SCS Engineers announces Steven Stewart, PE, PMP, is now leading the firm’s Sustainability-CAA-GHG practice. Stewart has twenty-five years of experience within the environmental consulting and manufacturing industry, providing strategic thinking related to project planning, regulatory strategy, and developing sustainability initiatives that achieve goals.
Sustainability plans designed without environmental experts who have designed, built, and operated solutions do not always assure intended goals. SCS’s Sustainability practice combines Clean Air Act (CAA) solution experts and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) experts to create accurate emissions inventories, identify GHG reduction opportunities, and provide third-party verification of GHG emission inventories and reduction credits.
Stewart leads projects related to energy efficiency measures, GHG reduction, carbon sequestration, water reuse and stewardship, and solid waste minimization and recycling and circularity programs. His broad experience also expands into permitting and compliance, environmental management systems, long-term environmental planning, and environmental sustainability capital projects. His manufacturing background in managing large Capital Projects and Environmental programs provides clients additional value when preparing proformas and business cases for sustainability and environmental projects.
Combining Expertise for Excellence
Stewart pulls from a deep bench of expertise at SCS to offer more accurate and targeted plans. The Clean Air Act touches virtually every aspect of economic activity in the United States. It requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for certain pollutants to protect public health and welfare nationwide. The Act provides a comprehensive set of regulations to monitor air toxins and requires major sources of air pollution to obtain detailed operating permits. The CAA also requires states to adopt enforceable plans to achieve and maintain air quality standards and control harmful emissions that might drift across state lines.
SCS has a long history of working with manufacturing, landfills, dairies, and food processing operations to generate and sell GHG credits by voluntarily installing recovery systems and selling methane as fuel. Even greater benefits are available when methane is used as renewable energy to offset natural gas or coal-fired power generation, considering that it is a GHG 28 times more potent than CO2. The firm supports clients with solutions to capture or destroy methane and other emissions, which can have significant environmental benefits. Destroying or isolating methane via combustion, carbon casting, or carbon sequestration can reduce GHG potential by 95 percent.
The firm’s Greenhouse Gas experts perform emissions inventories, estimate GHG reductions, or provide third-party verification of GHG emission inventories and reduction credits. These professionals develop Inventory Management Plans for GHG emissions estimates and offsets and work with the Sustainability team to develop the most effective strategies for reducing GHG emissions, including costs, designing, constructing, and operating projects to reduce emissions.
Value is Client Satisfaction
SCS Engineers serves a broad and diverse base of clients. Each has different needs, from large national accounts to municipalities to local businesses. We know that there are three things that every SCS customer wants: a dedicated partner, insight to help them run their business efficiently, and technical services that deliver quality deliverables that result in the biggest impact possible.
SCS delivers these elements by embracing new proven technology, incorporating circularity, and drawing from a deep bench of professional engineers, scientists, and technologists with field experience into everything we produce. This is why SCS is one of North America’s longest-running environmental engineering firms.
Over the years, SCS has expanded and hired many talented people. Employees guide the firm, maintaining the founders’ focus and culture of adopting their clients’ environmental challenges as their own and fostering a culture of success for clients, employees, and communities.
SCS has won multiple awards for helping clients minimize waste generation and greenhouse gases, effectively managing recycling, collection, and disposal operations, renewable energy, safely cleaning up contaminated properties, treating wastewater, protecting groundwater, and creating technologies used to accurately track, safely operate, design and build systems for longevity.
Additional Information and Resources:
Ms. Victoria Evans brings decades of professional expertise in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) tracking and verification, energy management, air quality, and the environment to SCS Engineers as the National Practice Leader for Climate Change. Her experience derives from her successful work in consulting, R&D, academia, and the federal government for hundreds of projects at global facilities.
“Moving business and municipal operations to integrate a circular economy and practices helps our clients meet their climate change goals. Hiring a consultant firm only, no matter how prestigious, can result in efficiency gaps between the plan and outcomes. Adding Evans to our deep bench of environmental scientists, GHG experts, and waste management engineers enhances our client value with proven results,” states Patrick Sullivan, senior vice president.
Evans has directed or performed hundreds of GHG studies for a diverse set of US and global corporations and governmental organizations, including Vantage, 3M, Comcast, Dow, National Grid, the U.S. Postal Service, Chevron, Tucson Water, and Edwards Air Force Base. Her work involves developing voluntary and mandatory GHG inventories, reporting, California Cap-and-Trade compliance strategies, carbon reduction roadmaps, and life cycle analyses as well.
Her substantial career experience includes environmental impact analysis and air permit support for over 50 facilities, including coal, natural gas, biogas, and biomass-fueled electricity generation and coal syngas facilities. In R&D, Evans developed successful environmental, air quality, and climate research projects with electric utilities on three continents and collaborated with utilities in Finland, Sweden, the Philippines, Italy, Scotland, and France.
Evans led regulatory and legislative analyses involving carbon and energy for landmark initiatives and advised on developing GHG reporting rules and protocols for carbon offset projects.
Educated at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Evans holds a Master of Science in Natural Resource Policy and Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management. She holds multiple registrations as an Envision Sustainability Professional, a CARB Verifier for Carbon Offset Projects, Climate Action Reserve Certified as Lead for GHG Inventory Reporting, and a State of California Mediator certification.
Evans is a former Air & Waste Management Association Board Member, among other association involvement, and continues to share her knowledge and expertise publicly and for the benefit of many industries and municipalities.
SCS President Curtis Jang says, “We’re excited to have Victoria join SCS. She is uniquely qualified and perfect for leading our specialist climate change practice. We look forward to combining and sharing our expertise for our clients’ continued success.
Resources for Industries Reducing Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Hazardous Waste:
A Brief Regulatory History in California
On June 22, 2023, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Facilities (Oil and Gas Methane Regulation). On November 2, 2023, CARB proposed additional modifications for public review. The public comment period ends November 17, 2023.
The Oil and Gas Methane Regulation was originally adopted in 2017 to reduce emissions by requiring:
Then in 2018, this regulation was included in California’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) to address VOC control requirements from the US EPA’s 2016 Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry. In 2022, the US EPA reviewed the SIP submittal and developed a list of deficiencies. Therefore, the Oil and Gas Methane Regulation was amended to address deficiencies and avoid sanctions under the Clean Air Act.
The Oil and Gas Methane Regulation was also amended so that CARB can use remote monitoring data from approved technologies to detect methane emission plumes and then mandate correction actions.
For example, it is anticipated that CARB will start receiving satellite data in late 2023. Once notified by CARB of a remotely detected methane plume, a facility will need to conduct inspections and repairs as well as submit reports as required by the amended regulation.
Finally, additional amendments were made to clarify the regulatory language based upon CARB’s experience with implementing the regulation over the past five years. Based on this summary in California, there is more movement in other states and not just for oil & gas facilities, but many more.
What to Expect in 2024 – Nationwide
The use of satellites and Carbon Mapper are game changers. Carbon Mapper is a nonprofit entity that started flying key mission sectors and not just landfills or waste management sites. They target energy production facilities, agriculture, particularly livestock coal, mining operations, and oil and gas facilities.
The purpose is to track strong methane emissions, obviously. But the kicker is that the data is free and open to the public in the form of a methane plume overlaid on a map. The imagery usually has estimated emissions rates. Many facility owners, managers, and businesses are not aware of these monitoring events, let alone the accessibility and transparency via the Internet to the public.
Our clients reach out to us knowing that SCS has a robust drone and monitoring program – we can fly the sites and locate leak sources in hours. By using drones, our clients could respond quickly and we could identify current limitations of satellite technology for them. The resolution at a satellites high altitude does not detect and localize leak sources, but remote monitoring and control does.
Many of our clients take a proactive approach now of reoccurring drone methane inspections. We can identify areas of concern before the site is flown by manned aircraft or capture by satellites, and mitigate any potential issues ahead of making headline news. The benefit for implementing long-term operational enhancements and efficiencies prevents odors, complaints, nuisance suits, and negative headlines.
There are complementary technologies that work together, satellites, planes, drones, robot-dogs, automated wellheads, and the traditional boots on the ground. The key is combining the ones that work together to provide a more holistic view of of what’s going on at your facility. That’s where the ROI is and provides a single source to combine all data elements – so no need to move back and forth between software systems.
Questions? Contact our professionals at for immediate assistance.
Additional GHG Emissions Resources
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.
Article published in the January 2020 edition of Waste Advantage Magazine.
At the Federal level, GHG emission reporting has become part of the standard regulatory requirements; however, on the west coast, GHG programs continue to develop and evolve from reporting to reduction programs beyond federal requirements. Solid waste facilities can be impacted by all of these reporting mechanisms directly as a landfill located in the state in question, opting in for C&T as part of the LCFS in California, or in limbo, as the courts work out the legality of Washington’s Clean Air Act. More stringent federal GHG requirements are unlikely with the current administration, however, that could change with the 2020 election. In general, GHG rules and legislation keep developing and updating to account for and reduce GHG emissions.
Read, share, or download the full article here.
Cassandra Drotman Farrant is Project Manager with SCS Engineers. She has nine years of experience in environmental consulting, specializing in environmental assessment and greenhouse gas (GHG) verification. Cassandra has participated in many GHG verification projects throughout the U.S. and has completed approximately 70 Phase I Environmental Assessments (ESAs) in California, Oregon, and Washington. Phase I projects included research and review of geologic and hydrogeologic conditions at project sites and in the surrounding areas and evaluating the potential for soil and groundwater contamination from on and offsite sources. Cassandra has completed emissions estimates and inventories and has prepared numerous permit-to-construct/operate permit applications. She prepares compliance reports, which includes reviewing and maintaining records and regulatory deadlines.
SCS Engineers provides engineering, consulting, operations and monitoring services to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Select a service category to learn more.
In August 2019, SCS Energy broke ground on construction of a 4,000-scfm landfill gas to renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Indianapolis. Indy High Btu, LLC engaged SCS Energy to build the RNG plant under an engineer/procure/construct (EPC) agreement. Indy High Btu, LLC is jointly owned by Kinetrex Energy, Southside Landfill, and EDL Energy.
The RNG plant employs an iron redox scrubber for hydrogen sulfide removal, membranes for carbon dioxide removal and pressure swing adsorption for nitrogen removal. The plant is on schedule to achieve commercial operation in February 2020.
Kinetrex, as a major distributor of LNG, intends to convert the RNG into LNG. RNG from the plant will fuel trucks replacing nearly 8 million gallons of diesel a year. RNG is less expensive than diesel and significantly reduces the emission of methane and other greenhouse gases.
The Indy High Btu RNG plant is the third landfill gas-to-RNG plant designed by SCS to employ nitrogen removal, meeting pipeline specifications and maximizing gas recovery. Two other plants, including a 5,000-scfm project in Kentucky, which commenced operation in March 2018, and a 5,000-scfm project in Texas, which is currently under construction and scheduled to begin operations in November 2019, are both SCS Energy designs.
SCS Energy is a practice of SCS Engineers specializing in Biogas, Anaerobic Digestion, Renewable Natural Gas and Energy Systems for industrial and agricultural operations.
