Hunt Valley, Maryland (24 April 2026)—The American Council of Engineering Companies / Maryland presented EA with two engineering excellence awards, recognizing the Spirit Lake Remediation and Drinking Water Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Treatment projects.
Representing EA at the awards ceremony were (left to right) Mike Ciarlo, Kelly Whalen, Sanita Corum, Jamie Suski, and Ali Peters also in attendance were Laura Jo Oakes and Amy Lambert.
“These awards reflect EA’s leadership in the environmental engineering industry and the depth of our technical expertise in tackling some of today’s most complex challenges,” said Suski, PhD, Vice President and Water/Natural Resources Business Unit Leader. “They also underscore our commitment to innovation—developing forward‑thinking solutions that protect communities, restore ecosystems, and advance the practice of environmental stewardship.”
Pilot-Scale Drinking Water Treatment Design for PFAS | Outstanding Project Award
EA designed and deployed six pilot systems in municipal drinking water treatment facilities across four states. The pilot systems demonstrate PFAS removal in drinking water plants and provide valuable data for sizing adsorption columns and estimating operational costs. Data gathered from the pilot systems are used to refine U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s adsorption kinetics model across various media and PFAS species. The pilot system results are being used to compare the efficacy of adsorbent/exchange media and generate treatment performance data to design full‑scale systems, project future operating costs, and assess regulatory implications.
Watch the Drinking Water Project Video on YouTube (Opens in a New Window)
Spirit Lake Sediment Remediation and Restoration | Honor Award
EA led a consultant/contracting team in addressing environmental impacts in Spirit Lake, along the St. Louis River near Duluth, Minnesota. These impacts were due to industrial activities and upstream inputs, resulting in elevated concentrations of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments. The team remediated 1.3 million cubic yards of sediment, including 460,000 cubic yards dredged and 96 acres subaqueously capped. Restoration efforts targeted fisheries, wetland and aquatic plant communities, and recreational opportunities in support of the delisting of the St. Louis River as a Great Lakes Area of Concern. The project employed a systems approach, balancing remediation, habitat restoration, and stakeholder needs.
Watch the Spirit Lake Project Video on YouTube (Opens in a New Window)
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