Karen Sanchez

Karen Sanchez, PE, has 30 years of engineering experience in public water and wastewater infrastructure finance, construction, and operation. Karen provides technical support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Build America Buy America Act program and to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) American Iron and Steel and Build America, Buy America program, providing technical assistance to water and wastewater utilities and primacy agencies on infrastructure construction domestic preference. She supports EPA’s Creating Resilient Water Utilities program as subject matter expert for climate reliance work sessions for water utilities nationwide. Karen is a Clean Water State Revolving Fund expert for Cadmus’ work on the EPA Analysis of Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Intended Use Plans. She conducts compliance advisor assistance for wastewater systems for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Compliance. Karen supported EPA’s 2021 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment through data collection and survey response preparation and review. She was the technical lead for the State of Colorado’s response to EPA’s 2022 Clean Water Needs Survey.

Prior to joining Cadmus, Karen provided direct engineering and technical assistance services for water infrastructure funding programs at USDA Rural Development for twenty-five years and State of Montana Department of Environmental Quality Clean Water State Revolving Fund for three years. As a member Montana’s Water Pollution Advisory Council, Karen advised the Montana DEQ on wastewater rulemaking for fourteen years. At the USDA Office of the Director of Water and Environmental Programs, she assisted national staff to develop and promulgate policy and guidance for the Rural Utilities Service water and wastewater disposal programs including implementation of USDA’s American Iron and Steel Policy in 2017.

Karen is a licensed professional environmental engineer in Montana. She holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering and bachelor’s degree in microbiology environmental health from Montana State University. She is a member of the Water Environment Federation and American Water Works Association (AWWA) and serves on AWWA’s Small Systems Committees.

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