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. 

What's the difference between a fine sand and a silt? What is the modified Burmister System? Earlier this week, the LSPA’s Emerging Professionals Committee (EPC) held a soil classification training that answered those questions, and more.  Michael Trovato, a Project Environmental Scientist at Tighe & Bond, presented a hands-on introduction to this topic.  Beforehand, participants enjoyed a light dinner and socializing.  We invite you to join us at our next event!  Learn more about the EPC and connect with committee chairs here.

AND…..we’re back!  The LSPA was excited to hold several in-person events over the past month.

Along with MassDEP and AMWS – The Association of Massachusetts Wetland Scientists, we held two sessions of “Wetlands, Wetland Regulations, and the MCP.”  This full day course involved time exploring five wetlands field stations and got rave reviews from participants.

The LSPA has developed a Climate Change MCP Toolkit to assist waste site cleanup 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 Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP).  

The climate change toolkit is available through links in this email as well as on the LSPA website. The tools are reflective of the framework defined in the (the SHMCAP, MA SHMCAP Portal). The SHMCAP accounts for projected changes in precipitation and temperature, sea level rise, and extreme weather events, and aims to reduce the risks associated with natural hazards and the effects of climate change.

Meeting Date & Location	Topic & Speaker
Wednesday, September 18, 2019  Boston Marriott Newton, Newton	Annual Kick-Off Meeting Liz Callahan and Paul Locke, MassDEP
Thursday, September 26, 2019 Hilton Garden Inn, Springfield	Environmental Law: Part 1 Jeanine Grachuk, Beveridge & Diamond 1.0 non-DEP Regulatory Credit Course #1626A
Thursday, October 17, 2019 Mechanics Hall, Worcester	Annual Dinner
October 2019 Hilton Garden Inn, Springfield	Environmental Law: Part 2 Michelle O'Brien, Pierce Atwood LLP  1.0 non-DEP Regulatory Credit Course #1626B
Thursday, November 21, 2019  Doubletree Hotel, Westborough	Topic for Credit
November 2019 Hilton Garden Inn, Springfield	Environmental Law: Part 3 Robert Cox, Bowditch & Dewey, LLP  1.0 non-DEP Regulatory Credit Course #1626C
December 2019 Downtown Boston Area	Co-Sponsor the EBC Winter Garden Party
Thursday, January 16, 2020 Doubletree Hotel, Andover	Topic for Credit Michael Marley, XDD Environmental
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 Doubletree Hotel, Westborough	Theory and Applications of ISCO Injectate Selection and In Situ Remediation Using Activated Carbon Based Injectates   Speakers from ISOTEC and AST Environmental 1.5 Technical Credits  Course #1677
Thursday, March 19, 2020 Holiday Inn, Mansfield	Topic for Credit
Tuesday, April 14, 2020  Crowne Plaza, Woburn	Topic for Credit
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 Doubletree Hotel, Westborough	Topic for Credit
Thursday, June 18, 2020 Holiday Inn, Taunton	Topic for Credit and LSPA Scholarship Presentation

LSPA’s newly-formed Sole Practitioners Group has developed a skills matrix, which lists sole practitioners along with their areas of expertise. With certain projects, you may be looking for a particular skill set or hoping to add another environmental professional to your team. This skills matrix will help you to find the best person for your team/project. The list, which is maintained by Stephen Boynton of Subsurface Environmental Solutions, LLC, chair of the Sole Practitioners Group, is available to members of that group. Please contact Steve for more information at 781.608.6119 or via mail [email protected].  

• David Leone, LSP, Associate Principal with GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. of Norwood, MA,  Director at Large.
• Charles Young, LSP, Senior Environmental Project Manager at Stantec, of Quincy, MA, Director at Large.

Officers for this fiscal year are: 

LSPA's Emerging Professionals Committee hosted a Soils Classification event last week at GZA GeoEnvironmental. Zachary Baum, P.E., a Geotechnical Engineer at Tighe & Bond, gave a brief overview of the Modified Burmister System, focusing on different soil types and the corresponding grain sizes. Fun Fact:  The numbers given to various sieve sizes are equal to the number of holes in the sieve per inch.  Zach passed around small bags containing various soils, so everyone could get a “real-world” sense of the look and feel of each soil type. Participants then had the opportunity to get their hands dirty and team-up to classify four soil samples that had been lab analyzed for the “right” answer.  We had great turnout of 35 people, and participants were engaged both with the subject matter and one another. Here are some photographs of the event. Thanks to GZA for hosting and to Zach for his enlightening presentation.

February 9, 2017
The LSPA unveiled the following monthly compliance tip on February 9, 2017. 

"When to check the “orders, permits, and approvals” box in the "Required Attachment and Submittals Section" of a BWSC transmittal form? 

Thank you to Paul Locke and the MassDEP for posting this video on LinkedIn today. The LSPA looks forward to providing updates as the legislation progresses through the committee process.

November 16, 2016
The LSPA's Loss Prevention Committee, unveiled the following monthly compliance tip at November's Membership Meeting.

Join the EBC Young Environmental Professionals and the LSPA Young Professionals for a networking night at Harpoon Brewery in Boston’s Seaport. Mix and mingle with colleagues in the environmental and energy sectors and expand your network. These are the connections that will carry you through your career! 

All-you-can-eat pretzels, beer, and a tour of the Harpoon facility are included in the registration fee. Registration is capped at 50 – be sure to register today! Please note: there is a $15 registration fee which includes, pretzels, beer, and a facility tour. View Attendee List. 

Last week Phillips Academy, one of the oldest American private schools, hosted their annual (MS)² Career Fair. The (MS)² program was instituted in 1977 as an outreach program offering summer academic scholarships to African American, Latino and Native American public high school students.

Isaac Anderson, former Chair of the LSPA’s Technical Practices Committee and Project Manager at Cooperstown Environmental, was invited to speak with students about careers in Environmental Science and what it takes to become an LSP.