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LSPA Climate Change MCP Toolkit Available

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.

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LSPA Awards 3 WES Grants in 2021 and 2022

The LSPA is pleased to have awarded three WES Professional Practice Grants, totaling $17,500, over the past two years. The WES Grant award is a great way to secure funding to delve deeper into a topic of your choice that will further waste site cleanup work and advance the professional practice of LSPs. More details on the most recent projects and links to research findings are provided below. 

PFAS in New England: An Assessment of Distribution Data from Regulated Sites, Civil and Environmental Consultants (CEC) Inc., Raynham, MA. CEC completed a literature review to better understand the types of PFAS releases in New England. Empirical information was collected on a variety of parameters including PFAS plume length and area, the status of investigation and remedial activities, the maximum concentrations of regulated PFAS compounds detected in groundwater and soil proximal to the source sites, and the industry/source type at each location. 
 
The results of the review include analysis of PFAS distribution at regulated sites in New England to an effort to better identify and understand trends. Jon Kitchen, PG, LSP, presented CEC’s findings at an LSPA member meeting in April 2022. The slides and video from that meeting are available here.

Evaluation of PFAS in Rain Across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Woodard & Curran, Inc., Canton, MA. Woodard & Curran recently conducted a study to assess if PFAS is present in rain falling across Massachusetts and if so, at what levels relative to other studies. Another research question explored differences in PFAS concentration when different precipitation event types are considered. Twenty-five sampling stations were distributed across the Commonwealth.
 
At an LSPA May 2022 member meeting, the Woodard & Curran project team discussed the geographic distribution of PFAS detected and explored the different dynamics of each storm event. The slides and video from that meeting are available here

A third study, High Viscosity LNAPL Recoverability Assessment, is currently underway by Steve Boynton, LSP, of Subsurface Environmental Solutions (SES), Andover, MA. This research builds on the MCP requirement to evaluate LNAPL recovery “if and to the extent feasible.” The project will evaluate LNAPL thickness measurability by tracking the time required to obtain the depth to the LNAPL/water interface for various mixtures of No. 2 and No. 6 oil. The objective is to determine the viscosity above which typical transmissivity testing equipment (oil/water interface probes and peristaltic pumps) cannot be reliably used. It is hoped that results will assist in providing LSPs with a simple viscosity-based metric to conclude that transmissivity testing is or is not feasible. SES plans to present findings in a short course for technical LSP credit sometime in Fall 2022. 

Do you have a project idea that needs funding? Read more about how to apply for a WES Grant or complete the application formtoday!


July 2020 Newsletter

LSPA's July 2020 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....

LSPA Comments on MassDEP's Second Public Review Draft LNAPL Guidance

LSPA Comments on MassDEP's Second Public Review Draft LNAPL Guidance 

The LSPA submitted comments on December 18, 2015 to MassDEP on its Second Public Review Draft of Light Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPL) and the MCP: Guidance for Site Assessment and Closure, Policy #WSC‐14‐450. Read our cover letter and comments

MassDEP Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup Updates

MassDEP Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup Updates 

The second public review draft of the Light Nonaqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL) Guidance is posted under “Draft Policies & Guidance” here.  This document has been updated to reflect public comments received on the first (July 2014) draft.  BWSC will be holding a meeting on the revised draft on Thursday November 12, 2015 at 10:00 am at MassDEP’s Boston Office, One Winter Street 2nd floor conference rooms A & B.  Please submit any written comments on the second public hearing draft by Friday December 18, 2015 to [email protected]

2014 MCP Regulatory Changes: Characterizing and Closing Out NAPL Sites

By: Wesley E. Stimpson, Technical Practices Committee

The recent revisions to the MCP, most of which became effective June 20, 2014, substantially change how sites with NAPL are characterized and moved through the MCP process.  In addition to some new terminology, MassDEP has embraced the fundamental scientific principles describing the behavior of fluid flow in porous media necessary to assess NAPL in subsurface strata.  PRPs are now asked to provide multiple lines of evidence to support any endpoint conclusions, and MassDEP will be looking for more data than has historically been provided in support of closing out this type of disposal sites.  The NAPL Upper Concentration Limit of 0.5 inches no longer needs to be met, and in fact is no longer available to be used as a component for obtaining an endpoint. 

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