Bothell, WA - April 6, 2026 - Cascade companies were recognized by Environmental Business International Inc and Environmental Business Journal® with two 2025 Business Achievement Awards, highlighting excellence in both complex site investigation and innovative PFAS treatment technologies.
Project Merit: Complex Site Investigation
Aquifer Drilling and Testing (ADT), a Cascade Company, executed a complex, multi-location investigation spanning more than a year across all five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, Westchester County, and lower upstate New York.
The project required two to eight multi-staff crews operating simultaneously at separate sites, demonstrating remarkable coordination and adaptability. Field activities included water-based operations and ATV mobilizations to remote islands off Long Island to collect soil classification and engineering data. In addition to environmental and geotechnical sampling, crews performed cone penetration testing and opened more than 75 test pits to confirm subsurface conditions and utility locations visually.
These efforts provided critical data for planning large trenches, utility runs, and upgrades to power and transformer stations. The scale and complexity of this project demanded collaboration among multiple project managers and field teams to meet strict timelines and client expectations. Coordinating logistics across diverse environments and collecting accurate, actionable data were essential to support planning for major utility upgrades.
Technology Merit: Thermal Treatment for PFAS
TerraTherm, a Cascade Company, partnered with Colorado School of Mines and conducted a successful pilot demonstration of a patent-pending thermal treatment technology for PFAS-impacted soil and sediment at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Funded by the Department of Defense’s Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP, ER-8372), the project aimed to evaluate emerging PFAS destruction methods. During the demonstration, PFAS-contaminated sediment was heated to 400°C, and extracted vapors were treated in a specially engineered thermal catalyst at 600°C. This process resulted in the removal and mineralization of all target PFAS and precursors to below part-per-trillion detection levels. Stack sampling (OTM-45, 50, and 55) confirmed the destruction of PFAS, products of incomplete combustion, and volatile fluorinated compounds, with no emissions above quality control detection levels. Fluorine was safely sequestered as inert metal fluorides, and emissions of HF were minimal.
The 2025 EBJ award was presented at the EBJ Business Achievement Awards banquet at Environmental Industry Summit XXIV on April 1-3, 2026.