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Sustainability and Biosolids CommitteeThe Sustainability and Biosolids Committee (SBC) supports the social, environmental, and technical advancement of wastewater sustainability, including resource recovery and biosolids management in the Pacific Northwest. This committee will facilitate meeting the clean water needs of the present generation without compromising the clean water needs of future generations. The Sustainability and Biosolids Committee originated from the Residuals and Biosolids, Sustainability, and Resource Recovery Committees, and in early 2023, the three committees merged under a new charter. This Charter has been revised for the 2025 year. View Committee CharterGet involved and help us deploy our vision! We have over 60 members and are growing! We are looking for new opportunities for professional and community development to share lessons learned, success stories, and innovation news with our membership. We meet as a committee on a monthly basis and strive to participate in the PNCWA Spring Summit each year as long as the annual PNCWA conference. We also host three virtual Webinars that offer CEUs each year. The webinars each focus on sustainability, resource recovery, or biosolids topics. If you are interested in participating, please email either of the committee chairs below. Join a CommitteeContact Info:
Greg Mockos is Brown and Caldwell’s NW Solids and Energy Practice Leader. He has 18 years of experience specializing in biosolids and energy planning and design projects for municipal wastewater facilities in the Pacific Northwest. I manage the planning, concept development, detailed design, bidding, construction, and startup/commissioning of complex design-bid-build and design-build multi-disciplinary wastewater treatment projects focused on biosolids treatment/handling and energy recovery. My specific expertise is enhanced biosolids treatment with the goal of turning biosolids into a sustainable resource with beneficial uses in our society and economy. My wife Kara and my daughters Elsebeth and Emilia love helping me shovel SoundGro and Tagro products in our yard and garden!
Eric works for King County Wastewater Treatment Division as a Senior Sustainability Engineer in their Resource Recovery unit. He received his BS in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University and has 20 years of experience with wastewater infrastructure as a mechanical and civil engineer. In his current role, Eric works with WTD operations staff on ways to reduce water and power use in day-to-day operations and also coordinates with capital project teams to ensure the County’s various sustainability requirements are incorporated in individual projects. Prior to working at King County, Eric worked for a number of consulting firms where he led the design of large infrastructure projects including wastewater conveyance and lift station improvements. Anthony Tartaglione - Biosolids Vice Chair Mr. Tartaglione has 25 years of experience in the planning and design for the expansion, rehabilitation and repair, upgrades, and improvements of water resource recovery facilities. He received a BS in Environmental Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a MS in Chemical Engineering from Colorado State University. His area of expertise is in solids treatment from preliminary treatment through advance thermal treatment including screening, grit removal, thickening, anaerobic digestion, dewatering, thermal drying, and pyrolysis. Anthony provides process mechanical calculations, energy and mass balances, unit process system analysis and selection, specification development, design drawing development, code interpretation, and multidiscipline coordination. He is a contributing author to Water Environmental Federation publications including 1) Design of Water Re- source Recovery Facilities. Manual of Practice No. 8, 6th Ed., Water Environmental Federation Publication, 2017; 2) Energy in Water Resource Recovery Facilities, Manual of Practice No. 32, 2nd Ed., Water Environmental Federation Publication, 2021 and 3) Wastewater Treatment Fundamentals III, 1st Ed., Water Environmental Federation Publication, 2022. Ross Varin - Resource Recovery Vice Chair Ross Varin is a wastewater engineer and project manager at Mead & Hunt, where he works on a wide range of treatment system projects for municipal and industrial clients. He is passionate about sustainability and clean water issues that affect the Pacific Northwest. When not in the office, he can be found enjoying the outdoors through mountain biking, snowboarding, and bird watching. Webinar Recordings:April 2025: Powering Sustainability: Onsite Energy Innovations for Wastewater Management
This webinar highlights innovative onsite energy solutions—such as combined heat and power, biogas utilization, and solar integration—for wastewater treatment plants, offering practical insights and case studies to help facilities enhance reliability, cut costs, and move toward net-zero carbon goals.
May 2025: Designing for the Future of Solids Management Presented by: Anthony Tartaglione, Hazen and Sawyer This webinar explores an innovative solids management approach at a small water resource recovery facility to address emerging challenges from PFAS in biosolids and climate regulations, offering practical insights on system sizing, solids handling optimization, and design lessons for utility professionals.
January 2023: PFAS Webinar Jason Condor with Geosyntec Consultants, Frank Dick with City of Vancouver, and Rashi Gupta with Carollo presented on potential upcoming wastewater and biosolids regulation related to PFAS, recent studies on the impact of PFAS and their correlation to regulations, and the latest science for evaluating risks associated with PFAS in biosolids. April 2023: Bioenergy and Co-digestion Josh Newman with City of Portland, Derya Dursun with Hazen and Sawyer, Mark Van Eeckhout with City of Spring field, and Bryan Lisk with Hazen and Sawyer presented on trends of organic diversion regulations, planning for accepting source-separated organics, trends and barriers to recovering energy and resources from SSOs, and cost/benefit model and case studies related to bioenergy and co-digestion. June 2023: Advanced Thermal Treatment for PFAS Micah Blate with Hazen and Sawyer, Valentinio Villa with BFT, Devon Barry with Anaergia, and Dion Banks with Eco Remedy presented on advanced thermal processing for PFAS treatment, process benefits, and biochar production and uses, including pyrolysis unit process overviews from two manufacturers and an overview of a current gasification project under construction. |
Greg Mockos
Eric Schey