Great Lakes Environmental Center

What Great Lakes Environmental Center does

Great Lakes Environmental Center, Inc. (GLEC) is an employee-owned environmental science and consulting firm founded in 1982 as the Water Quality Division of Battelle Memorial Institute and purchased by its employees in 1992. The company delivers applied environmental science, laboratory services, and field survey work focused on water quality monitoring, aquatic toxicology, ecological risk assessment, contaminated sediments, and regulatory compliance support. Its service portfolio spans water quality modeling, biological/taxonomic surveys, GIS and statistical analysis, aquatic toxicology and environmental chemistry laboratories (NELAP accredited for whole sediment, whole effluent toxicity, and nutrient chemistry), environmental engineering, ESA biological evaluations, and logistics/training support for large-scale EPA surveys. GLEC serves primarily U.S. federal agencies (the EPA Office of Water is the anchor customer) and state environmental departments, with a secondary commercial practice supporting electric utilities and industrial facilities on CWA 316(a)/(b) compliance, FERC relicensing, and permitting.

GLEC monetizes almost exclusively through competitive government contracting. It operates as a prime contractor on flagship EPA programs — National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS, $35M five-year award 2021), Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR-5, $30.5M five-year award 2022), Health and Ecological Criteria ($11.7M, fifth consecutive selection since 1996), and the National Water Program — and as a subcontractor on larger multi-prime vehicles led by Abt Associates, Michael Baker, Tetra Tech, RTI International, and ICF. GTM motion is enterprise field sales through federal procurement and direct client relationships, supplemented by conference presence and technical publications. Revenue mechanics are cost-reimbursable and fixed-price task orders under multi-year IDIQs and GSA Schedule GS-10F-015AA; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm operates from a 13,700 sq.ft. Traverse City, MI headquarters and laboratory, a Columbus, OH aquatic toxicology laboratory, and field offices in Lansing, Farmington Hills, Eau Claire, and River Falls.

Name

Great Lakes Environmental Center

Legal name

Great Lakes Environmental Center, Inc.

Website

https://glec.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Great Lakes Environmental Center is an employee-owned environmental consulting firm providing water quality monitoring, aquatic toxicology, ecological assessments, and laboratory services to the U.S. EPA, state environmental agencies, and industrial clients across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Consulting Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Compliance (BPAHAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Data Management, LIMS & Compliance Software (ELN, eDMS, reporting automation) (EUANAJAE)

Keywords

• Environmental consulting services
• Water quality monitoring
• Aquatic toxicology testing
• Ecological risk assessment
• Contaminated sediments analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Traverse City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Contracting: Prime and subcontractor relationships with U.S. EPA Office of Water, state environmental agencies (Michigan EGLE, Arizona DEQ), and federal agencies. Multi-year contracts for technical and regulatory support services.
2. Industrial Client Services: Services to power companies (DTE Energy, American Electric Power, CMS Energy, Xcel Energy) for compliance support, permitting, and environmental assessments
3. Laboratory Testing Services: NELAP accredited laboratory services for whole sediment toxicity, whole effluent toxicity, water chemistry, and biological specimen analysis

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Great Lakes Environmental Center (GLEC) is an applied environmental sciences firm that provides research, laboratory testing, and consulting services focused on water quality, aquatic ecosystem protection, and contaminated sediment management. The company delivers integrated Water Quality Services, Contaminated Sediments Services, Environmental Assessment Services, Technical Services, Laboratory Services, and Field Services to government agencies and commercial clients across North America. Its work supports regulatory compliance, ecological risk evaluation, and remediation decision-making for federal, state, municipal, power/energy, and industrial customers.

Product overview

Great Lakes Environmental Center (GLEC) is an environmental consulting and contracting firm offering applied environmental sciences, research, and compliance assistance focused on water quality and aquatic ecosystem protection. The company operates as a professional services organization with a portfolio of technical service areas rather than a software product company. GLEC's core offerings include Water Quality Services (modeling, assessment, criteria development), Contaminated Sediments services, Environmental Assessment (ecological risk assessments, biological surveys, ESA evaluations, permits), Technical Services (environmental engineering, GIS, statistics, regulatory support), and Laboratory Services (aquatic toxicology, environmental chemistry, aquatic taxonomy, molecular ecology). Field Services complement the laboratory offerings with field surveys, equipment, logistics, and training. Major contracted programs include the EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) and the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) support. GLEC serves government agencies (EPA, state environmental departments) and commercial clients throughout North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Quality Services Applied water quality consulting covering modeling, assessment, site-specific criteria development, bioaccumulation studies, and hydrogeologic analysis for government and industrial clients.
• Contaminated Sediments Services Investigation, evaluation, and management support for contaminated sediment sites, including sediment quality assessment and remediation decision support.
• Environmental Assessment Services Ecological and human health risk assessments and environmental impact analyses supporting regulatory and remediation decision-making.
• Technical Services Specialized technical support, analysis, and applied research services for environmental programs and studies.
• Laboratory Services NELAP-accredited aquatic toxicology and environmental chemistry laboratory analyses for water, sediment, and tissue samples.
• Field Services Field sampling, monitoring, hydrogeologic investigations, and on-site data collection for environmental projects.
• NARS Program Support Technical and laboratory support for the U.S. EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys program.
• UCMR Support Technical and laboratory support for the U.S. EPA Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule program.

Quantifiable outcome

• 84,178+ drinking water sampling kits shipped to public water systems across the United States
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EnviroScience Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Key subcontractor supporting NARS program since 2021, providing wetland ecology expertise and training support for National Wetlands Condition Assessment
• RTI InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam member on EPA Office of Water Health and Ecological Criteria Contract; part of multi-disciplinary teams for watershed protection
• Tetra TechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubcontractor on HECD contract and NARS surveys providing science and engineering expertise
• Abt AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of five prime contractors on $107.6M watershed protection contract; GLEC is team subcontractor providing water quality monitoring expertise
• Michael Baker CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrime contractor on watershed protection contract; GLEC team subcontractor providing technical expertise
• Midwest Biodiversity InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubcontractor on NARS contracts providing biodiversity and aquatic ecology expertise
• Amnis Opes InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubcontractor on National Rivers and Streams Assessment providing research support
• Moss Landing Marine LaboratoriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam member for National Coastal Condition Assessment 2020
• University of HoustonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam member for National Coastal Condition Assessment 2020
• ICF IncorporatedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubcontractor on EPA National Water Program Contract providing technical and administrative support
• Paradigm Environmental, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubcontractor on National Water Program Contract
• ERGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsultant on vessel discharge permit development and HECD contract
• E&C EnviroscapeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam member on HECD contract
• Nova ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam member on HECD contract
• Dr. Michael LiptakminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior Wetland Ecologist at EnviroScience subcontractor; provides technical training support for NWCA 2021
• BattellecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContracting entity for NEON Program; awarded GLEC two-year contract for algal chlorophyll analysis
• GSA SchedulecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMultiple Award Schedule Contract for 541620 Environmental Consulting Services and Order Level Materials Goods/Services

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Battelle Memorial Institute: GLEC's former parent organization (Battelle Water Quality Division, spun off in 1992); operates the NEON program for which GLEC is an algal-chlorophyll subcontractor and is a comparable applied-science contractor with multi-decade EPA and DoD relationships.
• Michael Baker International: Engineering and environmental consulting prime contractor that holds the lead position on the watershed protection contract where GLEC is a water-quality subcontractor; operates at significantly greater scale but overlaps on EPA water and ecological programs.
• Abt Associates: Large federal contractor that holds the prime position on the $107.6M watershed protection contract where GLEC serves as a water-quality subcontractor; comparable in EPA scientific-support scope but broader in social and health policy.
• Ramboll Environ: Global environmental and health consulting practice (formerly ENVIRON) with deep EPA experience; overlaps with GLEC on ecological risk assessment, environmental chemistry, and CWA permitting work for industrial and power clients.

Direct peers

• Eastern Research Group (ERG): Environmental and health sciences consulting firm with strong EPA presence in air, water, and risk assessment; team member with GLEC on HECD contract and competing prime on similar EPA regulatory support vehicles.
• Tetra Tech: One of the largest U.S. environmental and water-resources consulting firms; a core subcontractor partner on GLEC's HECD and NARS contracts and direct competitor for EPA Office of Water task orders across water quality, NPDES, and ecological criteria work.
• ICF International: Major federal environmental contractor with deep EPA Office of Water relationships; subcontractor on GLEC's National Water Program Contract and direct competitor on EPA technical-support task orders in water quality and climate programs.
• RTI International: Nonprofit research institute that is a team member with GLEC on the EPA Office of Water Health & Ecological Criteria Contract; directly comparable in providing EPA with water quality criteria, applied research, and field study services.
• LimnoTech: Specialized water-resources and environmental consulting firm with comparable expertise in water quality modeling, hydrodynamic and ecological modeling, and Great Lakes-focused aquatic science; competes head-to-head with GLEC for state and EPA water-quality contracts.

Emerging players

• Anchor QEA: Mid-sized environmental and water-resources consulting firm specializing in sediment management, ecological restoration, and water quality — closely mirroring GLEC's Contaminated Sediments and ecological risk assessment practices and competing for similar EPA and industrial clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-lakes-environmental-center

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Great Lakes Environmental Center