News & Updates

CK Associates is proud to recognize the generosity of our colleague, Jeffery Schweitzer, and his wife Tommie, who recently donated $20,000 to the McNeese State University Foundation in support of the Schweitzer Environmental Engineering Scholarship. This contribution builds on a previous donation to the scholarship fund, which was established to assist students pursuing the newly introduced environmental engineering minor at McNeese, launching this fall.

Jeffery Schweitzer, a Senior Environmental Scientist at CK Associates, is a proud McNeese alumnus. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science in 1975, followed by a Master’s degree in the same program. Prior to CK, Jeff enjoyed a long career at Citgo’s Lake Charles refinery, gaining valuable industry knowledge.  When donating this money, he requested that it be directed toward deserving local students attending McNeese from Southwest Louisiana or East Texas in an effort to keep local students local.  His commitment to supporting future environmental professionals reflects both his personal dedication to the field and CK Associates’ values.

Pictured are Dr. Srinivasan Ambatipati, Department Head of Engineering and Computer Science at McNeese, and Jeffery Schweitzer.

https://mcneesefoundation.org/schweitzers-donate-to-mcneese-foundation/

At CK, we understand that shifting business priorities and economic cycles can lead to temporary shutdowns or long-term mothballing of industrial facilities. These transitions often involve workforce reductions, leaving few—if any—environmental staff on-site. However, environmental permits and regulatory obligations typically remain active. Maintaining compliance and reducing environmental liability is essential to preserve value, enable future sales, or support repurposing efforts.

That’s where CK comes in.

Our experienced multimedia environmental team seamlessly steps in to support—or fully manage—your ongoing compliance needs. From keeping permits current, to handling routine monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting for air, water, and waste permits, CK partners with you to ensure your site remains in good standing.

For example, we’ve served as the environmental compliance arm for a shuttered Louisiana refinery, managing all reporting requirements for several years post-closure. As companies move to repurpose equipment or transition to new processes, our same team often leads the preparation of new permits—ensuring continuity, efficiency, and deep site knowledge.

With CK, you gain a flexible, scalable partner. We adjust our support as your needs evolve—another reason CK is a trusted “One Stop Shop” for environmental compliance and permitting.

As many in the industry are aware, the EPA announced last year that they were initiating focused enforcement on their Benzene NESHAP found in 40 CFR Part 61 S Subpart FF, and the companion regulation found in 40 CFR Part 60 Subpart QQQ, with a particular emphasis on ethylene production facilities, and petroleum refineries.  They have since visited a number of sites in Louisiana and Texas for multiday audits with team members from various EPA Regions and the NEIC. CK has a deep and broad bench for providing BWON assistance to our clients.

‍Our expertise ranges from the longtime BWON rule owner and corporate auditor at a large Baton Rouge Petrochemical Complex to other very experienced former site environmental professionals that set up and managed the BWON programs at their sites from New Orleans to Lake Charles.  We team these experienced Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) with younger staff who have participated in BWON projects and audits for a number of clients under their mentorship and are comfortable managing and analyzing large amounts of data, reviewing and marking up P&ID’s, and mining information out of plant data acquisition systems.

No matter what the need, CK is ready to assist at any point, whether before EPA visits, as we’ve done for virtually 100% of the ethylene crackers in Louisiana (and many in Texas), or working with counsel to develop rebuttals and defenses to EPA findings if the visit has already occurred.  CK has had a long relationship with most of these sites over the past 40+ years, in fact, we are in the process of preparing the TAB and other compliance reports for many of these sites, while training less experienced company rule owners.  We are ready to assist in any way that we can and are very comfortable working under Attorney-Client Privilege and can provide references from both site personnel and third party counsel that will attest to our capabilities and knowledge of this rule.