Environmental Consulting Services NAICS 541620

Nov 21, 2025 - States Fill the Federal Regulation Void on "Forever Chemicals"

• With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delaying comprehensive federal regulation of PFAS (“forever chemicals”), individual states are increasingly stepping in to manage environmental risks. These persistent, non-degrading chemicals are turning up in biosolids spread on farmland, raising concerns about soil, water, and agricultural contamination. States face challenges of limited funding, technical capacity gaps, and reliance on paused EPA commitments. For environmental consultants, this patchwork of state-level standards creates both risk and opportunity: risk in inconsistent regulation and remediation liability, but opportunity in helping states develop monitoring programs, risk assessments, and mitigation strategies. Maine’s aggressive approach (banning biosolids, mandating testing, and funding remediation) serves as a potential model. Meanwhile, other states must navigate diverse regulatory regimes while planning for future PFAS cleanup.
• Battery-powered cars will make up half of all US auto sales by 2039, according to a forecast by consultancy EY, a delay of five years from previous projections. The adjusted forecast reflects a changed political reality with regards to Electric Vehicles (EVs) as the Trump administration eliminated EV targets for automakers and cancelled a $7,500 consumer tax credit for buying an EV. The US now stands to fall behind other countries in the EV race, particularly China. US consumers had already been skeptical of EVs due to their high price and a lack of sufficient charging infrastructure across the country. As a result, EY expects that market penetration for EVs will stay relatively flat at 11% of US auto sales in the next four years, up from 8.1% in 2024. By contrast, EVs are forecasted to make up 70% of auto sales in China by 2039.

• About 61% of America’s beaches experienced at least one day in 2024 in which fecal contamination in the water exceeded federal safety standards, according to a report from Environment America Research and Policy Center. The report found about 450 beaches, or one in seven beaches tested, were even worse with excess contamination on at least 25% of the days tested. By region, the highest levels of fecal matter were found on the Gulf Coast (84%), the West Coast (79%), and the Great Lakes (71%). Alaska and Hawaii had the lowest levels of contamination at only 10%. There are about 57 million cases of illness each year from swimming in dirty oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds, and more than 7,500 health warnings or beach closures in 2024. The problem results from overflows from deteriorating sewage systems. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates it will cost $630 billion to improve waste infrastructure.
• Revenue for scientific and technical consulting services rose in Q4 2024 by 9.3% year over year and 4.5% from Q3, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, amid rising demand for clean energy projects and complying with government reporting requirements. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act authorized about $783 billion in spending on clean energy projects and fighting climate change, a key factor in bumping revenue in environmental consulting as companies sought out help on sustainability and green projects. Governments worldwide also increased reporting requirements and demanded detailed disclosures of environmental initiatives and their climate impact, requiring corporations to seek out more consultancy services. The environmental consultancy industry is expected to grow to $60 billion in 2025, per the Business Research Company, reflecting a CAGR growth rate of 4.2% from last year.