitions in the past five years including NORCAL Geophysical Consultants of Cotati, California; Mayes Testing Engineers and Argus Pacific in Washington state; and CHJ Consultants of Colton, California.

Terracon is an employee-owned consulting engineering firm with more than 5,000 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services from more than 150 offices with services available in all 50 states. Terracon currently ranks 22nd on Engineering News-Record’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms. For additional information about Terracon, visit terracon.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the former Fort Ord Army Base with a “National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse” award. These awards recognize innovative thinking and cooperation among federal agencies, states, tribes, local partners and developers that has led to noteworthy restoration and reuse of federal facility Superfund sites. The base, which is managed by the U.S. Army and had been a training facility since World War I, closed in 1994. The closure created an opportunity to repurpose the 28,000-acre base. Its many new uses include:

• California State University Monterey Bay campus
• Fort Ord National Monument and Dunes State Park
• California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery
• Retail center, residential developments, and VA outpatient clinic

Burleson Consulting, Inc. has contributed to Fort Ord’s Site Reuse for more than ten years by providing biological support services. Habitat restoration and biological surveys are required following munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) cleanup operations. We provide biologists, restoration specialists, ecologists, statisticians, and watershed scientists to facilitate Army compliance with ESA requirements established under the Installation-Wide Multispecies Habitat Management Plan (HMP). 

Since 2009, Burleson has conducted habitat restoration, biological monitoring, erosion control, team, agency and open house meetings, and other activities to support recovery of sensitive species and Central Coast Maritime Chaparral habitat at former Fort Ord.  

We have completed habitat restoration within approximately 6,000 acres of Site 39 Inland Ranges, including propagation of several “hard to grow” native maritime chaparral plant species. Burleson has also performed vegetation surveys in areas pre and post controlled burn, performed special-status wildlife surveys (California Tiger Salamander, Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp), wetland vegetation surveys, hydrology surveys, erosion control installation, and post restoration survivorship monitoring and surveys. We support the Army every year at an Annual Meeting where we provide statistical recovery information to USFWS, CDFW, EPA, and DTSC for habitat recovery post-remediation.

“This national recognition is thanks to many professionals who have worked tirelessly to ensure the cleanup protects human health and the environment and supports the reuse identified by the local communities,” said Bill Collins, Fort Ord BRAC Environmental Coordinator, U.S. Army. “The Army appreciates the continued collaboration and cooperation among the EPA, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the Fort Ord Reuse Authority which have made the successful redevelopment and reuse of the former Fort Ord possible.”

Burleson is completing an RI/FS to support the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) at two areas of interest at the Former Parks AFB Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) in Dublin, California. Historical records and maps from 1945 indicate that these areas were the sites of a burn pit and a sanitary landfill; however, there are no historical records for what may have been burned or put into the landfill.

Burleson is working closely with USACE and California Department of Toxic Substances Control and encourages community and stakeholder participation. Our geologists and engineers evaluated historical photos, area topography, and data from previous site investigations to develop an RI/FS sampling strategy for soil, groundwater, and soil gas to assess the extent of any Department of Defense-related site contamination. Burleson staff will make use of our expertise and 20+ years of experience to characterize the nature of DoD contaminants, any threats to human and ecological health, and identify, develop, evaluate, and select any necessary remediation alternatives.