LSPA News & Blog

LSP Exam Prep & Overview

Would it surprise you to know that at least 50 emerging professionals are considering or actively planning to take the LSP Exam in the next few years?  That’s how many people attended the LSPA’s event last week hosted by the LSPA's Emerging Professionals Committee.

It was a curious and focused group who attentively listened while three new LSPs shared their experiences:

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Exposure Point Concentrations and You: Calculating 95% UCLs and Employing ProUCL to compute them for use as EPCs

Hardly the title for a stellar course, right?  WRONG!

These two smiling, smart people received rave reviews from course participants:

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Nancy M. White and Iris Davis Memorial Golf Tournament

Nancy M. White and Iris Davis Memorial Golf Tournament

When: Friday, June 7, 2019
Time: 7:00 AM Registration; 8:00 AM Shotgun Start
Location: Far Corner Golf Course, 5 Barker Road, Boxford, MA - Directions

This event is being held in memory of our dear friends Nancy and Iris on June 7, 2019 at Far Comer Golf Course in Boxford, MA. Registration begins at 7:00 AM, with tee-off at 8:00 AM.



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May 2019 LSPA Compliance Tip

The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the May Membership Meeting at the DoubleTree in Westborough, MA on May 16, 2019.  

COMPLIANCE TIP OF THE MONTH 

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Coming Soon - LSPA Ballot for 2019 Board Election

Voting will open on Friday, May 17, 2019 for the 2019-2020 LSP Association (LSPA) Board of Directors election. Board positions will take effect July 1, 2019. 
 
Ballots will be sent by email to all LSPA members, both Full and Associate. We encourage all members to vote.
 
The LSPA's 9-member Board of Directors is composed of LSPA members who combine experience in environmental work with a passion for supporting and promoting the LSP practice. Current LSPA Board members are shown here.
 
There are three open seats on the Board for this election; the term length is from FY '19 through FY '22. Provided below are the four candidates on this year's ballot. Please click on each candidate's name to read more about him.
The LSPA Board nominated three candidates for the ballot. 
 
The LSPA Bylaws allow for a candidate who obtains a written petition, signed by at least 10 Full and/or Associate LSPA members in good standing, and submitted 30 days in advance of the election, to be placed on the ballot for election.  

The LSPA Bylaws state "Of the nine members on the Board, up to two Director positions may be filled by Associate members."  The two current Board members who are Associate (non-LSP) LSPA members are Jeanine Grachuk and Matthew Young.  

To view all the candidates' statements of interest, photos, and responses to LSPA Board questions, click here.
  
New Board members will be announced at the LSPA monthly membership meeting on Thursday, June 13, 2019 at the Hilton Hotel in Woburn, MA, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM.
Please note that voting will close on June 7, 2019, at 5 PM.
 
If you have questions or comments, please contact Wendy Rundle, LSPA Executive Director at [email protected] or 617-484-4027.
 
Thank you,
 
Marilyn Wade, LSP
LSP Association President

LSPA Requests Comments by May 31st on the Proposed MCP Revisions

MassDEP has recently released the 2019 Proposed MCP Revisions. The revisions are available here on the MassDEP website.  
 
The LSPA Regulations Committee is assembling the LSPA's comments on the proposed revisions and would like your input. We have prepared a template to track comments and aid in consolidating feedback from the regulated community.  MassDEP has also suggested providing alternative language if it helps provide context for a comment, so please do so if applicable. Please use the template posted under Technical Resources.     
 
MassDEP will also be holding five public meetings associated with the MCP Public Comment period in May 2019. The list of public meetings is available here.

Please send your comments, suggestions, and revisions to the LSPA Regulations Committee 2019 MCP Revisions email address [email protected] by Friday, May 31, 2019. 
 
We cannot guarantee that your comments will be included in the LSPA document so, as always, we urge you to also submit your comments directly to MassDEP.
 
The LSPA will provide comments to MassDEP by the July 19, 2019 deadline.  


April Compliance Tip

The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the April Membership Meeting at the Holiday Inn in Taunton, MA on April 23, 2019.  

COMPLIANCE TIP OF THE MONTH 

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Proposed MCP Revisions Available

The proposed revisions to the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (310 CMR 40.0000) are now available on MassDEP's website at: https://www.mass.gov/lists/2019-proposed-mcp-revisions and a Public Hearing Notice has been published in the Massachusetts Register. This will kick-off an extended 3-month long public comment period that will end July 19, 2019, and will include five public hearings at MassDEP Offices across the state and additional meetings as needed/requested.
 
The purpose of the proposed revisions is to update and clarify existing provisions for the notification, assessment and cleanup of oil and/or hazardous material contamination in the environment to ensure that actions are performed in a timely manner, are appropriately monitored and documented, and achieve of a level of No Significant Risk that is protective of public health and the environment.
 
The proposals include, but are not limited to:
  • Clarification and modification of provisions related to notification, Imminent Hazards, Tier Classification and Extensions, Remedial Additives, Status Reports, Remedial Monitoring Reports, Temporary Solutions, Active Exposure Pathway Mitigation Measures, Exposure Point Concentrations, Activity and Use Limitations, and public involvement;
  • New adequately regulated provisions for disposal sites with Radioactive Materials;
  • Updates to Reportable Concentrations (RCs) and numerical cleanup standards (Method 1) for a limited number of chemicals; and
  • The addition of RCs and Method 1 standards for six perfluoroalkyl substances-Perfluoroheptanoic Acid (PFHpA), Perfluorohexanesulfonic Acid (PFHxS), Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA) and Perfluorodecanoic Acid (PFDA)-emerging contaminants of concern for exposure in drinking water.
Questions about the public comment process, the meetings/hearing and/or the proposals may be emailed to [email protected].
 
The LSPA's Regulations Committee will spearhead the LSPA's response to the public comment period; we will send an email to LSPA members with details and deadlines early next week.


LSPA PFAS Task Force

The LSPA Board realizes the need for an LSPA PFAS Task Force to cover the ever-changing and consuming topic of PFAS, and are in the process of setting out goals and a charter.  We would like to gauge interest and ask for volunteers now so that we can start to get organized. This sense of urgency stems in part from the formation of a MassDEP PFAS stakeholder group, and the fact that this group already had their first meeting.
 
Information on the MassDEP PFAS stakeholder group can be found here
 
The LSPA should have been on the invite list since we submitted a letter at the "PFAS Petition" hearing.  We have been in touch with the Drinking Water Program, Bureau of Water Resources who tells us the next stakeholder group meeting will be the week of June 17 - no definite date yet.
 
Attending these stakeholder meetings (which are open to the public) will be an initial key task for the group.
 
Please contact Wendy Rundle at [email protected] if you would like to join the LSPA Task Force. 
 
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Costly Heating Oil Spill Cleanups Devastate Homeowners: Proposed Law Needed

Ryan Kath and the team at NBC10 Boston have put together a news segment that illustrates the serious challenges – financial, emotional, and physical - of home heating oil spills, especially for those whose homeowners insurance policies exclude oil cleanup costs.  As Massachusetts Senator Anne Gobi (D-Spencer) stated, “Everything is wrong with this scenario.”

Many homeowners do not have the financial means to pay for costly cleanups. The backing of homeowners insurance companies is critical to make cleanups financially viable and to assure that home heating oil spills are timely and properly addressed for the protection of the public and the environment.

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March Membership Meeting Recap

Thank you to all who attended last night's membership meeting in Westborough. We had a full house of 200 eager LSPs and other environmental professionals, and lots of networking. Liz Callahan and Nancy Bettinger of MassDEP presented an impressive review of the key topics in the 2019 "Proposed MCP Amendments." The presentation slides have been posted in the Member Materials section of the LSPA website and video will be added shortly.

Once the draft regulations are published, the LSPA Regulations Committee will be reaching out to LSPA members to solicit comments.  We expect a very busy few months of assembling and vetting comments.  Stay tuned for more information as it develops.

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March 2019 Compliance Tip

The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the March Membership Meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough, MA on March 19, 2019.  

Compliance Tip of the Month
LSPs must not delete the note at the top of the first page of Form 1075 
"[Confirmatory] Notice of Activity and Use Limitation."   
The note is part of the document; it is not optional.
310 CMR 40.1099 Forms for Activity and Use Limitations



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March 2019 Newsletter

LSPA's March 2019 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.

In this Issue....

Environmental Workshops: Vapor Intrusion

Environmental Workshops is offering training events on Vapor Intrusion. Each half-day workshop is presented together with a casual networking event. Click here to find background information, or go to find a specific event page. While the workshops are free of charge for all attendees, registration is required. For those interested, here are the upcoming workshops in our area. If you have any questions, please contact EnivroWorkshops directly

April 23, 2019 - White Plains, NY

April 24, 2019 - Hartford, CT

April 25, 2019 - Mansfield, MA


Annual LSPA Scholarship Fund Charity Golf Tournament

It's that time of year again!
 
The LSPA Scholarship Fund will be hosting its 6th Annual Scholarship Fund Charity Golf Tournament on June 11, 2019, at the Highfields Golf Club in Grafton, MA.
 
As in previous years, the Scholarship Fund is looking for sponsors and participants (see details below).
 
BECOME A SPONSOR OF THE EVENT TODAY!
 
Although we accept both checks and credit cards, please note that a larger portion of your contribution will go to the Scholarship Fund if you pay by check.
 
Please click on the image below to enlarge for event and sponsorship details. Please contact Andy Irwin at 508-277-2346 or Will Caldicott at 617-964-0945 and become a sponsor today!

NAC SETAC's 25th Annual Meeting and Short Course

Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry-North Atlantic Chapter (NAC SETAC) will host its 25th Annual Meeting and Short Course at the University of Massachusetts Boston on April 8th and 9th, 2019. The short course will focus on the use of equilibrium passive sampling for environmental investigations. Registration is now open, here is a link to the preliminary schedule of events.  

Call for Abstracts

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North Carolina PFAS and Other Emerging Contaminants Conference

The American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina (ACEC/NC) and Groundwater Professionals of North Carolina (GWPNC) invites you to attend the inaugural PFAS and Other Emerging Contaminants Conference, from Tuesday, April 23 through Wednesday, April 24th at the Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh. 
 
This will be a seminar style conference, and is structured to be a "practitioners guide to emerging contaminants".  Our target audience includes geologists, environmental scientists, and engineers in the industry of environmental assessment and remediation; and is appropriate for regulators, consultants and service industry professionals.  

Day One: Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, known as PFAS (including Gen-X and other compounds)

Day Two: 1,4-Dioxane and other emerging contaminants/issues pertinent to our industry

Please click here to view the conference agenda.

LSPA Emerging Professionals' Annual Trivia Night!

The LSPA's Emerging Professionals Committee hosted its annual "Trivia Night" on Wednesday, February 20, 2019, at Dorchester Brewing Company in Dorchester, MA. Thanks to everyone who joined us for an evening of general trivia! A night of good food, good drink and good company - we already can't wait for next year's event!

And thank you to our event sponsor, Alpha Analytical, who awarded prizes to the winning teams.

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U.S. EPA Releases Its Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the “EPA’s Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan.”  This 60-page PFAS Action Plan identifies EPA-led short-term actions, longer-term research, and potential regulatory approaches designed to reduce the risks associated with PFAS in the environment.  Read the full action plan and a summary fact sheet here: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/epas-pfas-action-plan 

The Executive Summary lists “Key EPA Actions Addressing PFAS-Related Challenges”:

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February 2019 Compliance Tip of the Month

The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the February Membership Meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Woburn, MA on February 12, 2019.  

Compliance Tip of the Month

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