In this Waste Today article, Sam Cooke discusses the factors, treatment options, analytical methods, and identifying PFAS sources to most effectively reduce the concentrations of ammonia and PFAS in landfill leachate.
Reducing these concentrations help meet discharge permit requirements for direct discharge of treated leachate to surface waters and to meet publicly owned treatment works (POTW) discharge permit standards.
Sam points out that accomplishing ammonia and PFAS reduction with established wastewater treatment technologies works, but the right treatment depends on each site’s specific parameters. He suggests conducting bench-scale and pilot-scale testing for any feasible nitrogen removal or treatment system. Testing the wastewater helps to identify any changes in the concentration of nitrogen compounds. Thus, necessary changes to the treatment processes, such as additional aeration or chemical additions are easier to identify and less costly to implement.
Best practices for treating ammonia in landfill leachate, Waste Today
About the Author: Mr. Cooke, PE, CEM, MBA, is a Vice President and our expert on Industrial Waste Pretreatment. He has nearly three decades of professional and project management experience in engineering with a concentration in environmental and energy engineering. Mr. Cooke works within SCS’s Liquids Management initiative to provide services to our clients nationwide.
Learn more about liquids management at landfills.
Lindsey is an employee-owner at SCS Engineers on the solid waste management team performing Construction Quality Assurance – CQA and reporting for field projects, as well as OM&M on landfills and assisting with landfill reporting and compliance.
Lindsey earned her BS in Soil and Waste Resources—Waste Management from the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point in the Summer of 2018. She currently serves on the SWANA Badger Chapter Board and is co-YP Liaison, plus participates in SCS’s Young Professionals program.
Lindsey recently published an article Finding Solutions for an Open Dumpsite: Solid Waste in The Gambia in the April edition of the Badger Chapter YP Newsletter.
The Gambia, is a tiny sliver of a country in West Africa, has a population of just under 2.5 million. About a fourth of the country’s population is under the jurisdiction of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) – the most densely populated area of The Gambia. The people and leadership of the Kanifing municipality are united in their desire to have positive changes in solid waste management in the community and at the Bakoteh dumpsite. Ideally, solving the problem will implement a means of positive change for many aspects of the KMC citizens’ lives.
Outside of work, Lindsey is a self-described “bird nerd” who has two parrots: A Green Cheek Conure (7 years old) and a Yellow-Naped Amazon (34 years old). She often volunteers at Feathered Friends Sanctuary and Rescue where they provide care for around 65 surrendered parrots.
Scientists and experts agree that climate change is a present-day threat to communities across the U.S., manifesting in both predictable and unpredictable ways. As detailed in the National Climate Assessment Vol. 4 (NCA4), coastal storms are increasing in strength and frequency, forest fires are becoming much larger and more destructive, annual precipitation is changing and increasing in variability, and widespread flooding is becoming more common both in the interior of the nation and along the coasts.
These changes present complex challenges to the waste management industry that must be addressed and planned for. For example, one challenge is an increasing frequency of large-scale weather events and natural disasters, which are creating more debris that must be managed and which affects the characteristics of landfilled waste. Landfill design needs to incorporate precipitation changes and increased threats due to weather variability, flooding, and sea-level rise. Precipitation changes affect gas generation rates and require a diligent reaction to maintain effective gas collection. Because of weather pattern changes, risks of cover material erosion and swales have increased for landfills in both wet and dry climates, which may require stronger natural caps or the use of emerging technologies for alternate cover. Additionally, landfills are affected by an increase in the variability of precipitation and rapid changes between weather extremes.
It is clear that waste management facilities must adapt to these changes in addition to scenario building for pandemics to maintain effective operations. Adaptations available include making changes to landfill design and planning, such as incorporating precipitation changes into the modeling of leachate and gas generation or increasing the distance between the bottom liner and groundwater.
Systems should be regularly evaluated and areas needing repairs should be corrected quickly and diligently. Gas generation models should be updated regularly and collection systems need to be expanded or adjusted to account for precipitation increases or decreases.
More frequent and intense storms are creating challenges for cover material management, liquids management, and maintaining slope stability. Facilities should implement innovative uses of both existing technology and new or emerging technologies.
Communities with waste management facilities should include waste management infrastructure in emergency management plans, including maintaining landfills and collections operations and using landfills as both temporary debris storage and as an option for final disposal.
Since climate change effects vary by region and locale, many facilities are developing a specific plan for adaptation and management. To reduce the inevitable costs of adaptation and maintain responsiveness to weather changes, a reactive approach is being abandoned in favor of a proactive approach.
About the Author: Jacob Shepherd is a Senior Project Professional specializing in air compliance and reporting within EPA Region III. He is experienced in environmental engineering, air compliance, renewable energy, landfill and landfill gas engineering, and environmental services throughout the mid-Atlantic region, and is a licensed P.E. in Virginia.
Resources and Recovery
Get started with these resources and recovery success studies; click to read, download, or share each:
Contact for assistance starting or refining your plan ahead of natural disasters and pandemics. We offer these services:
Planning for Natural Disaster Debris – help for communities to develop or revise a disaster debris management plan. Many aspects of disaster debris planning can be relevant to communities demolishing abandoned residential buildings and remediating properties.
Guidance about Planning for Natural Disaster Debris – much of the construction or demolition waste can be recovered and recycled. SCS Engineers designs and builds these facilities so we can help locate the nearest C&D debris recyclers as part of your plan.
Planning Financial Response and Recovery – the SCS Management Services™ team offers services to support financial planning and to quickly access budget and operational financial impacts. Eliminate concerns about the upcoming fiscal year expectations and anticipated medium-term impacts of pandemics and natural hazards on local government operations and revenue streams. Address issues such as:
Do you know how much oil you store in aboveground containers at your facilities? If you have more than 1,320 gallons at a facility, you may need an SPCC Plan. SPCC stands for Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure, and it is a federal rule (40 CFR 112 in the Federal Register) designed to prevent oil-based products from entering navigable waterways of the United States. But it’s about more than just compliance. It’s an important tool to help you limit your liability.
As a utility leader, your focus is to deliver electricity to your customers; however, facilities covered under the SPCC Rule are subject to inspections and potential enforcement actions if your practices are out of compliance.
The 1,320-gallon threshold isn’t the only requirement for an SPCC Plan. The SPCC Rule only counts oil storage containers with a capacity of 55 gallons or more. Many electric utility facilities will meet the oil storage threshold, including substations, storage yards, power plants, and operations and maintenance facilities.
Another criterion is that a facility must reasonably be expected to discharge oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines of the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) does not define what “reasonably be expected” means. Instead, the responsibility is on the facility owner or operator to determine the potential for discharge. In reality, it’s usually easy to think of a scenario where spilled oil could reach a waterway. Even if you think a spill would never reach the stream, what if there was a significant rain event that washed away spilled oil on the ground through a storm sewer? Often “reasonably be expected” is not challenged, and it’s best to err on the side of caution.
It’s time to prepare an SPCC Plan. The Plan summarizes your facility’s oil sources, identifies spill response coordinators, and outlines your spill prevention measures and spill response procedures. There are three options: 1) Prepare the Plan yourself; 2) Use a third-party provider to prepare your Plan; or 3) Have a licensed professional engineer (PE) prepare your Plan. The option you choose depends on how much oil you store at your facility and your working knowledge of the SPCC Rule.
If your facility has less than 10,000 gallons of oil and no single aboveground oil storage container with a capacity greater than 5,000 U.S. gallons, you may prepare your own SPCC Plan, following the USEPA’s Tier I qualified facility template.
You can download the USEPA’s Tier I qualified facility template here: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-05/documents/tier1template.pdf. It is the cheapest way to comply with the SPCC Rule. You need to be familiar with the SPCC Rule’s requirements to complete a self-certified plan. You must also follow all of the requirements without deviation.
If your facility has less than 10,000 gallons of oil and a single aboveground oil storage container with a capacity greater than 5,000 U.S. gallons, you qualify under the USEPA’s Tier II qualified facility category. The USEPA does not provide a plan template for a Tier II qualified facility. You can still prepare the Plan yourself, or you may hire a third party or PE to prepare the Plan for you. If you prepare the Plan yourself, you must still follow all of the requirements precisely without deviating from them.
If your facility has greater than 10,000 gallons of oil storage, you must have a licensed PE prepare and certify your facility’s SPCC Plan. The Rule allows PEs the flexibility to deviate from certain requirements, so you may decide you want a PE to prepare and certify your plan for your Tier I or Tier II qualified facility.
An SPCC Plan is about more than just compliance. An SPCC Plan contains important information that will be critical if you have an oil spill. The Plan contains inspection forms and protocols that help you maintain your oil sources and prevent a spill from happening in the first place. It identifies the single point of contact, an “SPCC Coordinator” for the facility. If there is a spill, the Plan contains steps to contain and control the spill initially, and the proper contacts to notify internally and externally.
The SPCC Rule requires oil-handling personnel to receive annual training to respond to spills in their work areas properly, and the SPCC Plan contains the material that must be covered in training. The SPCC Plan also contains forms for you to document training, plan reviews and updates, and spill notifications.
Work with your staff to determine if the SPCC Rule applies to you. An SPCC Plan is a required document for certain facilities to help you comply with the SPCC Rule and gain the benefits of having a plan in place. But more than that, it’s a practical document designed to assist with training and inspections while serving the function to help prevent spills from occurring. And if spills do occur, an SPCC Plan provides the guidance to help control the spill and limit your liability.
Read Part II – Are You Ready to Respond to an Industrial Spill?
About the Author: Jared Omernik has 12 years of experience helping electric utilities comply with environmental regulations, including helping utility owners and operators build and review SPCC Plans and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs).
For questions about the SPCC Rule or SPCC Plans, contact Jared at .
During this COVID-19 outbreak, many employers, property managers, and property owners are tirelessly working to maintain clean and safe environments for tenants and employees. Cleaning contractors and janitorial services are working overtime, expending considerable efforts trying to maintain clean and disinfected workspaces and buildings. While providing their services, they face continual challenges of not having enough information regarding COVID-19 behavior, and the dwindling supply of cleaning and disinfecting agents. Many have inquired about microbial sampling and analytical methodologies to evaluate the effectiveness of these cleaning measures.
Some of us have been here before. Twenty years ago, property managers and tenants faced similar challenges in the wake of anthrax contamination of mailrooms in several prominent buildings. The approach we took then—collecting wipe samples from areas of concern for analysis at a nationally-recognized specialty laboratory—can offer peace of mind and an empirical basis for the evaluation of cleaning/disinfection effectiveness.
While specific testing for viruses, including the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), is not generally available, it is possible to test environments and surfaces for the presence of surrogate clinical pathogens and bacteria—these should be absent if cleaning and disinfection are effective.
Every building, tenant space, and office work environment is unique, and therefore it is important to develop site-specific plans. Staff collecting the samples should be trained in hazardous incident response, including microbiological and chemical impacts on structures and the environment, and should have the proper personal protective equipment (somewhat scarce at present in many locations).
About SCS Engineers
SCS Engineers is a 50-year-old, employee-owned environmental consulting and contracting firm that designs and implements sustainable and innovative environmental solutions. With 70 offices nationwide and nearly 1,000 employees, we are a full-service provider in the solid waste, hazardous waste, and environmental engineering industries. We study challenges and design solutions; we remediate, build and operate environmental and energy projects and systems; and, we evaluate the public health risk of hazardous materials exposure scenarios. As technologies, industry, and public needs change and expand, SCS evolves to provide innovative solutions to our clients’ challenges.
Most states’ guidance considers SCS’s services as essential to protect public health.
Contact SCS today at 800-767-4727 or for additional information and consultation regarding the effectiveness of cleaning/disinfection at your properties and workspaces in your state. Further information about SCS is on our website at https://www.scsengineers.com/.
For International Women’s Day, SCS decided to interview one of our own, Nicole Kron, who is a Hydrogeologist in Madison, Wisconsin. Nicole joined SCS Engineers in December 2017, as a project professional in the Environmental Services practice. Nicole graduated with her Bachelors of Science in Geology from the University of Illinois and earned her Masters of Science in Hydrogeology from Illinois State University.
Early in her career, prior to working at SCS, she did a lot of fieldwork – characterizing sites, determining where there might be issues of contamination that would need to be cleaned up, drilling and installing wells, collecting groundwater and soil sampling and just getting an understanding of the geology of the site.
Nicole now focuses more on the evaluation and preparation for the fieldwork. Once the fieldwork is completed, Nicole conducts the evaluation of the lab data that comes back and a groundwater analysis if needed. Based on the data they receive, whether it’s groundwater data or soil data or any other medium, she performs evaluations for what that means for that site. She then develops reports that explain the geology and hydrogeology of the site, the extent of contamination, and what are the next steps, whether that be to close the site or needing to do more work to better define the issue. She assists in a lot of those different areas and helps with managing the reporting and analysis of the findings.
Prior to coming to SCS Engineers, I had worked with two other firms. They were good firms but did not always have the warmest culture. I had a friend who worked in the SCS Engineers’ Madison office and mentioned that he enjoyed working for SCS and encouraged me to apply. There’s always going to be challenges and difficult times wherever you work. What I appreciate about working at SCS Engineers is that when there are those challenges, or if I’m having a tough day, there is still an environment of support at SCS and a desire for everyone to achieve their goals. SCS Engineers has the best work culture I’ve ever worked in!
Working with my team! I also love that I have the opportunity to develop my own career path and can contribute to finding solutions to issues we encounter while working on projects. I always feel respected and not just a “cog in the wheel,” but a part of the team. I appreciate that my work is valued here.
This is hard to answer! I’m a part of such a great team and am able to do a lot of work for some of our bigger clients in the Midwest. I’ve also taken over as the local SCS Young Professionals Leader for the Upper Midwest, where I help arrange meetings and lead discussions. I work on ways to help the YP’s feel like a connected group, supported while learning new skills, and improving work environments.
We all have different personalities and strengths to our personalities. There are no personality types that are designed for one type of career. For example, I’m an extrovert and like to collaborate with other people. But, not everyone is an extrovert and may take on challenges differently than I do. On the DiSC chart of personalities, I am a solid “iD,” which means I like to be high-spirited and enthusiastic and am also strong-willed. It’s good to recognize everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and learning what works and doesn’t work for your team.
Surprisingly, there were! It was fairly balanced. Many of the women that I attended school with have gone into a variety of fields since graduating – Oil and Gas, government and state agencies, and a few went into environmental consulting. I do see an increase in women joining the environmental field, which is exciting! Most are just starting off in their careers, but I think it’s great that hopefully there will continue to be more women in STEM fields!
The non-profit organization was started by a graduate student who wanted to ensure that science would continue beyond just the classroom and that students could see scientists as well-rounded people. Scientists are paired up with a classroom over a Skype video conference, and the students can ask questions about the scientist’s work and why they chose their career path. It’s a great opportunity for students to see what scientists are like and what they do. The founder of the program wanted to make sure students would see more of a scientist than the stereotype of a person with a lab coat and goggles on, mixing chemicals all day.
I’ve participated in two sessions – a 4th-grade class and a 10th-grade class. The 4th graders were from Canada, wanted to talk about volcanoes, and where they could find diamonds! The 10th-grade class happened to be an all-female class. They were excited to learn that I was a dancer and used to perform in plays and on the speech team in college. We also talked about how it is okay to fail sometimes and to recognize failure as part of the journey in your career and in life. Failure is part of being a scientist. If your experiment fails, you can’t just give up. You have to try something new! It was great to be able to remind your students that it’s okay to fail sometimes as long as you learn how to work through it.
Don’t discount opportunities to learn something that would be applicable to your field. When I was finishing my Masters, I had an opportunity to take a class that would give me the foundational understanding in this field, but I elected not to take it because I did not believe I would go into environmental consulting. Now I’m working in this field! Yes, it was one class and didn’t hinder my abilities to get a job or do my job today, but you never know what may be in store for you in the future. If you have an opportunity to learn something new, try it anyway! This should go beyond STEM as well. If you have a chance to learn, do it!
As a woman in the environmental field, sometimes you are the minority, but that’s not a bad thing. You are there to contribute and to be a part of a team. It shouldn’t matter the color of your skin, how old you are, or what gender you associate with.
Remember that your voice is just as important as everyone else’s! Be ready to listen and learn. Your voice has just as much power and meaning as any other person in the room.
I love to knit, go camping, and kayaking! I also really love to go dancing! I used to take ballroom dance classes when I was younger, so I take any opportunity I have to go dance!
Interview by Lindsay Evans, SCS Engineers Human Resources
SCS Engineers welcomes Ben Reynolds, to our Little Rock, Arkansas office. Mr. Reynolds joins the SCS environmental services team providing support to real estate developers, construction firms, and industrial clients in the region. These businesses need to manage air, water, and soil safely within federal and state policies as they operate.
Ben is a Professional Engineer in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. He comes to SCS Engineers from the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ), where he served as the technical branch manager for Assessment and Remediation and in the Hazardous Waste Division as a permit engineer. His expertise and working knowledge from the DEQ is valuable to clients who need support to obtain multiple permits and to complete successfully Brownfield and other voluntary remediation projects.
Working as an environmental engineer, Ben gained experience helping clients with Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan, and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Planning (SWPPP). These assessments and plans keep businesses compliant with environmental federal and state regulatory policies. Ben approaches each project analytically, mitigating the financial risk and future liability through careful evaluation, analysis, and planning that protects clients and the environment during all phases of redevelopment or production.
Ben also has experience with real-time telemetry for directional drilling, assisting with well completions, and the production of oil and natural gas. Telemetry is useful in many industries for collecting measurements and other data at remote or inaccessible points. These systems complement SCS’s technologies, SCSeTools® and SCS RMC®, to help streamline monitoring, auditing, and record-keeping, which reduce the cost of operations and of maintaining environmental records. His experience complements and enhances SCS’s Oil & Gas and SCS’s Energy practices too.
Ben earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arkansas. His supplemental professional education includes Establishing Energy Metrics, Closure Cost and Financial Assurance, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), RCRA Sampling Techniques, and Stack Sampling. He is certified as an STI/SPFA SP001 Aboveground Tank Inspector; with OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) 40-Hour Certified.
“Ben’s a valuable resource for our clients,” stated Dan McCullough. “We’re happy to welcome another SCS member with strong analytical skills and the expertise to resolve complex environmental challenges.” The SCS Engineers Little Rock office supports the growing demand for environmental scientists, engineers, and consultants. SCS professional staff specializes in meeting federal, state, and local clean air, water, and soil goals, and the restoration of property once thought impractical to revitalize.
SCS has completed numerous mold surveys for a variety of facilities, such as schools, offices, warehouses, industrial, and commercial buildings. We do not recommend a mold survey if you observe mold — if you can see it, you have a mold issue. Mold is ubiquitous and requires water and food to grow, so if you observe mold growth, the first step is to stop the source of water.
Exposure
There are no promulgated governmental exposure limits for mold, as every individual responds differently to the presence of mold. Mold surveys are typically performed after the water leak has been repaired, and the water damaged building materials have been replaced. This post-remediation survey lets you know if the cleanup has been successful and the area is safe to occupy.
If tenants are complaining of moldy or musty odors, a survey can tell you if you have a mold problem even if there is no visible growth. Mold can be present inside walls, air ducts, and false ceilings, behind cabinets, beneath flooring, for example. Successful survey results will show lower levels of mold spores inside the building compared to the outside sample results, with low to absent levels of concern.
Survey Process
SCS performs indoor air quality or IAQ, mold surveys using the newest battery-powered Zefon Bio-Pump® Plus, which collects an air sample for mold analysis in as little as 5 to 10 minutes, with an auto-shutoff feature once the sample is collected. Typically, a minimum of six samples are recommended, three inside and three outside, with the total number of samples dependent on the size and complexity of the affected area.
We transport the sample cassettes to a certified laboratory under the chain-of-custody protocol for mold spore analysis, with results typically available within 2 to 5 days. Rush analysis is available for an additional cost (same day service is dependent on the time of sample delivery to laboratory). Laboratory analytical reports may include spore counts for approximately 20 types of mold, total count comparisons; background count comparisons; explanation of results with descriptions of the individual spore types; references, and informational links.
Costs
Typical costs for a mold survey range from $2,500 to $10,000, depending on the location, size, and complexity of the survey area. As soon as the review of the laboratory report is complete, SCS provides verbal results, with a technical report typically issued within 10 business days of receipt of laboratory data. Most mold inspection firms utilize technician level workers. Having oversight by a certified industrial hygienist, SCS ensures the most complete and comprehensive survey appropriate to the needs of landlords and owners of commercial buildings and multi-residential dwellings.
If you’d like more information or have questions, please contact Jed Douglas, CIH, CSP, PG, Senior Project Advisor at SCS Engineers, or contact SCS at for an Occupational Health and Safety professional nearest you.
Mr. Douglas is a Senior Project Advisor specializing in Occupational Health and Safety Programs. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), a licensed Professional Geologist in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona, and a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Accredited Professional. He has over 25 years of experience as a health and safety specialist and senior project manager, and has managed numerous environmental projects involving safety; soil and groundwater investigations and remediation of hazardous constituents; and, indoor air quality (IAQ) assessments for physical, chemical, and biological contaminants.
SCS Engineers has expanded into Green Bay to increase our municipal solid waste and electric utility customer support in the Green Bay/Fox Cities area.
Jared Omernik, SCS senior project manager, and civil engineer is now in Green Bay and available to provide support for local projects. Jared has worked with many of SCS Engineers’ clients from the Madison office over the past five years. Mr. Omernik has experience as an engineer on a wide variety of civil and environmental engineering projects. He has worked on development, permitting, design, construction, documentation, and compliance for a number of projects in several states.
Contact Jared via email at or call 608-216-7348. Thank you for your continued trust in SCS Engineers. We look forward to meeting your engineering and environmental compliance needs.
Joseph Dinan heads the SCS Engineers new office at 101 Arch Street, Boston, MA 02110,
Tel: 857-444-6302
SCS Engineers opened a new office in Boston’s Downtown Crossing district. The new location is more convenient for clients and enhances support to the firm’s growing client base in New England.
Joseph Dinan, an accomplished project manager and senior scientist heads Boston’s SCS team. Dinan has an excellent record meeting regulatory compliance and accountability for his clients to efficiently permit projects, keep them on budget and maintain the redevelopment schedule while meeting all environmental guidance. His background includes applied sciences including chemistry, microbiology, and environmental and soil sciences. Dinan has successfully managed hundreds of environmental assessment and remediation projects, both domestically and internationally.
Dinan’s Boston team resolves complex environmental challenges through the application of comprehensive analytical skills and technologies. Approaching each project with decades of expertise, mitigating the financial risk through careful assessment, analysis, and planning protects clients and the environment during all phases of redevelopment.
The Boston location supports the growing demand for environmental scientists, engineers, and consultants. SCS professional staff specializes in meeting federal, state, and local clean air, water, and soil goals, and the restoration of property once thought impractical to revitalize. The firm also provides vapor intrusion systems for protecting existing properties and a range of comprehensive environmental services for public and private entities.
As with most established urban environments, many properties may have previously been industrial or mass transportation sites, which often means that extra care is taken during redevelopment. Commercial real estate transactions must take environmental issues into consideration. Complex laws can impose significant environmental liabilities on purchasers, sellers, and lenders, whether or not they caused the problem, and whether or not they still own the property.
Important rules published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – USEPA and in Massachusetts and other states offer defenses against environmental liabilities provided that the defendant conducted “all appropriate inquiries” regarding the property at the time of the acquisition, and then took reasonable steps to mitigate the effects of hazardous substances found on the property.
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