Congratulations on joining SCS Engineers! You’ll work on projects alongside our employees and management in the next months. Jump in, ask questions, and take advantage of working with some of the finest environmental engineers, geologists, scientists, and consultants in the U.S. You are now part of a national team solving some of the most challenging problems for our planet and our society. You’ve got the smarts and the desire, and we’re here to help build your skills.
If you are interested in making a difference, find your fit here!
Scrap facilities’ stormwater permits incorporate strict sampling requirements, numeric limits (generally referred to as benchmarks, numeric action levels, or numeric effluent limits), and mandated corrective actions. Furthermore, facilities face emerging challenges with increased regulatory scrutiny within environmental justice communities and communities implementing new stormwater utilities. Good planning can ease the operational, maintenance, and reporting requirements and provide positive results for your facility’s relationship with local communities and regulators.
If your facility is facing scrutiny or requires additional best management practices (BMPs) to meet stormwater permit requirements, follow this simple stepped approach:
Good planning and design create effective conveyance and treatment systems that improve stormwater quality and help you meet benchmark requirements. Proactive measures to plan for stormwater treatment systems will help existing scrap metal recycling facilities address corrective action and avoid Additional Implementation Measure (AIM) levels based on their benchmark monitoring results.
Need assistance with managing stormwater runoff at your scrap facility? Contact our Author, Scott Knoepke, to set up a meeting at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’ 2022 Safety and Environmental Conference. Or reach out anytime; SCS’s environmental professionals are nationwide.
The construction cranes dotting suburban and urban areas indicate many cities’ new residential, office, and commercial building developments. Mixed-use development continues rising in popularity; the pandemic accelerated a swing already in motion. But there are other factors at play here, and one may surprise you. Today, our blog discusses these two factors and how brownfield redevelopment can play a role in addressing both.
One: Sustainability
According to Architecture 2030, a non-profit, non-partisan organization established to transform the building sector away from being a major emitter of greenhouse gases, there is work to do. As with almost all industry segments, tracking and reducing their carbon footprint is considered an essential element of doing business. It’s important to Americans and shareholders.
Brownfield redevelopment presents adaptive reuse of existing buildings and properties and is a sustainable form of construction. Completing the due diligence and environmental studies associated with redevelopment shows brownfields can provide cost benefits from a development perspective and in excellent locations with existing infrastructure. The conversion of existing land or buildings, as opposed to new-build construction, is far more environmentally sustainable.
An EPA 2020 study examines and reports the environmental benefits that continue accruing when brownfield sites are redevelopment. The study finds that accomodating housing and job growth decreases the need for more roads and reduces emissions from commuting.
As population density increases, real estate prices continue to rise, and less land is available, mixed-use development is an economical choice for developers. It is also one of the best-case scenarios for end-users because it prioritizes practicality and sustainability. Many potential sites exist in desirable locations or emerging areas. They should be available below market value and may have been on the market for a long time. The development of Comm-22 is a great example of a mixed-use community. Businesses find brownfields attractive options because they are closer to their customers – good for business and the environment.
Two: Grant Programs and Offsetting Expenses
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has grant programs that can pay for the assessment and cleanup of brownfields, but these programs are only available to governmental and non-profit organizations. However, a private entity may be able to team with these eligible parties. The bipartisan Congressional action has delivered the single-largest investment in U.S. brownfields infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests more than $1.5 billion through EPA’s highly successful Brownfields Program.
In addition, grants are available from some state agencies and the private sector through EPA regional programs – these are most often found within the transportation sector. Your environmental engineer or consultant can help you find funding; the firms with comprehensive environmental services keep watch as substantial federal infrastructure funding trickles down to the states in 2022 and next year. Note that each grant program will have its eligibility criteria, but many of these are designated for mixed-use developments supporting
Obtaining a grant or loan with the help of a qualified environmental consultant or an environmental attorney can be the difference in acquiring, cleaning up, and redeveloping a property. The grants don’t typically cover all the costs associated with the necessary cleanups, but they can cover most of these costs.
A new property owner can obtain an environmental insurance policy to cover cleanup requirements, third-party claims for bodily injury and property damage, and associated legal expenses resulting from pollution or contamination. These insurance policies are available with various term lengths and deductible amounts to satisfy the concerns of lenders or equity investors.
Other solutions include “insurance archaeology” to find old insurance policies that may have coverage for “pollution conditions.”
Comprehensive Environmental Support Keeps Redevelopment on Track
Mixed-use development provides a healthy, safe place to work, play, and live along with job creation. The most important risk management strategy is to keep the project on schedule. Your environmental engineer and consultant have a thorough understanding of the environmental issues on the site and how those issues can impact your redevelopment plans and bottom line. It is critical to have environmental and legal support experienced in identifying, anticipating, and managing risks on brownfields.
SCS evaluates brownfields by performing a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) first to study historic site information and previous uses. SCS will perform a Phase II study if the Phase I ESA identifies potential issues (known as Recognized Environmental Conditions). Phase II includes collecting and analyzing samples (i.e., soil, soil vapor, and groundwater) to assess whether environmental impacts are present. If enough sampling is completed, the extent of the impacts can be estimated.
SCS Engineers has a long and successful track record with brownfields projects. Our clients appreciate the security of having comprehensive and experienced professionals who lower their risk keeping projects on schedule, safely remediating in-situ that lowers greenhouse gas emissions and can provide cost savings.
With proper planning and the help of a qualified environmental consultant, the mitigation or remediation of impacts can be incorporated into the acquisition and development processes and result in a vibrant, profitable project that is protective of human health and the environment.
About the Author: Luke Montague is a Vice President of SCS Engineers and a Project Director. He is a Professional Geologist and licensed contractor with two decades of experience in environmental consulting, general contracting, commercial and residential development, and property and asset management. He has performed and reviewed hundreds of Phase I environmental site assessments (ESAs), and has completed subsurface investigations, human health risk assessments, removal action work plans, site remediation activities, geotechnical investigations, asbestos and lead-based paint surveys, and asbestos air monitoring.
SCS Engineers is expanding its Phoenix, Arizona, office to meet the growing demand for sustainable environmental consulting and engineering. Recent employee-owners joining the firm are pictured upper left to right, including Samantha Montgomery, a technical associate; Mike Bradford, senior professional engineer; Cynthia Neitzel, a professional engineer; and Taylor Goins, field services working as part of SCS’s comprehensive team.
Montgomery’s focus is to prepare monthly, semi-annual, and annual greenhouse gas reports, along with processing and analyzing the data associated with those reports. She specializes in air quality compliance and permitting, particularly for landfills.
Bradford brings more than 20 years of experience in civil engineering and project management. He has been the principal engineer and engineer of record for a wide range of public and private sector capital projects in Arizona and across the country for solid waste landfills and other public works civil projects.
As a landfill project manager focusing on landfill gas collection and control systems and compliance reporting, Neitzel brings more than 20 years of experience. She has a background in landfill design, construction quality assurance, and air quality permitting and compliance.
Goins provides clients with landfill gas monitoring and other related environmental monitoring services, helping them reduce operational costs and protect air quality. He also operates and maintains other environmental pollution control systems.
“Mike and Cynthia bring invaluable experience creating and overseeing environmental solutions for municipalities and businesses, which provide essential services in our region,” said Pat Sullivan, senior vice president of SCS Engineers. “They, along with the rest of the team, join SCS to serve our clients who are actively seeking to protect public health and the environment as part of doing business, whether that’s remediating property, operating a landfill, lowering their carbon footprint, or running a fuel station.
SCS Engineers’ environmental solutions and technology directly result from our experience and dedication to our clients responsible for safeguarding the environment as they deliver their services and products. For more information about joining this remarkable national firm, please visit SCS Engineers Careers.
Engineering News Report publishes the ENR Top 500 List, which ranks global design/engineering firms by revenue. SCS Engineers again ranks in the top 100, moving up this year from #73 to #59. We thank our clients and our employee-owners for helping SCS continue to rank as a top-tier environmental services engineering, consultanting, and construction firm.
ENR is one of the premier companies tracking the A&E industry, and these rankings are closely followed as they publish throughout the year. SCS Engineers is also recognized in the Sewer & Waste List of Top 20 companies globally, ranking at #5, up from #10 the previous year.
Climate change and reducing our nation’s carbon footprint are important challenges facing our planet. SCS Engineers remains a leader in recovering and utilizing methane from landfills, a potent greenhouse gas. In the last decade, we’ve been expanding our role to include more utilization of biogas from agriculture, carbon sequestration, management of other greenhouse gas and environmental impacts for multiple sectors while reducing methane production in landfills by diverting organics.
SCS designs and supports innovative environmental solutions with our in-house award-winning technologies to help our clients. With more data and control available 24/7, our clients can make more informed decisions, operate more efficiently, running cleaner and safer while delivering essential services, products, and properties.
If you thrive in a friendly, collaborative, and client-focused company, SCS Engineers is the place for you, and we’re growing! We’re looking for field technicians to work collaboratively on our Field Services teams nationwide. Specific information is posted for each open position. Use our job search to find your desired location.
Under general supervision, our technicians operate, monitor, and maintain gas migration control and recovery systems, including gas well monitoring and adjustment, troubleshooting, and system repairs. These systems capture emissions that keep our planet cleaner. SCS clients entrust us with the management of more than 35 million metric tons of anthropogenic CO2e greenhouse gases every year. We collect and beneficially use or destroy enough to offset greenhouse gas emissions from 7.4 million passenger cars annually.
Become one of the growing engineers, consultants, scientists, and technicians helping private and public entities run cleaner and more efficiently. A very rewarding place to have a career!
These are a few words to describe our 2022 Conrad Quality Award Recipients. Celebrating the accomplishments of these SCS employee-owners, the Conrad Award highlights the level of quality we seek as a company.
Click here to read about our colleagues.
Conrad Quality Focus Awards recognize SCSers for their sustained quality performance above and beyond what is required by their job. The Awards Program helps keep our attention on quality every day — something we all strive for to meet and exceed our clients’ needs and expectations.
The City Council of the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, recently approved a four-year service agreement with SCS Engineers for comprehensive environmental solutions and technology supporting the Solid Waste Management Division and Lincoln Water System.
The contract provides professional engineering and technical support for the City’s two Solid Waste Management Facilities, located on Bluff Road and North 48th Street in Lincoln. Modern landfills such as these contain complex systems to protect the health of nearby communities and the environment. Lincoln’s Solid Waste Management Division uses SCS professionals’ expertise and proprietary software for air quality and gas collection and control systems (GCCS), operations, monitoring, and maintenance. These environmental services keep the landfills fully compliant with regulatory requirements while aligning with the City’s system performance goals and anticipated operational and maintenance activities.
The City is using SCSeTools® software designed for landfills to support managing the monitoring data to gauge operational health continually. The firm’s comprehensive environmental services include sampling and monitoring groundwater, stormwater at both facilities, and leachate analysis at the Bluff Road Landfill.
SCS assists with scheduled testing and reporting to federal, state, and local agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Nebraska’s Department of Environment and Energy, and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department. Primarily these public reports cover monitoring summaries, statistical analyses of analytical results, and review of emission sources, factors, and calculations associated with the GCCS. They also include greenhouse gas reports, estimates, Title V permit requirements and documentation, NPDES General Permit support, and Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans.
Michael Miller, an SCS vice president and one of the firm’s environmental due diligence experts, said,” We’re privileged that the City of Lincoln entrusts us to partner with its professionals to maintain the landfills’ safe and efficient operations. The Solid Waste Management Division and Lincoln Water System support the citizens with essential services and the environment; we’re honored to assist.”
Recycling and reuse started in 1987 and continues today with cities embracing public-private partnerships with their recycling processors. They recognize the vital and interrelated role of both the public and private sectors in recovering recyclables. In the U.S., manufacturing and end-use markets are seeing more demand for recyclable materials. Companies are held accountable for misleading advertising instead of changing packaging or labeling how to recycle clearly.
Through leadership, innovation, and strategic planning, cities continue to help lead the way on recycling to achieve landfill diversion and provide for more environmentally and financially sustainable solid waste management systems for the next 30 years.
Read more from the authors of this up-lifting article, The Journey of Recycling, in the March edition of APWA.
The City of Lincoln’s Transportation and Utilities (LTU) Department/Solid Waste Management Division manages all solid waste generated within its service area to protect the public’s health, safety, welfare, and environment. They do so cost-effectively and in compliance with its solid waste management plan, Solid Waste Plan 2040. The plan, updated in 2020 through a process facilitated by SCS Engineers, produces remarkably good results.
The City undertook a comprehensive residential and commercial recycling communication, education, engagement, and behavior change initiative.
Read more about Lincoln’s success and see results in this APWA article (March 2022 edition).
