EnviroScience Expands Expertise with New NC Accreditations
EnviroScience (ES) is thrilled to announce we earned accreditations from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) for Acute and Chronic Toxicity Testing and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Aquatic Population Surveys. These certifications represent a significant expansion of our capabilities in the southeastern United States, enabling us to offer critical environmental testing and assessment services across North Carolina’s diverse ecosystems.
EnviroScience Macroinvertebrate Taxonomists Abigail Clasgens and Maddie Genco Collecting Benthic Macroinvertebrate Samples
Strengthening Environmental Compliance with Toxicity Testing
The toxicity certification covers Acute and Chronic Toxicity Testing using Ceriodaphnia dubia (water flea) and Pimephales promelas (fathead minnow). These species are essential indicators of water quality, particularly in Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) testing, which is crucial for evaluating the potential impact of industrial and municipal discharges on aquatic life.
WET testing is mandated by both state and federal regulations to ensure that discharges into water bodies do not harm aquatic organisms. With our new accreditation, EnviroScience is now authorized to conduct these tests in North Carolina, helping clients across various industries comply with the Clean Water Act and state-specific water quality standards. This certification enables us to bring our extensive experience in WET testing to a new region, supporting our clients in maintaining compliance while protecting North Carolina’s valuable water resources.
Achieving this certification was a rigorous process, requiring a full laboratory audit and the adaptation of our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to align with North Carolina’s specific regulatory requirements. This accomplishment is a testament to the dedication and expertise of our Laboratory Technical Supervisor, Alex Tite, who led the effort with invaluable support from laboratory technicians Madelyn Johns, Katie Beitko, and the entire ES laboratory staff.
Advancing Ecosystem Health with Benthic Macroinvertebrate Surveys
In addition to toxicity testing, EnviroScience also received certification to conduct Benthic Macroinvertebrate Aquatic Population Surveys across all ecoregions of North Carolina. Benthic macroinvertebrates, such as insects, crustaceans, and worms, are vital indicators of stream and river health, as they are sensitive to changes in water quality and habitat conditions.
This certification allows ES to provide comprehensive benthic assessments, often required for environmental impact studies, restoration projects, and long-term ecological monitoring. Our team can now collect and identify benthic samples statewide, offering insights into the biological health of aquatic ecosystems and assisting clients in understanding the effects of their projects on local waterways.
Congratulations to macroinvertebrate taxonomists Abbie Clasgens and Maddie Genco and Senior Scientist Eric Romaniszyn on achieving certification for field collection and to Abbie, Maddie, and Senior Macroinvertebrate Taxonomist Rhonda Mendel for their expertise in sample identification. Maddie Genco, ES’s technical lead for all macroinvertebrate sampling, will oversee identification, quality assurance, and laboratory efforts to ensure the highest data integrity and accuracy standards. Eric Romaniszyn, based in our North Carolina regional office, will coordinate collection activities, leveraging his deep knowledge of the region’s ecosystems.
Expanding EnviroScience’s NC Accreditations
These new accreditations position EnviroScience to play a crucial role in environmental stewardship and regulatory compliance across North Carolina. Whether through WET testing to safeguard water quality or benthic macroinvertebrate surveys to monitor ecosystem health, our team is equipped to support a wide range of clients—from municipalities and utilities to engineering firms and private developers—in meeting their environmental obligations.
As we continue to grow our presence in North Carolina, we remain committed to delivering the same level of excellence that has earned us a national reputation. Our expanded services reflect our ongoing dedication to solving any environmental challenge with expertise, precision, and integrity.
Few environmental firms in the country retain EnviroScience’s degree of scientific know-how, talent, and capability under one roof. The diverse backgrounds of our biologists, environmental engineers, scientists, and divers enable us to provide comprehensive in-house services and an integrated approach to solving environmental challenges—saving clients time, reducing costs, and ensuring high-quality results.
Our client guarantee is to provide “Excellence in Any Environment,” meaning no matter what we do, we will deliver on our Core Values of respect, client advocacy, quality work, accountability, teamwork, and safety. EnviroScience was created with the concept that we could solve complex problems by empowering great people. This concept still holds true today as our scientists explore the latest environmental legislation and regulations and incorporate the most up-to-date technology to gather and report data.
EnviroScience expertise includes but is not limited to aquatic surveys (including macroinvertebrate surveys and biological assessments); ecological restoration; ecological services (including impact assessments, invasive species control, and water quality monitoring); emergency response; engineering and compliance services; endangered mussel surveys; laboratory and analysis; stormwater management; sustainability services; threatened and endangered species; and wetlands and streams (including delineation and mitigation). Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services.