SCS Engineers will be at the 40th Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School (EPSS) conference. This program takes place July 21–24, 2026, at the JW Marriott Marco Island in Marco Island, Florida. Bringing together more than 1,200 attorneys, consultants, engineers, government officials, developers, and industry professionals to explore the latest developments in environmental permitting, energy, and growth management across Florida.
The conference features 300+ expert speakers, 80+ interactive breakout sessions, and an exhibitor program showcasing innovative solutions and emerging trends. Attendees can earn continuing education credits while gaining practical insights into evolving regulations, policies, and best practices.
SCS is proud to have a team of experts attending the conference including, Brittney Odom, Gina Rodriguez, Marco Hernandez, Chris King, Steven Freund, Som Kundral, Neil Campbell, Joshua Blanco, Justin Craig, Leslie Smith, Tom Mesk, and Katie Megar. Come see us at Booth #203.
Brittney Odom will be presenting two sessions during the conference: Land and Golf Course Redevelopment: Opportunities and Challenges on Wednesday, July 22 and Remediation and Site Closure Strategies: Practical Solutions to Complex Sites on Friday, July 24. These sessions will explore key environmental considerations, redevelopment opportunities, and practical approaches for addressing complex site challenges. Connect with the SCS team to learn how we help clients navigate environmental permitting requirements, site redevelopment, remediation, and regulatory compliance while delivering sustainable, practical solutions.
SCS is also proud to sponsor the inaugural Roots of Adventure Kids Event, a hands-on environmental education experience hosted in partnership with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection at the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center. Designed for children of registered EPSS attendees, the program offers guided boat tours, estuary touch tank experiences, interactive exhibits, and opportunities to learn about wildlife, water quality, mangroves, and coastal ecosystems through engaging activities.
On June 24, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a 3-month extension in the reporting deadline for covered companies for their first year reporting of corporate Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The due date has been moved from August 10 to November 10, 2026.
The extension will be reflected in an updated regulatory proposal to give companies additional time following the formal adoption of CARB’s pending SB 253 and SB 261 regulations. The CARB Board approved the initial regulation on February 26, 2026.
CARB also announced that it will propose limited changes to the regulation to clarify certain requirements and will make them available for comment as part of a forthcoming 15-day public comment period.
Because this step may delay the finalization of this regulatory package, CARB proposed, as part of this 15-day change, a three-month deferral of the reporting deadline. The new proposed reporting deadline of November 10 will help ensure reporting entities have additional clarity following approval of the final regulation before reporting is due.
Recap of Program
The California Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, established by SB 253 (codified in HSC § 38532), requires U.S.-based companies, with total annual revenues exceeding one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) that do business in California, to annually disclose their Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions for their prior fiscal year. SB 253 requires that the initial (first-year) annual emissions disclosures in 2026 address Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and, in subsequent years (beginning in 2027), include Scope 3 emissions.
For Details Visit – California Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting: Notice of Upcoming Rulemaking Update to Further Clarify Requirements and Deferring 2026 Reporting Deadline
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SCS Engineers announces two leadership changes in its Southwest solid waste and engineering divisions. The firm promotes Eric Sonsthagen, P.E., to Project Director and Engineering Lead. After a transition period from Srividhya (Vidhya) Viswanathan, P.E., to Eric, Vidhya will lead the solid waste group.
As part of the Southwestern Business Unit’s broader leadership plan, SCS Engineers will transition several senior roles over the next 18 months to support the next generation of company leaders. Senior Vice President Patrick S. Sullivan, REPA, CPP, BCES, said the company designed these transitions to position SCS and its clients for continued growth and long-term success.
Eric Sonsthagen brings two decades of experience leading environmental and solid waste projects for public and private clients. He designs, reviews, and permits solid waste facilities; oversees landfill gas control and mitigation systems; modifies gas collection and control systems; and manages landfill cell construction and closure projects.
As Project Director and Engineering Lead, Sonsthagen will work across SCS’s specialty business divisions, drive project execution, strengthen the engineering division, and advance strategic priorities. He adds deep expertise in landfill gas engineering and modeling, beneficial reuse evaluations, air permitting, emissions inventories, compliance evaluations, and environmental investigations.
Vidhya Viswanathan currently serves as Senior Vice President and Director of Engineering for SCS Engineers’ Southwest region and will assume leadership of the solid waste group. She has more than two decades of experience in solid waste management, landfill gas engineering, and compost facility design. She is a licensed Professional Engineer in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Oklahoma and is based in San Diego, CA.
“These are important leadership transitions for the next generation of SCS leaders and to assure continued quality delivery for our clients,” Sullivan said.
Eric and Vidhya are both available by contacting SCS Engineers and on LinkedIn.
Climate change experts from SCS Engineers regularly work with members of the Meat Institute’s Sustainability Committee; this article highlights their experiences and the value and impact of their collaborative efforts on sustainability practices in the meat industry. You’ll find free educational resources on Scope 3 Emissions reporting for Meat Institute members, along with SCS resources open to all, following the article.
Experience and Rewards of Participation
Victoria Evans, MS, describes the most rewarding aspect of participating in the Meat Institute Sustainability Committee as the opportunity to engage directly with member companies, deepening her understanding of sustainability priorities and challenges in the meat industry. The monthly meetings facilitate meaningful discussions on critical topics such as greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, Scope 3 emissions, and evolving climate disclosure requirements. A significant focus has been on regulatory requirements, such as California SB 253 for corporate-wide GHG reporting and SB 261 for climate-related financial risk disclosures, which begin in 2026. These discussions help SCS consultants better support Meat Institute members and stay aligned with the industry’s needs.
Notable Contributions
Victoria highlights a particular achievement: leading three educational sessions on Scope 3 emissions that involve detailed GHG accounting specific to the meat sector. This role has strengthened connections and fostered deeper conversations within the industry, supporting the Meat Institute’s Protein PACT initiative to reduce the environmental footprint of meat and poultry production.
Value and Encouragement for Committee Involvement
Aicha Slassi Senou, PhD, emphasizes the committee’s role as a unique forum for knowledge sharing among industry leaders, sustainability professionals, and technical experts. She notes it offers a collaborative environment to openly discuss challenges, exchange ideas, and learn from each other’s experiences. This is especially important as sustainability expectations and climate reporting requirements continue to evolve. She sees the value of how the committee accelerates progress by fostering collective effort and shared learning.
Reasons to Join the Meat Institute Sustainability Committee
Aicha encourages others to participate because the committee keeps members informed about emerging sustainability issues, such as climate reporting and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which are expected to continue to grow in importance. The Committee provides insights into regulatory initiatives, policy developments, and GHG accounting methodologies led by the Meat Institute. She cites how participation allows members to learn from peers, contribute to meaningful discussions, and advance the sector collectively. The relationships and practical knowledge you gain make involvement a valuable investment, regardless of where a firm is in its sustainability journey.
Scope 3 Recordings Are Available to Meat Institute Members Along With These Free Educational SCS Resources:
SCS Resources
The Meat Institute Sustainability Committee brings together people from across the meat industry to share ideas and work on practical ways to reduce environmental impact and communicate progress. By meeting regularly, the group tackles challenges, develops useful tools, and encourages better practices that protect the environment while keeping the industry strong and profitable.
Victoria Evans, MS, is SCS’s National Climate Change Practice Leader and One of our National Experts on Greenhouse Gas. She has over four decades of experience in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), energy, air quality, and the environment. She has over 25 years of experience in climate and GHG management, having directed or performed over 300 GHG studies for US and global corporations and government organizations. Her experience includes developing voluntary and mandatory GHG inventories and reporting, California Cap-and-Trade compliance strategies, carbon-reduction roadmaps, and life-cycle analyses. She has led regulatory and legislative analyses on carbon and energy for landmark initiatives and has advised on developing GHG reporting rules and protocols for carbon offset projects.
Aicha Slassi Senou, PhD, is a GHG and sustainability expert in GHG accounting, decarbonization planning, and life cycle assessments. She has successfully delivered over 30 third-party-verified Corporate GHG Inventories for scopes 1, 2, and 3, addressing auditors’ technical questions on data collection and calculations, in alignment with the WRI GHG Protocol’s Corporate Standards and ISO 14064-1. She manages corporate climate and GHG projects, including GHG inventories and climate disclosures (reporting to the Science Based Targets Initiative and CDP), creating sector-specific decarbonization strategies (including value chain engagement for Fortune 50 manufacturers), and net-zero road mapping for multiple clients.
Contact the experts at SCS Engineers for more information.
Join SCS Engineers Vice President Dana Blumberg on July 15 for the Making the Grade: Solid Waste webinar, where ASCE and SCS Engineers will examine the current state of solid waste infrastructure across the United States.
Building on findings from ASCE’s 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, the discussion will evaluate how solid waste infrastructure measures up in safety, resilience, capacity, and innovation. Industry leaders will discuss the factors that influenced the sector’s grade, explore emerging challenges and opportunities, and share firsthand perspectives from the field.
Dana will join experts from SWANA, EREF, Frederick County Public Works, and Tetra Tech to discuss the future of solid waste infrastructure and the solutions that can strengthen long-term sustainability. Register now!
Need a review of your report? Or support to prepare it? Feel free to reach out to us. We are happy to have a chat with you!
Proposed PFOA and PFOS Compliance Extensions
The first proposed rule, if finalized, would continue supporting the health-protective federal drinking water standards for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) while establishing an opt-in process through which eligible drinking water systems may apply for up to two additional years—until 2031—to become compliant with Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).
Under the proposed rule, drinking water systems seeking the federal exemption that have one PFOA or PFOS sample result at or above 12 ppt must select and implement control measures during the exemption period and provide public education and outreach to consumers. Drinking water systems wishing to receive additional compliance time will need to seek an extension via EPA if meeting these criteria as follows:
Systems that do not opt for an extension remain subject to the original 2029 compliance deadline.
The proposed compliance extension rule was published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2026. The EPA will accept written comments on the proposed rule in the public docket for 60 days at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2025-1742.
Proposed PFAS Recission Rule
The second proposed rule is entitled Rescission of Regulatory Requirements and Removal of Related Provisions for Four PFAS Substances (PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and the mixture of These Three PFAS Plus PFBS). If finalized, the proposed rule would address some stakeholders’ legal concerns regarding statutory requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) when establishing drinking water regulations for these four PFAS constituents.
EPA seeks to clarify the sequential order for regulating a particular drinking water contaminant and to seek public comment on whether such regulation is appropriate first. Only after the public has had the opportunity to comment on that proposal and after the EPA has finalized a determination to regulate, may the EPA publish a proposed regulation for the contaminants listed in the previous paragraph.
Following the proposed recission rule publishing in the Federal Register, the EPA will accept written comments on the proposed rule in the public docket for 60 days at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0654.
Federal Register Publication and Resources
The two proposed rules will be published in the Federal Register with a 60-day public comment period, and EPA will hold a public hearing on July 7, 2026.
For more information about the proposed rules, including pre-publication versions of the proposals, fact sheets, directions for submitting comments, and information about a forthcoming public hearing, visit EPA’s webpages here and here, or contact an SCS Engineers expert near you.
As demand for securing domestic sources of critical minerals grows, mapping and quantifying their geologic sources is more important than ever. These critical minerals often escaped notice during historical exploration because attention was focused on commodity metals (e.g., gold, silver, copper), and their concentrations are often significantly lower than those of the precious metals. Exploratory drilling can help significantly close the gap in critical mineral data scarcity across the nation, reducing risk from both technoeconomic and environmental standpoints.
Let’s look at a project in Missouri. The Missouri Geological Survey has expanded its efforts to better understand the subsurface geology as it evaluates formations that may contain rare-earth elements and other strategic resources. These broader state efforts reflect a growing nationwide focus on geologic mapping, core preservation, and resource evaluation to find and quantify critical minerals in the U.S.
Our SCS Critical Minerals team, along with HAD, Inc. drillers, recently supported one of these efforts through deep bedrock coring designed to collect high-quality, continuous core for geologic characterization, resource assessment, and long-term archival use. The work included coordinating safe drilling operations, overseeing continuous core recovery, and supporting lithologic logging and field documentation.
The SCS team helps extract reliable subsurface data from deep bedrock intervals, including dolomitic units and underlying Precambrian formations, strengthening our understanding of mineralization potential and the geology of the Viburnum Trend. Data from this drill core will help to identify what critical minerals may be present, how they occur, and in what concentrations– all of which are essential to evaluate their potential for recovery and utilization.
The Missouri Geological Survey will analyze each core for critical mineral and rare-earth element concentrations using a suite of analytical tools, including x-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning and other geochemical characterization methods. These data will help researchers better understand what elements are present, how concentrations vary with depth and geology, and how mineralization occurs within the subsurface.
Projects like this highlight the value of integrating drilling, coordination, geologic interpretation, and resource-focused evaluation into a single, well-executed field program that can be recreated across the U.S. As public and private stakeholders invest in domestic critical minerals and energy transition initiatives, we support efforts to turn subsurface data into actionable information to determine resource value and profitable extraction techniques while meeting rigorous mining regulations for environmental protection.
Mining is one of the most highly regulated and environmentally sensitive industries in the U.S. At the same time, federal and state priorities emphasize the strategic importance of domestic rare earth element and critical mineral production, both from conventional and, increasingly, unconventional resources. Learn more here, or contact one of our National Experts!
SCS Engineers is proud to participate in the ISWA World Congress 2026, taking place November 9–11 at the QEII Centre in London. Centered on“Beyond Waste: A global call to action,” the event brings together leaders to share best practices and advance solutions that protect human health, the environment, and global economies.
As an ISWA 2026 Gold Member, SCS Engineers actively drives progress across the industry. This year’s program highlights key priorities including human rights in waste management, political commitment, sustainable waste planning. It also explores the economics of resource management, and the transition to a circular economy by 2050.
SCS is well represented at ISWA. SCSer James Law, PE, BCEE, serves as President of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). He is leading efforts to strengthen global collaboration and address the “triple planetary crisis” of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Adedeji (Deji) Fawole also plays a key role as Vice Chair of the ISWA Landfill Working Group.
Join us in London as we collaborate with global partners to move the world beyond waste.
Join SCS Engineers, Sponsors and Exhibitors at the IEA’s Annual Environmental Training Symposium & Conference on May 7th at the San Diego Mission Valley DoubleTree by Hilton in San Diego, CA. For 40+ years, this event has excelled in providing a balance of valuable information, including environmental compliance guidance, and regulatory and legislative updates.
The Annual Environmental Training Symposium & Conference attendees consist of environmental, health, and safety professionals, NGO representatives, environmental engineers, environmental consultants and attorneys, and government affairs representatives. These participants represent manufacturing, biotech, and high-tech companies, as well as the Department of Defense, and federal and state regulators.
The 20+ conference sessions vary from year to year depending on current legislation and regulations. We hope to see you there!
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