Special to the
Opelika Observer
LaBella Associates expands into Alabama this week by hiring Eric Sanderson, PE as regional manager and growing the firm’s presence in the state. LaBella has been serving private and public solid waste clients in Alabama for 15 years and has partnered with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to provide waste facility operator training courses through its Joyce Training Program since 2010.
Sanderson brings 27 years of environmental engineering experience to LaBella, having previously worked for ADEM in the air, water and land divisions. Most recently, he served as chief of the Solid Waste Branch of the Land Division for the last seven years. Additionally, Sanderson was instrumental in the development of Alabama’s Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Rules. Sanderson’s experience also includes managing solid waste, recycling and scrap tire programs, overseeing permit development and coordinating tasks with the public and other government organizations at federal, state and local levels. As industrial section chief of the Industrial Municipal Branch of the Water Division, he managed a team charged with ensuring that the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and State Indirect Discharge (SID) programs’ requirements were met.
“I chose to continue my career at LaBella Associates based on the firm’s strong reputation as a whole, but the people at LaBella were the driving force,” Sanderson said. “I continue to be impressed with their technical knowledge of the environmental regulations and processes at ADEM, as well as their ability to develop and maintain positive relationships and trust.”
“We are very excited to have Eric join the LaBella team,” said Director of Waste and Recycling Jenny Johnson. “In addition to providing us with a physical presence in Alabama, Eric brings LaBella the opportunity to grow not only our solid waste services, but also our environmental and other A/E services. We look forward to strengthening our relationships in Alabama, and we’re optimistic about the opportunities there in 2020 and beyond.”
About LaBella
LaBella Associates is a multi-discipline design firm home to more than 850 professionals. LaBella gained more than 35 years of Waste and Recycling expertise with the 2017 acquisition of Joyce Engineering. Their team has specialized in serving the solid waste industry for both public and private clients in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. Services include solid waste engineering, environmental consulting, planning, permitting and operational consulting and training. The firm will continue to grow in Alabama through a full service offering, including architecture and engineering for facilities and buildings, PFAS treatment and remediation, and design and permitting of solar farms on landfills. Headquartered in Rochester, NY, LaBella recently ranked #145 on the Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Global Design Firms and became a Certified Great Place to Work. For more information on services in Alabama, contact Kristie Hooper, khooper@labellapc.com.