Northeast Sustainable Communities Workshop

Join us at the 2023 Northeast Sustainable Communities Workshop (NSCW) in Worcester, MA, on September 19-20. The theme, “Reimagining Brownfields: Strategies for Successful Redevelopment,” brings together environmental experts, consultants, developers, attorneys, academics, and real estate professionals for impactful sessions.

Discover innovative strategies for successful brownfield redevelopment, connect with industry leaders, and explore commercial real estate incentives throughout the Northeast. NSCW breaks away from traditional PowerPoint-heavy presentations to provide ample opportunities for sharing experiences and success stories and connecting with colleagues.

The LSP Board of Registration has informed the LSPA that the following email was sent out to every active LSP to inform them that they can now sign up for the online portal called ePlace/Accela. This will allow LSPs to start using the online platform to submit renewal applications, pay invoices, change address, and many other actions. 

Please note that the online portal does have a Help Desk option ([email protected]). For any questions about getting set up or following that, the Help Desk is the preferred option to resolve those questions.

For LSPs With July 30, 2023 Renewals

LSPs with July 30, 2023 renewals must renew through the current paper process.

MassDEP leadership has recently shared that they expect the next set of Amendments to the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP), proposed in 2019, to be promulgated soon. In an effort to refresh our collective memories, the LSPA Regulations Committee has prepared this brief, high-level summary of eight key aspects of the proposed MCP regulations. The summary provided below is based on the draft revisions provided in 2019. The LSPA has not seen a more recent draft. The actual contents of the forthcoming MCP revisions are not known.

Hot Spot and MGP Waste Definitions 
The 2019 proposed amendments include the addition of Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) Waste as a defined term. Additionally, the amendments propose modifying the definition of a hot spot to include areas of waste disposal including MGP waste. These proposed changes effectively create a new class of oil and hazardous material (OHM), with concomitant requirements for sampling and risk assessment.

MassDEP announced that the application for the FY2024-25 Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) is now available. This grant opportunity provides $200,000 in funding, with up to $20,000 per community or municipal applicant-group selected for an award, to enhance public involvement and promote better understanding of the cleanup of contaminated sites in their communities. 

The application deadline is Friday, October 13, 2023.

The following LSPA practice tip was introduced at the June 2023 Membership Meeting, which was held in-person at the Westborough Doubletree hotel on June 20, 2023.  

Per 310 CMR 40.0006, Historic Fill cannot contain contaminants that are present as a result of on-site activities. If contaminants at a disposal site could potentially have originated from known historical operations or activities at the site, an LSP needs to first determine that contaminants are not from on-site activities before the contaminants can be attributed to Historic Fill.

The LSPA Board is pleased to announce that three candidates have been elected to the LSPA Board of Directors for three-year terms from FY '24 through FY '26.

• Lars Andresen, Office Practice Leader, TRC Companies. Mr. Andresen will begin his three-year term on July 1, 2023.

• Katherine E. Kudzma, LSP, Director, Site Investigation & Remediation, VHB. Ms. Kudzma will begin her three-year term on July 1, 2023.

• Amy A. Roth, P.G., LSP, Vice President, Wilcox & Barton, Inc. Ms. Roth will begin her three-year term on July 1, 2023.

Congratulations to the new LSPA Board members and thank you to all LSPA members who voted. 

MassDEP Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) Program 
FY24-25 Opportunity and Application
Anticipated Release Date:  June 29, 2023

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup announces the upcoming release of the FY24-25 Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) funding opportunity. TAGs are available to community and municipal groups to enhance public participation in assessment and cleanup activities at oil or hazardous material disposal sites. TAGs may be used to obtain expert advice and technical assistance and to promote community education for qualifying projects. 

On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, representatives of the LSPA made their fourth visit in seven years before the Joint Committee on Financial Services in support of the LSPA’s bills that would mandate insurance coverage for the remediation of home heating oil releases. Earlier versions of these two identical bills, H. 1129 and S. 648, have been favorably reported out of this committee in the last three sessions; we’re hoping for the same this session. 

Written and oral testimony was presented in support of these bills by environmental attorney Susan Crane, her client Paul Guerard, LSP and LSPA Past President Kevin Beaulieu, and LSPA Executive Director Wendy Rundle.  

On May 30, 2023, the LSPA submitted comments to USEPA via the Federal eRulemaking Portal regarding the proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for PFAS, under Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0114. Read the LSPA comment letter here. This was the first time in over a decade that the LSPA has commented on a proposed USEPA rule.

This USEPA webpage provides a summary of the proposed rule, along with links to supporting materials, technical materials, and background information. A small group of LSPA members including toxicologists, public health risk assessors, and LSPs with decades of experience reviewed and provided comments on this rule. The LSPA comments were organized according to the topics outlined in the slides from this USEPA presentation, Proposed PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (epa.gov).

Please be advised that MassDEP’s online filing system, eDEP, will be intermittently unavailable due to server maintenance on June 6, 2023, from 8 am to 6 pm. 

While parts of the application may be accessible, to avoid potential data loss, MassDEP recommends that users do not create or submit any eDEP transactions during this time period.

The following LSPA compliance tip was introduced at the May 2023 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom on May 18, 2023.  

When completing an AUL package, be sure to check Appendix D of the AUL Guidance to confirm that you have the right documentation for signature authority. This varies by the type of legal entity (corporation, trust, LLC, Limited Partnership, condominium or Limited Liability Partnership) submitting the AUL, with additional requirements for registered land. 310 CMR 40.1074(2)(c).

Voting will open on Thursday, May 25, 2023 for the 2023-2024 LSPA Board of Directors election. Board positions will take effect July 1, 2023. 

Ballots will be sent by email to all LSPA members, both Full and Associate. We encourage all members to vote.

New Legislative Session Begins

The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, aka the Massachusetts State Legislature, began a new two-year session in early 2023. Committee leadership has been appointed, and hearings have begun. The LSPA recently submitted two letters of written testimony.

We wrote a letter of support for S. 1765 and H. 2913 “An Act to extend the Brownfields tax credit” to the Joint Committee on Revenue.  These two identical bills propose to extend the Massachusetts Brownfields Tax Credit program for five years, thereby ensuring liability relief and financial incentives to clean up and redevelop contaminated properties. 

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup is holding an online informational meeting about upcoming Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs) funding. TAGs are available to community and municipal groups to enhance public participation in assessment and cleanup activities at oil or hazardous material disposal sites. TAGs may be used to obtain expert advice and technical assistance and promote community education for qualifying projects.  The informational meeting will include a presentation on the purpose of the TAG program, grant eligibility requirements, and the grant application process and timelines.

The online informational meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 7:00 PM via Zoom. You may access the meeting via MassDEP’s TAG webpage.

Voting will open on Thursday, May 25, 2023 for the 2023-2024 LSPA Board of Directors election. Board positions will take effect July 1, 2023. 

Ballots will be sent by email to all LSPA members, both Full and Associate. We encourage all members to vote.

On March 14, 2023, EPA announced the proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS including PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (commonly known as GenX Chemicals), PFHxS, and PFBS. EPA anticipates finalizing the regulation by the end of 2023. For more details click here.

The LSPA will review the proposed regulation and provide comments to EPA during the public comment period, which ends on May 30, 2023. If you have comments you would like the LSPA to consider, please send them to [email protected] by April 28, 2023.

The following LSPA practice tip was introduced at the April 2023 Membership Meeting, which was held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center in Marlborough, MA, on April 4, 2023.  

Each state agency has responsibility for trouble-shooting its own eDEP forms.  While MassDEP suggests contacting [email protected] for help with a BWSC form, doing so will only result in a referral to [email protected].  For more immediate assistance with BWSC forms on eDEP, LSPs should contact [email protected] directly. For time sensitive filings you can call the online filing help desk at 617-626-1111.  

The LSP Association Scholarship Fund is now accepting applications for educational scholarships for the 2023-2024 academic year. Deadline for submission is Friday, May 26, 2023.

The scholarship program supports continued education within environmental fields of study at colleges and universities throughout New England.