In anticipation of March 1, 2024, when the MCP Amendments go into effect, the LSPA’s Regulations Committee has been working on summarizing key changes to the MCP regulations. 

Provided below is a summary of the new regulations on the topic of Active Exposure Pathway Mitigation Measures (AEPMMS). This information was developed and is provided on behalf of the LSPA only; it does not represent MassDEP guidance or other input. MassDEP training is expected to take place in January 2024.

The LSPA received notice on October 16, 2023 from MassDEP’s Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup that the updated Compendium of Analytical Methods (CAM) protocols for Trace Metals, WSC-CAM-III A (6010D) and WSC-CAM-III D (6020B), have been posted to MassDEP's website. Also posted are summaries of the significant changes made to the respective existing protocols with these updates.

The effective date for these updated protocols is January 15, 2024. On and after January 15, 2024, any laboratory that is certifying compliance with MassDEP’s CAM protocols for these methods must be complying with these updated protocols. 

The LSPA sent this letter to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) following their request for feedback on the implementation of the Massachusetts Brownfields Tax Credit (BTC) regulations (830 CMR 63.38Q.1) which went into effect just over two years ago.  

The LSPA provided comments to MassDOR in February 2021 in an effort to contribute to the clarification and codification of the BTC program. Unfortunately, most of the LSPA members we heard from are disappointed with the new regulations. The LSPA letter provides more details. 

The Board of Registration of Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Professionals (aka the LSP Board) has one vacant seat which, according to statute, must be filled by persons who are “. . . 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.”

The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Governor. The term of service is four years. Board meetings occur monthly, except for the months of July and December. Click here for more detailed information about this volunteer position.

The LSPA was pleased to have Acting Assistant Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (BWSC) Commissioner Elizabeth Callahan and Acting Director of BWSC’s Policy and Program Development Division Ken Marra speak at our September 21, 2023 meeting at the Newton Marriott. 

This event, always very popular, was attended by nearly 200 guests this year – we expect because of the highly-anticipated, recent promulgation of the 2024 MCP Amendments.

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (the “Department”) promulgated 830 CMR 63.38Q.1: Massachusetts Brownfields Tax Credit on July 23, 2021. During the comment period, the LSPA provided a letter of comments along with proposed edits to the regulations.  The Department committed to soliciting feedback on the regulation and the process for claiming the credit after the regulation had been in effect for two years. That time has come! 

The LSPA is collecting comments for compiling a response to the Department. Please send any comments you have to Wendy Rundle, LSPA Executive Director, at [email protected] by September 22, 2023. Also, feel free to send any comments, concerns or suggestions directly to [email protected] by September 29, 2023. 

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.

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.

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. 

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 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.

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. The proposed PFAS NPDWR does not require any actions until it is finalized. EPA anticipates finalizing the regulation by the end of 2023. For more details click here.

EPA is requesting public comment on the proposed regulation. The public comment period will open following the proposed rule publishing in the Federal Register. Public comments can be provided at that time at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0114.

The following LSPA practice tip was introduced at the February 2023 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually on February 15,  2023.  

Practice Tip of the Month: 
Administrative issues with Activity and Use Limitations (AULs) commonly result in the issuance of Notices of Noncompliance. One helpful tool for reviewing an AUL and its exhibits and assessing whether all requirements for submitting an AUL have been met, is the AUL Compliance Assistance Checklist available in Appendix I of MassDEP’s 2014 Draft Guidance on Implementing AULs.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) recently announced the release of its draft EEA secretariat-wide Environmental Justice (EJ) Strategy.

The EJ Strategy was developed by a Secretariat-wide EJ Task Force comprised of representatives of each of EEA’s agencies, major offices, and affiliated organizations.  The draft strategy contains chapters that pertain to each of these agencies and offices, and is tailored to the unique mandate of each entity. It also provides a consistent approach to common issues, such as the development of EJ metrics to measure progress, staff training for awareness of EJ issues, commitment to diversity in hiring, inclusion of EJ criteria in grant disbursement and commitment to provision of languages services. 

The following LSPA practice tip was presented at the November 2022 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on November 15, 2022.  

Practice Tip of the Month: 
The LSPA has developed a Climate Change MCP Toolkit to assist practitioners as they consider the potential effects of climate change on site assessment and response actions. This is anticipated to be required by the pending amendments to the MCP.  The toolkit includes a flowchart, checklist, two case studies, glossary, and list of resources.

Notes from BWSC Advisory Committee

MassDEP’s Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup Advisory Committee met on October 27, 2022 for several hours. Typically, MassDEP posts the slides and recordings of Advisory Committee meetings here. At this time, these have not yet been posted.

A brief summary of meeting highlights is provided below.

The following LSPA practice tip was presented at the October 2022 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on October 27, 2022.  

Practice Tip of the Month: 
Did you know MassDEP's position is that discarded carbon canisters, as a generated waste, are a sludge and subject to 310 CMR 30.302: Determination of Whether a Waste is Hazardous? Accordingly, per policy HW94‐007, a spent carbon canister that contains hazardous waste constituents from a listed hazardous waste source must be managed as a hazardous waste, regardless of whether the carbon canisters were used to treat groundwater or vapors from groundwater or soils.