2026 Short Course – World of Coal Ash 2026

WOCA 2026 Short Course

The WOCA 2026 Short Course will be held on Monday, May 4th, 2026. Registration for the 2026 WOCA Short Course will open on the WOCA website in June. Remember that you must register for the Short Course AND the full conference if you wish to attend both activities.

WOCA 2026 Short Course

Short Course Agendas

Coal Ash 101 - Moderator: Bob Jewell

Time	Title	Speaker
7:00 – 8:00 am	Registration and Breakfast
8:00 – 9:10 am	Introduction to Coal Combustion Ash (what they are and how they’re formed – please include some coal geology in relation to the type of ash produced, and the distinction between Class F and Class C ash	TBD
9:10 – 10:15 am	Lab Tests for Ash Characterization (Lab practices and Industry standards)	TBD
10:15 – 10:30 am	Coffee Break
10:30 – 11:15 am	The Nature of Ponded and Landfilled Ash	TBD
11:15 am – 12:00 pm	Use of Coal Combustion Products in Cementitious and Advanced Beneficiated/Non-Cementitious Materials
12:00 – 1:00 pm	Lunch
1:00 – 1:45 pm	Coal Combustion Ash Management Practices (Management and Marketing Perspectives)	TBD
1:45 – 2:30 pm	Technology for Beneficiation and Advanced Materials and Applications (including Critical Minerals/REEs)	TBD
2:30 – 2:45 pm	Coffee Break
2:45 – 3:30 pm	Techniques for Harvesting Ponded and Landfilled Ash	TBD
3:30 – 4:15 pm	Utilization trends in CCP’s – Domestic and Abroad	TBD

Coal Ash 301 - Moderator: PJ Nolan

Time	Title	Speaker
7:00 – 8:00 am	Registration and Breakfast
8:00 – 8:05 am	Introduction
8:05 – 8:45 am	Geochemistry of CCR and CCR Constituents in the Subsurface	PJ Nolan
8:45 – 9:30 am	Leachability of CCR and Alternative/Natural Sources of Metals and Metalloids	Denise Levitan
9:30 – 10:15 am	Groundwater Flow and Aquifer Characteristics	Jeff Frazier
10:15 – 10:30 am	Coffee Break
10:30 – 11:15 am	Attenuation and Mobilization Processes Controlling Fate and Transport of CCR Related Constituents	PJ Nolan/Cole Mayer
11:15 am – 12:00 pm	Potential Machine Learning Applications for CCP Sites	Lea Millet
12:00 – 1:00 pm	Lunch
1:00 – 1:45 pm	Rare Earth Element Occurrence and Extraction from CCR	Denise Levitan
1:45 – 2:30 pm	Beneficial Use: Approaches to Material and Product Characterization	Ben Gallagher
2:30 – 2:45 pm	Coffee Break
2:45 – 3:30 pm	Effluent Limit Guidelines: Current Regulatory Drivers and Practical Approaches	Bill Kennedy
3:30 – 4:15 pm	Deep Well Injection: A Discussion of an Alternative Strategy for Management of CCR Leachate and Wastewaters	Arlen Striegl

Coal Ash 301 Speaker Bios

PJ Nolan, PhD, PG

WSP USA Inc., Technical Principal, Geochemist

Dr. PJ Nolan is Technical Principal and Lead Geochemist at WSP with 10+ years in the industry. PJ has a Doctorate in Geology, specializing in Geochemistry. PJ focuses his practice primarily on the geochemistry and geochemical modeling of coal combustion products (CCP) and the remediation of uranium sites. Dr. Nolan has published his work in numerous high impact peer reviewed journals and presented at multiple national and international conferences. Most recently PJ led at six-part webinar series on geochemistry and geochemical modeling for the Electric Power Research Institute. He is currently leading a team and is lead author for two additional guidance documents on the geochemistry of CCPs for the power industry.

Jim Finley, PhD, PG

Stantec Consulting, Inc., Principal Geochemist

Dr. Finley a principal geochemist with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. with 27 years of experience in the application of geochemical and hydrological principles to address water quality and management issues in a variety of environments associated with natural resource extraction and use. He has worked in coal, coal combustion residuals, uranium, and hard-rock mining for his consulting career completing projects in North and South America, New Zealand, and Australia. He has extensive experience in mining at all phases of the mine life cycle from baseline work in support of permitting, active agency interaction, preparation of EIS/EIA documents, support for active mine operations, and participation in analysis and design for reclamation and closure of mines. Dr. Finley has expertise in the following technical areas: aqueous geochemistry, geochemical modeling, isotope geochemistry and hydrology, trace metal chemistry, watershed hydrology, and dynamic systems modeling.

Bruce Hensel

EPRI, CCP Research Program Manager
Bruce leads EPRI’s research on coal combustion product (CCP) land and groundwater management (Program 242), the Groundwater Resource Center, and several other supplemental projects dealing with environmental aspects of CCP management. He has more than 35 years of environmental research and consulting experience, and has worked extensively with environmental issues at CCP management facilities since 1992. His areas of expertise include upland and wetland hydrogeology, groundwater remediation, groundwater-surface water interactions, computer modeling, and statistical analysis. Bruce has authored or co-authored more than 80 publications related to hydrogeology and/or coal combustion products. He holds B.S. (1982) and M.S. (1984) degrees in Geological Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where his M.S. thesis focused on groundwater-surface water interactions.

Lea Millet, P.G.

EPRI, Senior Technical Leader
Lea is a Senior Technical Leader at EPR and performs research on a broad range of topics, including coal combustion product (CCP) land and groundwater management. She has over 25 years of experience in environmental compliance, permitting, and remediation of legacy groundwater and soil contamination. Her areas of expertise are hydrogeology, geochemistry, groundwater and soil remediation, and statistical analyses. Lea has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Wittenberg University, and a master’s in geology, specializing in geochemistry, from Louisiana State University. She is a licensed professional geologist in two states.

Jeff Frazier

WSP, Assistant VP
Jeff Frazier is a Technical Principal Hydrogeologist and Assistant VP at WSP with 24 years of industry experience and a Master of Science degree in Geology from West Virginia University. Jeff has practiced environmental hydrogeology within many geographic, geologic, and regulatory settings, with a focus on waste management over the past 11 years, including coal combustion products (CCP). Jeff currently leads a client service team for hydrogeologic and geochemical assessment and remediation at CCP management facilities, while also serving as the lead hydrogeologist for the projects.

Denise Levitan, PhD, PG

US Geological Survey, Research Geologist

Dr. Denise Levitan is a Research Geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, VA, and was previously a Senior Environmental Scientist at Barr Engineering Co. in Minneapolis, MN. She holds a BS in geology from Yale University and a PhD in geosciences from Virginia Tech. Denise has over a decade of experience in evaluating the environmental impacts of natural resource extraction and use. She has worked with clients and researchers in mining, power, and other fields to develop assessment and remediation strategies for a variety of environmental media.

Cole Mayer

Geochemist

Cole Mayer is an Associate Consultant and Geochemist with WSP and has a Bachelor’s Degree in geology from the University of West Georgia. Cole specializes in the geochemistry of Coal Combustion Products (CCP), investigating potential alternate source demonstrations, the development of reactive transport models that support monitored natural attenuation (MNA), and modeling in-situ injection scenarios. In addition of the power industry, Cole also uses his skills for the development of reactive transport models for legacy mine site remediation and at other diverse sites on an international scale. Cole recently developed the models and co-authored the presentation at the USWAG conference that demonstrated the conditions for remobilization and permanence of MNA under varying groundwater conditions.