Designing environmental solutions. At SCS Engineers, we value our young professionals who bring new ideas and fresh perspectives to our teams. While learning the ropes as an intern, Jared Brown now works full-time as an associate professional in our Raleigh, North Carolina office.
Jared graduated from The Pennsylvania State University State College, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, this past May, earning his Bachelor of Science in Energy Engineering and a minor in Environmental Engineering.
Off to a fast start, he recently put to work his growing knowledge of landfill siting and landfill gas development by receiving his EIT License and Certification, a professional designation after passing the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, and an important part of the process to becoming a licensed professional engineer (P.E.).
Jared’s work is significant in addressing climate change, but not in the way he anticipated when he started his SCS internship. “During my internship, I got hooked,” says Jared.
He continues,
In my senior year, following my internship, I added multiple electives in landfill engineering and groundwater protection. My major focus at Penn State was renewable energy engineering, which SCS does, but landfill and landfill gas engineering captured my attention. It’s fulfilling to know my work significantly reduces greenhouse gas (GHG), and the work itself is interesting and challenging.
We work in teams to make the most of our different areas of expertise, but I get the chance to present my ideas and hear from my teammates while working independently. It’s not the kind of work where you do it repeatedly once you’ve created the design. Each site is unique, so I’m building on best practices and the combination of new technology and design that’s proven to work and is very effective.
Today’s modern landfills that reduce air emissions, recycle many by-products, and protect the groundwater are transformative. They use reduction, recycling, and reuse programs while turning methane into renewable energy. Advanced remote monitoring and control technology and data capture provide many efficiencies and insight to landfill operators and owners running larger and larger collections of plants and facilities on their landfills.
The trend to go larger necessitates more landfill design sophistication and master planning to recoup the growing capital investment upfront. That’s where Jared fits in!
At SCS Engineers, a leading environmental consulting and contracting firm, we bring local urgency to today’s global priorities. One hundred percent employee-owned, and with over a thousand industry leaders across 70 offices nationwide, we come to every job with a wealth of knowledge and implementation expertise—so even the most complex projects move forward with efficiency and speed. We address a full range of environmental issues for private and public entities, with a special focus on waste and greenhouse gas management. In fact, we have captured and eliminated more CO2e gasses for our clients than any other firm in the country. And with customer satisfaction scores 33 percent higher than the industry average, we’ve built a reputation for delivering on our promises.
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.”
The authors of this white paper entitled “Collapsing Range of an Endemic Great Plains Minnow, Peppered Chub Macrhybopsis tetranema,” examine range-wide declines in both abundance and distribution of the Peppered Chub from habitat loss and fragmentation.
Habitat loss and fragmentation include dams, loss of perineal flows, and alteration of flow regimes (flooding). These habitat alterations impact the spawning needs of pelagic-spawning fish and jeopardize the survivability of this species within its historical range. It is estimated that the Peppered Chub has been extirpated from more than 90% of its historic range.
A recovery plan for the Peppered Chub might consider restoration and maintenance of adequate seasonal fluctuating river flows, removal of barriers, and repatriation to river reaches that have experienced extirpation.
The authors suggest repatriation or supplemental stocking as is done elsewhere for small- bodied cyprinids as a necessary first step in recovery, but this alone might not be sustainable or sufficient without taking the proper actions to remedy habitat deficiencies. Specifically, removing or modifying to allow fish passage the remaining barriers impeding upstream recolonization of rivers throughout the species’ historical range and maintaining adequate seasonal river flows to support juvenile survival is likely necessary for recruitment.
Construction of a fish passage structure on the Arkansas River in Wichita, Kansas was recently completed in 2010. This fish passage was built with the passage of small-bodied fishes as a primary function and has already allowed for the recolonization of Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides into a reach of river from which the species was previously extirpated. This suggests that fish passage structures such as this can restore upstream connectivity for small-bodied Great Plains fishes.
The Authors:
CASEY A. PENNOCK and KEITH B. GIDO
Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506
JOSHUAH S. PERKIN
Department of Biology, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville 38505
VAUGHN D. WEAVER
SCS Engineers, Wichita, Kansas 67226
STEPHEN R. DAVENPORT
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, Albuquerque 87109
JOHN M. CALDWELL
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Santa Fe 87504
SCS Engineers ranks 4th on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s list of the top 25 largest environmental services firms in the Los Angeles region. “We’re very proud of our environmental work in California and across the nation,“ stated Pat Sullivan, BCES, CPP, REPA, and a Senior Vice President of SCS Engineers. “It’s especially rewarding to know that we make a positive difference in our backyard and for the regional economy.”
See the Los Angeles Business Journal List
The Solid Waste Association of North America – SWANA, is the largest member-based solid waste management association in the world.
SCS Engineers proudly announces Nathan Hamm, P.E., is the recently elected President of the Kansas Sunflower SWANA chapter. Members of the chapter voted to elect Hamm to continue the leadership of John Hawk, the former chapter President and the General Manager of the McPherson Area Solid Waste Utility. Hamm’s term began on October 22, 2015, and will run for two years.
Nathan Hamm is a registered professional engineer in Kansas and five surrounding states with nearly two decades of experience in the field of environmental engineering. He is a Vice President at SCS and currently serves as the Overland Park –Kansas City Office Manager. As Office Manager, he is responsible for managing the technical and support personnel and the office’s financial performance and business development efforts. He also manages complex projects, maintains client relationships, and provides technical guidance.
“An environmental solution mandates innovative thinking and broad resources, “stated Hamm. “ Our Kansas SWANA chapter provides these and stays true to our principles; that’s how we remain effective and helpful to our members.”
Hamm’s career has concentrated on environmental solutions in solid waste management, alternative energy, power generation, and in agricultural production industries. He is a skilled leader developing and managing multi-disciplinary teams to achieve critical objectives.
Congratulations Nathan!
