Intro to Permitting Compost Facilities in California

Permitting a compost facility in California can be a long and complicated journey. Hear from three compost industry professionals on their experiences and recommendations for tackling these hurdles. This webinar will provide an introduction to key regulatory permits necessary to start a composting facility, technology considerations to meet these requirements, and a few case studies on how real facilities went through these processes.

Speakers:

Cindy Liles, HDR

Cindy Liles has 12 years of experience working with the waste industry. She started off her career implementing organics separation and compost workshops at her university, and has since worked on over 175 waste projects. This includes work on the design, permitting, development, and environmental compliance of over a dozen organic waste processing facilities and several feasibility studies for both the public and private sectors. She has also helped secure over $20 million for solid waste, organics, and renewable energy infrastructure and research. She is also a licensed California P.E.

Orion Black-Brown, Green Mountain Technologies

Orion is the President of Green Mountain Technologies. He brings his product development background and passion for composting to help clients successfully design, construct and operate composting facilities. Orion graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Since joining GMT, Orion has helped clients successfully design, construct and operate dozens of facilities. He has spoken at numerous composting conferences including the US Composting Council annual conference full day Food Waste Composting Workshop, and holds several composting related patents. Prior to working at GMT Orion spent several years in new product development, where he learned the importance of empathy and communication to successful project execution. Outside of the office you can find Orion surfing, meditating, and exploring the Olympic Peninsula.

Chris Seney, Republic Services

Chris Seney has been permitting, constructing and operating organics facilities for 25 years. He is the Director of Organics Operations at Republic Services and has been in that role for eight years. He supports all Republic Services organics operations throughout the Country. In addition, he leads the development of new organics infrastructure and supports all organics acquisitions. Republic Services is now a leader in the organics space in California and currently operates six large compost facilities, six commercial food waste operations, four green waste processing operations and one anaerobic digester. Prior to joining Republic Services, he permitted, constructed, operated and owned one of the largest compost facilities in the Country which recycled 400,000 tons per year in Southern California. He is a US Compost Council Board Member, Association of Compost Producers Board Member, Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and a Professional Engineer.