2022 Greater Buffalo Environmental Conference

The 40th Annual Greater Buffalo Environmental Conference (GBEC) is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 500 Pearl (Aloft Hotel) in downtown Buffalo, New York. With our move to 500 Pearl, conference layout will be a little different this year but we are excited to see everyone again in person.

Please be aware of our COVID Guidelines. For our upcoming GBEC, NYWEA does have some minimal guidelines:

1) If you feel ill or have a fever or have been exposed to someone with COVID19 within 5 days of the meeting, please do not attend the meeting/event.

2) Except for when eating/drinking, masks must be worn when inside a building.

3) By your voluntary attendance at this meeting/event, attendees assume all risks related to exposure to COVID19.

NOTE: please check back as we will publish any edits to the COVID guidelines as may be warranted due to changes in state or local guidelines.

For larger version of the Agenda below, please click here:

NOTE: Times of all afternoon activities were pushed 15 minutes later than originally advertised. The agenda above and the following reflect those changes.

Morning Opening Program:

8:00 - 8:45 am - Breakfast/Exhibits

8:45 - 9:10 am - Welcome with Bill Davignon, WNYWEA chair and Patricia Cerro-Reehil, NYWEA Executive Director

9:10 - 9:40 am - Keynote "Year of the JEDI" - Khris Dodson, NYWEA President

Morning Breakout Session 1 :

Laboratory

9:45 - 10:45 am - "Do's and Don'ts" of Sampling - including PFAS (Patrick Filey, Alpha Analytical)

WRRF Pilots

9:45 - 10:15 am - NaOCl vs. ClO2 - Oxidant Pilot Testing at the Niagara Falls Water Board WWTP (Jeff Tudini, AECOM)

10:15 - 10:45 am - How Low Can You Go? Ammonia Removal Pilot Testing at the Lackawanna WRRF (Lisa Derrigan & MaryKate Mooney, GHD and Dave Millar, Erie County)

COVID-19

9:45 - 10:45 am - Application of Wastewater Based Epidemiology in Western NY: Opportunities and Challenges (Ian Bradley & Yinyin Ye, University at Buffalo)

Coffee Break and Exhibits (10:45 - 11:15 am)

Morning Breakout Session 2 :

Valves and Biosolids

11:15 - 11:45 am - Municipal Valve Applications (Rudy Melisz, RMHeadlee)

11:45 am- 12:15 pm - A Case Study of New York Sludge Dryer Installations (Brian Sibiga, Wendel)

New Technologies/Advancements

11:15 - 11:45 am - Energy Efficient Advanced Oxidation Process to Replace or Enhance Digestion (Rick Treleven, BRC, Inc.)

11:45 am- 12:15 pm - Treatment Challenges and Strategies for High-Tech Industrial Wastewaters (Brandon Yallaly & Nathan Zaugg, Carollo Engineers)

COVID-19

11:15 - 11:45 am - The Trials and Tribulations of Running a Package Plant During a Pandemic (Glenn Absolom & Roger Lalli, Erie County)

11:45 am- 12:15 pm -Sewer Sociology: The Science, Examples and COVID Impacts (Peter Frick, ADS)

LUNCH (12: 15 - 1:30PM)

Afternoon Breakout Session 1 :

Health & Safety

1:30 - 2:30 pm -Health and Safety Issues of the Aging Workforce (Nellie Brown, Cornell)

Ethics

1:30 - 2:30 pm - Engineering Ethics (John Salvagno, Arcadis)

Collection Systems

1:30 - 2:00 pm - Holistic Approach to I&I (Chris Hamilton, Avanti Grout)

2:00 - 2:30 pm - From DOS to GIS: Buffalo Sewer's Collection System Management Integration (Taylor Brown, BSA)

Coffee Break and Exhibits (2:30 - 3:00 pm)

Afternoon Breakout Session 2 :

Operations Collaboration/ Facility Upgrades

3:00 - 3:30 pm - Working with Engineers and Consultants to Solve Problems and Collaboratively Improve Your Facilities (Angela Hintz, Arcadis)

3:30 - 4:00 pm - Operations Collaboration/ Coordination for Our Largest Construction Project in Nearly 50 Years (Roberta Gaiek & Dan O'Sullivan, BSA, and Jamie Johnson, AECOM)

4:00 - 4:30 pm - Primary Treatment Upgrades: Plant Operations and Capital Projects Team Collaboration (Roberta Gaiek & Dan O'Sullivan, BSA, and Alex Leu & Walt Walker, Greeley & Hanson)

Engineering/Asset Management

3:00 - 3:30 pm - Proactive Approach to the Infrastructure Renewal Crisis (Michelle McEntire, Ramboll)

3:30 - 4:30 pm - Time is Money: Engineering Considerations for Construction Contract Times, Delays, and Schedules (Kevin O'Beirne, HDR)

Collection Systems

3:00 - 3:30 pm - Keys to Achieving Significant I&I Reductions (Jim Shelton, Arcadis)

3:30 - 4:00 pm - Evaluating the Other 99.62% of Your Force Main (Garry Pecak, Erie County)

4:00 - 4:30 pm - Pumping Station Consolidation Using Tunneling Addresses Environmental Concerns (David Woolley, GHD)

Young Professionals Session - Inter-Generational Communication: From Fax Machines to TikTok and Everything in Between (3:00 - 4:30 pm)

COCKTAIL RECEPTION (4:30 PM)

Host or Publisher Angela Hintz