Stantec to acquire Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting Inc.

Yesterday, global engineering and design firm Stantec announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. (CMEC), a 70-person, full-service environmental consulting firm that provides comprehensive environmental and cultural resource compliance services. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition is a continuation of Stantec’s growth in the U.S. environmental services sector, as CMEC has a strong focus on environmental compliance and planning, and natural/cultural resources’ assessments and permitting.

On the heels of the recently completed Cardno acquisition, CMEC is the most recent in a series of investments by Stantec supporting its sustainability goals through its global environmental services practice. In addition to the North American and Asia Pacific Divisions of Cardno, the company has successfully acquired three other environmental services-focused firms: Minnesota-based Wenck, California-based Paleo Solutions, and Netherlands-based Driven by Values.

“CMEC will strengthen our expertise, geographic depth, and service offerings for our clients, especially within the environmental, natural resources, energy services, transportation, and cultural resources markets,” said Gord Johnston, President and Chief Executive Officer, Stantec. “CMEC has exceptional senior leadership and talented technical staff that add new skillsets to our Environmental Services team which can be leveraged across the organization. This transaction supports our strategy in Texas, and CMEC’s offices in Oklahoma add a new geographic presence to our United States operations.”

CMEC is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional offices in Houston and Irving, Texas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla.; Washington D.C.; and Baton Rouge, La. CMEC will provide added depth to Stantec’s current environmental services team in the south region.

CMEC has managed thousands of environmental and cultural-resource projects for state and federal agencies, local municipalities, private-land developers, energy companies, national engineering firms, and other entities throughout the United States. CMEC’s wide range of projects include:

Archeological mitigation at Berryhill Creek

CMEC conducted data recovery excavations to mitigate adverse effects to a prehistoric archeological site discovered during the construction of a drainage structure associated with an Oklahoma expressway extension project. The site was observed by an archeological monitor and then evaluated by state agency transportation and archeological specialists. Portions of the site were destroyed by the installation of the drainage culvert, but project archeologists determined that other deposits were intact. Nearly 9,000 artifacts were collected. The site was recommended eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D (research potential), and CMEC conducted a full data recovery of the site in partial fulfillment of federal agency regulatory compliance obligations.

Central Texas freshwater mussel surveys

The CMEC team developed one of the first survey and salvage plans for candidate mussel species in Texas. Additionally, the CMEC team has successfully completed multiple U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)-approved surveys for federally proposed species, two of which occurred in proposed critical habitat units in Central Texas. CMEC authored one of the first biological assessments (BAs) used for formal conference on freshwater mussel species for transportation in Texas and is actively working on two additional BAs for conference with the USFWS. These flagship surveys have shaped the conversation regarding baseline “take” estimates on multiple projects with their agency partners.