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.
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!
Join SCS Engineers at the 17th Annual KWEA/KsAWWA Water & Wastewater Joint Conference, taking place September 9–11, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency and Century II Expo Center in Wichita, Kansas. This joint event brings together members of the Kansas Water Environment Association and the Kansas Section of the American Water Works Association for a dynamic program focused on the latest developments in water and wastewater.
Attendees can explore a diverse range of technical sessions covering emerging industry topics, regulatory updates, and advancements in equipment and controls, along with an expanded exhibition featuring the newest technologies. The conference also offers valuable networking opportunities, hands-on competitions, and the opportunity to earn continuing education and professional development credits.
Connect with Monte Markley at the event to learn how SCS Engineers supports clients with innovative, practical solutions across water and wastewater systems while helping navigate evolving industry challenges. Register now.
Join SCS Engineers at the Central States Water Environment Association (CSWEA) 99th Annual Meeting, taking place May 19–21, 2026, at the Saint Paul River Centre in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This event brings together resource recovery professionals, including facility operators, consulting engineers, regulators, and educators, to explore the latest trends and solutions shaping the water and energy recovery industry.
Learn how SCS Engineers partners with clients to deliver innovative solutions in water, wastewater, and resource recovery. Register now.
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