Saeed Ahdout

Mr. Ahdout has 35 years of engineering experience in both public & private sectors. As the principal engineer at Sierra Engineering, he has supervised and been engaged in preparation of numerous technical reports, air quality & water quality compliance plans and permit applications document for various types of industries, including chemical plants, power generation , metals melting & processing, plastic production, water treatment, Aerospace industries, paper plants, furniture manufacturing as well as agricultural operations. He has also conducted inspections of many manufacturing operations through out the state of California, and prepared air, water & hazardous materials compliance reports for review by the plant managers and plants maintenance personnel. If the audit indicated non compliance with any of the permit conditions or rules requirements, the client was supported to obtain a variance from the governing agency, and implement the proper mitigation measure in a timely and cost effective manner.

Mr. Ahdout has a long track record in representing clients in public hearings, and meeting with the engineering and management staff at the various city, county, state & federal agencies to present technical documents, and obtain the required approvals. He has also supported Federal Title V & RECLAIM facilities is preparation of source test plans and supervision of air emissions tests for large boilers and cogeneration facilities in the South Coast Basin. Under the South AQMD RECLAIM program, he supervised design and certification of several continuous emissions monitoring systems for large power generators and paper production plants. His field experience also includes air pollution control equipment sizing, selection, obtaining emissions credit (ERC) if needed and support in permitting & installation of diesel particulate filers and three way catalysts on several dozens diesel & gas fired power generators through out the state of California. In regard to water quality area, Mr. Ahdout has been involved in preparation of spill prevention, control counter measure plans, Haz Op studies, storm water pollution prevention plans for many types of manufacturing operations, as well as engineering waste management plans, and technical reports for dairy farms, and composting operations. Prior to working at Sierra Engineering. Mr. Ahdout worked in the South Coast AQMD’s Engineering Division’s Metallurgical & Chemical Units for 5 years, reviewing application documents and health risk assessment reports for various types of equipment & processes. Mr. Ahdout holds a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Nick Petropoulos (University of California in Irvine)

Mr. Petropoulos has more than 30 years of experience in design & preparation of engineering & architectural drawings for various types of commercial, industrial & public facilities. His work experience at Sierra Engineering includes, site inspection & preparation of site plans, elevation plans & drainage plans for various industrial & agricultural sources. Mr. Petropoulos has supported the staff in preparation of drawings of process lay outs, production area, and drainage plan for various types of manufacturing operations, hazardous materials storage areas, spill containment plans for hazardous materials, as well as storm water/wastewater containments ponds for dairy farms & composting operations. He has represented clients in meeting with city & county fire, and building agencies, and obtaining permits to construct. Mr. Petropoulos has also been involved in preparation of construction documents for city water agencies, and municipalities, development of Electric Vehicles (EV) stations for public agencies, as well as many engineering drawings for permitting & construction of fast food restaurants & shopping centers throughout the state of California. Mr. Petropoulos holds a bachelor of Architecture from McGill university in Montreal, Canada, and a certificate of commercial & industrial development from university of California in Irvine.

Raman Patel

Mr. Patel has more than 38 years of work experience in the area of air quality & air pollution control engineering for various types of industrial operations. At Sierra Engineering Mr. Patel has managed many projects associated with air permitting & compliance monitoring for diesel & gas fired power generators, fuel oil storage tanks, foam production facilities, boilers, process heaters, as well as large metal melting & processing operations. He has been involved preparation of air impact studies, supervising source testing of power generators & plant boilers, as well as preparation of permit applications documents for retrofitting of diesel & gas fired power generators with diesel particulate filters & catalytic units & air/fuel ratio controllers. Mr. Patel’s prior work experience includes working at the South Coast AQMD as a senior engineer for 25 years. While at the SCAQMD, he was involved in certification of boilers, generator, soil remediation equipment in meeting the AQMD’s proposed emissions standards. Additional activities included providing technical support to evaluation of Best Available Control Technology (BACT) for various types of equipment, supervision of Air Toxics (Hot Spots) program, review and approval of air toxics and health risk assessment reports for various types of chemicals production & metal processing facilities. His prior working experience at private companies includes working as a research engineer on emission reduction technologies for process combustion equipment. Mr. Patel has three years of work experience at Flour Engineering Corporation in Irvine, as a process design engineer developing process flow & piping diagrams for chemical plants & petroleum refining operations. Mr. Patel holds a Master of Science in Engineering from University of Illinois.

Sharie Isles (University of California in Irvine)

Ms. Isles provides ongoing support to the staff in preparation of the various technical documents by conducting data collection, and computer data search. She has more than 15 years of experience in data base management, preparation of charts & tables for presentation at work shops, exhibits, as well as public meetings & hearings at city, county & state agencies. Ms. Isles is very familiar with the various word processing and software programs, updates the company web site, and supports the staff in write up of technical documents & proposals. She hold a bachelor of science in biology from university of California in Irvine.