A Conversation With ... Ray Forrester

We help our clients plan their environmental strategies and programs, and we assist them in cost-effectively resolving environmental issues. My wife, Rachel, who is our CEO, and I founded The Forrester Group in 1994. Our staff of 35 includes several professional engineers, professional geologists, a chemical engineer, biologists, chemists and an environmental facilitator/mediator. Our first office was in Springfield and subsequently we expanded, opening offices in St. Louis, Denver and Kansas City, Kan. This month we opened our office in Jefferson City.

Our services include assisting clients in avoiding environmental issues by building environmental management systems and sustainability programs; conducting regulatory compliance audits and assisting them in preparing permits; helping clients obtain grants to redevelop brownfields properties; restoring properties that have environmental impacts; and preparing expert opinions and testimony for cases involved in litigation.

My job consists of overall management of the technical portion of the company.

What are some of the key environmental issues you help clients deal with?

Some key local issues involve storm-water management relative to the various watersheds in the region, brownfields redevelopment, due diligence support for business transactions, compliance auditing and regulatory support.

In other parts of the country we are involved in a lot of litigation support and expert testimony; all of the above activities; mediation of environmental issues; development of environmental management systems and sustainability programs.

What are some common mistakes you see people make from an environmental standpoint? What should people do that they aren’t doing?

• Assuming that everything is in compliance. Everyone who has environmental issues should periodically evaluate their compliance status. An outside expert can be very helpful in this audit process.

• Assuming that you are never going to be inspected. State and federal agencies are focusing enforcement programs on business sectors that have traditionally not received much attention, such as educational institutions, printing companies, smaller privately owned businesses, etc.

• Not dealing with known problems. Ignoring a known compliance or disposal problem can lead to high penalties and even criminal prosecution. There are many effective ways to report problems and address them with the agencies without incurring large penalties.

• Poor communication within companies. Not having a clear understanding of everyone’s role in environmental compliance, deadlines, regulatory implications, etc., leads to noncompliance. Having an environmental management system in place can resolve this complex problem issue.

How did you get into this line of work?

I got into environmental issues when I was employed by Syntex Corp. I am a chemical engineer by training and was tasked at Syntex to take over the management of the Missouri dioxin problem that Syntex inherited from a transaction. This project took me into the environmental sector in a big way and I enjoyed it very much. From Syntex I joined a national environmental consulting firm and managed the central United States for five years before my wife Rachel and I decided to form our own consulting firm. We are now working on our 13th year and still enjoying it.

What’s ahead for The Forrester Group? What goals is the company working on?

We are currently evaluating having a presence in Canada. We are also working on getting our Jefferson City office up and running. We opened this office because it is so close to the regulators in Jefferson City, and at one time or another every client we have is impacted by the regulators.

Tell us about your family.

My family consists of my wife, Rachel, my two sons, Ben and Thad, and my daughter, Leah. They are all married and live here in Springfield. Ben has two daughters and is our information technology manager. Thad is our business development manager and Leah is our accountant. Believe it our not, we get along and it works very well. My sons and my son-in-law, Chris, also run ForresterTech.