About AP

AP started out as a two-man shop in 1975 and has since grown to a firm of more than 120 employees with five office locations in central and eastern Oregon and eastern Washington. AP’s growth has not been the objective but rather a result of our core values to operate from a reputation founded on high ethics, quality work, and exceptional service.

The firm leadership strives to provide a rewarding and positive work environment for staff while fostering an attitude of continual improvement. AP has stayed abreast of new technologies and has an impressive array of modern survey, design, and modeling hardware and software that staff leverage to deliver designs and plans on time and within budget.

Over the firm’s history, AP has designed and completed hundreds of water/wastewater system improvements, transportation, irrigation, water resources, site development, stormwater, and other projects for nearly every public entity and community in eastern/central Oregon and southeast Washington. Our goal is to be a one-stop shop, providing all the services our clients need so they don’t have to seek services outside of the area.

In April of 1975, Steve Anderson and Howard Perry formed Anderson Perry & Associates, Inc., in La Grande, Oregon. Both hoped that if they were efficient, hardworking, offered exceptional service, and did some of their own drafting and surveying, they might be able to keep food on the table for their families. Their approach quickly gained the attention and support of local communities that previously had to seek engineering services from firms located in Boise and Portland.

Business began to pick up and, in 1978, Keith Olson joined the duo and opened a branch office in Walla Walla, Washington.

AP quickly grew to become the largest consulting engineering firm in eastern Oregon, offering engineering, surveying, and materials testing. AP was the only private testing lab in the region, and provided testing services for soils, aggregates, concrete, and asphalt. In their first decade, AP had developed an extensive list of engineering projects and clients, both in government and private sectors.

As the company continued to grow and was reaching 50 staff, AP bought a 6,000 square-foot building across the street from the La Grande main office in 1992 to house an expanded materials testing laboratory, an enlarged conference room and office space, and records storage.

When Oregon Business Magazine reviewed the business climate throughout Oregon for their July 1996 issue, the magazine presented AP with an award as one of Oregon’s “Best Companies to Work For.”

In the mid-2000s, AP added water resources engineering, permitting, and environmental services to the firm’s offerings. Our team of interdisciplinary environmental professionals, coupled with our water resource engineers, provides a full spectrum of natural resources planning services that promotes environmental stewardship while helping our clients achieve regulatory compliance.

In 2013, AP opened its first central Oregon office in Prineville. This office moved to Redmond (pictured) in 2017.

In 2017, AP identified GIS as a “value-added” service and expanded to include a dedicated GIS department. Since that time, the GIS department has grown to include several highly skilled GIS technicians, each of whom holds a GIS certificate.

Today, the GIS department provides services to a long list of clients and supports AP’s engineering, natural resource, drafting, surveying, and planning departments.

In 2017, AP opened its fourth office in Hermiston, Oregon.

In 2019, AP was recognized by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) for engineering excellence in the design of the City of Prineville’s wastewater system improvements project that utilized constructed wetlands for treated wastewater disposal. This prestigious award was noted as one of the top 8 engineered projects in the world completed by engineering firms across the United States. This project also received national recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency and National League of Cities, as well as being named ACEC Oregon’s Project of the Year in 2018.

In 2019, AP was recognized by ACEC with an Oregon State Grand Award and a National Grand Award for improvements to in-stream habitat and restoration of fish passage over existing barriers in Beaver Creek in the Upper Grande Ronde River Watershed. This innovative project restored access to miles of watershed through installation of a series of vortex weirs, streambed simulation material, grade control structures, boulders, and wood habitat structures. The design also included a vortex weir fish ladder to provide passage over the 30-foot high dam.

In 2021, AP was awarded the American Public Works Association Washington State Chapter's Project of the Year for Transportation for the completion of reconstruction along Isaacs Avenue in Walla Walla. This project reconstructed approximately 1.5 miles of roadway, enhanced pedestrian safety with bicycle lanes and enhanced crossings, and was recognized by the Washington State Department of Ecology for improvements to stormwater management.

In 2022, AP opened its fifth and newest office in Enterprise, Oregon.

In 2025, AP celebrated its 50th anniversary.

In 2026, AP was recognized by ACEC with an Oregon State Grand Award for The La Pine Water and Wastewater Systems Improvements project. This substantial effort brought City water and sewer service to unserved areas, protected public health and groundwater by retiring failing systems, and enabled sustainable future growth for the community.