Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicholas Moran.
Hi Nicholas, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always been more oriented towards the sciences. One of my favorite places to visit as a kid was the miami science museum. I would get rocks and minerals sets and physics toys in the gift shop there and I especially remember an extremely tiny diamond in a little plastic case that we got from there that I enjoyed having. After all, not every kid has a diamond, the hardest known substance, in their pocket. But I did.
I also took a very strong interest in dinosaurs, and really liked the various programs that would come on the discovery channel about the latest findings about dinosaurs.
As I grew up I collected rocks, crystals, and shells, and took an interest in astronomy. I even had a couple of nice telescopes.
When it came time to choose a major for college, I decided to stick with my childhood interest in rocks and minerals and chose geology as my major. I completed my major in 4 years at FSU and I learned that the majority of geology majors in Florida entered the environmental field. I figured working in environmental was a good choice for someone like me who liked the earth and wanted to keep it nice.
I started at Shaw Environmental and then moved to work at Miami Dade County to work overseeing the cleanup of petroleum contaminated gas stations under a state funded cleanup program called the Petroleum Restoration Program.
I should take a moment to say that ever since graduating college I was developing an interest in technology and when I joined Shaw Environmental I saw a lot of opportunities to improve the environmental consulting industry with technology. I wanted to remove the drudgery where we could so that our scientists and engineers could spend more time thinking about hard problems and less time copy pasting text from a pdf or database into a word template for a report. That should be automated.
To that end, in the time that I was leaving Shaw (which had recently become CB&I) I started an environmental technology conference with a cofounder. It was called the Environmental Tech Summit and ran for 3 years. It was designed to bring tech people and environmental geologists and engineers together in the same room so that they could see how each group could help the other. Because from my perspective, the environmental industry was stuck in the past and the tech industry was solving “problems” that weren’t problems (at that time a viral app called Yo had just come out).
Anyway, I was at Miami Dade County and getting frustrated with the way things were done. Despite my efforts and despite my coding up various useful tools for myself and other regulators to make our work better and easier, I wasn’t having the impact I wanted. I realized that I needed to move on to see the change I wanted to see and be a part of. So I joined a company that sold software that helped environmental companies collect their data in the field with tablets, and manage their data in cloud databases. The tools we were providing helped our customers do. more with less. It was my dream job.
But I started to miss doing the actual work of environmental consulting and that’s why in 2023 I established MORAN ROCKS LLC, my small environmental consulting firm so that I could keep myself grounded in the field. By late 2025 I decided to leave my last job and devote myself full-time to MORAN ROCKS LLC and I am happy to say that I am able to use all my knowledge that I have gained so far from all my work up to this point. I do Phase I and II ESAs consumptive water use permitting, and NPDES permitting for developers, landowners, and other larger consultings which I learned to do at Shaw. My time at Miami Dade County taught me how regulators think and taught me how to communicate with them to get our work approved quicker. And I use technology to help me get my work done faster and with less people than some of the larger firms.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s not been smooth, finding clients is hard, and so is ranking in google. But as time goes on and my reputation spreads, things are getting better and I can tell that 2026 is going to be our year!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about MORAN ROCKS LLC?
We specialize in Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), Stormwater Assessments, and NPDES Permitting, our process is rooted in technical precision and deep historical research. We leverage a robust array of resources—including county regulatory databases, historical aerial and street view photography, and Sanborn Fire Insurance maps—to uncover site risks that standard reports often miss. By combining this granular data with our extensive local knowledge and years of regulatory experience, MORAN ROCKS LLC ensures that developers, lenders, and stakeholders receive the most accurate, rapid, and professional environmental oversight available in Florida. Our website is at https://www.moran.rocks .
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think that a quality that has been very important to my success as been my ability to self reflect. After years of work and taking new opportunities when they come and indulging interests when they have revealed themselves, I have cobbled together an interesting career that has prepared me offer a unique set of skills to my clients. My background as a consultant and as a regulator along with my interests in pushing the limits of the industry make me a great consultant to my clients today.
Pricing:
- Phase I ESAs range in price from 1700-3200 depending on the complexity, size, and timeframe of the work.
- Other consulting is highly variable depending on the circumstances.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.moran.rocks
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasmoranpg/
