Industrial Water, Waste & Sewage Group 

invites you to its Annual Meeting and a 

 Webinar featuring

E. Ted Erickson

Distinguished Environmental Professional (DEP) Award Recipients

from 2020 and 2021

reflecting on their Past Works and Professional Futures

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on Zoom

The business side of the Annual Meeting will include voting on the Slate of Officers and Steering Committee Members for the 2021-2022 year.

The Webinar will feature:

2020 Award Recipients

             

                               Tom Kunetz               John Polich

                  MWRD Retired      Gabriel Environmental

and

 2021 Award Recipient

Jeff Chou

Mars Wrigley

The Distinguished Environmental Professional Award, named in honor of founder E. Ted Erickson, was established by the IWWSG in 2000 to recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution(s) in the environmental area, especially at the local and regional levels.  The award is granted based on recognition of the recipient's community service advancing IWWSG's goals, leadership / service to environmental professional organizations, including the IWWSG, and contributions to the field of environmental laws / compliance / management / education.

 

Tom Kunetz

Mr. Kunetz has over 35 years' experience in civil and environmental engineering, focusing on the design of wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations; resource recovery, energy management, project planning; project management, budgeting, regulations and permitting; research;  and industrial waste pretreatment.  From 1992 - 2020, he held numerous positions at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago, culminating in the Assistant Director of Monitoring and Research - Capital Planning and Research position. Prior experience included Project Engineer at BCM Engineers and W.E. Sacra & Associates Consulting Engineers in Pennsylvania, and Assistant Treatment Plant Operator at Bellefonte Sewage Treatment Plant, also in Pennsylvania.  

             

Tom earned his MS in Water Resources Engineering from Villanova University and BS in Environmental Engineering from Penn State University, and completed further education at the Water and Wastewater Leadership Center (Nacwa / WEF) and the Chicago Intergovernmental Executive Development Program. 

 Mr. Kunetz has designed, managed and/or supervised many wastewater treatment facilities, including Master Planning for the Stickney (1,200 MGD), Calumet (354 MGD), North Side (333 MGD), and Hanover Park (12 MGD) Water Reclamation Plants. Tom is a Professional Engineer (Illinois), was President of the Water Environment Federation (2018 - 2019), on the WEF Board of Trustees (2013 - 2020), on the Water Research Foundation Board of Directors (2020 - 2023), is a WEF Fellow, on the Steering Committee - WRF LIFT Program, and was recepient of the Charles Walters Nichols Award for Environmental Excellence (APWA National, 2012). He also served as Chair, Municipal Wastewater Treatment Symposium, WEF (2010 - 2013), was on the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Organizing Committee (2011), was Chapter Technical Adviser for Engineers for a Sustainable World at Northwestern University and was featured in the documentary film "Brave Blue World", 2020.

 John Polich

Mr Polich has over 50 years of experience, including more than 45 as President of Gabriel Environmental Services, where he directs one of the largest sampling groups in the Midwest. John formerly worked as an environmental engineer at Citgo, Borg Warner, Erickson Chemical and the MWRD, where he helped to set up many of the District's sampling programs.  Throughout his career in the environmental arena, Mr. Polich has utilized his expertise and experience by participation in numerous conferences, writing articles, and speaking at technical / environmental meetings and seminars.

John is particularly knowledgeable of regulations involved with MWRD, Clean Water Act, RCRA and CERCLA and ASTM standards.  His strengths include MWRD, USEPA/IEPA UST and Hazardous Waste Cleanup regulations,  MWRD & USEPA Pretreatment regulations, effluent control and treatment, soil remediation, RCRA/Hazardous Waste storage and disposal, and pollutant generation. He has prepared and/or reviewed thousands of Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, including for vacant land, industrial sites, large and small residential sites, electroplating facilities, industrial/commercial loft space, laundries and dry cleaners, auto dealerships, repair shops and gas stations, farmland, varying-sized apartment complexes, office buildings, strip malls, etc.

Mr. Polich qualifies as an Environmental Professional (EP) under the EPA's All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI) regulations, and has conducted and managed hundreds of Remediation and UST removal projects.  He has extensive project management experience in the cleanup of hazardous materials under the Illinois EPA's Site Remediation Program (SRP) and Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program, and has served as an expert witness on a number of environmental legal matters.  John earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, has completed the MBA Program (Non-Degree) studies at Northwestern University, is a Registered Professional Engineer and Past Chairman of IWWSG.

Jeff Chou

Mr. Chou is an environmental and sustainability professional with 20 years of multimedia experience in industry and consulting.  He has demonstrated strong aptitude in interpretation and implementation of federal/local regulations for several industries in various states, with an emphasis on food, chemical, and oil/gas industries.  He has extensive experience with driving sustainability improvement projects, leading internal audits, and deploying environmental management information systems.  He is recognized as a leader in sustainability performance, including health and well-being with community engagement, and for understanding the need to reduce environmental impacts through industry innovation, leading to a healthier lifestyle and energized staff.  He is dedicated to promoting a sustainable culture both at work and at home, by continually working to improve and engage the lives of those around you

 Jeff currently serves as Environmental Compliance & Sustainability Leader at Mars Wrigley in Chicago, where he leads implementation, training, and continuous improvement of Mars’ Environmental Policies/Standards, and supervises the environmental support staff and WWTP.  He drives site sustainability performance (reduction in energy/water intensities) and associate engagement through Kaizen events and volunteer opportunities (i.e., Habitat Restoration).  Jeff manages the annual environmental budget and capital projects to improve environmental and sustainability performance (i.e., Underground Storage Tanks closure, WWTP equipment upgrades, Waste Heat Recovery and Insulation), and promotes Mars’ “Sustainable in a Generation” (SiG) Plan as an invited speaker at local university workshops and environmental regulatory group events.  He also serves as Chicago’s “Health and Wellbeing Champion” to support associates in all facets of their individual wellbeing journeys and was voted “2017 Trendsetter Champion” by Mars’ Global Health & Wellbeing Team and fellow Champions throughout Mars Incorporated.

 Jeff’s previous work experience includes being a Regional Environmental Engineer (Solvay USA), a Senior Project Manager (URS Corporation (now AECOM)), an Environmental Engineer (CH2M HILL), an Air Quality Engineer (AECOM), an Environmental Process Engineer (Cytec Industries (now Solvay)), an Assistant to the Technical Director (Smurfit-Stone Container Summer), and a Research Assistant (Argonne National Laboratory).  He is an active member of the Industrial Waste, Water, and Sewage Group, Air and Waste Management Association, and Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity (Gamma Zeta Chapter).  Jeff earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

E. Ted Erickson

"Distinguished Environmental Professional Award"

Past Recipients

Mar 2021 Jeffrey Chou, Mars Wrigley 

Mar 2020  Thomas E. Kunetz, MWRD

Mar 2020  John E. Polich, Gabriel Environmental Services; Past Chair of IWWSG

Mar 2019 Deborah Stone, Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability

Nov 2017 Tom Granato, Ph.D., MWRD

Mar 2017 Mark Bouman, Ph.D., The Field Museum / Chicago State University

Mar 2016 Bharat Mathur, USEPA & IEPA

Mar 2016 Jean B. "Susie" Schreiber, Chair, Waukegan Harbor Citizens Advisory Group

Mar 2015 Bill Compton, Caterpillar, Inc.

Mar 2015 Marcia Willhite, Illinois EPA

Mar 2014 G. Tanner Girard, Ph.D., Illinois Pollution Control Board

Mar 2013 Lee Botts, Great Lakes Environmentalist

Mar 2012 Robert (Bob) S. Elvert, ExxonMobil Corporation

May 2011 Howard Chinn, Illinois Attorney General's Office

May 2010 Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Chicago Department of Environment

May 2009 Alan Jirik, Corn Products International; Past Chair of IWWSG

May 2008 Toby Frevert, Illinois EPA

May 2007 Cecil Lue-Hing, D.Sc., MWRD

May 2006 Fred Krikau, Acme Steel Company / Interlake

May 2003 Ron Flemal, Illinois Pollution Control Board

May 2002 James B. Parks, Illinois EPA

May 2001 Richard Lanyon, MWRD

May 2000 James T. Harrington, McGuire Woods LLP: Past Chair of IWWSG

May 2000 Thomas McSwiggen, Illinois EPA

 

 

Register Now! 

NOTE :  Due to COVID the Portage National Historic site, previously proposed as a meeting location for May,  has been postponed to September. Further information will be forthcoming.