Schedule

Here's a look back at the 2023 FBEC schedule.

Presentation Information

 

Speakers are encouraged to use electronic format for their presentation. Computer projection equipment will be available including both a computer and a projector so you need only bring a memory/USB stick with your slide presentation unless you require a presentation program other than PowerPoint. For more information, read and follow the our additional speaker guidelines available at the button below.

 

Go to Presentation Proposal Form


Sunday, March 26, 2023

7:30 am - 12:30 pm
Private Fishing Charter

Join us for an unforgettable private fishing charter and enjoy a morning of fishing, sightseeing, and relaxing on beautiful Lake Tahoe!  Tahoe Sport Fishing has all the equipment you need which is included in the activity fee of $230/person. Participants will also need to purchase a California Fishing license for $19.18. Please e-mail fbec@affi.com to register.

Tahoe Sport Fishing
7:45 am - 3:00 pm
FBEC Golf Outing

Golf Event Cancelled as of March 21, 2023

Chairs: Scott Jay and Justin Olson, World Water Works

The activity fee of $120/participant includes green fees, carts, range, lunch and drink token. Transportation, sponsored by World Water Works and GSE Construction from the resort to Genoa Lakes Golf Club and back to the resort will be included in the participation fee.

Premium club rentals are available for $60 each (TaylorMade) and Regular clubs for $20 each (Wilson).

Genoa Lakes Golf Club
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Historical Tour

Chairs: Teresa Fischer, Geosyntec and Chris Ulmer, FBEC Planning Committee 

Head twenty miles west to Truckee, California to visit Donner State Park and tour the Emigrant Trail Museum, Pioneer Monument or enjoy a scenic hike. Participants can enjoy the walkability of the Truckee area which offers a wide variety of things to see and shops to browse after having lunch at Fifty Fifty Brewery. The $45 Historical Tour fee covers your parking and lunch!

Donner State Park
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Palisades Gondola & Museum Social

We invite you to join us for an informal networking event with great views to boot! We will meet in the hotel lobby and travel to Palisades Tahoe for a ride to High Camp on their premier Aerial Tram. There we will enjoy lunch and explore the modest museum depicting the 1960 Olympic destination.

Participants will be responsible for their own dining and transportation costs. Attendees are encouraged to ride share with fellow participants.

Thank to our Young Professionals Event Sponsor, Antea Group. The first twenty participants will receive complimentary aerial tram passes. E-mail fbec@affi.com to register for this activity.

Palisades Tahoe
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Registration
Regency Ballroom Corridor
4:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Session Chair & Co-Chair Meeting
Castle Peak B
5:00 pm - 5:30 pm
First Timers Reception

Is this your first time attending FBEC? Join the FBEC Steering Committee, Conference Chair and past chairs to learn more about what to expect from the conference and get insider tips.

Lakeside Ballroom
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Welcome Reception

The Welcome Reception at FBEC kicks off the conference and sets the tone for four successful days of education and networking. Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres with your fellow attendees.

Lakeside B/C
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Hospitality Suite

Each night continue catching up with old friends and making new ones at the Hospitality suite, hosted by Gannett Fleming, Inc. The Hospitality Suite will be located in a Lakeside Cottage on the resort grounds.

Lakeside Cottage

Monday, March 27, 2023

7:15 am - 12:00 pm
Registration
Regency Ballroom Corridor
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
Regency Ballroom
8:30 am - 8:45 am
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Regency Ballroom
8:45 am - 9:30 am
Keynote Session: The Tahoe Blue Lifestyle – How we can all Keep Tahoe Blue

Lake Tahoe is a national treasure with a unique combination of unmatched natural beauty, diverse outdoor recreation, world-class entertainment and close proximity to urban centers and international airports. In recent years, Tahoe has seen well over 15 million annual visitors leading to the very real possibility of “loving Lake Tahoe to death”. With no single authority or set of rules to protect Tahoe (i.e. not a National Park) it is up to each and every person who visits or resides at the Lake to do their part to Keep Tahoe Blue. Since 1957 the League to Save Lake Tahoe (a.k.a. Keep Tahoe Blue) has been advocating for protections for the Tahoe Basin that find a balance between environmental conservation and enjoyment of this special place. Find out how everyone can live the Tahoe Blue Lifestyle and ensure we Keep Tahoe Blue now and for future generations to come.

Speaker:

Jesse Patterson, Chief Strategy Officer, League to Save Lake Tahoe

Regency Ballroom
9:30 am - 10:45 am
Session 1: Air

Chair: Joan Giuliani, Molson Coors
Co-Chair: Jasmine Sodemann, Gannett Fleming

Out of Order or Out of Odor? Come to this session to hear about the inside scoop from a former regulator, now food processor, on how to prepare for an air inspection. Whether your facility is Title V, Synthetic Minor, or Permit by Rule, air permit compliance inspections can be a stressful event. This presentation will provide you with a road map and some strategies to make your next inspection a little less daunting. And, just as important, find out why it makes “scents” to keep your odors at bay. Case studies presented will illustrate the lessons learned and highlight how odor characteristics, equipment attributes, and proximity to sensitive receptors may influence the odor abatement technology selection.

Speakers:

Surviving an Air Permit Inspection – Steve Brockett, Environmental Manager, Basic American Foods

Odor Abatement Technologies – An Overview of Applications in Pet Food Manufacturing – Erika Godwin-Saad, Regional Environmental Manager, Mars Petcare US, Inc.

 

Regency Ballroom
10:45 am - 11:00 am
Break
Regency Ballroom Corridor
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Session 2: Compliance Trends

Chair: Wesley McGhee, Campbells
Co-Chair: Stephanie Richardson, Dontech Industries

Explore what many companies are facing as ever-changing and shifting regulations, and how to comply.  More than simply complying, how are companies becoming aware of forecasted changes, and some of the challenges faced to meet the new criteria.  As climate change and environmental justice become more and more prevalent, expect to see more enforcement and focus on environmental legislation.

Speakers:

Trudi Hughes, CEO and President, California Food Producers

Greg Hurner, President, Hurner Government Relations and Advocacy

Adam Regele, Senior Policy Advocate, California Chamber of Commerce

Regency Ballroom
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Session 3: Networking Lunch
Regency Ballroom
1:45 pm - 3:15 pm
Ad-hoc Session: Wastewater

Chair: Keith Bailey, Smithfield

Co-Chair: Brian Arntsen, Veolia Water Technologies

Panelists:

Brian Arntsen, Global Domain Sales Leader, Veolia Water Technologies

Mark Carlstrom, Supervising Staff Engineer, Hormel Foods Corporation

Kyle Newton, Environmental Coordinator, Smithfield Foods

Mark Ritsema, Head of Environmental Sustainability, JBS

 

Castle Peak AB
1:45 pm - 3:15 pm
Ad-hoc: Sustainability/ESG

Chair: Tom Raymond, Hormel Foods Corporation

Co-Chair: Charlie Quann, The Antea Group

Pressure is mounting on companies up and down the value chain to take decisive action to combat climate change. Join us to learn about new greenhouse gas regulations and get your questions answered as we discuss proposed GHG regulations, adoption of science-based targets, and how these factors impact operations at the facility level. A substantial portion of this ad-hoc will be reserved for audience questions and answers from the panel.

Speakers:

Charlie Quann, Climate Change Advisory Lead and Senior Project Manager, Antea Group

Tom Raymond, Director of Environmental Sustainability, Hormel Foods Corporation 

Kevin Rotsching, Senior Director, Environmental Management, Treehouse Foods

Reg ABC
3:30 pm - 4:45 pm
FBEC Steering Committee Meeting
Diamond Peak Boardroom
4:45 pm - 5:45 pm
Poster Sessions & Social Hour
Chair: Jane Kettler, Johnsonville Sausage, LLC
Co-Chair: Domagoj Gotovac, Woodard Curran
Conference attendees are invited to a poster session and happy hour Monday and Wednesday evenings at FBEC. A broad array of technical subjects will be poster presented to conference attendees through discussion that promotes mutual learning and help in developing professional contacts.
Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility Treats Wastewater and Produces Renewable Energy – Andy Hock, Maintenance Manager, Hershey Co. and Greg Rosenberger, VP Light IndustriesHold the Water! A Story about Primary Fine Screening – Mike Robustelli, Winemaker, McManis Winery and Steve Macomber, Regional Sales Manager, DuperonInnovative Integration of Anaerobic and Aerobic Biological Treatment – Houston Flippin, PE, BCEE, and Michael Mecredy, PE, BCEE, Brown & CaldwellMobile-First Strategies to Improving Emergency and Disaster Readiness – Kevin Sobnosky, PE, CHMM, CPEA, Sr. Global EHS Director – Environmental, PepsiCo, Jacob Zollinger, CSP VP, Strategy and Partnerships, ReadyKey and Mike Zimmerman, PE, CHMN, CPSA, CPEA and QISP, BSIModular Wastewater Pretreatment – Juli Iacuaniello, Marketing Director, Aquacycle and Rajendra Gurshaney, VP, Engineering, Pepsico North America

Simplot Achieves Sustainability Goals with Wastewater Investment – Jonathan Witt, Sr Environmental Engineering Manager, Liam Carlin, Environmental Manager, The J.R. Simplot Company and Shannon Grant, Director Business Development, Daniel Bertoldo, Engineering Manager, Mike Allison, Applications Engineer, Evoqua

Smithfield Foods – Veolia Membrane Bioreactor Waste Water Solution – Brian Arnsten, Senior Sales Manager, Tony Urciuoli, Lead Sales Manager, Veolia and Jason Lindquist, Director of Environmental Affairs, Smithfield Foods

Martis Peak A/B/C
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Dinner and Session 4: Enforcement Horror Stories

Chair: Josh Milleson, Land O’Lakes
Co-Chairs: Jeff VanVoorhis, Mead & Hunt and Ted Holt, Fluke Corporation

As dinner entertainment on the first night, food industry professionals share their experiences dealing with the good, bad, and often ugly aspects of environmental compliance. Stories of spills, EPA raids, misappropriation of resources and construction nightmares have all surfaced in the past. Always relatable, rarely anticipated; it’s a fun night!

Speakers

Laboratory Horror Stories – Gary Yakub, Senior Quality Assurance Chemist Environmental Standards, Inc.

The Never Ending Story – Patrick Tieg, Senior Project Engineer, Johnsonville Sausage

 

Lakeside B/C
9:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Hospitality Suite

Each night continue catching up with old friends and making new ones at the Hospitality suite, hosted by Gannett Fleming, Inc. The Hospitality Suite will be located in a Lakeside Cottage on the resort grounds.

Lakeside Cottage

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

7:00 am - 12:00 pm
Registration
Regency Ballroom Corridor
7:00 am - 7:45 am
Breakfast
Regency Ballroom
7:45 am - 8:45 am
Session 5: Food Waste

Chair: Alyssa Hamill, Smithfield Foods
Co-Chair: Houston Flippin, Brown and Caldwell

Food waste recycling & renewable energy production – a proven sustainable solution –Dan Hagen, WM Organic Recycling, Director of Business Development, Food Waste Solutions and Jeff Yorzyk, Senior Director of Sustainability, HelloFresh

Organic Waste Diversion: Challenges and Opportunities Wesley McGhee, Corporate Environmental Engineer, Campbell’s and Dan Moccia-Field, National Recycling Director, Northstar Recycling

Scaling Organics Recycling Technology to Address Climate ChangeRandy Day, CEO, Perdue Farms and Shawn Kreloff, Founder, CEO, Bioenergy Devco

 

Regency Ballroom
8:45 am - 9:45 am
Session 6: Sustainability

Chair: Katlyn Gonzalez, Idahoan Foods

Co-Chair: Katie Jeziorski, Trinity Consultants

Speaker:

Sustainable Cane Sugar Refining from Farm to Factory:  It Takes a Village – Diane Stevenson, Director of Sustainability and Food Technology, Sugaright (a subsidiary of CSC Sugar)

Interested in how different industries have tackled sustainability challenges? Come learn more about how the sugar used in your food and beverage products make their way from the farm to the factory, what environmental risks and challenges in mitigating environmental impacts exist, what sustainability efforts look like to reduce risks (think transportation, supply chain, exploring less intensive refining processes), and hear case studies and examples of others on this sustainability journey.

Regency Ballroom
9:45 am - 10:00 am
Break
Regency Ballroom Corridor
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Session 7: Water Conservation

Chair: Dennis Leikam, Idahoan
Co-Chair: Stephanie Richardson, Dontech Industries

Join us for a discussion of the hottest topics on water conservation.  Learn about the latest in efforts on direct potable reuse (DPR), tools for the correct pricing of water so you can get the capital dollars needed to conserve water, and some practical floor level advice.

Speakers:

Joan Giuliani, Sr. Manager, EHS, Molson Coors

Michael Mercedy, PE, BCEE, Market Sector Director, Food & Pharma, Brown and Caldwell

Erica Pann, Water Stewardship Service Leader and Senior Project Engineer, Antea Group 

 

 

Regency Ballroom
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Establishing Enterprise-Wide Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Standards

Chair: Ian Toevs, Lamb Weston, Inc.

Co-Chair: Ann Marie Gathright, Environmental Standards 

Speaker (s):

Establishing Enterprise-Wide Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Standards Kevin Sobnosky, Sr. Global EHS Director – Environmental, PepsiCo and Dan Agramonte, Principal, Montrose

Establishing Enterprise-Wide EHS and Sustainability (EH3S) Systems – Jacob Zollinger, CSP, VP, Strategy and Partnerships, ReadyKey and Mike Zimmerman, Mike Zimmerman, PE, CHMM, CPSA, CPEA, REPA, QISP Principal Consultant, BSI and Kevin Sobnosky, Sr. Global EHS Director – Environmental, PepsiCo

Regency Ballroom
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Technical Tour

Chair: Brian Mulinix, HDR Inc.

Join FBEC on a behind the scenes treatment facility tour of the Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency.

The $100 fee includes transportation for the technical tour.

Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Community Event

Chair: Ann Marie Gathright, Environmental Standards, Inc.

The community event during FBEC is historically an opportunity for attendees to join together and give back through a local service project that supports networking amongst participants. This year’s event includes the following:

Help the Tahoe Science Center prepare for the Science Expo:

    1. Putting together passports for all the students
    2. Creating a tree of life
    3. Cleaning aquariums
    4. Measuring out specific quantities of materials for different life and health science activities
    5. Create planter boxes for garden

This event also includes a tour of the Tahoe Science Center to understand the current work and history research UC Davis TERC has been performing in the basin since the late 1960s. Participants will get to play an interactive role through being a part of a focus group that evaluates the center’s augmented reality app.

Tahoe Science Center
5:15 pm - 6:00 pm
Women’s Networking Event

Inspired by the increasing number of women attendees, FBEC 2023 is honored to host a women’s networking event, sponsored by PepsiCo for female food industry environmental professionals to connect and network. Additional details are in development, check back for an update in the coming weeks.

Martis Peak
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Networking & Business Time
Open

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

7:00 am - 11:00 am
Registration
Regency Ballroom Corridor
7:15 am - 8:00 am
Breakfast
TBD
8:00 am - 9:00 am
Session 8: Renewable Natural Gas

Chair: Mark Ritsema, JBS Foods 

Co-Chairs: Bernie Sheff, Montrose Environmental Group and Annie Weidert, Mead & Hunt

Speakers:

Jody Anderson, Executive VP, Operations, NLC Energy

Mike Land, Managing Partner, Virentis Advisors

Mark Ritsema, JBS Foods

Regency Ballroom
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Session 9: Refrigeration

Chair: Matt Gabris, EH3S and 2023 FBEC Conference Chair

Explore what food and beverage companies are doing to effectively manage their ammonia refrigeration system(s) from a mechanical, administrative, emergency preparedness and efficiency perspective.  Yes, a lot in one session for the most efficient and eco-friendly refrigerant on earth!

Speaker

Matt Gabris, EH3S and 2023 FBEC Conference Chair

Regency Ballroom
10:00 am - 10:15 am
Break
Regency Ballroom Corridor
10:15 am - 11:15 am
Session 10: Wastewater

Chair: Mark Carlstrom, Hormel Foods

Co-Chair: Justin Olson, World Water Works

New Permit and New Limits – To Retrofit or To Replace – Jason Lindquist, Director Environmental Affairs, Smithfield Foods, Shane Reid, VP Operations, Reid Engineering, and Tony Urciuoli, Regional Sales Manager, Food and Beverage, Veolia

Building for sustainability – Lessons Learned from a Greenfield Distillery – Matt Patel, Founder, Aspen Distillers

Regency Ballroom
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Session 11: Sustainable Waste Management & Lessons Learned

Chair: Brett Whittleton,  TreeHouse Foods 

Co-Chair: Brian Kardos, Gannett Fleming

Depackaging Food and Beverage Waste: Diverting Difficult-to-Manage Waste Streams from Landfill –  Brittany Webb, Technical Engineer, Vanguard Renewables and Jason Lindquist, Regional Environmental Director, Smithfield Foods

Todd Boehne, PE, CSP, Director, Environmental Managements, Conagra Brands

Regency Ballroom
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Networking Lunch
Regency Ballroom
1:15 pm - 1:30 pm
FBEC 2024 Location Announcement

Time to find out where we’re headed in 2024!

Regency Ballroom
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Session 12: USEPA Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) Action 5.7/Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) – Water Reuse Opportunities in the Beverage Industry

Chair: Paul Bowen, Chair Emeritus – Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (A technical coalition of leading global beverage companies working together to advance environmental sustainability within the beverage sector)

Co-Chair: Peter Capponi, VP-Industrial & Manufacturing, GHD & Wrap Action 5.7 Leader

Water Reuse in the Beverage Industry represents significant sustainability opportunities and risk mitigation.  In addition to meeting Sustainability and ESG Goals in a water intensive business there is also opportunity for cost savings. Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) Action 5.7  was created to Identify Water Reuse Opportunities in the Beverage Industry. This Action is part of the USEPA Water Reuse Program whose mission is expand water reuse knowledge and incorporate water reuse as apart of a national resilient water strategy and the linked National WRAP that enables multistakeholder collaborations, technology development and tools and resources. The goals of WRAP Action 5.7 are to develop a white paper and associated action plan to further reuse. To complete these goals a series of meetings of food and beverage manufactures, water non-profits, regulatory bodies, technology companies and other stakeholders will be held to evaluate the opportunities and barriers to water reuse. Detailed evaluations of Regulatory, Treatment/Technology and Stakeholder issues are on-going as critical inputs to the white paper, including inputs from USEPA, Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Water Environment Foundation (WEF), WateReuse and others. This session represents and opportunity for attendees to provide input and then feedback on each of these primary topical areas and to be directly part of the white paper and the findings.

Speakers:

Norton Fogel, PE, Tech. Director, GHD & WRAP Action 5.7 Regulatory Subcommittee Chair

Tyler Abercrombie, Water Engineer, GHD & WRAP Action 5.7 Tech. Subcommittee Chair

Paul Bowen, PhD, Chair Emeritus BIER & WRAP Action 5.7 Stakeholder Engagement Subcommittee Chair

Regency Ballroom
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
FBEC 2024 Planning Meeting
Regency Ballroom
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Sessions & Social Hour

Chair: Jane Kettler, Johnsonville Sausage, LLC
Co-Chair: Domagoj Gotovac, Woodard Curran

Conference attendees are invited to a poster session and happy hour Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at FBEC. A broad array of technical subjects will be poster presented to conference attendees through discussion that promotes mutual learning and help in developing professional contacts.

 

Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility Treats Wastewater and Produces Renewable Energy – Andy Hock, Maintenance Manager, Hershey Co. and Greg Rosenberger, VP Light Industries

Hold the Water! A Story about Primary Fine Screening – Mike Robustelli, Winemaker, McManis Winery and Steve Macomber, Regional Sales Manager, Duperon

Innovative Integration of Anaerobic and Aerobic Biological Treatment – Houston Flippin, PE, BCEE, and Michael Mecredy, PE, BCEE, Brown & Caldwell

Mobile-First Strategies to Improving Emergency and Disaster Readiness – Kevin Sobnosky, PE, CHMM, CPEA, Sr. Global EHS Director – Environmental, PepsiCo, Jacob Zollinger, CSP VP, Strategy and Partnerships, ReadyKey and Mike Zimmerman, PE, CHMN, CPSA, CPEA and QISP, BSI

Modular Wastewater Pretreatment – Juli Iacuaniello, Marketing Director, Aquacycle and Rajendra Gurshaney, VP, Engineering, Pepsico North America

Simplot Achieves Sustainability Goals with Wastewater Investment – Jonathan Witt, Sr Environmental Engineering Manager, Liam Carlin, Environmental Manager, The J.R. Simplot Company and Shannon Grant, Director Business Development, Daniel Bertoldo, Engineering Manager, Mike Allison, Applications Engineer, Evoqua

Smithfield Foods – Veolia Membrane Bioreactor Waste Water Solution – Brian Arnsten, Senior Sales Manager, Tony Urciuoli, Lead Sales Manager, Veolia and Jason Lindquist, Director of Environmental Affairs, Smithfield Foods

Martis Peak A/B/C
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
FBEC Closing Event

Let’s close the conference out with a bang. Enjoy drinks and food with your new and old friends and see who will take home the conference’s biggest awards!

Lakeside
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Hospitality Suite

Each night continue catching up with old friends and making new ones at the Hospitality suite, hosted by Gannett Fleming, Inc. The Hospitality Suite will be located in a Lakeside Cottage on the resort grounds.

Lakeside Cottage