• 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 following LSPA compliance tip was presented at the May 2022 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on May 18, 2022.  

Practice Tip of the Month: 

The LSPA's Emerging Professionals Committee (EPC) is dedicated to providing educational & social programs for professionals who are new to environmental consulting in Massachusetts. 

In November 2021, the EPC presented, “To LSP or Not to LSP" Career Path Considerations in Environmental Consulting. During the event, a panel of four speakers discuss various career track options in the Environmental Assessment and Remediation Industry, their backgrounds and how they ended up in their current role. This video will help to provide new professionals and college/grad students an idea of the different types of careers they could pursue within the industry.

1. Fund PFAS Detection and Remediation
2. Support Environmental Justice Communities
3. Phase Out PFAS in Consumer Products
4. Expand PFAS Regulation
5. Encourage Private Well PFAS Testing and Remediation
6. Support Firefighters and Local Fire Departments
7. Address PFAS Contamination and Accountability
8. Enhance Public Awareness of PFAS

Chuck Myette, LSPA Past President, Brown and Caldwell, attended the Endicott College Sustainability Career Fair on behalf of the LSPA and the LSPA Scholarship Fund. 

Chuck is pictured here with Jack Duggan, Associate Dean, School of Science & Technology, Endicott College. 

The following LSPA compliance tip was presented at the April 2022 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on April 14, 2022.  

Compliance Tip of the Month: 
Any time environmental samples are taken at a listed disposal site on behalf of someone other than the owner of the property, the person(s) conducting the response action shall provide the owner of the property with a written notice using BWSC-123 prior to the sampling, or no more than seven days after the sampling if it was conducted as part of an IRA to address a 2-hour notification. 

Save the Date! 

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

Compliance Tip:
An LSP may request an advisory ruling from the LSP Board of Registration for an interpretation of one or more of the LSP Rules of Professional Conduct.  Advisory rulings will be issued at the Board's discretion and only upon written request.  The regulation at 309 CMR 5.00 provides rules for such requests.  

• There are five seats on the Board for currently-licensed LSPs
• David Austin, AECOM
• Kathleen Campbell, CDW Consultants
• Craig Ellis, Beta Group
• Gregg McBride, GZA GeoEnvironmental
• Paul McKinlay, Weston & Sampson
• Three Board members must be members of statewide organizations that promote the protection of the environment 
• Kirk Franklin, Frank Corp.
• Patrick Herron, Mystic River Watershed Association
• Debra M. Listernick, O'Reilly Talbot & Okun Associates
• One Board position is designated for a hydrogeologist
• Gail Batchelder, HRP Associates, Inc
• One member of the Board is designated for a member of a labor organization
• James N. Smith, Department of Neighborhood Development, City of Boston, MA

Here are two more news stories about the Wareham family dealing with a fuel oil spill: 

• How an oil leak may cost Massachusetts couple their recently-purchased home - WCVB 5
• Homeowners face a fortune in cleanup bills after oil tank leak - Boston 25 News

Any homeowner in Massachusetts who has faced this situation, without insurance coverage, knows how challenging it is. Hopefully this media coverage is raising awareness and more homeowners will buy fuel oil insurance riders. We hope that state legislators will also be motivated to pass Senate Bill No. 676, An Act relative to the remediation of home heating oil releases, which would require that all Massachusetts homeowner insurance policies provide coverage for the cleanup of accidental releases of home heating oil. Please contact your state senator and representative to ask for their support.  

Thank you to the Boston Globe's Sean Murphy for his article highlighting the terrible plight of the Proctors and the hundreds of other homeowners in Massachusetts who face this situation annually. The LSPA is the sponsor of Senate Bill No. 676, An Act relative to the remediation of home heating oil releases. This bill would require that all Massachusetts homeowner insurance policies provide coverage for the cleanup of accidental releases of home heating oil. This important pro-consumer, pro-environment bill will help homeowners with the financial burden of addressing accidental spills of their home heating oil, and ensure the prompt cleanup of such spills to better protect groundwater and mitigate damage to the environment.  Please contact your state senator and representative to ask for their support.

The following LSPA compliance tip was presented at the February 2022 Membership Meeting, which was held virtually through the Zoom webinar platform, on February 16, 2022.  

Compliance Tip:

LSPA members who are stakeholders of the MassDOR UST Reimbursement Program are encouraged to participate in the public meetings of two subcommittees recently formed by the 21J Board.  One subcommittee is working on the goal of evaluating and updating the Appendix 3 Fee Schedule.  The second group is the Fee Schedule and Policy Review Subcommittee which will evaluate the fee schedule and policies including Board Approved Site Assessments (BASA), reimbursement for analysis of EPH samples, and reimbursement for soil transportation and disposal.

All meetings are listed on the UST Board website.  More details here.