Site AssessmentL.S. Sims & Associates (LSSA) was founded by Lawrence S. Sims, P.G. and business partner Linda K. Sims in 1994 in Melbourne, Florida. The firm was incorporated in November 1997 and relocated to Melbourne Beach, Florida in 1998 until January of 2002 when the company moved to its current location in Rockledge, Florida. LSSA opened its Huntsville, Alabama office in 2009.
Prior to founding the company in 1994, Mr. Sims was the Melbourne, FL office manager for one of the country’s most prestigious groundwater firms with expertise in hydrogeology, contamination assessment, and deep well injection. Over the years, the firm’s capabilities have grown steadily as the Sims have hired licensed and certified associates and developed teaming arrangements with reliable, quality-oriented consulting firms and subcontractors. From its roots as a specialty Florida groundwater and environmental consulting firm, today LSSA provides turnkey solutions for a long list of Industrial, Commercial, Federal, Municipal, and State clients across the Southeast United States and beyond.
LSSA’s Principals and Associates are listed below:
Lawrence S. Sims, P.G.
Mr. Sims is a registered professional geologist (FL, NC, TN, PA, IL) with over 35 years of professional experience, including more than 30 years in Florida. Mr. Sims began his career in the oil & gas industry before serving as hydrologist for the St. John’s River Water Management District and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (former DER). He served on, and later chaired, the Technical Advisory Committee for Underground Injection Control (UIC) Projects. He returned to his consulting roots in 1985 and founded LSSA in 1994. Mr. Sims’ areas of expertise include:
- Hydrologic evaluations of contaminated sites
- Geochemistry
- Design / Management of Remediation Programs
- DNAPL Characterization, Fate, and Transport
- Underground Injection Control
- Water supply and Water Resources Development / Management
- Regulatory Negotiations
- Expert Testimony
Mr. James P. Bowen, P.G.
Mr Bowen is a registered professional geologist (FL) and a Principal at LSSA with over 23 years of professional consulting experience. Mr. Bowen spent 15 years developing his technical and project delivery skills with a large multi-national consulting firm specializing in environmental consulting (assessment and remediation. Mr Bowen managed an office for a medium sized consulting firm specializing in environmental services, construction materials testing (CMT) and geotechnical services. During Mr. Bowen’s 23 years in the business he has served as a hydrogeologist, project manager, QA Manager, and program manager on remediation projects including heavy metals, pesticides, dry cleaner, and petroleum sites. His areas of expertise include:
- Hydrogeologic Evaluations of Contaminated Sites
- Design / and Management of Remediation Programs
- Hydrocarbon Remediation
- LNAPL and DNAPL Characterization, Fate, and Transport
- FDEP Preapproval Program
- Regulatory Negotiations
- Program Management
- Environmental Site Assessments of commercial Real Estate
Mr. James E. McGrath, P.G.
Mr. McGrath is a registered Professional Geologist (FL) and a Senior Associate with LSSA. Mr. McGrath began his career in the Gulf Coast oil & gas industry, and has spent over 23 years as a consulting geologist in the State of Florida on water resource, deep well injection, contamination assessment, and environmental permitting and compliance projects. Mr. McGrath has managed a variety of field operations, remedial construction and corrective action, and groundwater monitoring projects including the removal of heavy metals, creosote, and pesticide-contaminated soil from manufacturing and agricultural sites. Mr. McGrath authored the Underground Injection Control Section of the Florida Chamber’s Environmental Permitting Handbook, and was appointed to Florida’s High Technology and Industry Council to develop waste minimization protocols and promote waste minimization. Mr. McGrath’s areas of expertise include:
- Hydrogeologic Evaluations of Contaminated Sites
- Remedial Construction / Initial Remedial Action
- Bioremediation
- Underground Injection Control
- Wellfield Development and Rehabilitation
- Environmental Site Assessment
Janette E. Courtney, P.E.
Ms. Courtney is a registered Professional (Chemical) Engineer (FL, AL, TN), and a Senior Associate with LSSA. Ms. Courtney has more than 10 years experience designing and implementing environmental remediation projects including (product recovery, recirculation / exfiltration, air sparging, soil vapor & dual phase extraction, and chemical oxidation. She excels in driving data collection and presentation to facilitate remedial design. Ms. Courtney’s areas of expertise include:
- Environmental Site Assessments of Contaminated Sites
- Design / Management of Remediation Programs
- Hydrocarbon Remediation
- FDEP Preapproval Program
- Environmental Permitting and Compliance Plans
- Regulatory Negotiations
- Project Management
Robert C. Pickert
Mr. Pickert is a Senior Associate with LSSA and leads our Environmental, Health & Safety Practice. He has more than 30 years of experience, including 12 years as EHS Manager for a global Fortune 500 company and more than 15 years as an environmental engineer and consultant. He served as Sustainability Manager for a $5B global engineering consulting and construction program management company. His background also includes 3 years as a regulator for the State of Delaware supervising solid waste permitting, managing the state Superfund Program and projects, and serving as on-scene commander for the State Emergency Response Team. He is the Founder and President of the Florida EHS Roundtable. His experience includes:
- Environmental Permitting
- Environmental / H&S Compliance Programs
- Environmental / H&S Auditing
- Environmental / H&S Management Systems
- Env / H&S Performance, Information Systems, and Reporting
- Process Characterization & Improvement
- Sustainability Training, Planning, and Projects
- Waste Minimization and Pollution Prevention
- Supply Chain and Contractor Verification
- EHS Due Diligence & Environmental Site Assessments
- Facility Decontamination and Closure
- Land Disposal and Environmental Remediation Systems
James Donald Martin, CGC
Mr. Martin is a Certified General Contractor (FL, TN), and a Senior Associate with LSSA with over 20 years of experience designing, installing, and operating & maintaining environmental remediation systems. He has served as Operations Manager and Construction Managers for major engineering consulting & construction contractors. He has helped design and install over 100 remediation systems throughout the southeastern US. He specializes in the use of telemetry / computer control of remediation systems, allowing him to control and manage multiple sites efficiently and cost-effectively. His areas of expertise include:
- Construction Management
- Operation & Maintenance Management
- Remediation Project Management
- Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments
- Program / Project Management
Linda K. Sims
Ms. Sims is the President of LSSA, responsible for managing all aspects of the business, including accounting, administration, technical project support, and business development. Prior to co-founding LSSA, Ms. Sims had over 17 years of experience managing business operations, including state insurance claim adjustor, construction office manager, and real estate sales. Since 1994, Ms. Sims has maintained a personal involvement in projects to ensure customer satisfaction, including understanding customer requirements, establishing responsive project scopes of work, defining project level of effort and budgets, and supporting the execution of project deliverables to ensure the business supports the needs of LSSA customers.