The following LSPA practice tip was presented at the June 2021 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on June 17, 2021.  

Practice Tip:
MassDEP staff in all regions have asked the LSPA to remind practitioners to include the email addresses for the RP and LSP on all eDEP forms. This is particularly helpful as another avenue for contacting people, especially during times when people may not have access to their office phones.   

• David Leone, LSP, Associate Principal, GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Mr. Leone will begin his second 3-year term on July 1, 2021. He will serve as LSPA President from 2021-2022. 

• Crista Trapp, Human Health Risk Assessor and Senior Scientist, The Vertex Companies, Inc.. Ms. Trapp will begin her first 3-year term on July 1, 2021. 

• Charles Young, LSP, Associate and Senior Environmental Project Manager, Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. Mr. Young will begin his second 3-year term on July 1, 2021. He will serve as LSPA President-Elect from 2021-2022.  

• The LSPA Member Award is presented to an LSPA Member in recognition of leadership, commitment, and contributions to the LSPA organization and membership over the previous year.
• The LSPA Service Award is presented to an individual or organization in recognition of service to/support of the LSP Association and its mission; service may be in the form of in-kind services, financial or other support. This award is for service over the previous year.
• The Contribution to the Practice Award is presented to an individual or organization from the public, non-profit, or private sector for outstanding contributions to the practice and advancing the profession over the previous year. Attributes may include creativity in balancing economic development with environmental values, practical approaches to regulatory compliance, and innovative initiatives in technology and sustainability.
• The LSPA Environmental Justice Award is presented to an individual or organization from the public, non-profit, or private sector for recent or continuing outstanding contributions in increasing awareness of Environmental Justice (EJ) issues and/or supporting EJ communities. Learn more about Environmental Justice populations here.
• The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual in recognition of distinguished and continued contributions over 25 years or more to the advancement of science, standards, or professionalism in the field of site assessment and remediation under MGL c. 21E. The awardee must:
• Be an LSP or someone in the supporting professions, and
• Demonstrate commitment to the LSPA. This might include participation in the LSPA at a leadership level, e.g. founding member, committee chair, Board member or officer; or partnership with the LSPA through leadership level participation in a related organization.

• The name and affiliation of the nominator and his or her relationship to the nominee.
• For individuals, the name and title of the person and organization with which s/he is associated. For organizations, include the name and title of the key contact, and the specific name of the division, office, or department nominated. Be as specific as possible.
• A narrative statement of no more than 2 pages describing the focus of the nomination and the nature of the contributions. The nominator will be contacted if the LSPA Board requires additional information.  
• For the Contribution to the Practice Award, please include the names, affiliations, and contact information for at least three individuals who can attest to the contributions. 

The following LSPA practice tip was presented at the May 2021 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on May 18, 2021.  

Practice Tip:
For excavation work at sites with sensitive receptors and with contaminants that could sorb to soils, consider including a real-time dust monitoring program as well as a risk-based evaluation of the impact of dust particulates in the RAM Plan.

• David Leone, LSP, Associate Principal, GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Incumbent and Board nominated candidate.

• Crista Trapp, Human Health Risk Assessor and Senior Scientist, The Vertex Companies, Inc. Board nominated candidate.

• Charles Young, LSP, Associate and Senior Environmental Project Manager at Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. Incumbent and Board nominated candidate.

• Crista Trapp, Senior Scientist and Human Health Risk Assessor, The Vertex Companies Inc., Boston and Weymouth, MA. Crista is a member of the LSPA's Loss Prevention Committee and has served as the Committee Chair since 2017.
• David Leone, LSP, Associate Principal, GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., Norwood, MA. Dave is completing his first 3-year term on the LSPA Board and is currently the LSPA President Elect. He is a former Co-Chair of the LSPA's Regulations Committee. Dave has been an LSP since 2011.
• Charles Young, LSP, Associate/Senior Environmental Project Manager, Stantec, Quincy, MA. Charles is currently serving as an LSPA Director at Large and is completing his first 3-year term on the LSPA Board. Charles has been an LSP since 2015.

The following LSPA compliance tip was presented at the April 2021 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on April 15, 2021.  

Compliance Tip of the Month

Members of the LSPA Regulations Committee sat in on this meeting (see the recording here) and present the following takeaways, in no particular order.

• 2019 MCP Revisions. The MCP amendments continue to be edited and revised in response to comments. Once finalized, which is expected to be “later this spring,” they will go into effect (with a grace period), and MassDEP will provide training and updated risk guidance.

• PFAS Testing of Public Water Supplies. MassDEP is providing funding to public water supplies for their first round of required PFAS testing. Testing is underway, and data are updated weekly on the MassDEP PFAS page at https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/portal#!/search/drinking-water.

• Private Well Sampling and IH Level of 90 ppt.  MassDEP is communicating with local Boards of Health and private well owners in ~80 towns that rely primarily on private water sources. MassDEP is aiming to collect data from both private wells near potential (known) PFAS sources and wells randomly located, as an approach to gaining a better understanding of background levels of PFAS in groundwater. If PFAS is detected in a residential well, a homeowner will not be required to notify MassDEP; in the absence of an identified on-site source, MassDEP will assume that homeowners have Downgradient Property Status, and MassDEP will hold in abeyance the issuance a Notice of Responsibility (NOR). MassDEP will work with homeowners to reduce risk; a drinking water Imminent Hazard PFAS6 concentration of 90 ppt has been established by MassDEP.
  

• Multi-Lab Audit Findings.  Ken Marra and Liz Callahan summarized the results of the audit, which was initiated in 2016 and evaluated data packages for VPH/EPH/APH/TO-15. The Multi-Lab Data Audit Report (March 2021) has been posted here. Generally, laboratories did well with the TO-15 and APH analyses. There were potential low bias issues with VPH & EPH analyses in approximately one-half of the data packages, resulting in MassDEP issuing revisions to the VPH methods (February 2018) and EPH methods (December 2019) to clarify the issues. MassDEP does not anticipate doing a systematic review of past submittals relative to the low bias issues identified, but is considering measures for more routine checking of laboratory quality.
  
  If you are interested in participating in subgroup meetings regarding laboratory data quality, please send an email to [email protected].

• MassDEP Focus on Environmental Justice.  Deneen Simpson, MassDEP’s Director of Environmental Justice, summarized MassDEP’s work since June 2020 to evaluate the agency’s internal and external culture, practices, and policies related to environmental justice and equity. This work involves regional offices as well as a focus by the Commissioner. MassDEP is working to diversify advisory and stakeholder groups, and has developed and is implementing Environmental Justice Public Involvement Plan Guidance (currently an internal document only) on approaches to  engage diverse communities. MassDEP’s EJ Team meets quarterly. Rishi Reddi is the Director of Environmental Justice at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEOA), and the EJ Team also includes Liz Callahan and Peggy Shaw of BWSC. 

• Refreshing the Waste Site Cleanup Advisory Committee (WSCAC).  MassDEP is evaluating the composition of its stakeholder groups. The WSCAC is not created by statute and therefore MassDEP has flexibility regarding its composition, meeting format, etc. MassDEP would like to expand representation to ensure the full range of program stakeholders and would like to seek additional representation from EJ communities, PIP group members, student representatives, environmental advocacy groups, and/or subject matter experts. The Department is considering establishing term limits, establishing a set meeting schedule (likely quarterly), and varying meeting times and locations. The WSCAC members discussed their thoughts on the various proposals. If you have ideas of how MassDEP might conduct outreach to expand the representation of the advisory committee, please email [email protected].

• Office Hours and WSCAC Meetings.  MassDEP expects to continue holding virtual meetings, but anticipates switching from the Zoom platform to another platform for its Thursday morning “office hours” and WSCAC meetings.  The frequency of weekly office hours will probably be reduced, and WSCAC meetings will likely be held quarterly.

• Brownfields Tax Credits. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue is considering comments on its proposed new brownfields tax credit regulations.  An interagency workgroup has recently conducted listening sessions about the brownfields tax credit program.  They expect to have workgroup findings within a couple of months.

• Searching for COCs on Waste Site/Spills Look Up.  Paul Locke confirmed that it is not possible for the public or MassDEP to search the site lookup database by COCs.

• BWSC Grant Programs update.  Liz Callahan provided an update on various grant programs, including:
  • Natural Resource Damages – grant opportunity related to Former National Fireworks Site in Hanover
  • Technical Assistance
  • Marine Oil Spill Prevention & Response

1. Finalize outstanding guidance/policies: AULs, Engineered Barriers, Historic Fill, etc. (MassDEP)
2. Soil Management: Assist with needed capacity, beneficial uses, PFAS disposal (MassDEP and others)
3. PFAS: Address background conditions and MCP release exemptions (MassDEP)

4. Asbestos in Soil: Streamline and clarify regulations (MassDEP) – 29%
5. PFAS Private Well Sampling Program: Address MCP responsibility and liability issues (MassDEP) – 26%
6. LSP Board of Registration: Update regulations, improve operations (EOEEA) – 23%
7. 21J Fund: Reconcile LSP decision making and allowed reimbursements (MA Department of Revenue) – 18%
8. Brownfields Tax Credits: Reconcile LSP decision making and allowed reimbursements (MA Department of Revenue) – 17%
9. Public Involvement: Update guidance documents (MassDEP) – 8%%

The following LSPA compliance tip was presented at the March 2021 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on March 16, 2021.