Lucas Vélez
Consultant
Areas of Expertise: Environmental regulatory compliance; environmental engineering; solid and liquid waste management; process optimization; air quality; wastewater treatment; data science; renewable energy
Education/Certifications: B.S. Environmental Engineering, EIA University, Envigado, Colombia; fluent in English, Spanish, French
Lucas is an Environmental Engineer with specialized experience in solid and liquid waste management and process optimization. He has valuable knowledge of various engineering processes and uses this to optimize quality and efficiency on projects. He further excels at deploying environmental procedures and standards that address regulatory requirements and company policies and initiatives. At KTL, Lucas provides project support in these areas, as well as general environmental management (e.g., air quality, wastewater treatment, renewable energy), program development, and compliance support services across KTL’s client portfolio.
Lucas has worked at some of the largest breweries in Latin America developing systems to quantify the amounts of solid and liquid residue produced in each of the plants. His background includes the following highlights on projects in the United States, Colombia, and Chile:
- Developed a computer model to measure the production of solid waste and to implement new environmental standards, which reduced waste management costs by roughly 1.5%.
- Co-developed an app to optimize electrical consumption in production plant lines, reducing overall energy consumption by approximately 0.5%, resulting in cost savings close to 100,000 USD yearly.
- Implemented and led an internal training program to reduce the internal waste disposal in the plant’s production lines and offices.
- Designed and built a system to quantify liquid waste in a soda production plant to evaluate the effectiveness of the water treatment plant.
- Developed a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory Management Plan for a major corporation, overseeing data collection, calculations, and maintenance of emissions records.
- Tested physical and chemical properties (e.g., biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD)) of the plant’s raw materials and products to predict and avoid critical scenarios in the residual wastewater treatment systems.
- Provided onsite supervision and troubleshooting on issues for wastewater treatment system operations.
Lucas has also supported the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other international organizations on multiple projects, including:
- Ensuring compliance with USAID environmental procedures for U.S. government projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
- Conducting and reviewing environmental impact assessments across USAID mission countries.
- Developing Environmental and Social Regulatory Frameworks to help USAID project designers understand legal and environmental requirements.
- Reviewing, developing, and updating environmental management training courses for USAID staff and partners.
- Assessing high-risk Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) projects, managing risk ranking processes, and preparing biannual reports for the U.S. Congress.
In addition to his technical expertise in environmental compliance and engineering, Lucas excels at leveraging information technology to assess and further develop environmental programs. His work at KTL includes providing support to KTL’s clients in developing data and document management systems to improve environmental regulatory compliance.
Lucas received his B.S. in Environmental Engineering from EIA University in Envigado, Colombia. He is fluent in English and Spanish and has advanced proficiency in French.