What LSA Associates does

LSA Associates, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm headquartered in California with nine offices spanning San Diego County, Orange County, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, and the Central Coast. The firm delivers multidisciplinary environmental analysis and planning services across CEQA/NEPA compliance, air quality and climate change, biological resources, cultural and paleontological resources, water quality, noise and vibration, transportation/mobility planning, land use planning, GIS, and sustainability, plus a specialized 508 document remediation service. Technical operations rely on established, domain-specific tools: ArcGIS Enterprise/Online/Pro (with Esri Silver Partner status), Larson Davis and Quest noise monitors, the Traffic Noise Model, FHWA, Roadway Construction Noise Model, SoundPlan, the Aviation Environmental Design Tool, and PAC 3/CommonLook for accessibility compliance.

The firm serves a diversified mix of California public agencies (Caltrans, SANDAG, Metro, the Port of Long Beach, the Unified Port of San Diego, the Port of Oakland, multiple county transportation commissions, cities, counties, school districts, and airport authorities) and private-sector clients (Southern California Edison, Kaiser Permanente, Tessera Solar North America, First Solar, Terra-Gen, and various developers). Notable engagements include on-call biological, cultural, and water quality work for Southern California Edison across its full service territory, environmental review for the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project with SANDAG, sustainability engineering for LA Metro, and the I-710 Corridor EIR/EIS for Caltrans.

LSA generates revenue through project-based professional services fees, billed on contract terms that can span multiple years for government clients. Business is won through RFP responses, on-call contracts, and long-term client relationships. Marketing is driven by the firm's project portfolio, industry awards (APWA, AEP, APA, CPRS), conference participation, and repeat-client referrals rather than paid digital channels. The firm holds no disclosed parent company, has no public funding rounds, and remains privately held under the Inc. corporate structure.

Name

LSA Associates

Legal name

LSA Associates, Inc.

Website

https://lsa.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

LSA Associates is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm serving California public agencies and private developers with CEQA/NEPA, biological, cultural, GIS, noise, air quality, and transportation planning services from nine statewide offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Consulting Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Compliance & Permitting (BPAHAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Air Quality & Emissions Management (BPAHAJAI), Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Compliance (BPAHAJAJ), Site Assessment & Remediation (Phase I/II, Cleanup Oversight) (BPAHAJAC), EHS Auditing, Inspections & Assurance (BPAHAJAG)

Keywords

• Environmental consulting services
• CEQA NEPA compliance
• Biological resources assessment
• Cultural resources management
• Transportation planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Environmental Consulting Services: Fee-for-service professional consulting on environmental analysis, planning, and regulatory compliance. Revenue derived from project-based contracts with government agencies and private sector clients for CEQA/NEPA documentation, technical studies, biological/cultural assessments, and permitting services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

LSA Associates is an environmental consulting firm that delivers CEQA/NEPA environmental compliance documentation, biological and cultural resources assessments, air quality and climate change studies, water quality permitting, noise and vibration analysis, transportation and mobility planning, GIS solutions, and land use planning services. The firm operates nine California offices staffed by multidisciplinary teams of environmental planners, biologists, GIS specialists, archaeologists, and engineers serving public agencies and private sector clients. It also provides specialized 508 document remediation services for accessibility compliance.

Product overview

LSA Associates is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm offering comprehensive environmental analysis and planning services. The company operates as a single integrated platform of professional consulting services rather than a modular software product. The service portfolio includes core environmental compliance offerings (CEQA/NEPA analysis, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, paleontological resources, water quality, noise assessment, sustainability planning, land use planning, transportation/mobility planning, and GIS solutions), along with specialized 508 document remediation services for accessibility compliance. These services are delivered through multidisciplinary teams of environmental planners and technical specialists across multiple California offices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CEQA/NEPA Environmental Analysis California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance services including Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs), Negative Declarations, and Initial Studies for various development projects.
• Air Quality and Climate Change Services Assessment and analysis of air quality impacts and climate change effects for development projects, including greenhouse gas inventories and reduction programs.
• Biological Resources Services Permitting for wetland and endangered species projects, including wildlife hazard assessments, wetland delineations, and habitat restoration planning.
• Cultural Resources Services Cultural and historic resource assessments, archaeological surveys, and compliance with Section 106 requirements for federal projects.
• Paleontological Resources Management Paleontological assessments, mitigation plans, fossil salvage, and monitoring services for construction projects in paleontologically sensitive areas.
• Water Quality Services Water quality assessment reports, erosion and sediment control certification, and monitoring programs for construction and land development projects.
• Noise and Vibration Assessment Comprehensive acoustical assessment services for CEQA/NEPA compliance, including traffic noise modeling, construction monitoring, and sound isolation analysis.
• Transportation/Mobility Planning Traffic impact studies, transportation corridor studies, multimodal transportation planning, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) analysis for land development and capital projects.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) GIS solutions including web applications, spatial analytics, UAV image capture, field data collection, and environmental impact mapping using ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online.
• Land Use Planning Comprehensive land use planning services including general plan updates, specific plans, zoning analysis, and opportunities/constraints analysis.
• Sustainability Planning Development of sustainability plans, climate action plans, greenhouse gas inventories, and climate change adaptation strategies for various clients.
• 508 Document Remediation Services Accessibility compliance services ensuring electronic documentation meets WCAG 2.1 and PDF/UA standards, including remediation of multivolume EIR/EISs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Desert View Drive Slope Repair completed December 2018, received American Public Works Association Disaster/Emergency Award
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EsricoreTechnology or IntegrationLSA holds Esri Business Partnership with Silver Partner status, providing first access to new Esri products and technologies. This partnership ensures LSA stays at the forefront of GIS technology including ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, and related solutions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Environmental Science Associates (ESA): California-headquartered environmental consulting firm with comparable CEQA/NEPA, biological resources, cultural resources, and transportation planning practices. ESA is the closest direct competitor to LSA, particularly for Bay Area and statewide public agency work.
• Dudek: California-based environmental and engineering consulting firm offering CEQA/NEPA compliance, biological/cultural resources, water resources, and GIS services. Directly comparable service mix, client base (cities, counties, water districts), and California regional footprint.
• Ascent Environmental: California-focused environmental planning and compliance firm specializing in CEQA/NEPA documentation, biological assessments, and air quality/GHG analysis. Similar mid-sized, employee-centric culture and direct overlap on transportation and municipal clients.
• Rincon Consultants: California-headquartered environmental and planning consulting firm with comparable CEQA/NEPA, biological, cultural, and sustainability services. Direct competitor for the same municipal, transportation, and energy utility RFPs across the state.
• SWCA Environmental Consultants: Employee-owned environmental consulting firm with strong California presence offering biological, cultural, paleontological, and NEPA/CEQA services. Closely matched ESOP structure and multidisciplinary practice composition.

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Tech: Global environmental and engineering consulting firm that competes with LSA on California water quality, CEQA/NEPA, and climate adaptation work for large public agencies. Larger balance sheet and broader service portfolio make it a mega-project incumbent.
• ICF International: Major advisory and environmental services firm active in California climate adaptation, GHG inventories, energy, and transportation planning. Competes for the larger Metro, SCE, and Caltrans strategic contracts that LSA also targets.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with major California presence in environmental planning, transportation, and water. Competes with LSA on large transit corridor EIR/EIS programs and complex regulatory documentation.
• WSP: Global engineering and environmental consultancy competing for California transportation, water, and climate adaptation programs. Targets the same public-sector RFPs as LSA at the larger end of the market.
• Michael Baker International: Engineering and environmental consulting firm with significant California transportation practice. Competes with LSA on Caltrans, regional MPO, and county transportation commission CEQA/NEPA assignments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LSA Associates