Our Company
Established in 2003, Vertex Environmental has grown to become one of the largest environmental remediation firms in Canada. We have successfully completed hundreds of remediation projects across Canada and internationally.
Our team includes:
- Senior Environmental Professionals, each with 10 to 25 years of experience
- Licensed Engineers with degrees from the University of Waterloo, a recognized leader in environmental science and engineering
- The manpower and equipment capacity to concurrently tackle multiple sites across North America.
- Long-term partnerships with key suppliers and contractors.
Our Approach
Specializing in solving soil and water contamination issues, we offer a wide range of services, including site evaluations, along with designing and implementing various remedial solutions. We not only have the experience to resolve your environmental concerns, but also the commitment to provide great service.
Here at Vertex we:
- Work with our clients to meet objectives while providing innovative and cost-effective solutions.
- Provide sound technical advice by reviewing different available technologies and products.
- Use an integrated approach to site remediation by addressing the various phases and/or contaminants of concern separately.
Environmentally Committed
We strive to solve environmental problems in a sustainable
and environmentally conscious way.
Our Experts
Our team is composed of a variety of experts, each with unique skills and experiences allowing them to make the best decisions for your project. Read each of our team member profiles below, and be sure to connect with them on LinkedIn.
Founder
BRUCE TUNNICLIFFE, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Bruce has direct experience with the design and application of in-situ technologies at over 250 sites to treat a wide variety of contaminants. Bruce holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Waterloo where he studied in-situ chemical oxidation of chlorinated solvents in fractured rock. Bruce is the founder of Vertex, the SMART Remediation Seminar Series, and has spoken at conferences and symposiums across North America, and abroad.
Vice-President
KEVIN FRENCH, B.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Kevin has 25 years of experience in environmental assessment and remediation. Kevin holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Waterloo where he studied Civil and Environmental Engineering. Since that time, Kevin has been involved in the design and implementation of remediation programs relating to chlorinated solvents (including DNAPL), petroleum hydrocarbons (including LNAPL), PAHs/coal tar, heavy metals, etc., at hundreds of sites across Canada.
General Manager
NATHAN LICHTI, B.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Nathan has designed and implemented more than 200 groundwater treatment programs over the past 16 years, including construction dewatering and treatment systems, multi-phase extraction, and in-situ remediation systems at sites across Canada. Nathan has experience treating metals, chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons in a variety of geological settings including overburden and bedrock sites. Nathan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and is a Professional Engineer in Ontario.
Project Manager & Director of Field Operations
MIKE GAWEL, B.Sc., C.Tech.
Mike has designed and implemented more than 100 in-situ remediation projects. Mike has design experience and has operated and maintained several MPE and SVE systems as well as the operation of in-situ thermal heating systems (i.e. the Electro-Thermal Dynamic Stripping Process). Mike has completed remediation projects across Canada as well as South America and the Middle East.
Project Manager
PATRICK O’NEILL, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Patrick O’Neill has direct experience with the design and application of in-situ high resolution site characterization (HRSC) technologies, Membrane Interface Probe (MIP), Low Level Membrane Interface Probe (LLMIP), Ultra Violet Optical Screening Tool (UVOST) or Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) and Hydraulic Profiling Tool (HPT). Patrick also has direct experience with the design and implementation of in-situ remedial technologies on over 100 sites. Patrick holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Waterloo where he studied tile drain modeling in the Grand River watershed and the effects of climate change on the model.
Project Manager
IAIN WALTON, B.Sc.
Iain has firsthand knowledge and experience working on over 100 water treatment and remediation projects across Canada. Iain holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from the University of Guelph. Specializing in the water treatment and permitting division, Iain designs and operates complex water treatment systems. He also works intensively in the permitting department, processing Municipal Sewer-Use Agreements and Environmental Compliance Approvals. He enjoys long walks on the beach and getting caught in the rain.
Project Manager
Eric Cowan, B.A.S., EPt
Eric has travelled across Canada implementing in-situ high resolution site characterization (HRSC) technologies and in-situ remediation projects. Eric holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Guelph and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Environmental Engineering Applications from Conestoga College. Eric has experience with a variety of in-situ, ex-situ, and water treatment remediation projects as well as laboratory bench scale experiments that assess the effectiveness of different remedial technologies.
Project Manager
David Munro
David has extensive experience in the design and application of construction dewatering and ground water treatment. David has completed more than 100 projects all over Ontario where he has designed and implemented a variety of dewatering systems including Wellpoint, Deep well and Eductor pumping stations. David holds a Diploma in Electronic Engineering from the North Highland College (Scotland) and is also a licensed water well technician.
Project Manager
Daniel Brenner
Daniel Brenner has experience in the design and application of various ex-situ and in-situ remediation technologies at sites across Canada. His ex-situ experience includes underground storage tank (UST) removal and contaminated soil excavations, and his in-situ experience includes permeable reactive barrier (PRB) construction and direct injection programs using a wide range of remedial amendments to facilitate chemical oxidation, reductive dechlorination, or enhanced bioremediation. He has extensive field experience conducting direct-push injections, bedrock delineation drilling, and well installation programs. Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Guelph and is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario.
“I have had the pleasure of working alongside Vertex Environmental Inc. during the implementation of a large-scale Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) site investigation to delineate hydrocarbon impacts in sub-surface soils. I have had the opportunity to work with both the Vertex field staff and management team over the course of a multi-year program and must commend and thank their staff for their high level of service, clear and consistent communication, hard work and exceptional degree of professionalism throughout every stage of the project’s execution. I would highly recommend Vertex Environmental Inc. and look forward to having the opportunity to work with them again in the future.”
– MATTHEW JAMES MICHAELIS
Wood E&IS
Our Resources
We have the resources needed to get your project up and running in a fast and efficient manner. Our resources include the permits, trucks, trailers, drills, and other materials needed for your project.
Permits
Successful remediation of contaminated sites requires extensive permitting and coordination with regulatory jurisdictions. We have numerous mobile Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECA) for remediation of soil, groundwater and soil vapours. Our mobile ECA permits can be quickly activated (2 to 3 weeks) to begin work on your site.
Vertex has also completed and obtained numerous other site-specific permits in Ontario and in other jurisdictions across Canada and internationally.
Our Mobile Permits cover:
- Chemical Oxidation
- Chemical Reduction
- Enhanced Bioremediation
- Bioaugmentation
- Surfactants
- Tracers
- Soil Vapour Extraction (SVE) systems
- Multi-Phase Extraction (MPE) systems
- Catalytic Oxidizer (CATOX) systems
- Water Treatment Systems
Other permits include:
- Municipal sewer discharge agreements
- Permits To Take Water
- Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR)
- Ministère du Développement durable, Environnement, Faune et Parcs (Québec) injection permits
- Injection permits in other Canadian provinces
- Injection permits in other countries
Equipment
Vertex has the equipment to take on your in-situ remediation project. We have our own fleet of fully-equipped mobile injection trailers and mobile treatment trailers to handle concurrent or large-scale remediation projects.
Our fleet includes:
- Injection trailers fully-equipped with a variety of injection pumps capable of injecting at pressures up to 3,000 psi, mixing equipment, gauges, valves, hosing and geochemistry monitoring kits.
- Treatment trailers fully-equipped for soil vapour extraction, multi-phase extraction, or dewatering and treatment of contaminated groundwater.
Our equipment is sized to meet your application:
- Active gas station sites
- Active dry cleaning sites
- Small, enclosed spaces (including residential basements)
- Large industrial sites (including active refinery sites)
- Remote sites (including northern Canada, Middle East)
Committed to Safety
We are not only in good standing with the WSIB, but are also continuously growing
and evolving our policies to meet and exceed regulations.
Health & Safety
Here at Vertex we are committed to health and safety. With each and every one of our projects, we optimize procedure safety through our in-depth Health & Safety program, which includes:
General Training
We ensure that each of our employees are given the knowledge they need to succeed safely, including:
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
- Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG)
- Petroleum Oriented Safety Training (POST)
- Working at Heights Training
- First Aid with CPR training
- Quantitative Respirator Fit Testing
- Vertex pump and equipment operation
Site-Specific Training
Each site is unique and often require specialized training. That’s why we have filled out numerous client pre-qualifications and have completed a variety of other specialized training, including:
- Confined Space Entry
- Forklift Operation and Safety
- Slips, Trips and Falls awareness and prevention
- CP/CN Contractor Safety
- Hydro One Contractor Safety
- Many other site-specific training modules
Liability Coverage
We carry various insurance policies to ensure that no matter the problem, we’ve got it covered. Some of our coverage includes:
- Commercial General Liability ($5,000,000)
- Contractors Pollution Liability ($5,000,000)
- Professional Liability ($5,000,000)
- Third Party Liability ($5,000,000)