ENV Services history

Just before he left office in 1980, President Carter signed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, what would become commonly known as the Superfund.

Net income reached $4.3 million in 1987.

Although Sevenson became involved in environmental cleanup work through government contracts, by 1988 more than 60 percent of its business was derived from the private sector.

The company rebounded nicely in 1992, posting revenues of just under $70 million, although net earnings increased by just 5 percent to $5.4 million.

In 1994 the Securities and Exchange Commission began requiring publicly held companies to disclose potential environment problems at their facilities.

In 1996 President Clinton and a Republican-controlled Congress squared off in a budget dispute that resulted in the so-called "government shutdown." Superfund projects were among the many government initiatives affected, as reauthorization of the fund was also delayed by the budget impasse.

The slump would continue into 1997, although the company's poor performance was more the result of two major projects being delayed rather than the lingering effects of the budget stalemate.