Uinta Basin CarbonSAFE Phase ll Advisory Board

Tyler Esplin

Deseret Power, Environmental Engineer

Mr. Esplin is the Environmental Superintendent for all power generating facilities owned and operated by Deseret Power Electric Cooperative. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah and is a licensed professional engineer. He has over 25 years of experience in both mechanical and electrical engineering and has spent the last several years managing an environmental compliance team in the power generation field.

Richard Powell

Environmental Scientist, Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, Class VI Permitting Program Lead

As the UIC Program Manager for the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM), I oversee Utah’s UIC Class II injection well program for oilfield related injection wells and I am currently heading up the states quest to gain primacy from the US EPA to oversee Class VI CO2 sequestration wells.  I have lived in Vernal for 25 years.  My wife and I raised 4 children on our small farm along with a few cattle.  I graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Environmental Studies.  I’m proud to have 21 years of experience in the oilfield with exposure to most aspects of that industry.  Before joining DOGM I worked as a service supervisor for a large pressure pumping company doing oilfield cement and frac work.  My work now focuses on permitting and oversight of injection wells to ensure protection of our ground water resources.

Steve Handy

Energy Consultant & Former State Legislator, Sponsored HB 244, Geologic Carbon Sequestration

Steve Handy is a resident of Layton, Utah. Professionally, Steve’s career has been in marketing communications, event management, advertising, and public relations. He was the marketing director for both the Standard-Examiner and the Deseret News. He owns a public relations and marketing communications consulting business representing a number of clients including several involved in the expansion of new energy such as solar, wind, nuclear, and hydrogen. A graduate of the University of Utah, Steve has a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in Human Resources Management. He was an adjunct professor at the U. teaching marketing communications and served on the David Eccles School of Business Alumni Board as well as the U’s Alumni Board. He served two terms on the Layton City Council and 12 years (2010-2022) in the Utah House of Representatives from District 16 representing Layton, Clearfield, West Weber, and Hill Air Force Base.

Ryan Clerico

Enefit American Oil President & CEO, Infrastructure, land & environmental

Ryan Clerico has served as CEO of Enefit American Oil since 2019, and as CEO of Enefit Outotec Technology since 2021. He joined Enefit in 2012 and has served in a variety of capacities for the company over the years, including Head of Development and Environment for Enefit’s Utah oil shale project in the Uintah Basin, as well as Head of International Strategic Projects responsible for Enefit’s foreign investments around the world. As both a Certified Environmental Professional and Project Management Professional, Mr. Clerico brings a unique blend of technical and commercial knowledge and experience to the advisory board. He holds a Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of Central Florida. In his spare time, Mr. Clerico volunteers as the Vice Commander of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team and is a triathlete having completed multiple Ironman races.

Tyson Todd

Utah Trust Lands Administration, Area & Lease Manager

Tyson Todd grew up in Roosevelt, Utah. He graduated from Utah State with degrees in Economics and Political Science then earned his master’s degree in International Affairs and Global Enterprise from the University of Utah. Prior to joining the Trust Lands Administration, Tyson worked in the oil and gas industry in heavy construction and on a service rig. At the Trust Lands Administration, he manages mineral and oil and gas leases within the Energy & Minerals group and administers land sales in the Uinta Basin. Tyson is raising his four children with his wife, Dani in Vernal, coaches high school basketball, and enjoys many of the outdoor activities the Basin has to offer.

Travis Campbell

Uinta County Economic Development Director

Travis Campbell is the Economic Development Director for Uintah County, Utah. The Economic Development office administers a variety of programs aimed at supporting and growing local business. The office also works to advocate for public policy that will support the existing industries in the Uinta Basin. Prior to his role with Uintah County, Travis served in the District offices of U.S. Representatives Rob Bishop and Blake Moore, focusing on Natural Resource issues and policy. Travis and his family moved from Ogden to the Vernal area in 2022 and enjoy all of the recreational opportunities the Basin has to offer.

Craig Brown

General Manager, American Gilsonite Company

Seth Lyman

Bingham Research Center Director, Air Quality

Seth directs Utah State University’s Bingham Research Center, located in Vernal, and is a Research Professor in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He has a doctoral degree in Environmental Science and Health from the University of Nevada, Reno, and his expertise is in atmospheric measurements, instrumentation, and analysis.  Seth’s research focuses on the environmental outcomes of energy production.  He and his colleagues at the Center have carried out projects to quantify emissions of organic compounds from various oil and gas sources, understand the conditions that lead to wintertime ozone production in the Rocky Mountain region, and develop computer models of atmospheric emissions and air quality. Seth is also an expert in atmospheric mercury. He has invented several novel methods to measure elemental and oxidized mercury in the atmosphere and calibration systems for those measurements. Seth currently serves on the board of directors for the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) and the Utah Legislature’s Air Quality Policy Advisory Board.