GIS interactive maps provide geographic context and enable users to interact with mapped data using geography and visualization to tell the redevelopment story, combining maps with multimedia content. They are an engaging tool for increased transparency, accountability, and public engagement in planning for sustainable places, such as brownfields, and show in real-time project updates, providing the public with a sense of accomplishment using the latest data.
StoryMaps help build trust and encourage ongoing engagement with diverse audiences by facilitating collaboration among teams, stakeholders, agencies, and the community. It allows them to understand and even contribute insights directly through the StoryMap. Documents become interactive narratives, making it easier for wider audiences to access and understand complex planning information while facilitating information sharing and feedback.
GIS can enable the integration of various data sets related to brownfield sites, such as contamination levels, environmental risks, and remediation plans. Use it as a project management tool to manage redevelopment projects by integrating spatial and attribute data. You’ll also build an archive of historical planning data, invaluable for long-term planning, due diligence, permitting, and analysis.
The StoryMap pictured above showcases successes and how the brownfield redevelopment provides economic opportunities to potential developers. They effectively communicate the positive impacts of brownfield redevelopment, such as job creation and increased property values. And this StoryMap highlights brownfields projects in EPA Region 5.
Where Can You Learn More?
At the 2025 Brownfields Conference in Chicago, learn the essential steps and considerations for creating an effective StoryMap, including the importance of assembling a skilled team, and discover how StoryMaps can revolutionize brownfield project communication and stakeholder engagement. Look for Megan Husic’s presentation Let Me Tell You a Story – Brownfields and StoryMaps.
Target audience: Brownfield managers, community involvement, environmental justice, developers, City Managers, brownfield grantees, private investors, local and state agencies.
About Megan Husic, CEM, is a Project Manager for SCS Engineers. She has over a decade of experience managing environmental projects, including Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments, soil and groundwater sampling, drilling, and excavation oversight. Megan’s expertise includes managing EPA Brownfields investigation grants and working with multiple state grant and permitting agencies. She brings value to successful brownfields projects through her work and StoryMap expertise, well-received by EPA, local communities, stakeholders, and investors. If you’d like to reach out to Megan, please contact her at SCS Engineers, or on LinkedIn.
This 2025 National Brownfields Training Conference session explores the transformative role of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in managing and communicating the complexities of brownfield projects. Kayla Ouellette delves into how GIS technology can be leveraged to enhance project planning, data management, and stakeholder engagement. Key topics she covers include an overview of the GIS environment, access to GIS software, and practical applications including site selection and ranking, demographic analysis, data management, and community outreach.
Kayla emphasizes the importance of starting with the end in mind, ensuring that GIS solutions are tailored to meet specific project needs and reporting requirements from the very beginning. By utilizing GIS, project teams will improve accuracy, efficiency, and communication, ultimately leading to more successful brownfield redevelopment efforts.
Learning Objectives of Transforming Brownfield Redevelopment with GIS:
Kayla Ouellette is a GIS Manager at SCS Engineers. Kayla has over 10 years of experience creating innovative GIS workflows for environmental and solid waste projects. She is responsible for managing SCS’s GIS teams, providing internal training for staff, and collaborating with others across the company to implement GIS solutions for their projects. Kayla enjoys educating others on the applications of GIS and has presented at Florida SWANA, Florida Brownfields Association, and American Association of Geographers. She has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of South Florida and resides in St Petersburg, FL.
Learn more about the 2025 National Brownfields Conference and brownfields funding:
This 2025 National Brownfields Training Conference workshop will identify and describe various brownfield capital sources ranging from brownfield-specific funding to traditional redevelopment financing. Many brownfield projects require multiple capital sources to succeed; the more difficult the project, the more needed capital sources. A deeper dive will show how sources can integrate and be stacked, used sequentially for the various stages of redevelopment, and combined with private investment.
This workshop offers more than just a list of capital sources. Capital sources will be described and presented in a “generic” matrix showing the stack and sequence possibilities in the first half. Then, in the second half of the workshop, we’ll collectively work through Stack & Sequence project scenarios to demonstrate the wide range of possibilities for brownfield redevelopment funding/financing programs.
This SCS workshop accommodates individual sites and broad areas in urban and rural scenarios. Public agencies and non-profits will benefit by learning how to best promote redevelopment through utilizing multiple capital sources. Additionally, practitioners will gain insights, tools, and strategies for working with developers and investors and cultivating successful public-private partnerships that support communities’ neighborhood revitalization goals.
Eric Williams of SCS Engineers presents this Brownfields University pre-conference training event designed to provide a curriculum of core brownfields concepts and practices before the full educational program content. Eric will be providing his “Stack & Sequence – Strategically Using Multiple Sources of Brownfields Funding” training module, a popular session and the subject of multiple papers and presentations.
Learn more about the 2025 National Brownfields Conference and brownfields funding:
Navigating Industrial Waste and Wastewater Permitting
Industrial waste and wastewater permitting involve obtaining necessary authorizations from federal, state, and local regulatory agencies before handling, treating, storing, or disposing of industrial waste. We all know that permitting ensures compliance with environmental regulations, protects public health, and minimizes potential harm from industrial activities. Nevertheless, federal mandates can change with new administrations, complicating the process and timing.
The timing for industrial waste and wastewater permitting can vary significantly depending on the specific type of permit and the regulatory authorities involved, and it is a significant cost factor. New permits may have a long approval cycle, so we provide advice to help expedite the permitting process in this article.
Stakeholder Involvement Early in the Permitting Process
Communicating the stakeholder goals upfront helps identify and address potential challenges before permitting submissions. Stakeholders include any agency involved in the permitting process, such as federal, state, and local agencies. Even the finest environmental consultant does not try to anticipate every potential issue – we work with facts.
Early communication and coordination prevent delays and provide valuable insights, perspectives, and, in our experience, innovation specific to an industry, facility, process, and locality. Aligning your permitting cycle with the needs and expectations of agency stakeholders builds trust and goodwill, smoothing the process and preventing unnecessary slowdowns to address questions.
Example: Working in Partnership with Miami-Dade County
For example, industrial facilities in Miami-Dade County must navigate a comprehensive permitting process to protect public health and the environment. For this article, we base our advice on permitting for a pet food manufacturer, an aircraft maintenance facility, and a water bottling facility – all very different but following a similar strategy. The Industrial Wastewater Facility (IW5) and the Industrial Waste Pretreatment (IW-P) Permits are among the most common and critical permits. While each serves a distinct regulatory purpose, both are essential for facilities that generate or manage industrial waste.
Facilities impacted include dry cleaners, automotive service providers, manufacturers, printers, and film processors. Understanding which permit applies and how to comply can significantly reduce project delays and keep operations on schedule.
Understanding the IW5 and IWP Permits
The IWP Permit regulates facilities that discharge significant volumes of industrial wastewater to the public sanitary sewer system. These discharges are subject to local and federal pretreatment regulations.
The IW5 Permit, the focus of this article, applies to facilities that store or use hazardous materials in smaller quantities and discharge relatively low volumes of wastewater. The permit outlines conditions that facilities must meet to minimize the volume and impact of their discharges on the County’s Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW).
Steps in the IW5 Permitting Process
The Miami-Dade Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER), Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) administers the permitting process. Facilities submit required documentation through the County’s Electronic Permitting System (EPS). The process typically involves the following phases:
Before submitting an IW5 permit application, facilities must prepare and upload the following documents:
Once the CU and Occupational License are secured:
Finding the Right Environmental Consultant
The IW5 and IW-P permitting process can be complex, but partnering with an experienced environmental consultant can streamline your path to compliance. Look for a partner who supports industrial clients —from aircraft maintenance and cleanrooms to chemical R&D and clinical pharmacology—through every stage of the permitting process.
Seek a partner who will assist you with early documentation, regulatory coordination, and ongoing compliance to help ensure timely approvals and avoid costly delays. An environmental consultant with in-house experts, including legal and construction, will bring more value to your permitting project.
About the Author: Kokil Bansal is a Professional Engineer and SCS Project Manager responsible for providing environmental services, site redevelopment, and sustainability planning for public and private clients. She is particularly adept at coordinating and managing new facilities and the redevelopment of contaminated sites. Contact her at SCS Engineers or on LinkedIn.
SCSers are excited to celebrate our clients who continue to make great strides toward sustainability this Earth Day. As one of the nation’s top environmental consulting and construction firms, SCS Engineers has been dedicated to helping companies develop sustainable solutions that balance today’s financial, environmental, and bureaucratic challenges since its founding a few weeks before the very first Earth Day in 1970. Below, we’ll share a few examples of how our team and clients are making eco-friendly and sustainable impacts.
Chris Jimieson, PE, a project manager in our Madison, Wisconsin office, is sharing his story with our SCS Young Professionals across the U.S. He’s describing his journey from a dedicated and concerned parent observing recyclables being landfilled, to teaching and engaging students, and now to developing policy around district recycling in the Madison Metropolitan School District. It’s a win-win for Madison and our Young Professionals!
The City of San Diego implements a waste reduction program that funnels unsold grocery store inventory to non-profit food programs for distribution to the community. In addition to directly benefiting the people of San Diego, this program resulted in a significant decrease in food waste in local landfills, thereby increasing the lifespan of those landfills and reducing the cost of that utility over time.
A power company using coal (many still do as they transition to renewable energy sources) has taken several eco-friendly steps, optimizing the sustainability of both the plant and the company. They’re now desulfurizing flue gas, preventing air pollution and creating a by-product to make gypsum. And fly ash, another by-product of creating energy, is now being sold to concrete companies for reuse. Wastewater is pretreated for safety and chemical characterization during the permitting process, and regular sampling during operations ensures fluids are non-hazardous and unchanged. These modifications have allowed them to provide energy at a reasonable cost, qualify for government incentives offered to companies that employ green practices, and protect health and human life. That’s sustainability!
Technology is impacting the waste management industry in amazing ways, too. Drones with sensors can fly over a landfill, detecting methane leaks and allowing technicians to visualize below-the-surface conditions. The result is safer, faster, and more efficient landfill operations. Captured methane is turned into Renewable Natural Gas as a clean-burning energy or fuel source. Special sensors and automation can remove organic waste reused as by-products to create compost. Plastics, paper, and cardboard become new products. The use of technologies significantly cuts the amount of greenhouse gases that once went airborne after being buried in a landfill. All you need to do is recycle!
Finally, we’re also excited to be joining an array of Earth Day 2025 community events nationwide and globally – you can too! Find an event close to you here!
Together with our clients, SCS Engineers remains committed to advancing sustainable practices that make a meaningful difference. This Earth Day, and every day, we celebrate progress, partnership, and the promise of a greener future.
SCS Engineers expands environmental solutions in Utah by welcoming Thomas P. Gordon as a senior project manager to the firm. Mr. Gordon leads full-service due diligence site assessment and hazard remediation practice for municipalities and public and private clients in the state from SCS’s Salt Lake City office.
“Tom joins SCS as a fully certified and tested professional with over two decades of expertise and specialization in petroleum, agricultural, and mining remediation. He works closely with all stakeholders and Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality CERCLA Branch,” states Justin Rauzon, SCS’s National Expert on Environmental Due Diligence.
SCS Engineers has supported industries and businesses nationwide seeking remediation solutions for over 50 years. All require thorough due diligence to keep project development and implementation on schedule and within budget. Today’s real estate transactions must consider environmental issues, as state growth is often exhausting Greenfields or virgin land. Complex laws can impose significant environmental liabilities on purchasers, sellers, and lenders, regardless of whether they caused contamination or still own the property.
Comprehensive services provided by certified experts, such as Tom Gordon, significantly reduce the risk of funding and development for commercial properties and are especially important for mixed-use and residential reuse projects. Typically, the most strategically located properties, often formerly used by an industry, business, or municipality, may have left behind trace amounts of hazardous materials at levels no longer acceptable under federal, state, or local regulations.
Purchasers must demonstrate that they have taken reasonable steps to mitigate the effects of hazardous substances on the property, utilizing comprehensive services; that’s where Tom Gordon and SCS Engineers provide valuable support. Mr. Gordon guides clients through the necessary steps based on an Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) and a due diligence report. Regardless of the complexity of the ESA results, the combination of environmental engineers, consultants, and contracting capabilities at SCS will provide purchasers with the most cost-effective and safe solution for fully remediating the property. Clients are covered from permitting through implementation and operational monitoring.
Mr. Gordon’s degrees, certifications, and licenses include an MBA from the University of the Pacific and a BS in Environmental Studies from the University of Utah. He holds certifications for HAZMAT (ACM, LBP, PCB, DEHP, and Mercury), Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), 811 Pre-Dig, and Permitting, as well as OSHA 40/8-Hour HAZWOPER. He holds the following Utah licenses: Groundwater and Soil Sampler, Asbestos Management Planner and Inspector, and General Contractor B100. His federal licenses include Underground Storage Tank Contractor, Lead Inspector, and Department of Transportation/Aviation Remote Pilot.
Send Tom Greetings on LinkedIn!
Additional Resources:
Over the past 55 years, SCS Engineers has established a leadership role in comprehensive solid waste management and environmental services, which would not have been possible without the support of our municipal clients and industry. There were fewer than a handful of engineering firms specializing in environmental consulting when SCS was founded in 1970.
Today, the firm supports a wide range of environmental solutions in different industries and business sectors. Fifty-five years ago, no one could have imagined using drones and satellites to collect information for landfill operations or utilizing carbon sequestration in an environmentally safe manner. CEO Doug Doerr says:
Our greatest reward is client satisfaction. Thanks to you, our clients, SCS Engineers has received numerous awards and industry recognition for its research achievements and technological innovations, which protect human health and the environment while enhancing operational efficiency. We take pride in operating and maintaining critical environmental infrastructure that the public and businesses depend on. Our employee-owners know how to solve problems and, drawing on our deep bench of engineers, scientists, and consultants, move forward as a team.
SCS’s business model features regional and satellite offices situated near client sites, with mobile offices co-located on project sites. “The model has always worked well for us,” President Curtis Jang recently stated. “Our professionals and technicians live nearby; our distributed network means we are nearby project sites instead of flying, or working online.”
“We’re proud of the care and contributions by our colleagues over the years, and now,” states Eddy Smith, COO. “That sense of responsibility and ownership, along with SCS’s camaraderie and high-quality results, brings our clients back.”
The environmental consulting firm started as a partnership between Bob Stearns, Tom Conrad, and Curt Schmidt on April 1, 1970, in Long Beach, California. The three engineers knew and respected each other’s strengths and capabilities: Stearns was an expert in solid waste, Schmidt was a water and wastewater engineer, and Conrad was a jack-of-all-trades with experience in civil engineering, solid waste, water and wastewater.
By the late 80’s, SCS Engineers had created new specialty practices, under the name SCS Field Services, to perform landfill and landfill gas system construction, operations, monitoring, and maintenance. The firm was proud to offer comprehensive services, but it knew from its experience that each landfill and solid waste operation is unique. SCS OM&M now operates 27,500 LFG extraction wells and supports over 650 landfills across the nation. SCS Field Services Construction is a Class A – General Engineering Contractor with Hazardous Materials Certification. SCS believes that by overlapping design, construction, and operational activities, it has led to the innovations listed as SCS Firsts on their website and saved their clients money.
In 1986, the firm also made a significant and strategic decision to create an employee stock ownership plan. Chairman Jim Walsh explains, “As an ESOP company, our employees own shares in SCS Engineers and all its practices. We felt that ownership inspires better performance and that our staff deserve control in the decision-making and direction of the company. It has proven to be a successful business model for the firm.”
Combining SCS’s expertise in solid waste management, landfills, and regulatory compliance, SCS Energy was created in 2001 to focus on the design and design-build of landfill gas-to-energy (LFGE) systems. SCS now has one of the longest and most successful biogas practices in the United States, primarily in Renewable Natural Gas. SCS designs, constructs, and operates more RNG, LDFE, and DGE facilities than any other environmental engineering firm in the nation.
Growing and expanding its environmental expertise to serve other industries and sectors, SCS draws on specialized practices to continue to support a growing number of public and private clients under the SCS Engineers umbrella.
SCS Field Services® Construction | SCS Field Services® OM&M
SCS Energy® | SCS Tracer Environmental® | SCS Technology Services®
SCS Management Services®
SCS continues to develop technologies and programs that help clients lower their operating costs and reduce their environmental impact. The technologies and applications used in landfills have found applications in agriculture, heavy industry, manufacturing, and municipal settings. These advances enable the development of more efficient infrastructure and processes, supporting companies in their transition to renewable energy resources while maintaining sustainable practices and minimizing additional expenses for consumers.
SCS clients entrust the firm with managing more than 40 million metric tons of anthropogenic CO2e greenhouse gases annually. The firm collects and beneficially uses or destroys enough methane to offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from more than 8.7 million passenger cars annually. These figures do not include the significant emission reductions achieved through carbon sequestration, waste diversion, recycling, and repurposing waste into useful products, such as Renewable Natural Gas, compost, or supporting municipal programs that donate perfectly edible food to those in need.
“We attribute our success to our loyal clients who entrust us to address the complexities of environmental challenges,” says Nathan Hamm, CSO. “We are proud of our employee-owners who create the technologies, practices, and systems that make a sustainable, positive impact while being economically feasible.”
Over the years, SCS expanded and hired many talented people. They guide the firm, maintaining the founders’ focus on adopting their clients’ environmental challenges as their own and fostering a culture of success for employees by sharing equity ownership. The firm helps clients minimize waste and pollution while providing GHG-lowering carbon capture, monitoring, control, and accounting solutions, as well as sequestration solutions, with a proven ability to mitigate and remediate air, water, and soil pollution.
“SCS’s culture attracts professionals with diverse expertise, enabling the firm to grow organically. It is on track to reach nearly 1,400 employees this year and has achieved year-over-year record-breaking revenues,” says CPO Stacey Dolden. SCS’s core capabilities include solid and hazardous waste management, renewable energy, remediation, and environmental compliance and sustainability, aimed at reducing or preventing GHG emissions. Over the last two decades, the demand for SCS expertise has expanded into various areas, including remote monitoring and control technology, wastewater and water reuse, composting, sustainable materials management, industrial health and safety, and risk management planning. The firm maintains a deep technical bench, a wide range of industry experts, and extensive knowledge of federal, state, and local environmental regulatory systems, which enables clients to shorten project timelines, control costs, and meet evolving regulations.
Earth Day is also celebrating its 55th Anniversary this year – the first Earth Day took place just a few weeks after the start of SCS. We’ll be at Earth Day events around the country serving hundreds of communities, charities, and associations. We hope to see you there! SCS Engineers remains passionate about continuing to provide superior client service and solving the environmental challenges of the 21st Century.
SWANA Western Regional Symposium will naturally feature SCSers talking landfills! We hope to see you at these sessions.
L’ is for Landfill Redevelopment – From Golf Courses to Graveyards, Adventures in Landfill Redevelopment with Vidhya Viswanathan and Ray Huff
Landfill redevelopment transforms sites into valuable community assets, such as parks, solar farms, or warehouses, addressing environmental concerns and supporting sustainable land use. This presentation explores the benefits of redevelopment, emphasizing environmental, community, and financial advantages. It also addresses technical, financial, and regulatory obstacles, with strategies for overcoming them through stakeholder collaboration, using case studies to highlight lessons learned.
Landfill Construction for Integrated Gas Systems with William Haley and Evan Guignon
With ever-increasing regulations pushing more and earlier methane capture, including during landfill filling, how can we design and construct our landfill cells to allow the integrated gas collection and gas collection infrastructure to be built alongside our landfill cells? This presentation will cover regulatory requirements for cell construction and gas capture and how landfills can be designed and constructed to allow the gas collection system to work in tandem with the landfill leachate collection system. We will cover several examples of integrated cell/gas collection systems and delivered performance since installation.
Explore the full list of sessions from SCSer’s at the SWANA Western Regional Symposium, we look forward to seeing you! Register today!
Current State of the Regulation of Composting Facilities under Air Quality Programs with Pat Sullivan
Composting facilities are becoming increasingly regulated across the country, particularly for air quality permitting requirements. It is important to know where these requirements stand in the various jurisdictions in the U.S., so facility developers can properly plan any new facilities or expansions. Further, estimating air emissions is an integral part of the air permitting process, and many of the emission factors currently in use, and being prescribed regulatory agencies, are dated and based solely on data from open windrow composting.
The proposed presentation would include a survey of how compost facility air permitting is presently handled in various states and local jurisdictions across the country with focus on the western U.S. The types of information to be covered would include whether air permits are required and under what circumstances, how emissions are regulated and whether they are considered fugitive or not, how ancillary equipment is permitted (e.g., grinders, windrow turners, etc.), whether controls are required and what levels of control are deemed necessary, what is best available control technology (BACT) for composting, and if the agency has any specific rules for composting. The presentation will include a summary of the current state of emission factors for composting.
As part of the presentations, more detailed air permitting information would be supplied for several example air jurisdictions in California, including the Bay Area AQMD and San Joaquin Valley APCD. The examples would cover the range of complexities from the most stringent air permitting requirements to the simplest and most basic requirements.
The attendees to this presentation will learn about:
Can We Get Credit for That? with Victoria Evans and Erik Martig
To reduce GHG emissions to meet climate goals, numerous strategies encourage lowering the carbon intensity of operations and supply chains. Here, Victoria and Erik answer the question of ‘Can we get carbon credit for that?” by addressing offsetting and insetting projects applicable to waste related commodities. They focus upon compost and biochar providing relevant examples for both offsetting and insetting. Insetting involves directly reducing emissions within the company’s own operations and value chain. Victoria and Erik will provide examples of carbon accounting quantification for both project types.
Explore the full list of sessions from SCSer’s at the SWANA Western Regional Symposium, we look forward to seeing you! Register today!
AW&MA’s most popular specialty conferences, the Air Quality Measurement Methods and Technology Conference, is April 23-25, 2025. This conference provides extensive coverage of all aspects of air measurement methodologies, including associated quality assurance protocols and how to use and interpret data. Sessions will also focus on the assessment of key substances of concern for humans and the environment, including criteria pollutants, greenhouse gases, and air toxics.
Jose Landeros and Sergio Valenzuela will be presenting “Empowering Imperial County AB617 North End Communities With Low-Cost Monitoring Sensors.”
The Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD) has become a model for Assembly Bill 617, demonstrating how collaborative efforts in environmental justice can address complex air quality challenges, including pollution from agricultural, industrial, and cross-border sources. This conference is a unique opportunity to engage with local experts and explore solutions across scientific, legal, regulatory, policy, and communication domains, empowering professionals to address pressing environmental justice issues.
Eva Luu and Armando Hurtado will be presenting “Real-Time Monitoring of Odor Using Sulfur as a Surrogate,” during the Agricultural Emissions and Odor Measurements track.
Cannabis remains a contentious topic in the United States. While a majority of Americans support legalization, challenges such as nuisance odors have emerged, complicating the landscape. Geographical location plays a significant role in the success of cannabis cultivation, particularly in outdoor and greenhouse settings, where moderate temperatures benefit crop production. These same favorable weather conditions often align with increased population density, heightening the need for effective odor mitigation strategies. Although the distinctive “skunky” odor has traditionally been linked to terpenes, recent research suggests that other compounds play a critical role.
To address cannabis odors, various mitigation methods have been implemented, including misting systems, carbon filters, and advanced scrubber units using ozone and photocatalytic oxidation (PCO).
Each of these methods can be effective for odor controls in the appropriate settings and when applied to specific cultivation methods.
While these techniques can reduce onsite odors, offsite locations frequently continue to detect the characteristic smell. Odor samples can be collected onsite and analyzed in Odor Labs, but they do not provide real-time data for cultivators to make immediate adjustments to operations.
Through meticulous planning and iterative rounds of testing, we identified total reduced sulfurs (TRS) as a reliable surrogate for real-time measurements of cannabis odors in enclosed spaces. This approach allows operators to identify odor problems in situ and take necessary action in a timely manner. The findings underscore the importance of innovative measurement techniques in improving odor management practices and enhancing the sustainability of cannabis cultivation. This work aims to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of odor dynamics in cannabis production, ultimately assisting cultivators in effectively addressing community concerns while optimizing operational integrity.
Learn more at SCS Engineers.
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