Last week, we spoke with Tom Muscenti, Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager of Trinity Consultants – an environmental consulting firm with offices across the U.S. and in Canada, the U.K., Asia, and Australia – to learn about the company and the services it provides for Marcellus energy companies. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q. Tell me about Trinity Consultants. What do you what do you do? What are you in the business of?

Trinity has been in the environmental consulting business for a little more than forty years. We help industrial clients navigate the complex and, at times, tedious environmental regulations and compliance, which can include obtaining new permits, developing plans, responding to public comments, and agency meetings. We run the gamut on that. Specifically, in the Pittsburgh area, we have a focus on oil and gas, being in the Marcellus – so that’s been a pretty big driver of the services we’ve provided local clients over the last ten years.

Q. You have offices all over the globe – are you doing energy specific work in many of those locations?

Yes, our consulting offices primarily deal with local issues. So those areas that are energy-sector hotspots – Houston, the Gulf, etc. – deal primarily in the energy industry. We also have offices in other countries, where we deal with the energy industry, as well. We’re bringing our nationwide depth of industry experience to specific local challenges for our clients.

Q. Was the Pittsburgh office established when the Marcellus started taking off, or did it predate that?

The Pittsburgh office was established about ten years ago which coincided with the shale boom, but we’ve had people in Pennsylvania doing environmental consulting close to twenty years.

Today, we have about fifteen experts in the Pittsburgh office, and every one of them are actively working on projects in the energy industry and 90 percent of our consultants have experience in natural gas operations. 

Q. In your estimation, what sets Trinity apart from its peers?

We have a deep and niche expertise in regulatory requirements. We know Pennsylvania DEP regulations, and we know the natural gas production in the state, and most importantly how these fit together. In addition, we have over 60 offices across the company that enables our local team to bring nationwide experience to solve local challenges.

Our clients also value our responsiveness. It is one of our core values and sets us apart because getting ahead of the challenges that may pop up, and being quick to respond is critically important in this industry. 

Q. How long have you been MSC members? What has it meant to be part of the organization?

That’s a great question. We joined the organization approximately five years ago, and have found value in the collective brainpower of the organization. We’re solving problems with unique solutions from the collective input of a lot of members with long-term strategic thinking – they want to be here for a long time. Solving the problems that may occur ten years down the road, with a little bit of foresight, has been one of the bigger things that I’m happy to be a part of. In addition, building relationships and networking with different people in the MSC is of great value.

Joining the MSC was a large step for our Pittsburgh office, but we’re very happy that we joined. We have definitely seen the dividends of our MSC membership.

Q. What is one thing that you would want to tell your neighbor or friend about the industry?

This industry is working together to answer some long-term, tough questions and address the challenges that face this industry on the environmental side. It is obvious that MSC members are committed to be long-term good neighbors on the environmental front, because they live and work here. 

The people that work in this industry are building careers here and obviously want to see this industry thrive for the community and local economy. 

To learn more about Trinity Consultants, please visit https://www.trinityconsultants.com/

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