In early 1996, two men – Edgar N. Putman, founder of Penn Color, Inc., and Dominic J. Spinozzi, VP of Sales & Marketing for The DuPont Company – met to discuss the formation of a new and different environmental consulting firm.

At the time, the future of the environmental industry was uncertain.  The Superfund program was maturing, and Pennsylvania had just passed the Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act (Act 2).  This was landmark legislation, passed with the intent to not only define what was environmentally clean and what was not but to also, for the first time in history, provide incentive to reclaim and redevelop old industrial land (Brownfields) rather than open farmland (Greenfields).

Edgar and Dominic had the vision to see that this legislation – the first of its kind in the United States – would change the face of the environmental industry forever.  The two convened a series of meetings with key environmental professionals and, in April 1996, founded Penn Environmental & Remediation, Inc. (Penn E&R).

Though the company started with just three employees – Spinozzi, President William Ponticello and Executive Vice President Mike Christie – Penn E&R has since developed into a tremendously diversified, full-service environmental, engineering and construction consulting firm with nearly 100 employees.  Yet, despite growing and reaching new milestones, the company has always stayed true to its roots, by continuously striving to help our clients navigate a complex regulatory landscape while providing them with cost-effective solutions. 

Our Founders

Michael A. Christie, PG
Founder of Penn E&R, Inc.