PFAS

July 18, 2023

Meet SCS Engineers Environmental Professionals at the AEHS Foundation’s 39th Annual Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water, and Energy, October 16-19, in Amherst, Massachusetts.  

This is AEHS’s “East Coast” environmental conference, and it brings together some 600-800 participants with diverse backgrounds, including representatives from state and federal agencies, environmental engineering firms, consulting companies, industry leaders, and esteemed academia — truly a gathering of the best and brightest minds in the field.

The conference delivers a robust and varied technical program with presentations on cutting-edge research, innovative approaches, and practical insights.  The conference offers participants the opportunity to be part of a vibrant community dedicated to developing creative, cost-effective assessments and solutions to meet regulatory demands, shape a sustainable future, and make a lasting impact in the environmental field.

The Association for Environmental Health and Sciences Foundation, Inc. (AEHS) is a non-profit, member-supported, professional organization, with the purpose of facilitating communication and fostering cooperation among professionals concerned with the challenge of soil, sediment, and water assessment, cleanup, and protection.

We hope to see you there!  For more conference details and registration information, click here

 

 

Posted by Laura Dorn at 11:36 am

May 15, 2023

Join SCS Engineers professionals at the IEA’s 39th Annual Environmental Training Symposium & Conference, June 1-2, at the San Diego Convention Center.

This conference includes over two dozen educational sessions on four tracks running simultaneously over two days, and features a robust Exhibit Hall, an Awards Luncheon, and a San Diego Bay Yacht Cruise. Panels topics will include air, hazardous materials, health & safety, sustainability, and water quality, with expert speakers from Southern California.

Hundreds of attendees from various professions such as environmental, health, and safety experts, NGO representatives, environmental engineers from public and private sectors, environmental consultants and attorneys, government affairs representatives, DoD, and many more are expected to attend.

Click for more details and registration information.  Hope to see you there!

 

 

Posted by Laura Dorn at 6:02 pm

April 11, 2023

SCS Engineers is hosting our 2023 Pennsylvnia Solid Waste Seminars on Tuesday, June 6 in Harrisburg, PA.

This half-day seminar is designed to provide updates on the latest regulatory, policy, and technological developments in the solid waste, landfill, landfill gas, and sustainable materials management industries.  The sessions are presented by experienced SCS professionals, and continuing education units are available.

This year, our professionals will cover these important topics:

  • Use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Landfill Gas Data Analysis and OM&M, by Justin Stevenson
  • Leachate PFAS Treatment, by Sam Cooke
  • Compost Best Management Practices, by Greg McCarron
  • Emerging LFGE Financial Drivers: eRINs, Crypto, and Funding from the Fed, by Eric Peterson
  • Indicators of Heat Generation Processes that May Cause Elevated Temperature Landfills, by David George
  • Tools to Estimate GHG Emissions from Landfills, by Lisa Wilkinson
  • Pennsylvania Regulatory Update, by Josh Roth

Lunch will be provided, followed by Disc Golf.

The seminar is intended for solid waste management professionals, landfill managers, waste/recycling managers, supervisors, and operators. For attendees already possessing solid waste management and disposal experience, topics will provide a fresh perspective and cover important regulatory and technological updates. For those new to the field, topics will cover essential information on various critical aspects of waste/ recycling program collections, transfer, processing, and disposal, as well as landfill development, operations, monitoring, and management

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Posted by Laura Dorn at 3:31 pm

March 14, 2023

Visit SCS Engineers professionals at BOOTH 60 at the 2023 Louisiana Environmental Conference and Trade Fair, March 15-17, at the Cajundome & Convention Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The conference will feature many presentations and opportunities to learn from industry experts, as well as several networking opportunities including a golf outing, opening reception, and crawfish boil and fish fry.

The conference is hosted by the Louisiana Solid Waste Association.

Click for more information

 

Posted by Laura Dorn at 10:14 am

March 9, 2023

Hear from SCS Engineers experts at the ninth Global Waste Management Symposium in Indian Wells, California, February 25-28, 2024.  SCS is also is a Silver Sponsor of the conference.

The GWMS serves as a forum to discuss applied and fundamental research, case studies and policy analysis on solid waste and materials management. The community of researchers, engineers, designers, academicians, students, facility owners and operators, regulators and policymakers will participate.

Numerous SCS Engineers experts will be on hand to discuss your solid waste management challenges, and several are presenting at the symposium, including:

Alex Stege is discussing “LFG Recovery Forecasting Uncertainty and the Effects of Organics Diversion”
[Monday, February 26, Track A, 10:30 am – Noon]

Kelli Farmer will present “From Drilling to Digesting: An Anaerobic Digestion Feasibility Study”
[Monday, February 26, Track A, 10:30 am – Noon]

Ray Huff is providing “An Update on the WAG: Case Studies on Recent Innovations in Landfill Gas Data Analysis”
[Monday, February 26, Track A, 2:00-3:30 pm]

Vita Quinn is discussing “Creating a Sustainable Approach to Waste Management”
[Monday, February 26, Track C, 2:00-3:30 pm]

The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) is a strategic partner of the symposium.

Click here for schedule, registration, and other conference details

 

Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Posted by Laura Dorn at 11:06 am

February 17, 2023

EPA grant funding

On February 13, 2023, the EPA announced the availability of $2 billion of grant funding to address emerging contaminants, like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in drinking water across the country. This investment, which is allocated to states and territories, will be made available to communities as grants through EPA’s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) Grant Program and will promote access to safe and clean water in small, rural, and disadvantaged communities while supporting local economies.

This initial allotment of $2 billion to states and territories can be used to prioritize infrastructure and source water treatment for pollutants, like PFAS and other emerging contaminants, and to conduct water quality testing. EPA awards funding to states based on an allocation formula that includes factors such as population, number of water systems, and data related to emerging contaminants. EPA’s implementation documents contain information on how EPA will award and administer the EC-SDC grants. Participating states and territories should submit application packages for the grant funding at https://www.grants.gov.

 

Additional Resources:

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am

February 2, 2023

Visit professionals from SCS Engineers and SCS Field Services at BOOTH 28 at SWANA’s 3-day Northwest Regional Symposium, April 18-20, at the Tulalip Resort Hotel in Marysville, WA.  SCS Engineers and SCS Field Services are Bronze sponsors of the conference, and SCS Engineers is also a meal sponsor.

The symposium, themed “The Next Normal: The Future of Solid Waste Management,” will bring together solid waste industry professionals and students from a wide variety of specialized fields to exchange information and learn from technical experts.  Hear presentations by SCS professionals, including:

TOM PARKER (co-panelist), Interactive Panel Discussion on “Aging Transfer Stations”
Tues, April 18 (Session 3A:  1:10 pm – 2:10 pm, Chinook I/II) Track A: Facilities/Landfills/Safety

ALEX STEGE on “Estimating the Effects of HB 1799 on Landfill Gas Recovery from Washington’s Landfills”
Tues, April 18 (Session 4A:  2:20 pm – 3:20 pm, Chinook I/II) Track A: Facilities/Landfills/Safety

GREG McCARRON (co-panelist), Panel Discussion on “Facility Management Perspectives: Organics Trends and Changes”
Thurs, April 20 (Session 6B:  9:10 am – 10:40 am, Chinook III/IV) Track B: Planning/Diversion/Organics

KARAMJIT SINGH (co-panelist), Panel Discussion on “Rethink Contingency Plans for Waste Systems”
Thurs, April 20 (Session 4A:  2:20 pm – 3:20 pm, Chinook I/II) Track A: Facilities/Landfills/Safety

MICHELLE LEONARD on “Organic Materials Management: Lessons Learned from California and How to Survive HP 1799”
Thurs, April 20 (Session 8B:  1:10 pm – 2:10 pm, Chinook III/IV) Track B: Planning/Diversion/Organics

LAUREN BEAUBAN and LAURA JOHNSON on “California’s SB 1383 Technical Assistance”
Thurs, April 20 (Session 9B:  2:15 pm – 3:15 pm, Chinook III/IV) Track B: Planning/Diversion/Organics

The symposium program will include sessions on Organics Management Planning; Aging Transfer Facilities Planning; Waste Systems’ Financial Impacts (zero waste and funding opportunities); Emerging Landfill Industry Trends (PFAS, liner, leachate, and landfill gas); Sustainability, Recycling, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). It will also include tours of several compelling sites, plenty of networking opportunities, educational credits, exhibits, and much more!

Each spring the Evergreen (WA and MT), Beaver (OR and ID), and Pacific (BC and Yukon) chapters of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) hold this joint Northwest Symposium.

For full program details and registration information, click here

Posted by Laura Dorn at 11:02 am

February 2, 2023

EPA Effluent Guidelines Program Plan, Including PFAS Limits & Nutrient Study

USEPA recently issued Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15, which includes a focus on PFAS discharges from multiple categories.  In conjunction with Plan 15, EPA has determined that revisions to the effluent guidelines and standards for the Landfills Category (40 CFR part 445) are warranted.  See Section 6.3.3 of the Plan.  Here are a few excerpts regarding landfill leachate:

  • EPA evaluated discharge data from over 200 landfills from across the country and found PFAS present in the leachate at over 95 percent of the landfills. PFAS detections included 63 different PFAS with average concentrations for an individual compound as high as 14,000 parts-per-trillion (ppt) (ERG, 2022c).
  • Based on information and data collected through the Landfill Leachate Detailed Study, the development of effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards for landfills that discharge their leachate is warranted. Therefore, EPA intends to revise the existing Landfills Point Source Category (40 CFR part 445) ELG to address PFAS discharge from these landfills pending resource availability. Once EPA develops the schedule for this rulemaking, it will be published in EPA’s Regulatory Agenda.

 

Additional details on the USEPA Effluent Guidelines Program Plan are available at https://www.epa.gov/eg/landfills-effluent-guidelines

 

Landfill leachate and wastewater treatment planning and resource information are available here.

 

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am

January 30, 2023

SCS Engineers
What’s in my fertilizer?

 

From the USEPA to headlines in the media, coverage of PFAS moving from wastewater to drinking water is a major concern. Furthermore, there are growing concerns about how much PFAS is in by-products that are recycled or reused from waste products. Topping that list is fertilizer.

Retail fertilizer products made from at least 50% biosolids commonly sold to the general public and used in farming contain PFAS, which could get into crops and stock, eating those crops. The Environmental Protection departments in some states are beginning to consider or pass state-level specific regulations on the content of PFAS in biosolids.

The December 2022 USEPA memo to states (pages 4-5) made these recommendations on biosolids as follows:

  1. Recommended Biosolids Assessment 1. Where appropriate, states may work with their POTWs to reduce the amount of PFAS chemicals in biosolids, in addition to the NPDES recommendations in Section B above, following these general steps:7 a. EPA recommends using draft method 1633 to analyze biosolids at POTWs for the presence of 40 PFAS chemicals.8 b. Where monitoring and IU inventory per section B.2 and B.3.a above indicate the presence of PFAS in biosolids from industrial sources, EPA recommends actions in B.3.b to reduce PFAS discharges from IUs. c. EPA recommends validating PFAS reductions with regular monitoring of biosolids. States may also use their available authorities to conduct quarterly monitoring of the POTWs (see 40 CFR 403.10(f)(2)).

 

Tony Kollasch, an environmental consultant specializing in remediation, tells us to use precaution and learn more about what plans are underway in your state. In his Wisconsin Agri-Business article, BIOSOLIDS and PFAS – NUTRIENTS with a SIDE OF CONCERN, he walks readers through the most recent reports and studies using plain language.

The issues and questions that come up are solvable. There are treatments for removing PFAS, and as an environmental engineering and consulting firm, we solve these types of challenges. We encourage the safe use of by-products and urge you to learn more about specific products by joining associations where you can educate yourself – it’s good for business and for understanding pending regulations that may impact your operations. It will help you run your business sustainably by making sound decisions based on human health, the environment, and economic demand.

 

Additional Resources:

 

 

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am

December 15, 2022

Meet SCS Engineers professionals at the A&WMA/ASME Waste Information Exchange, April 11-12, 2023, at the Doubletree Hilton Washington DC-Crystal City Hotel, in Arlington, Virginia.

This conference will cover the latest on a broad range of waste-related topics including regulations and research in an interactive, discussion-focused format. This is an excellent learning and networking opportunity to hear directly from experts at EPA, NGOs, industry, and academia who are working together to develop solutions to creating a cleaner and healthier environment.  The technical program will cover policy updates and regulatory changes, as well as current and late-breaking research on hot topics such as:

• Solid Waste
• Biosolids
• Landfill Issues and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Monitoring
• Reuse/Recycling
• Resource Management
• Waste-to-Energy
• PFAS Emissions and Controls
• Environmental Justice
• RCRA Requirements for Open Burning

Managers, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers involved in waste management, public works, operations, maintenance, manufacturing, transportation, technology, compliance, collections, and other environmental roles will benefit from the technical content and networking available at this conference.

Sponsorship and display opportunities are available at this conference! Discover how your company can maximize exposure, generate leads, and support the industry.

Visit www.awma.org/waste for registration information and evolving conference details.

 

 

Posted by Laura Dorn at 6:09 pm