Derek Heitz
CPSWQ
Project Environmental Compliance Specialist
You don't have to know what the answer is, you just have to know who has the answer.
Hired
- 2025
Location
- Tacoma, WA
As a project environmental compliance specialist in our Tacoma office, Derek helps clients in heavy industry and solid waste navigate the complex world of environmental regulations. His work focuses on helping organizations comply with environmental permits, manage risk, and protect natural resources both within and beyond their property boundaries.
Derek is experienced in stormwater and process water management, waste characterization and disposal, and spill prevention and response. He regularly works with clients in varying fields. “Many of my clients don’t have a background in these subjects,” he says, “and I’m always happy to help them build a program that they can understand—or do the work for them if they’d like me to.”
With a background in environmental consulting, industrial stormwater and process water treatment, and even time spent helping maintain a family farm, Derek brings a diverse, hands-on perspective to environmental compliance. For Derek, clear communication is just as important as technical knowledge. “I’m glad I know what I know,” he explains, “but I’m doubly glad that I’m able to take this information and provide it to others in a language or method that they can understand.”
At GeoEngineers, Derek looks forward to continuing what he enjoys most: supporting clients, solving problems, and learning something new along the way.
Outside of work, Derek stays busy as a dad and enjoys tennis, photography, playing guitar, and cooking. He has a soft spot for old Volvos and often spends weekends exploring antique shops, salvage stores, and neighborhood bakeries—especially the ones with a little dust in the corners.
