The LSPA is preparing to testify on S. 534, an act relative to the remediation of home heating oil releases. Senate Bill #534 was authored by the LSPA to enhance the current law by requiring coverage be provided to homeowners and raising coverage limits to keep pace with rising remediation costs. This bill will be heard by the Joint Committee on Financial Services in mid-October.
And now, we are asking for your help! Here are a few ways that you can support S. 534:
The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the September Membership Meeting at Marriott Newton Hotel in Newton, MA on September 26, 2017.
When a property with a Notice of Activity and Use Limitation (AUL) has been sold, the Responsible Party must submit to MassDEP a Form BWSC 113 with a copy of the recorded deed conveying the record title. Remember it is essential that subsequent property owners be given notice of the AUL.
Three Board members must be members of "statewide organizations that promote the protection of the environment at the time of appointments and who are knowledgeable with respect to issues involving responding to releases of oil and hazardous materials." One of these environmental seats is vacant and has been for over three years.
The LSP Association (LSPA) is proud to support the 33rd Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water, and Energy as an event sponsor. As part of this sponsorship, all LSPA members are eligible to receive a discounted registration fee! Please remember to check "Presenters*, Sponsors/Supporters, and Academics" to receive the discount. Rates for LSPA members are listed below. These rates are valid until September 29. Registrations received after September 29 will be charged a late fee.
Are you attending the conference or are you an LSPA member in the Western Massachusetts area? Please consider meeting up for an informal gathering at The Hangar Pub. Details are below.
The LSPA invites you to support our association through the following sponsorship opportunities. Each package offers a different way for your company to highlight its commitment and support for the LSP practice through the activities of the LSPA, while generating good will and increased visibility within the environmental community. Click here to view the email announcing 2017-2018 sponsorships.
LSPA's August 2017 Member Newsletter has been published! Table of Contents is listed below. Please log in to your account and visit Member Materials to view the full newsletter.
Additional data will be exposed in the data portal in 2018.
August 2, 2017
The LSPA presents the following monthly compliance tip for August 2017:
Exposure Point Concentrations (EPCs)
As you develop your EPCs for a site, remember to evaluate your data to see if there are hotspots present in any of your media. A hotspot is a location which has a Contaminant of Concern concentration > 100x higher than surrounding locations. Hotspots are considered distinct EPCs and must be separately evaluated in the risk characterization. Typically, at least five sampling points are necessary to have insight into the variability of a data set.
The LSPA Scholarship Fund hosted its fourth annual golf tournament on June 14, 2017 at the Highfields Golf Course in Grafton, MA. We had a record of 132 golfers and everyone had a great time! Here is a link to the event photo album – please download and share your favorite images. All photography credits go to Thomas Barrasso.
This year’s tournament filled up quickly and we had to close registration several weeks before the event. Please be sure to mark your calendars for next year’s tournament so you don’t miss out! It will be held on Thursday, June 14, 2018 at the Highfields Golf Course in Grafton, MA.
At the LSPA June Membership Meeting, four educational scholarships were presented by Bill Betters, President of the LSPA Scholarship Fund. The LSPA Scholarship Fund supports individuals pursuing undergraduate or graduate education in environmental fields in Massachusetts and other New England states. Since 2003, the LSPA Scholarship Fund has presented over 39 scholarships totaling more than $160,000.
Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients:
Marc Richards, PE, LSP recently hosted a tour of the former Garbose metal scrap yard in Gardner, MA, where Tighe & Bond is currently finishing up a large remediation project. The walking tour included a brief history of the site, the remediation, and other points of interest.
The Garbose property is an abandoned Brownfields site where a recyclable metal salvage yard operated from circa 1958 to 1998. A significant portion of this 10+ acre property was contaminated with PCBs, heavy metals, and petroleum compounds. The contamination extended to two on-site stream channels. Demolition of the site has been completed and remediation is in progress including a provisional cap placement across the consolidated impacted soils area. This site is part of the City’s Mill Street Corridor Redevelopment Project, and is tentatively scheduled to be redeveloped for commercial use once site cleanup is complete.
Click here to view the photo album.
Charles River Watershed Association Invasive Species Cleanup with SAME!
July 26, 2017 at 5:00 PM
Come out and enjoy a fun night with the LSPA Young Professionals and the SAME Boston Post Young Members. We invite you to participate in the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) Invasive Species Cleanup on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 from 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM. Everyone is welcome!
From canoes, we will be removing the invasive species of water chestnuts and helping the natural ecosystem of the Charles River. Please dress accordingly, you will likely get dirty and wet: sneakers or water shoes, shorts, tshirts (preferably polyester).
We will meet at Boating in Boston at Newton Historic Boathouse, 2401 Commonwealth Avenue (Rte 30), Newton (Auburndale), MA. Parking is available at the Boating in Boston parking lot at the end of Norumbega Road. |
EBC End of Summer Bash - Co-Hosted by the LSPA Young Professionals Committee
September 19, 2017 at 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Get out and meet your fellow energy and environmental young professionals at the EBC's End-of-Summer Bash! Enjoy a variety of appetizers (fried mac & cheese bites! bratwurst sliders!) and craft beer at Coppersmith, a converted warehouse in South Boston just a five minute walk from the Red Line. You'll meet professionals from every corner of the sector - water and wastewater, energy, renewable energy, construction and sustainable buildings, environmental engineers and consultants... you name it, they'll be there!
A $25 registration fee includes appetizers and a drink ticket and goes directly toward offsetting the cost of the venue and provisions. Learn more about the event or click here to register.
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Marilyn Wade, LSP, Managing Engineer for Brown and Caldwell, has been appointed President of the LSP Association (LSPA). Wade is currently serving a second term on the LSPA Board of Directors. During her previous term, she served as President-Elect and Treasurer.
Jeanine Grachuk, Esq, a Partner and Environmental Attorney with Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. of Wellesley, MA, will begin serving her second 3-year term on the Board of Directors and will continue to serve as Clerk.
We received great feedback from attendees on the LSPA Field Course: Sediment, Surface Water, and Biota Sampling Methods to Support MCP Assessments which was held on June 22 at Woods Hole Group in East Falmouth, MA and nearby wetlands and waterfront. The weather cooperated and made for a beautiful day out on the water!
Participants learned the advantages and limitations of the various sampling techniques by conducting the sampling directly. Sampling was done both from shore and in workboats- collection of bottom dwelling organisms (e.g. invertebrates), sediment for toxicity testing and grain size analysis, fish, plants, water quality data (dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, salinity profiles), surface water, and deep water and sediment samples for chemical analysis.