With great pleasure, we announce the American Academy of Environmental Engineers Certification Board granted Som Kundral certification in the specialty of Hazardous Waste Management and Site Remediation this month. Board Certified Environmental Engineers (BCEE) such as Kundral make up the top four percent of environmental engineering experts.
Kundral and his work are well established and recognized across the nation. As a rising star and SCS Engineers’ Young Professional, Kundral’s teamwork is not only recognized by his clients but by the American Council of Engineering Companies and the Environmental Business Journal with a Business Achievement Award for Groundwater and Stormwater Remediation Solution. Kundral is also a Waste360 40 Under 40 award recipient.
Well done, Som! We’re so proud of you and all of our SCS Young Professionals helping our clients build a better world.
Since 1977, WomenShelter of Long Beach has helped thousands of families overcome the trauma caused by domestic abuse. WSLB assists victims and their children by providing safe housing and supportive services, including an emergency shelter, 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling, social services support, legal and health advocacy, and much more.
SCS Engineers adopted four families in our 5th year of sponsorship. We provide gift cards for each family and hope we can go back to shopping and wrapping gifts for them next year. We wish our families and all a happy holiday season!
More community support in 2021 here.
As noted in Waste360, SWANA’s recent report, “Reducing Contamination in Curbside Recycling Programs,” shows stubborn resistance to recycling even after an intense education and enforcement campaign in two towns. A bit more than one-quarter of the households simply didn’t seem to care. While the solid waste industry finds that hard to comprehend, we’re always looking for solutions, and we don’t give up.
Here’s a simple set of recommendations from Consumer Reports published in September for using less plastic. After all, if you don’t recycle, at least try to use less plastic! Most of the recommendations will save you a lot of money and are easy to do, some of which you’re probably already doing.
Thanks to Consumer Reports for its outstanding article that we share with you here.
Michael Simms – Appointed by the Governor to the Louisiana Board of Professional Geoscientists
The Louisiana Board of Professional Geoscientists oversees the approvals of hydrogeologists and like scientific professionals in the state. This is quite an honor for Mike, a hydrogeologist with more than 30 years of experience. He learned of the appointment earlier this month and just had his first meeting.
Hydrogeologists are attempting to solve some of the big questions facing the world today, including sustainable water supply, food and energy production; environmental protection; and coping with climate change. They work closely with a wide range of industries to protect groundwater and much, much more.
Congratulations, Mike!
SCSeTools® – Developed by Landfill Gas Practitioners for Landfill Owners and Operators
The Birth of LFG Data Tracking
In the early 2000s tracking landfill gas data at facilities was anything but uniform, organized, or secure. The industry was using various methods to track data on paper forms and logbooks, then transferring it by hand into spreadsheets. Some of us used desktop database applications, but as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention.
From an SCS employee’s idea for demonstrating how to use landfill gas monitoring data to analyze and pinpoint system corrections, SCS DataServices® was born. In the span of several months, a team of SCS’s landfill engineers, field technicians, and technology gurus worked with client-needs to create a concept application visualizing collected landfill data on maps. Our staff field-tested it with good results, and SCS Field Services began using the application to visualize issues with wellfields that aren’t readily apparent when looking at spreadsheets.
A large SCS landfill client had seen our field staff using DataServices, asked if SCS would consider providing them with access to the application on a subscription basis. Our team adapted DataServices, added features, and continued improvements tailored for the client’s use.
As soon as secure data transfer became feasible, SCS moved to an Internet-based solution for our landfill gas practitioners. The platform called SCSeTools® holds the data collected by SCS DataServices®.
Applications and features roll out as we continually update and upgrade, incorporating ideas and improvements from our users and staff along the way. DataServices is addressing the landfill gas management needs of over 600 landfills across the US and Canada in 2021.
The keys to success follow our mission and values of maintaining close communications with our clients, field staff, engineers, and eTools support staff (all landfill gas practitioners), with the help of software engineers. Technology companies are not up at night thinking about landfill operations, but we are.
We introduce our SCS eTools landfill technology capabilities and a few of the creative and talented SCSers behind the technology in the next segment. Our speakers walk you through demonstrations of how over one-third of the landfill owners and operators in North America are increasing efficiencies using SCS eTools.
Visualizing Landfill Challenges – Shortcuts to Keeping Your Wellfield in Balance
DataServices shows the entire wellfield for any monitored parameters and zooms in on troublesome areas or wells. Results can be as simple or detailed as the landfill owners’ environmental and business needs dictate. The detailed examples here illustrate how graphs, maps, and charts help keep the wellfield in balance. We link each challenge to the description of a video demonstration.
In balance means extracting more gas for renewable energy, preventing odors and methane migration, keeps subsurface and surface conditions and workers safe. The information can help diagnose equipment conditions before they become costly, maintain regulatory compliance, and support cost estimates if the landfill is expanding or more infrastructure investment or equipment is needed.
Looking at vacuum distribution across a gas collection system – Select the system pressure map, which highlights vacuum distribution across the wellfield to show the wells with good (expected) vacuum, pressure drop over distance, and any wells unexpectantly losing vacuum. Zooming in and changing the vacuum ranges further enhances where to assign staff to troubleshoot any identified issues.
Using a methane distribution map shows whether the wells are tuned to where the landfill owner wants them. Wells may be identified below the targeted range, indicating slight over pulling; a technician can use this map to identify such issues and quickly check the identified wells. Wells identified above the desired methane tuning range indicate wells not collecting enough gas, which has consequences. These wells can be the source of odors, leachate seeps, possible lateral migration to an out of waste probe. Not sending enough fuel to a power plant or atmospheric releases can affect surface emissions monitoring.
Managing liquids – Changing waste streams and more rainfall in certain areas of the country complicates liquids management. DataServices visualizes the impacts of liquids on wells and helps landfill owners better manage a proper liquids removal program. The program will let them know how many pumps to budget for and, over time, where to relocate well dewatering pumps so that they are most efficient at removing liquids from landfills.
High-BTU Gas Plants –Filter maps help users locate wells contributing to gas dilution into renewable energy plants. It can help create punch lists for landfill staff to investigate, troubleshoot and tune. As wellfield technicians make corrections, they show on the map in real-time.
Temperature and subsurface oxidation events – Some call the condition subsurface fires, but this is a serious issue for landfills. Over-pulling wells, damaged infrastructure, and other conditions can cause oxidation events. Using a combination of temperature Parameter Maps to review wellhead temperature distribution and a Points Chart feature provides a deeper dive into the data. It provides more insight into which well or wells may be contributing to the high-temperature issues.
Locating a specific well – That’s not so easy when hundreds of wells surround you and at larger landfills. DataServices had built-in filter features to identify a single monitoring point on a wellfield map easily.
Customizing for compliance, best practices, and rules – DataServices allows monitoring points across a single site to have customized rules for each monitoring point. Rules can be for regulatory purposes, standard operating procedures, best management practices, and even site-specific preferences or any combination thereof. It is efficient to customize rule application to landfills and collection points – meaning wells, probes or ports, horizontal collectors. This customization capability helps organize and confirm regulatory compliance. It is especially salient with the 2021 EPA and state compliance changes for a single landfill or an organization with hundreds of landfills.
MobileForms – Inspection forms, blower flare station monitoring forms, load tracking from municipalities, incoming hazardous waste tracking, MRF bale counts are examples of paperless entry available. The data feeds directly from mobile phones to the supervisor and into the maintenance department, so staff can start cataloging and looking at what’s going on in real-time at several types of facilities. It’s available for regulators and inspections and helps reduce staff hours tabulating and centralizing the information. Any information historically captured on a form or log attached to a clipboard can now be captured and stored electronically. From there, it can be recovered and produced as a PDF export file or data from the forms used to trend data and help make informed operational decisions.
MobileTools – DataServices in a condensed format suitable for mobile devices. Field staff use MobileTools to save time formerly used to return to the office, transfer/transcribe the collected data and upload it to a supervisor for quality checks before storage. Technicians can now recall the last 20 readings for any given well and review trend graphs on their phones or tablets while standing adjacent to the well they have questions about and need to access the data. MobileTools also allows them to upload field data such as liquid level readings while the data is being collected. The information instantly populates into DataServices and is available for review by others on the project team.
The most valuable tools are in development now for release in 2022. ARC GIS integration developed under SCS RMC® will further enhance DataServices with even better visualization and location capabilities and provide enhanced features such as allowing landfill owners to see their well as-built information and view subsurface information about their wells.
Learn more at SCS Engineers, where we adopt our clients’ environmental challenges as our own.
In October, Republic Services’ Otay Compost Facility at the Chula Vista, California, Otay Landfill opened for business. The compost facility helps communities in San Diego County meet the requirements of California’s SB1383 law mandating the diversion of organic waste from landfills.
The composting facility designed by SCS Engineers in collaboration with Sustainable Generation operates completely off the grid using solar energy. It is the first fully solar-powered compost facility in the state and can process 100 tons of organics per day, with plans to double capacity by year-end.
Both organics recycling and reuse leaders, Republic Services hired SCS Engineers to design the Otay Compost Facility. The design uses renewable energy to run 100 percent of the composting operations at the site. The facility design includes using technologies to speed the maturation rates and reduce excessive odors. Blowers to aerate the organic material, oxygen and temperature sensors, and advanced compost cover technology produce a high-quality product.
“Republic’s taken the goals of SB 1383, to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants further. They’re running a sustainable facility that enables residents, businesses, and government to easily reuse and recycle more within a smaller carbon footprint than ever expected,” says Vidhya Viswanathan, engineer and project director.
As California collects and recycles organic materials from homes and businesses, local governments will use the products made from recycled organic material for compost and mulch. Recycling organic waste into compost creates a nutrient-rich soil amendment, preserving natural resources and reducing water consumption working within a circular economy. This California jurisdiction is ready for the SB1383 deadline on January 1, 2022.
“Republic Services supports California’s effort to divert food and yard waste from landfills to facilities such as this one,” said Chris Seney, Republic’s director of organics operations. “We’re grateful to SCS for their partnership in helping us bring this facility, co-located at an active landfill, to reality.”
Please watch the YouTube video to see the facility and learn more about its environmental value.
SCS Engineers is proud of helping our municipal and private clients bring the most value to their environmental solutions and communities. To learn more about SCS Engineers, view our 50th-anniversary video.
SCS Engineers is expanding its environmental expertise by hiring two professionals in its Raleigh, North Carolina office. Candy Elliott, a licensed professional geologist in various states on the east coast, brings 14 years of experience in brownfields, remediation, and site characterization. Candy is versed in aerobic/anaerobic monitored natural attenuation processes (including chemical oxidation and reduction, bioremediation via metabolic or cometabolic pathways), and the interpretation of indicator parameters. She has a comprehensive knowledge of geophysical techniques, geologic and hydrogeologic site assessment field experience with groundwater monitoring, reporting, and corrective action in multiple environments across seven states.
“Candy’s skill set diversifies not only the Raleigh office acumen but the services that we can provide existing and potential clients,” states Kenton Yang, the Raleigh office’s project director. “To be able to bring a professional on-board with her experience is exciting, and we look forward to what she can accomplish.”
SCS also welcomes Hammed Moshood, a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Idaho State University. Hammed joins the Raleigh team as an Associate Professional supporting SCS’s clients with landfills, landfill gas, and other industrial clients. “We’re excited to bring on Hammed, a recent graduate, to continue providing cost-effective and efficient services to our clients,” says Ian Spurlock, a senior project professional in Raleigh.
As with all SCS Engineers employee-owners, these new professionals will continue engaging in industry associations and community education.
Grace attends Virginia Tech University, studying Civil Engineering, and will be graduating in 2022. We are thrilled to tell you that Grace has accepted a full-time position with SCS after graduation. Lindsay Evans of SCS Human Resources interviewed Grace to get an inside look at her thoughts about SCS’s Internship Program.
What is your title at SCS Engineers? Would you please describe your responsibilities at SCS?
My title at SCS is Intern Engineer. My responsibilities include assisting the SCS Midlothian, VA office on a variety of projects, including landfill engineering, landfill gas engineering, and mining engineering projects. I also have done a good amount of Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) out in the field. I do a lot of engineering work within Civil 3D and technical reporting for EPA and VDEQ involving landfill gas monitoring and data review.
What was your favorite part about our internship program?
My favorite part of the program is definitely the intern presentation day. Although it is certainly nerve-racking, I love being able to hear what all the other interns across the U.S. were involved in at SCS Engineers.
How would you describe our company culture?
The company culture at SCS is one of my most favorite parts of getting to work here. As an intern, I have the opportunity to be a part of a team with responsibilities and access to a plethora of resources within my Midlothian office and throughout the company. It’s awesome that all SCS personnel are willing to help from far and wide; everyone is just an MS-Teams call away. I’ve had incredible mentors at SCS who fostered an amazing learning and working environment for me.
What advice would you give to future interns at SCS?
My biggest piece of advice is never to be afraid to ask questions! As I said before, there are so many experienced professionals at SCS, and as interns, we should definitely take advantage of learning from them! Asking questions enabled me to grow and learn more than I would have had I not asked.
On what cool project have you worked?
I’ve gotten to work on tons of fun projects so far, but a notable one is using Leapfrog Works and 3D modeling. I take data given to me by either field personnel or the client and transform a model depicting gas wells within the landfill. It provides a visualization of liquid levels and obstructions to each well. This is cool because I also create surfaces from the interpolated liquid elevations, which gives a better understanding of where the liquid is most present within the landfill, which could indicate higher temperatures.
Do you feel that your work at SCS has made a difference in our environment?
It is fulfilling to know that the projects I work on, such as emissions management and monitoring, reporting, and communicating, positively affect the environment.
What have you learned the most in your internship?
I’ve certainly learned a lot being an intern at SCS since the summer of 2020. Something that sticks with me is that it’s crucial to be reliable and rely on others to collaborate and work cohesively on project teams. The best projects are successful due to the effectiveness of the project team behind them!
Our clients and SCSers are excited to have Grace, another amazing YP, join SCS Engineers as an Associate Professional!
If you are interested in the internship program at SCS for the 2022 summer, please visit SCS’s Careers page in December 2021 to apply.
Revenue from the Fall Classic goes to their mission, funding scholarships for students and solid waste research to advance sustainable waste management.
Please join us in sponsoring or attending this fantastic networking event for a good cause.
Visit the EREF event page to learn more about the event and safety measures in place!
In an environmentally safe, less costly, and efficient manner, the disposal and recycling of millions of gallons of production water (brine water) and flowback water generated from the oil and gas industry annually continue to be challenging. While new technologies are on the horizon, there remains a long road ahead to their implementation.
In his article in Geosynthetic News, Neil Nowak writes in detail about three sites in Wyoming, Utah, and Texas that are evaporating or recycling water in geomembrane-lined ponds. Nowak’s article demonstrates the successful use of black high-density polyethylene (HDPE) liners to increase evaporation over clay or unlined ponds and using a white liner to reduce evaporation relative to a black liner.
Each project has been operational for several years; they continue to expand under their permits. Nowak takes us through a combination of favorable factors to the evaporative process, including the natural characteristics of each sites’ climate and the business and environmental goals.
The projects are interesting in that each facility provides oil and gas production companies in the area with a large commercial alternative to production water and flowback disposal versus numerous small ponds or disposal via injection wells.
About the Author: 
over 30 years of experience in the consulting engineering industry, including civil, solid waste, produced water impoundments, stormwater engineering, and construction projects.
Mr. Nowak has managed environmental compliance, evaporation pond design and permitting, and construction quality assurance activities across the Southwest. As a land-use planner and Environmental Engineer, he explains how various environmental technologies work under specific conditions to companies and the public. Often he is called to public comment meetings and county commissioner meetings, where he prepares and presents project details for review and approval. He works closely with local, state, and federal regulatory agencies to ensure that the engineering and construction of sites comply with all current applicable requirements.
