Agenda – North Carolina Onsite Water Protection Conference 2026
North Carolina Onsite Water Protection Conference 2026
| Home Agenda Registration Fees Hall of Fame Planning Committee |
Save the Date: October 13-15, 2026
2026 Agenda
NOTE: Speakers and topics may change. Last modified: 10/9/2026
| Day 1 – Tuesday | |||
| Session 1: Opening General Session | |||
| Moderator: Justin Milstein, Wake County | |||
| 8:15am | Welcome | ||
| 8:30am | Newly Developed AI Tools in Soil Science | ||
| John Kelley Retired USDA-NRCS |
|||
| 9:30am | Hurricane Helene |
||
| Alan McKinney & Karen Wallace NCDHHS |
|||
| 10:30am | Break | ||
| 11:00am | Demystifying Soil Wetness? Spodosol and Sandy Soils |
||
| David Lindbo Retired USDA-NRCS and Retired NCSU |
|||
| 12:00pm | Luncheon and Awards Presentation Erik Severson, NC State University Steve Steinbeck Onsite Water Protection Hall of Fame Award |
||
| Concurrent Breakout Sessions | |||
| Session 2: Soils |
Session 3: Systems |
Session 4: Environmental |
|
| Moderator: | Heath Ward Ward Land Consulting |
Alan Clapp LSS |
Kenny Melder Guilford County |
| 1:30pm | Getting the Most Out of Soil Survey
David Lindbo Retired USDA-NRCS and Retired NCSU |
Hanging Rock State Park Installation Overview
Tim Woody, Full Circle Env & TWW Consulting |
What to Do When Something Goes Wrong, Insurance and Liability-Related
Sarah Menser |
| 2:00pm | 811 – Five Steps to Safe Digging
Howard Corey
|
GIS Integration into Environmental Health Programs: A collaborative approach
Kelsey Pieper, UNC Charlotte |
|
| 2:30pm | Saprolite & Wastewater Treatment
Aziz Amoozegar |
Break | |
| 3:00pm | Break | Radon in Well Water
Mason Hale |
|
| 3:30pm | Break | Putting 10 gallons of wastewater in a 5-gallon bucket
Scott Greene |
Well Variances
Chad Rakes |
| 4:00pm | Water Movement in Soil Micropore vs Macropore Josh Heitman |
Considerations for Large On-Site Wastewater Systems
David Barcal |
Ethics
Trish Angoli |
| 4:30pm | |||
| 5:00-6:00pm | Ice Cream Social in the Exhibit Hall | ||
| Day 2 – Wednesday | |||
| Concurrent Sessions | |||
| 7:30-8:30am |
Continental Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall |
||
| Session 5: Soils |
Session 6: Natural Influences on Development |
Session 7: Non-Residential Wastewater Systems |
|
| Moderator: | Jake Bradsher Person County |
Rob Snow Alamance County |
Noelle Spence Wake County |
| 8:30am | Private permitting
Eric Bailey |
Development Changes the Water Balance: Soil Compaction, Runoff, and Infiltration on Developed Sites
Erin Rivers |
Commercial Systems
Kevin Davidson & Jeff Vaughan |
| 9:00am | Special Site Evaluation
David Ward |
||
| 9:30am | Determining Soil Texture by Various Methods
Olivia Peters |
Break | Trench Products for Use Under Parking Lots or Driveways
Trish Angoli |
| 10:00am | Break | Single Lot Stormwater Management
Scott Jones |
Black Dog Acres RV Park Pilot Mountain, NC Planning – Soils – Design – Installation – O&M Alan Clapp |
| 10:30am | Soil Mineralogy
Matt Ricker |
Difficult Installations (Slopes) Installer
Adam Jones |
Break |
| 11:00am | Crop and Soil Sciences Department Head Introduction
Ian Burke |
Soil Evaluation for NC DEQ Surface Application Permits
Chris Murray
|
Designing Systems Under Pavements – Geotechnical and Structural Considerations
George D. Barrier |
| 11:30am | Certificate Program in Soil Science – NC State University
Mike Vepraskas |
Surface Application Permitting
Caitlyn Williams |
Migrant Housing
Jose Borja, DHHS |
| 12:00pm | Lunch at McKimmon Center – Silent Auction Announcement | ||
| Hands-on Workshops. Attend 2 of 3 options. | |||
| Workshop 1 | Workshop 2 | Workshop 3 | |
| 1:00-1:45pm & 1:45-2:30pm |
Surface Application Water Balance Walkthrough
Kevin Davidson & Chris McGee |
Soil Texture Contest
Erik Severson, NC State University |
Flow EQ Application
Bill Fenner |
| 2:30pm | Break in the Exhibit Hall | ||
| Session 8: Closing General Session, Moderator: Chad Rakes, NCDHHS | |||
| 3:00pm | QA for Local Wastewater Programs Training Team
Andy Blethen, Team Leader Training Team, NCDHHS |
||
| 3:45pm | State of the State Address
Wilson Mize, NCDHHS |
||
| 4:30pm | Adjourn | ||
| Day 3 – Thursday | |||
| Field Sessions | |||
| Start Time: 9:00am | |||
| End Time: Varies depending on travel time. All tours will have a full 3 hours of instruction. | |||
| #1 Soil Pits – Lake Wheeler (Raleigh, NC) | |||
| Location: Booth Field Laboratory – 4000 Chi Rd, Raleigh, NC 27603 | Leaders: Erik Severson, NC State University Scott Greene, NCDHHS |
||
| #2 Variations in Soil Series Over Different Landscape Positions (Mills River, NC) | |||
| Location: Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Ext Center – 455 Research Dr Mills River, NC 28759 |
Leaders: Alan McKinney, NCDHHS Karen Wallace, NCDHHS Savannah Kent, NCDHHS |
||
| FULL – #3 Triassic Soils – Lee County | |||
| Location: 817 Cumnock Road, Sanford, NC 27330 | Leaders: Sloan Griffin, Infiltrator |
||
| #4 Startup Inspection for Drip – Guilford County | |||
| Location: 7605 NC-68 N, Oak Ridge, NC 27310 | Leaders: Trish Angoli, NCDHHS |
||
| CANCELLED – #5 Reuse Field Tour – Wake County (Burkett Farm + Annie B. Wilkerson Park) | |||
| Location: TBD | Leaders: Bob Rubin, NC State University |
||