Please join us in welcoming Patrick Corcoran, LSP, to the LSPA’s Board of Directors!

A member of the LSPA since 1998, Pat is a Senior Project Manager with EnviroTrac. He has been an environmental consultant for 24 years and an LSP for 18 years. Pat holds a Bachelors degree in Chemistry Engineering from the University of Toronto. Pat has managed a wide range of environmental assessment and remediation projects for major petroleum retailers, industrial manufacturers and other commercial clients, developers, attorneys, insurance companies, and public organizations. He is also a Grade 6 licensed wastewater treatment operator.

Congratulations Matthew Young and welcome to LSPA’s Board of Directors!

Matt, a Senior Project Manager in the Environmental Affairs Department of Cumberland Farms, Inc. (CFI), has worked in the environmental industry for over 11 years as an environmental consultant/scientist and environmental project manager. At CFI, he is responsible for managing and collaborating with a team of consulting firms on a portfolio of varied projects in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. These projects include investigation and remediation of impacted properties, investigating and analyzing real estate transactions, and supporting new store construction through remediation, risk reduction, and soil management practices.

The LSP Association (LSPA) is a conference sponsor for this year’s Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water, and Energy (fondly known as the “Soils Conference”) being held at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts from October 17-20, 2016. The LSPA will have a booth in the conference hall; we invite our members and other participants to stop by for a visit! Registration is now open! Click here to register. Please post a comment here if you are planning on attending.

The conference attracts 600-800 attendees annually which includes a wide variety of representation from state and federal agencies, military, industry (including railroad, petroleum, transportation, and utilities), environmental engineering and consulting, and academia. Click here to view the preliminary program.

The LSPA’s annual “Passing of the Gavel” ceremony took place at our July 27 Leadership Meeting, formally marking the change of LSP presidency from (left to right) Kevin Beaulieu, LSP, to Michael (Mike) Penzo, LSP.

 

LSPA Scholarship Fund Awards Scholarship for Environmental Education to Eric Gulbicki of Cooperstown Environmental

Belmont,  Mass. (July 25, 2016) – The LSP Association (LSPA) Scholarship Fund awarded one of its 2016 educational scholarships to, Eric Gulbicki, a North Reading resident and rising senior at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Eric plans on using the scholarship funds for his undergraduate studies in Environmental Science; he has an expected graduation in May 2017.  

The LSPA received the following information from MassDEP regarding eDEP Updates. Please read carefully!

July 28, 2016 New, revised BWSC104 Permanent and Temporary Solution Statement Form

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.

If you are interested in learning more about the unique situation that resulted in the creation of the LSP profession and the privatized program in Massachusetts then please watch Suspending Disbelief, a video that was created back in 2013 in celebration of our 20^th Anniversary. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is well-worth the time!

The LSP Association requests your nominations for the 2016 "Contribution to the Practice" Awards, to be presented at our Annual Dinner Meeting on Wednesday, October 26, 2016.   

If you know of a deserving candidate and wish to nominate the person and/or organization, please email Kristi Lefebvre, LSPA Communications Manager, with the nominee's name, award category and supporting materials. Deadline for nominations is Friday, July 29, 2016.    
 
Nominations are solicited in the following categories:

LSPA’s Technical Practices Committee (TPC) and Young Professionals Committee (YPC) recently traveled to the Medfield State Hospital for a tour of the facility, led by John Thompson, LSP and member of the Technical Practices Committee.

Dover, Massachusetts LSPs Speak Out: The Dover Greenway is an Environmental Plus

LSPA Requests Your Comments on Draft Technical Update 

MassDEP has recently released the Historic Fill / Anthropogenic Background Public Comment DRAFT Technical Update. A copy is available here on the MassDEP website. The LSPA Regulations Committee is assembling comments on this 12-page draft guidance document and would like your input. Please send your comments, suggestions, and revisions to the LSPA Regulations Committee Co-Chairs by Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Click here for more information about how to do this.

LSPA Board of Directors Election 

Election results are in for the LSPA's Board of Directors.  Marilyn Wade, LSP,  Brown & Caldwell, was re-elected for a second term.  Marilyn currently serves as the LSPA Treasurer.  Two new Board members were elected:  Patrick Corcoran, LSP, EnviroTrac, and Matthew Young, Senior Project Manager, Cumberland Farms. They were each elected for three year terms and will take office on July 1, 2016.  They will replace outgoing Board members, and Past Presidents, Matt Hackman and Paul McKinlay.  Click here for more information about these new Board members. 

Court Decides Peterborough Oil vs. MassDEP 

On June 6, 2016, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its opinion in Peterborough Oil Co. v. MassDEP upholding MassDEP’s interpretation that the word “oil” in the Zone II exemption does not include leaded gasoline.   Read on for a brief summary of the decision.  The LSPA submitted an amicus brief in this case.  

LSPA Scholarship Fund 3rd Annual Golf Tournament 

The LSP Association (LSPA) Scholarship Fund is pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Golf Tournament. For more information, click here.

LSPA Opposes H. 695  - A Bill That Would Affect the LSP Board Process 

The LSPA has written to the Chair of the House Ways & Means Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature expressing its strong opposition to H. 695 which would create an appeals board to hear from those aggrieved by determinations of the current LSP Board of Registration.  Read our letter here.  And contact the committee with your opinion.  

MassDEP Revisiting TCE Sites

By Denise Kmetzo, DABT, Principal, Collaborative Risk Solutions LLC 

LSPA Board of Directors Elections 

The LSPA announces Board candidates and voting to begin on May 9th. Click here to learn more about candidates and the election.