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St. Mary Parish Wetlands Assimilation Monitoring Project

Location: St. Mary Parish, LA

St. Mary Parish has used oxidation ponds to biologically treat sanitary wastewater from the town of Amelia for the past 45 years under the authority of a permit issued pursuant to the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) program established by the federal Clean Water Act and issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Previously, the parish discharged treated sanitary wastewater from the oxidation pond system through one outfall into a drainage way that flowed through the Ramos forested wetlands to the waters of Lake Palourde without much dispersion within the wetlands and assimilation of nutrients by the wetlands. In 2022, St. Mary Parish constructed six new distribution points to more effectively disperse the treated wastewater throughout the Ramos wetlands between the treatment plant and Lake Palourde. Through this increased residence time, additional biological degradation of the effluent is achieved, releasing nitrogen and phosphorus that are utilized by the flora of the wetlands rather than by algae in the open waters of Lake Palourde. The reduction of nutrients into the lake is intended to control and reduce nutrient enrichment of lake waters. 

Providence has provided wetland assimilation monitoring in the Bayou Ramos forested wetlands since 2002. Compliance activities include sampling of leaf litter and stem growth measurements and  surface water quality sample collection and analyses. Water levels are monitored monthly, with surface water quality and wetland flora monitored biannually. Providence is currently maintaining the monitoring sites and leaf litter boxes. Providence’s main areas of focus include monitoring the surrounding wetland flora, monitoring the sediment chemical quality, monitoring surface water levels and quality, and sediment/soil accretion rates.  The site is composed of three treatment sites and one reference site. 


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Wayne “Hud” Smith

Chief Executive Officer

Wayne Smith has over 30 years of professional experience. He currently serves as Providence's CEO and manages the development of the firm's short- and long-term strategies and initiatives. Previously, he served as the Vice President of Safety, Health, and Environment for Sasol North American Operations where he was responsible for the strategic planning and issue resolution for safety, environmental, and process safety management matters. He also served at Westlake Chemical Corporation in numerous roles including Regional Manager and Manager of Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE), Safety and Environmental Superintendent, and Environmental Engineer. Prior to those positions, he gained experience at DuPont / ICI Acrylics / INEOS, Occidental Chemical Corp., Larco Environmental Services, and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). Smith’s professional background includes a wide range of operational experience within the environmental and engineering arenas. His project management and operational business knowledge have allowed for many successfully executed responsibilities and projects. In previous positions, he was directly responsible for developing and managing multimillion-dollar annual department budgets, shared responsibility for managing critical business processes related to business risks, employee pay, benefits, expense and capital budgeting, and served a key role in implementing, establishing, and continuing an improvement plan that addressed and corrected weaknesses in operational discipline across multiple business functions.  

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Aimee’ Killeen

Chief Operating Officer

Aimee' Killeen has over 20 years of experience in water resources regulation and policy, environmental consulting, and project management. She currently serves as COO for Providence - which supports clients’ needs in environmental engineering and design services, environmental permitting and regulatory compliance, environmental due diligence, wetlands and ecological compliance, expert witness testimony, drafting and GIS. Her technical background includes a wide range of experience with environmental permitting and regulatory compliance projects focused on water quality permitting, water quality modeling, water quality standards and assessment, regulatory oversight, and water policy. Ms. Killeen is an active member of the Louisiana Water Environment Association and currently serves as President of the Water Environment Federation.

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Georgene “Happy” Munoz

Chief Financial Officer

Georgene "Happy" Munoz has over 40 years of financial experience with a specialization in improving corporate and divisional profitability in the banking, manufacturing, and the industrial services sectors. She currently serves as Providence’s CFO and manages the operations of the accounting, human resources, risk management, and information technology departments. Her professional experience includes financial reporting, operational budgets and projections, successful completion of tax audits, and directing fiscal functions of the organization. She has managed the implementation of new accounting and inventory systems, and successfully completed acquisitions that led to increased corporate revenue. Her professional skills include profit and loss management, strategic financial planning, operational management, and assessment and evaluation of accounting systems and processes. Her unique skillset includes financial efficiencies for small to medium-sized companies. 

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Kevin Calhoun, PE

Systems Officer

Kevin Calhoun, PE, is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer with over 25 years of multi-media environmental experience with primary focus on air quality. He currently serves as Systems Officer and ESOP Committee Chair for Providence.  His consulting includes a full array of environmental work, including pollution control, permitting and compliance issues, hazardous and solid wastes, air pollution, and radiation. His experience further includes a particular emphasis on air quality issues with notable experience assisting clients in permitting and enforcement actions before state and federal agencies and the development of fence line monitoring projects. 

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Gary Leonards, PE

Engineering Principal

Gary Leonards, PE, is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer with over 20 years of engineering experience, including work in the environmental, infrastructure, transportation, and coastal engineering arenas. He has been associated with governmental and private industry projects and his background includes design, studies, regulatory permitting, engineering oversight, field investigations, risk-based evaluations, and closure planning for various types of waste treatment and disposal facilities. In addition, his background includes water quality evaluations of restoration projects as well as reclamation of marsh and open water areas with dredge material. He has been involved in several components of public transportation projects including environmental studies, project permitting and cost estimating, preliminary line and grade design, and construction quality assurance/quality control. His experience also includes all aspects of the design, permitting, operation, and construction of solid and hazardous waste disposal facilities, including general engineering support in construction maintenance, demolition, and closure of industrial and municipal landfills. 

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Tim Kimmel

Environmental Principal

Tim Kimmel has more than 15 years of professional experience in the environmental field. He currently serves as Environmental Principal and is responsible for the overall leadership, direction, and management of all environmental service lines. Prior to his current position, Tim served as Deputy Director of the Natural Resource and Coastal Services department and conducted wetland delineations and field studies, threatened and endangered species surveys, and biological assessments necessary for regulatory compliance. He also served as project manager for a multitude of compliance projects that required permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, applicable levee districts, and other state agencies throughout the Gulf Coast region.

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Robin Tassin Liggett

Human Resources Director

Robin Liggett, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, GPHR, is a certified HR professional with more than 25 years of professional experience that covers the entire employee lifecycle. She currently serves as Providence’s Human Resources Director and manages the department’s daily operations. She is active in numerous professional organizations and is the current Louisiana Society for Human Resources State Council Workforce Readiness Director.  She has previously served in other leadership roles for the Greater Baton Rouge Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management as President and Board Member, as well as the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) Executive HR Group as Co-Chair. In her previous role as Chief People Officer at Piccadilly Restaurants, she spent time in Washington, D.C., representing the NRA and advocating for workforce issues. She has also consulted with both international restaurant chains and local companies to help facilitate the development of employee leadership. 

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CJ Franklin

Business Development Director

CJ Franklin has more than 15 years of experience in the environmental field. He currently serves as Director of Business Development and specializes in identifying and capitalizing new market opportunities, developing innovative business strategies, and leading the charge on ambitious, attainable revenue goals. His technical project experience includes water quality sampling, ambient monitoring, priority pollutant testing, cross connection surveys, STI SP001 tank inspections, sustainability and reuse applications, and biosolids management. He has successfully managed numerous municipal and industrial wastewater projects and drinking water projects. His technical expertise further includes wetland assimilations, wastewater treatment plant operations, Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) permitting compliance, discharge monitoring reports (DMRs), and water quality sampling and monitoring. He has also worked directly with facility personnel implementing and developing Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) and Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans.