SCS Engineers announces that Lauren Romanazzi is leading the firm’s Bay Area Sustainable Materials Management operations. She reports to Senior Vice President Michelle Leonard, who leads the firm’s Sustainable Materials Management program for North America.
Romanazzi, an environmental services specialist, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her role. She holds a Master of Public Administration in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco.
With over a decade of experience in government and integrated waste management, her areas of expertise include sustainable program development, contract management, policy implementation, stakeholder engagement, and customer service. She has also managed tasks involving organic waste disposal, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, regulatory compliance, and policy/program development.
Her eleven years with the City of San José have given her the tools to excel as the lead on Bay Area Sustainable Materials Management operations. Her responsibilities at the City included collaborating with stakeholders, managing Council District Neighborhood Clean-up projects, analyzing illegal dumping program data, overseeing the creation of the Zero Waste Element, which contributes to community carbon neutrality by 2030, as well as overseeing the implementation of a statewide policy on reduction of organic waste disposal and GHG emissions.
Senior Vice President Michelle Leonard states, “Hiring Lauren is another step in environmental excellence for our clients. She brings a unique blend of expertise and experience in waste management and policy implementation. Her journey from Assistant Environmental Services Specialist to Supervisor at the City of San José showcases a commitment to sustainability that makes her an asset to our firm and our clients.”
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Join SCS Engineers at the Federation of New York Solid Waste Conference with Trade Show, hosted at the luxurious Sagamore Resort in Bolton’s Landing, New York. The 2024 program will put a spotlight on responding to climate change (with topics such as renewable natural gas and electric vehicles) and also feature per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination as a focus area. Attendees can look forward to two and a half days of presentations by industry thought leaders, over 75 technical sessions, an educational trade show, and exciting recreational activities. This event is renowned in the industry for its unique networking opportunities, such as horseback riding, tennis, golf, fishing, and hiking tours.
Don’t miss out! Register today for this exciting event!
On April 11, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (GHG Inventory), presenting a national-level overview of annual greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2022.
The GHG inventory identifies and quantifies anthropogenic sources and sinks of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, which is essential for quantifying and qualifying data used to address climate change and measure the impact of environmental solutions and sustainability plans. In this context, the term “anthropogenic” refers to greenhouse gas emissions and removals that are a direct result of human activities or are the result of natural processes that have been affected by human activities.
The GHG Inventory covers seven key greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride. In addition to tracking U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, the Inventory calculates carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere through carbon uptake in forests and other vegetation.
Greenhouse gases are emitted and reported across five economic sectors: transportation, electric power (electricity generation), residential/commercial (homes and businesses), industry, and agriculture. Emissions from commercial/residential and industrial activities account for a much larger share of U.S. greenhouse gas due to their proportionately larger share of electricity use in these sectors (e.g., heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; lighting; appliances; powering industrial machinery).
Transportation activities were the largest source (28 percent) of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. From 1990 to 2022, transportation CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion increased by 19 percent, largely due to increased travel demand.
The electric power sector accounted for 25 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. Emissions from this sector have decreased by approximately 16 percent since 1990, and the carbon intensity of the sector, in terms of emissions (CO2 Eq.) per QBtu input, has decreased by 28 percent. Total electric power generation increased by 3 percent in 2022, while electric power-related emissions decreased by less than 1 percent due in part to a decrease in coal consumed to produce electricity and an increase in renewable generation.
The commercial and residential sectors accounted for 7 and 6 percent, respectively, of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, excluding indirect emissions from electricity end-use. Emissions from these sectors are primarily from building-related activities such as heating and cooking and have increased since 1990. Emissions from commercial and residential buildings also increase substantially when emissions from electricity end-use are included because the building sector uses 75 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and appliances (NREL 2023). Total residential and commercial greenhouse gas emissions, including direct and indirect emissions, have decreased by 1 percent since 1990.
The industrial sector accounted for 23 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, excluding indirect emissions from electricity end-use. If indirect emissions from electricity use are distributed to the industrial end-use sector (e.g., powering equipment and industrial buildings), industrial activities account for 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1990, emissions from industry have declined by 16 percent. Shifts in industrial output away from energy-intensive manufacturing products to less energy-intensive products have had a significant positive impact on industrial emissions.
Agriculture accounted for about 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 and includes sources such as livestock enteric fermentation and manure management, N2O emitted from managed agricultural soils from fertilizers and other management practices, and fossil fuel combustion from agricultural equipment. Indirect emissions from electricity in the agricultural sector are about 5 percent of sector emissions. In 2022, agricultural soil management was the largest source of N2O emissions, and enteric fermentation was the largest source of CH4 emissions in the U.S. There are several strategies for reducing CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation and manure management, including anaerobic digestion and liquid-solid separation, which the sector is embracing.
A summary of greenhouse gas emissions from the Waste sub-sector is below. In 2022, waste activities generated emissions of 166.9 MMT CO2 Eq., or 2.6 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Methane generation and emissions from landfills are a function of several factors. Each landfill has unique characteristics, but emissions from MSW landfills accounted for approximately 84 percent of total landfill emissions (100.9 MMT CO2 Eq.), while industrial waste landfills accounted for the remainder (18.9 MMT CO2 Eq.). Nationally, there are significantly fewer industrial waste landfills than MSW landfills, contributing to the lower national estimate of CH4 emissions for industrial waste landfills.
The annual amount of MSW generated and disposed of in MSW landfills varies annually and depends on several factors (e.g., the economy, consumer patterns, recycling, composting programs, and inclusion in a garbage collection service).
The estimated annual quantity of waste placed in MSW landfills increased by 10 percent from approximately 205 MMT in 1990 to 226 MMT in 2000, then decreased by 11 percent to 202 MMT in 2010, and then increased by 7 percent to approximately 217 MMT in 2022.
Emissions decreased between 1990 and 2022 largely because of increased use of landfill gas collection and control systems, closure of older landfills, better management practices, and increased organics diversion through state and local policy and regulations.
Biogas, Anaerobic Digestion, Renewable Natural Gas and Energy Systems
Carbon Sequestration & Deep Well Injection
CCR and Electric Utilities
Clean Air Act
Facility Energy Management
Greenhouse Gas Monitoring, Control, Inventory
Landfill Gas and LFGE
Liquids Management – Wastewater and Leachate
Material Recovery Facilities and Transfer Stations
Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Organics Management, Composting
SCS Remote Monitoring and Control® (Emissions Tracking)
SCSeTools® (LFG Tracking)
Solid Waste Planning, Sustainable Materials Management
Sustainable Solutions Planning
EPA will hold three complementary competitions to strategically distribute grant funding under the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program. EPA will implement these programs in alignment with the President’s Justice40 Initiative and expects to open competitions for funding under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund by the summer of 2023.
The goal is to ensure that households, small businesses, schools, and community institutions in low-income and disadvantaged communities have access to financing for cost-saving and pollution-reducing clean technology projects. EPA aims to deliver tangible benefits, including lower energy costs, good-paying jobs, and improved public health outcomes to households, businesses, and communities. The three competitions will be:
EPA Feedback and Listening Sessions
EPA invites written technical feedback and comments on the competition descriptions as the Agency prepares the program for release as early as June 2023. Stakeholders may send their written feedback to by 11:59 pm ET on May 12. Over the next two weeks, EPA will convene six public listening sessions on this implementation framework. Listening session details and other information about the program are on the GGRF website.
Additional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Resources
Join SCS Engineers professionals at the 2023 Annual Florida Brownfields Conference, June 19-21, at Avanti International Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The Florida Brownfields Conference always brings great information from industry experts. The Call for Abstracts was extended through Friday, May 19. Organizers are seeking presentations on
Registration is now open. For registration information and more details as the conference takes shape, click here.
Hope to see you there!
The Climate Registry is hosting its 2023 Climate Leadership Conference (CLC) and Awards in Los Angeles, May 10-12, 2023.
The annual Climate Leadership Conference is North America’s premier event dedicated to addressing the climate crisis through policy, innovation, and business solutions. Hosted by The Climate Registry, the conference brings together forward-thinking leaders from business, government, academia, and the non-profit community to explore energy and climate solutions and opportunities, and to showcase climate leadership.
Themes emerging for the conference include the critical and growing acknowledgement that corporations and other subnational actors must continue stepping up and taking a central role in the fight against climate change. This theme will be carried over and expanded into next year’s Climate Leadership Conference and Awards.
Click for more conference details as the conference takes shape
Reducing CO2 is essential for our planet to thrive. At SCS Engineers, we’ve been helping all industries, cities, and states do just that for over 50 years. We focus solely on environmental solutions; in the industry, it’s called pure environmental, along with industry rankings that consistently rank our results in the top tiers.
Our culture is one of sharing. Our professional staff are involved in their communities and global industry associations where we speak, publish and share what works openly with you. Our newest blog series Preventing and Reducing CO2 publishes monthly, bringing you the latest papers, presentations, and case studies on reducing CO2 and targeting climate change.
We hope you find this collection of article, papers, videos, and opinion pieces helpful. The opinion pieces raise logical questions and help us create sustainable solutions rather than quick fixes that don’t stand up economically over time. We include a broader range of topics for landfills, as they diligently work toward reducing CO2 and using proven wastewater treatment options.
Sustainable Living Key to Tackling Climate Change Tackling Climate Change: ISWA’s James Law explains how changing people’s mindsets and behaviors impacts climate change …
The Wise Way to Fight Inevitable Climate Change This opinion piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Joseph Duckett describes two major reasons why we need to rethink a country-by-country strategy to fight climate change …
Landfill PFAS Study: Concentrations After Leachate Treatment The objective of this study was to evaluate a cross-section of full-scale on-site landfill treatment systems to measure changes in PFAS concentrations. Leachate samples were collected before and after treatment from 15 facilities and were evaluated for 26 PFAS, including 11 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), 7 perfluoroalkyl sulfonic …
Design to Maximize Landfill Air Space – Your Landfill’s Golden Egg Free Webinar and QA Forum: Modern Landfill Design for Siting and Maximizing Air Space The trend to go larger necessitates more landfill design sophistication and master planning to recoup the growing capital investment upfront. During this month’s SCS Engineers webinar and open forum, our panel will discuss how extending the life of a landfill is a greener option …
EPA’s Brownfields Cleanup Grants $60M – Deadline November 22 Brownfields redevelopment and land recycling cleans up past activities that occurred on properties impacting local ecosystems. These properties help revitalize areas economically while making them safe again. When you’re looking at energy as well as environmental costs, remediation is often greener. The FY 2023 Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grant Guidelines are now available (go to Open Solicitations). The application submission deadline is November 22, 2022.
SCS respects your privacy – you may share these resources individually using social media and email icons on each page. You may share all of the resources by sharing this blog. Look for our next Preventing and Reducing CO2 blog in October! If you missed our August issue – no problem, click here.
Reducing CO2 is essential for our planet to thrive. At SCS Engineers, we’ve been helping all industries, cities, and states do just that for over 50 years. We focus solely on environmental solutions; in the industry, it’s called pure environmental, along with industry rankings that consistently rank our results in the top tiers.
Our culture is one of sharing. Our professional staff are involved in their communities and global industry associations where we speak, publish and share what works openly with you. Our newest blog series will publish monthly, bringing you the latest papers, presentations, and case studies on reducing CO2.
SCS clients entrust us with managing more than 35 million metric tons of anthropogenic CO2e greenhouse gases annually. We collect and beneficially use or destroy enough to offset greenhouse gas emissions from 7.4 million passenger cars annually. That’s more than any other environmental firm in North America and proof of the results we can achieve for you.
A Call for Low Impact Development: the Time is Now, SWS 2022 Low impact developments profoundly impact stormwater management while providing more energy-efficient housing.
The Road Ahead: Carbon Sequestration This video features experts in sequestration and inventorying GHG. The sequestration of liquids is common, but gases may also be sequestered.
Potential Geochemical Effects of CO2 and Brine Leakage – Implications for CCUS Testing and Monitoring Live presentation at the National Carbon Capture Conference on November 8-9 in Des Moines, Iowa. Using an inverse thermodynamic modeling approach to simulate the effect of the progressive intrusion of CO2 and brines from the injection zone on the geochemical composition of the overlying dilute aquifer waters; we can infer which geochemical parameters are most likely to be affected by the potential intrusion of CO2 and brines.
Application of Advanced Characterization Techniques for Identification of Thermogenic and Biogenic Gases This paper discusses the identification of thermogenic and biogenic gases, the typical sources and characteristics of methane in the natural environment, and the methods of discriminating between different sources of methane for fingerprinting.
Roadmap for Sustainable Waste Management in Developing Countries, ISWA, 2022 An accomplished team of sustainability researchers deliver a concise insight into modern waste management practices that acts as a handbook for waste management professionals.
Mini-review of waste sector greenhouse gas and short-lived climate pollutant emissions in Tyre Caza, Lebanon, using the Solid Waste Emissions Estimation Tool (‘SWEET’) A completed a study of waste sector short-lived climate pollutants and other greenhouse gas emissions in Tyre Caza, Lebanon, using SWEET.
SCS respects your privacy – you may share these resources individually using social media and email icons on each page. You may share all of the resources by sharing this blog.
Look for our next Preventing and Reducing CO2 blog in September!
Cutting food loss and waste is widely recognized as one of the most powerful levers we have to address climate change and preserve our natural resources. In the United States alone, surplus food accounts for 4% of our greenhouse gas emissions, 14% of all freshwater use, and 18% of all cropland use. We’re wasting precious resources to produce and ship food only to have it end up in a landfill or rot in a field. [ReFED]
These are key action areas where the food system can focus its efforts over the next decade to prevent, rescue, and recycle food at risk of becoming waste. Strengthening food rescue and recycling anything remaining into compost or anaerobic digestion facilities creates beneficial by-products.
The USDA offers grants of up to $300,000 to composting and food waste reduction pilot projects benefiting community food waste and production programs.
Eligible projects can be in rural, urban, and suburban communities. The application deadline is fast approaching on September 1, 2022. USDA anticipates making selections by October 30, 2022, and executing the grant awards by February 8, 2023.
Visit SCS Engineers to learn more about this grant opportunity, check program qualifications, and sign up for free consulting supporting communities interested in this unique USDA grant program.
USDA GRANT for Composting | Food Waste Reduction ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA and RESOURCES
The 2022 NAAMC, sponsored by US EPA in conjunction with the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies and the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, is a must-attend event for federal, state, local, and tribal air pollution organizations involved with operating, planning, or managing air monitoring networks and reporting data to AQS, and AIRNOW.
In addition to essential training on air monitoring topics, these SCS Engineers professionals will present the following sessions:
Sergio Valenzuela – Quantifying Salton Sea’s Harmful PM During High Wind Events
This study analyzes the correlated TEOM data (centric to high wind event days) and PQ200 data in comparison with TEOM data during “clear” (≤5-mph) days to determine the concentration levels of PM created during high wind events. Also, the incorporation of wind rose diagrams, created using wind speed/direction data collected at meteorological towers, aids in understanding varying PM concentrations relative to their deployment site properties. This study provides an essential tool for understanding the amount of exposure that neighboring communities are experiencing during high wind events and how IID’s implemented mitigation efforts will look moving forward. Read the abstract.
Jose Landeros – Air Monitoring in Mexicali, Mexico. The Evolution of Air Pollution Monitoring in a Border City.
Advancements in technology have influenced the way air pollution is measured and how air pollution data is received, shared, and acted upon by stakeholders. Using Mexicali, México as an example, this presentation will review the evolution of the air pollution monitoring technologies used to measure and inform stakeholder actions. Stakeholders now can access real-time air quality data from platforms that integrate information from low-cost sensors and regulatory sites. The evolution of technology for measuring and presenting data has been remarkable – from large, manual, analog equipment to small, automated, digital equipment with communication systems that allow for real-time data access. Read the abstract.
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