Practitioner Spotlight--Ian Treat

Name:

Ian Treat

Office:

Sacramento, CA

Practice Area:

Environmental Remediation and EHS Auditing and Compliance

Area(s) of expertise:

Surface water processes

About Me in 140 Characters:

I am trained as a fluvial geomorphologist on Minnesota streams. I also have a passion for agronomic best management practices (BMPs) to reduce soil erosion in rivers. 

Favorite thing about being an environmental remediation practitioner:

The diversity of projects. 

What is the most interesting project you’ve ever worked on?

I worked on a locomotive shop clean-up project at the base of Mount Shasta for a month. It was great watching the alpine glow from the sunrise every morning. 

What’s your favorite part of your job?

Closing sites. Good for the client, but makes me feel satisfied also.

What area or service would you like to see the company explore in the future?

I think it would be great to bring in stream restoration. Because we already have a knowledgeable stormwater team and do a lot with sustainability, I think we could build off of our stormwater portfolio and help companies that have exceedances in their discharges. It combines sustainability and habitat-restoration. But, it's also a selfish reason--I just like doing stream restoration work! Especially in urban waters, because so many of them are heavily altered with engineering, contaminants, runoff, and stormwater.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Airline pilot. That dream hasn’t gone away.

If you had one month off, where would you go or what would you do?

I want to go to Antarctica someday. I would explore the fjords and the peninsula. 

What TV show character do you identify most with?

Buster Bluth from Arrested Development. The moment when he first arrived on a construction site mirrors my exact experience on my first job working with subcontractors.

What insights do you have on the future of your practice area?

One area that I know is going to be growing a lot in environmental remediation is PFAS. I’ve attended some webinars online to get more information on it because it’s everywhere and on everything. Everyone is going to be doing a lot more work on PFAS in the future.

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