April 2010: Greenhouse Gas Regulations With Pat Sullivan of SCS Engineers
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Presentations and Papers
EPA's New Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule – What This Means for MSW Landfills presented by David Mezzacappa, P.E. to the annual Texas SWANA Conference in Corpus Christi, TX in April 2010 PDF
The Impact of Federal Climate Change Legislation and Regulation on the Solid Waste Industry by presented by Patrick S. Sullivan, REA, CPP to SWANA’s 33rd Annual Landfill Gas Symposium in San Diego, CA on March 10, 2010 PDF
Paper: The Impact of Federal Climate Change Legislation and Regulation on the Solid Waste Industry by Pat Sullivan, R.E.A., C.P.P., Pat Sullivan, R.E.A., C.P.P., and Cassandra B. Drotman, presented to SWANA’s 33rd Annual Landfill Gas Symposium in San Diego, CA in March 2010 PDF
Implementation of EPA’s Mandatory GHG Reporting Requirements presented by Raymond H. Huff, R.E.A., to Rural Counties’ ESJPA Board and Technical Advisory Meeting in Sacramento, CA in March, 2010 PDF
Implementation of EPA’s Mandatory GHG Reporting Requirements presented by Raymond H. Huff, R.E.A., to the Colorado Rocky Mountain SWANA Conference on January 19, 2010 PDF
General Overview of EPA’s Mandatory GHG Reporting Rule for Landfills presented by Pat Sullivan, R.E.A., C.P.P., to the SWANA Oregon Winter Forum in Salem, Oregon on January 21, 2010 PDF
Meeting EPA’s Mandatory GHG Reporting Requirements presented by Pat Sullivan, R.E.A., C.P.P., to the NSWMA Webinar on December 4, 2009 PDF
White Paper: Current MSW Industry Position and State-of-the-Practice on LFG Collection Efficiency, Methane Oxidation, and Carbon Sequestration in Landfills prepared for the Solid Waste Industry for Climate Solutions (SWICS), Version 2.2, Revised January, 2009 PDF
You will find additional GHG-related papers on our Technical Articles web page.
Will this generation
leave a better world for the generations that follow? Can healthy
buildings be constructed on contaminated sites? Do recycling and waste
minimization programs really work? Can greenhouse gas emissions be reduced
in ways that make sense economically?
The politically-correct
answer to each of these questions is "yes." A more thoughtful answer is
probably "it depends."
What constitutes a better
world? What is the nature of the contamination beneath the building?
Will the recycling or waste minimization program cause more environmental harm
than good? Is it practical for a growing business to reduce its carbon
footprint in absolute terms?
SCS Engineers is one of the few consulting firms that specialized in environmental engineering services before the US Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970. SCS professionals understand environmental
systems, and have the experience to help clients find a practical approach to attain and maintain
a proper balance between their missions and the environmental consequences
of their operations.
Our clients provide
important services to society, and we are pleased to help them do so while
minimizing adverse environmental and economic impacts. For example, many of our
clients operate solid waste landfills that produce methane, a potent greenhouse
gas. We design, install, and operate landfill gas collection systems that
destroy the equivalent of more than 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
every year.
As another example, many of our
clients are land developers who construct urban infill and other forms of smart
growth. We design, construct and operate systems that protect these projects
from historical contamination that might be present. Billions of dollars of real
estate development in contaminated areas (“Brownfields”) have been made possible
by our work.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Services
Prepare GHG
Emissions Inventories to establish the carbon footprint of operations.
Develop Protocols
for GHG Emissions Estimates and Offsets
Develop Strategies
for Reducing GHG Emissions, including design, construction, and
operation of projects to reduce emissions
Identify
Opportunities for Voluntary GHG Emission Reductions for landfills,
wastewater treatment plants, agriculture wastes, coal bed methane, and
fugitive emissions
Design, Construct
and Operate GHG emission reduction projects, including identification of
alternative sources of financing.
Provide Third-party
Validation or Verification of GHG emission reductions
Validation services
are a "look forward" to determine if a particular project appears to quality
for producing credits going forward
Verification services
are a "look back" to quantify the actual amount of credits generated by a
particular project
Validation and
verification services must be impartial and independent of any conflicts of interest
on the part of the firm or the individuals involved [Click here for formal
SCS Statement of Impartiality]
SCS does not validate
or verify GHG assertions where SCS provided consulting services to the
responsible party that support the assertion
Research and
Evaluate emerging technologies and GHG issues
Develop Renewable
Energy Projects, including design, construction and operation of direct
use, electricity generation, liquefied and compressed natural gas projects
using biogases from landfills, agricultural operations, and coal beds.
Smart Growth and
Brownfield Redevelopment site assessment, remediation design,
construction, and O&M
Building
Deconstruction and innovative debris recycling and management
Integrated Solid
Waste Management Planning, including recycling, materials recovery,
waste minimization, and residuals management
Green Procurement
Procedures, including appropriate recycled content and life-cycle
toxicity considerations
Healthy Indoor
Environments, including vapor protection systems and management of mold,
asbestos, and lead-based paint issues
Integrated
Landscape Programs, including plant selection, composting, and water
re-use
Energy Conservation
Measures, energy management, and renewable energy
Sustainability
Management Systems, including development of policy, goals, procedures,
metrics, and audits to address long-term strategic environmental management
