Robert Ferrante
Chief Engineer and General Manager,
LA County Sanitation Districts
Robert Ferrante was named to his current post in 2019 for an agency that covers 78 cities and unincorporated county territory in its service area. He oversees all departments and activities within the districts that provide wastewater management for 5.6 million residents and manage about 20% of county solid waste. Under Robert’s leadership, the agency has created a food waste-to-energy program, is constructing a new seven-mile effluent tunnel and is developing a large regional recycling program with other utility partners.
Robert joined the agency in 1993 as a project engineer. He worked in wastewater operations for five years overseeing the districts’ biogas to energy facility and treatment plant operations at the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant in Carson, Calif., and held management roles in the solid waste department. Robert became Assistant Chief Engineer and Assistant General Manager in 2011 to oversee day-to-day operations. Earning a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.S. in environmental engineering from Stanford University, he serves on various boards and commissions, including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, California WateReuse and the Southern California Coastal Water Research Program.