By Jim Rinke
At Prein&Newhof, environmental consulting focuses on helping clients understand what’s beneath the surface and what it means for the future of their projects and communities. That work is continuing to grow, and I’m grateful to now be part of a team that approaches complex environmental challenges with both technical expertise and a clear focus on practical solutions.
My path to becoming a geologist and working in environmental consulting didn’t follow a straight line. I actually started out in the engineering program at Grand Valley State University. Although engineering was interesting, I never really felt like I had found my place. I made a trip to see the head of the Geology Department and knew right away that this was where I belonged. Physics applied to chemistry with a bit of camping mixed in.
After graduating from GVSU, I applied to geology jobs all over the country. The call I received was from Detroit, where I started my professional career as an Environmental Geologist with Arcadis. While there, I was exposed to a variety of field work including underground storage tank removals, subsurface vapor sampling, mercury spills, asbestos cleanups, drilling, and monitoring well installations. It was great experience, but I wasn’t ready to call Eastern Michigan home. I wanted to see a little more of the world.
I left environmental geology and headed back to school to work toward a master’s degree in geology at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. Getting back into school was difficult but well worth it, and nothing like I expected. I thought I would end up in structural geology, but a professor who specialized in creating digital models of tectonic activity recruited me for a seismology study in Western Antarctica. Antarctica sounded like the adventure I was looking for despite having no experience in seismology.
Two years later, armed with a degree focused on seismics, it was time to rejoin the workforce. A friend from GVSU had been working for a mining company and helped connect me with a copper mine in Arizona. About a year in the desert of Bagdad, Arizona was enough for me, so I transferred to a molybdenum mine in Climax, Colorado. Living high in the Rocky Mountains brought beautiful seasons, incredible views, and plenty of hiking, camping, skiing, and biking.
I didn’t want to leave Colorado, but I was ready to leave the mine. With few opportunities for geologists nearby, I had to think outside the box. I had been homebrewing since graduate school and was a regular at local breweries when I was invited to spend time in the brewhouse to see what it was like. It was more fun than I’d had in a long time, and they called it work. It blended science and art in a way that immediately clicked for me.
A friend was opening a new brewery, and I joined him to help make it happen. I helped finish construction on the building, install brewing equipment, brew the first batch of beer, and open the doors to the public. Over the next eight years, I brewed hundreds of batches of beer and helped grow the brewery into one of the most popular in the county. After nearly a decade of crafting beverages, it was time to get back to something more sustainable. The physical demands were catching up with me, and I had now been away from home and family for almost 20 years. It was time to come home and return to the career that started it all.
Environmental work often begins with uncertainty. A site may look ready for development, a property may appear unchanged for decades, or a system may seem to be functioning as expected. Below the surface, conditions can tell a very different story. The role of environmental consulting is to identify those unknowns early and provide clarity so informed decisions can be made with confidence.
Our team supports clients through site assessments and investigations, regulatory navigation, and remediation and long-term management strategies. We work alongside clients to evaluate and address environmental conditions in a way that is both responsible and achievable. It’s not about applying a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s about understanding the specific conditions of each site and responding accordingly.
In recent years, one area has become an increasingly important part of that work: PFAS. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used for decades in manufacturing and consumer products. Their persistence in the environment means they do not break down easily and can accumulate in soil and water over time. Because of that, understanding where PFAS is present and what it means has become critical for many communities across Michigan.
Our approach to PFAS reflects the broader way we think about environmental challenges. It starts with investigation, identifying potential sources and evaluating the extent of impact. From there, we help clients interpret what the data means and navigate evolving regulations to determine next steps. That work is supported by our Prein&Newhof Laboratory, where certified testing provides reliable data for PFAS and other contaminants. Having that capability in-house allows us to connect field observations with clear results and move more efficiently from questions to answers.
Even with all the technical aspects involved, this work is ultimately about people. Every site we evaluate and every sample we analyze connects back to a larger purpose, whether that’s protecting a drinking water source, supporting a redevelopment project, or helping a community better understand its environment.
For me, PFAS is personal, not just technical. I found out how harmful PFAS could be before I really understood what PFAS were. In 2018, just two weeks after the grand opening of the brewery, I was diagnosed with a type of cancer linked to PFOA exposure. I grew up on well water in an area later identified as a PFAS site. At first, I appeared healthy and cancer free, but it spread and returned four years later. This time surgery wasn’t enough and chemotherapy was prescribed.
Unfortunately, most of us know someone who has faced cancer and understand how difficult it can be, not just for the person going through it but for everyone around them. I was fortunate in many ways and made it through relatively unscathed. I hope to use my experience to help others facing similar challenges. At the very least, I can now help identify areas of PFAS contamination and be part of a team working to prevent it from harming others.
Experiences like that bring the purpose of this work into sharper focus. Environmental consulting is often about identifying risks that aren’t immediately visible and helping others understand them before they become larger problems. It requires careful analysis and a commitment to doing the work thoroughly. That commitment shows up in how we approach each project. We focus on understanding the full picture, communicating findings in a way that is useful and actionable, and developing solutions that support long-term outcomes.
All the changes in direction, the challenges, and the experiences have built me into who I am and prepared me to be here. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to apply all of this with a company that believes in what they do. I look forward to getting reinvested in the community I grew up in and using my knowledge and experience to help create a cleaner environment. It wasn’t the straightest line, but it has been an adventure.
Environmental conditions are not always visible, but their impact is. The work we do helps bring those conditions into focus so communities can decide what comes next. It’s a responsibility I take seriously, and one I’m proud to carry forward as part of this team.
