OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Environmental Sustainability Board Meeting - March 19, 2026

County Council & Boards — Thursday, March 19, 2026
BodyLos Alamos County, New Mexico
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateThursday, March 19, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:38:51

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

All right, it's 530.

0:02

We'll call the order.

0:04

First item is roll call.

0:06

Um both member Blairs, Member Hampton, Member Growe are uh president chamber.

0:13

Um member Leckle and Member Barnes are uh online and uh member Chandler's absent, but we might join us later.

0:22

Is there any public comment for items not on the agenda chair?

0:28

There's no public comment for any other items.

0:32

Um does anybody have any changes to the agenda?

0:37

All right, the agenda is approved unanimously.

0:39

Um okay, can we ask for a motion for approval of the agenda?

0:43

Don't have to.

0:44

It's Robert's roles.

0:46

Okay.

0:47

Um minutes.

0:50

Um, does anyone have any corrections or changes to the minutes?

0:55

All right.

0:56

Um minutes are approved unanimously.

0:59

Um board business.

1:02

Uh Mr.

1:03

Stringer from uh Mozart Good evening.

1:14

Thank you very much.

1:16

It's a pleasure to be here.

1:17

I'm Steve Stringer.

1:19

Um I live down at White Rock.

1:21

We've lived here in the community since uh 1991.

1:25

Uh I'm a retiree from Los Alamos National Laboratory.

1:29

And in my role in their technology transfer office, uh I cross paths with Mozart DevCo.

1:37

When they were in town, so this is going back three years or more when they were in town, getting to know the area with the concept that uh you're gonna hear more about in just a couple of minutes.

1:50

Let's do a sound check.

1:51

I want to make sure that uh Michael Dwinnell and Mark Rutledge and others from my team can hear.

1:59

Michael, could you hear us?

2:03

Yes.

2:04

Yes, can hear you, Steve?

2:06

Okay, very good.

2:07

I'll I'll uh turn it over to you here in just a moment.

2:11

Um, but I first approached Anhelica uh going on two years ago with this concept.

2:18

And since then, uh you you may know that most recently we gave a full presentation to uh the full council uh when it met in White Rock about six weeks or so ago, and this board uh was singled out to us or mentioned to us as Steve, you ought to get in front of this board and and tell you about this.

2:40

So this is following up from the the council's suggestion at that time.

2:45

Now on the phone with me, I'm gonna uh turn it over to Michael Dwinnell.

2:50

With him is Mark Rutledge.

2:52

Um they are the co-founders of Mozart DevCo.

2:55

They have come out here multiple times to Northern New Mexico, got getting to know our area and meeting with various uh principals such as this county, uh North Central Solid Waste Authority, okay Oenge, uh San Hill Defonso, Pueblos, etc.

3:14

Um, and Michael, I'm gonna turn it over to you now, and you'll introduce Omni CT uh when you're ready.

3:21

Go ahead, go right ahead, Michael.

3:23

All right, thank you, Steve.

3:24

And thank you and Helica for making the uh suggestion to Steve that we we come and and uh share with the board.

3:32

So thank you to the board for allowing us for a few minutes in your evening.

3:36

We uh we appreciate that.

3:38

We're always welcome an opportunity to talk about projects and specifically ones dear to our heart, such as uh the waste energy plant that we have envisioned for North Central New Mexico.

3:52

Um we have been welcomed uh by the OK Wingay, North Central, uh Los Alamos, uh Espinola, the the surrounding communities, the state, the county, you you name it.

4:05

Uh folks get it.

4:07

And uh what we hope is that this first plant will be just exactly that, first in a series of plants for the state of New Mexico.

4:15

And so we're we're focusing on bringing the right teams uh to be able to execute on a great plan.

4:23

Uh we evaluated technology and engineering partners and really believe that we've got some superb uh industry leading technology to introduce to you this evening.

4:35

Uh by way of Canada, we have on the screen Madison and uh George, and they're gonna talk about the uh Omni uh Mozart plant.

4:47

And they'll go through a deck here, and then perhaps we'll take some calls or not say calls.

4:52

Uh most of your right there.

4:56

So you just say what you like, ask the questions you like, right?

5:00

Um and uh we'll take the questions following.

5:02

And then um uh Mark, uh, I hope you'll be able to contribute as well uh here at the way.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Waste Management████████████████████████████28%
Technology and Innovation████████████████████20%
Climate Action Planning█████████████13%
Public Engagement███████7%
Procedural█████5%
Public Works█████5%
Energy Management████4%
Environmental Protection███3%
Workforce Development███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Environmental Sustainability Board Meeting - March 19, 2026

The Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB) met on March 19, 2026, at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting featured a presentation from Mozart Devco LLC and Omni Conversion Technologies on a proposed waste-to-energy plant, a review of the 2026 ESB Work Plan, and various board and staff reports. The board approved the agenda and previous meeting minutes without changes.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda: Approved unanimously without changes.
  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the February 19, 2026 ESB meeting were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Barbara Caleb, a community member, asked about the demonstration facility's operating history and financing for the proposed plant. She also inquired about the economics of selling electricity versus hydrogen and other products. The presenters responded that the demonstration facility operated in Ottawa, Canada, and that financing is lined up through private equity and credit facilities. They also noted that carbon capture and monetization are part of the financial model.

Discussion Items

  • Waste-to-Energy Plant Presentation: Steve Stringer (Mozart Devco LLC) introduced the project, followed by Michael Dwinnell and Mark Rutledge (Mozart) and Madison Connors and George (Omni CT). The proposed plant would be located at the OK Winge site (15-20 acres) and process up to 200 tons per day of municipal solid waste via gasification, producing syngas for power generation (10-12 MW). The plant would use Omni CT's two-stage gasifier, which operates at high temperatures (up to 1600°C) and produces a vitreous slag (OmniRock) as a byproduct. The timeline to commercial operation is 36-40 months after final investment decision. The presenters emphasized that the technology is not incineration and qualifies for stringent air emissions standards. Board members asked about air emissions, feedstock agreements, tariffs (from Canada), scalability, maintenance shutdowns, product flexibility (e.g., hydrogen), wildfire resilience, and worker safety. The board expressed interest and noted the potential for cost savings in waste hauling.
  • Review and Discussion of the 2026 ESB Work Plan: Angelica Gurule, Sustainability Manager, led the review. The work plan includes supporting climate action plan implementation, fleet conversion, EV charging infrastructure, energy audits, waste diversion, biosolids composting, and plastic bag evaluation at council's direction. The board discussed upcoming events: Cleanup LA Day (moved to September), Earth Day Festival (April 18), Science Fest, and farmer's markets. The board agreed to review the plan quarterly. Members were encouraged to attend the April 7 council meeting on plastic bags and to participate in working groups.
  • Board and Staff Reports: Chair David Hampton reported on the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) meeting, noting a proposed gas rate increase, extension of the electric coordination agreement with LANL, and approval of funding for a mobile emergency generator. Sue Barns reported on BPU liaison activities. Shannon Blair noted progress on the comprehensive plan. Angelica Gurule provided a sustainability update, including a residential waste diversion snapshot for February 2026: trash increased by 5% compared to the previous month, recycling decreased slightly, and 7 trucks of recyclables were diverted from the landfill.

Key Outcomes

  • The board heard the waste-to-energy presentation and thanked the presenters; no formal action was taken.
  • The 2026 work plan was reviewed and noted as approved by council; no changes were made.
  • Liaison assignments: Carly Blair expressed interest in assisting with BPU liaison duties; Shannon Blair will decide after the April 7 council meeting on plastic bags.
  • Next steps: The board will continue work on outreach, education, and upcoming events. The April meeting will include open meetings act training and potential updates on the climate action plan.

Meeting Transcript

All right, it's 530. We'll call the order. First item is roll call. Um both member Blairs, Member Hampton, Member Growe are uh president chamber. Um member Leckle and Member Barnes are uh online and uh member Chandler's absent, but we might join us later. Is there any public comment for items not on the agenda chair? There's no public comment for any other items. Um does anybody have any changes to the agenda? All right, the agenda is approved unanimously. Um okay, can we ask for a motion for approval of the agenda? Don't have to. It's Robert's roles. Okay. Um minutes. Um, does anyone have any corrections or changes to the minutes? All right. Um minutes are approved unanimously. Um board business. Uh Mr. Stringer from uh Mozart Good evening. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm Steve Stringer. Um I live down at White Rock. We've lived here in the community since uh 1991. Uh I'm a retiree from Los Alamos National Laboratory. And in my role in their technology transfer office, uh I cross paths with Mozart DevCo. When they were in town, so this is going back three years or more when they were in town, getting to know the area with the concept that uh you're gonna hear more about in just a couple of minutes. Let's do a sound check. I want to make sure that uh Michael Dwinnell and Mark Rutledge and others from my team can hear. Michael, could you hear us? Yes. Yes, can hear you, Steve? Okay, very good. I'll I'll uh turn it over to you here in just a moment. Um, but I first approached Anhelica uh going on two years ago with this concept. And since then, uh you you may know that most recently we gave a full presentation to uh the full council uh when it met in White Rock about six weeks or so ago, and this board uh was singled out to us or mentioned to us as Steve, you ought to get in front of this board and and tell you about this. So this is following up from the the council's suggestion at that time. Now on the phone with me, I'm gonna uh turn it over to Michael Dwinnell. With him is Mark Rutledge. Um they are the co-founders of Mozart DevCo. They have come out here multiple times to Northern New Mexico, got getting to know our area and meeting with various uh principals such as this county, uh North Central Solid Waste Authority, okay Oenge, uh San Hill Defonso, Pueblos, etc. Um, and Michael, I'm gonna turn it over to you now, and you'll introduce Omni CT uh when you're ready. Go ahead, go right ahead, Michael. All right, thank you, Steve. And thank you and Helica for making the uh suggestion to Steve that we we come and and uh share with the board. So thank you to the board for allowing us for a few minutes in your evening. We uh we appreciate that. We're always welcome an opportunity to talk about projects and specifically ones dear to our heart, such as uh the waste energy plant that we have envisioned for North Central New Mexico. Um we have been welcomed uh by the OK Wingay, North Central, uh Los Alamos, uh Espinola, the the surrounding communities, the state, the county, you you name it.

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