I certainly agree there are advantages to getting an engineering degree if one wants to go into the field of engineering! I think saying studying something else would necessarily “enforce a delay” might be a bit too strong, though, depending on what is meant by “entering the field” and what one’s long term goal is. Not all companies doing engineering work require ABET certified degrees for every engineering position. One could do engineering work under the supervision of someone with a Professional Engineer license, or find themselves on the research side of the organization or some other unit, or at a firm that primarily builds prototypes that are not for direct public use but guides what other companies do, for example. Someone with a stronger science foundation might actually have certain advantages in doing applied research that directly informs engineering projects, particularly if one couples the basic science with a later engineering degree. 
But all this raises another point. As best I can tell, several of the schools listed by OP don’t have ABET certified Environmental Engineering. Getting an engineering degree that isn’t ABET certified will require some tests and years of apprenticeship if they want their own PE license one day, but my understanding is those hoops will be fewer if the degree at least covers engineering design foundations, which I would guess they do. Nonetheless, it’s probably worthwhile to at least be aware which Environmental Engineering programs are ABET certified (eg, Georgia Tech’s) and which are not (eg, Yale’s.)