Content area
Full Text
Dan Johnson has been cleaning up in the business of cleaning up.
As president and co-founder of Environmental Business Solutions, Inc., Johnson handles everything from leaking stormwater pollution prevention to potential contamination on the site of San Diego's Downtown baseball park.
EBS was founded in February 1992, focusing on environmental consulting. Then, as now, that includes site assessment, hazardous materials, stormwater regulations, and so forth.
Growth was slow but incremental throughout most of the 1990s. About two years ago, however, EBS'
business took off, Johnson said.
The firm did $3.8 million in business in 2000 and was on track to do about $4 million in business this year, he said.
Johnson noted environmental cleanup is a growth industry. As the public becomes more aware of environmental issues, and as the government piles on more mandates, companies must take on the challenge. And that means more business for companies like EBS, he said.
Johnson cited stormwater regulations as an example. Locally, this will be one of the major environmental issues of the decade, thanks to a new get-tough stance from the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
"Although the law was on the books, and to a certain extent the regulations were on the books, what happened when they passed the new permit in February of this year was a whole new era for stormwater," he said.
The regulations have been around for about 10 years, but the onus is now on local cities to enforce the rules. The cost could be in the hundred-thousand-dollar range or in the millions, or even tens of millions, depending on the size of the city, Johnson said.
Clients 'Overwhelmed'
Developers could end up paying a bundle as well. It's not just the cost, but also the complexity of the regulations that remains a challenge, Johnson said.
"These people need help complying with the new regulations. And they're overwhelmed. Imagine if you took a big, thick book and you said, 'Here's this new program that you have to implement,...