BWSC
New Q&A On MCP During State of Emergency

April 23, 2020 - POSTED BY Kristi Lefebvre POSTED IN Blog

MassDEP BWSC Introduces New Q&A on MCP Issues During State of Emergency
At the MassDEP Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (BWSC) April 23, 2020 Office Hours, Assistant Commissioner Paul Locke shared new resources that practitioners should be aware of.
 
The MCP Q&A: COVID-19 Edition consists of Questions & Answers about the notification, assessment, cleanup and closure of sites during the COVID-19 State of Emergency. Questions may be submitted to BWSC at
[email protected]. MassDEP staff will respond directly to the questions received and, if a question is of more general interest, post the answers on the website page.
 
Also posted on this page is guidance from U.S. EPA on work at CERCLA (Superfund) and RCRA Corrective Action Sites during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Read more here. 
 
The BWSC continues to hold weekly office hours every Thursday at 9:00 am. Go here for more details. 
 
Recordings of past office hours can be found here.  
 
For additional information, refer to the BWSC April 7, 2020 Fact Sheet entitled

Many thanks to BWSC for providing these resources.  

Be well and stay safe.
Wendy Rundle, Executive Director


Continuity of WSC Activities During COVID-19 - MassDEP Fact Sheet

April 08, 2020 - POSTED BY Kristi Lefebvre POSTED IN Blog


The LSPA received the following email yesterday afternoon from MassDEP BWSC. Among other things, it highlights a fact sheet with guidance outlining expectations related to MCP requirements and site work during the COVID-19 State of Emergency, including discussion of meeting response action deadlines for routine submittals. MassDEP recommends that should work be delayed by postponed field work, reduced staffing, or other interruptions, parties should notify MassDEP of the compliance delay in writing, include the deadline(s) that will be missed, and any measures, if applicable, taken to secure the disposal site during the period of work stoppage. The written notice of delay should be submitted to MassDEP through eDEP using transmittal form BWSC121: Notification of Delay. 

MassDEP BWSC also notes that it intends to exercise enforcement discretion for failure to meet deadlines for routine submittals during this State of Emergency. 
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MassDEP has published a Fact Sheet on the continuity of waste site cleanup activities during the COVID-19 State of Emergency.  

I expect we will discuss the new Fact Sheet and other matters during this week's BWSC Office Hours on Thursday morning. (DETAILS: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/bwsc-office-hours-video-calls)

As always, questions can be directed to [email protected] prior to the Thursday call.
 
I hope you are all safe & well.

  • Paul Locke
MassDEP BWSC Announces Office Hours

March 27, 2020 - POSTED BY Kristi Lefebvre POSTED IN Blog

The LSPA received the following email this morning regarding the MassDEP BWSC New Office Hours.
Hope to see you there - virtually.  

Waste Site Cleanup Advisory Committee members and Other Interested Stakeholders,

During yesterday's BWSC Advisory Committee meeting, it was suggested that the Bureau hold regular meetings over the next few weeks to address issues that may arise while we work through the new COVID-9 paradigm.

We have set aside time on Thursday mornings, 9:00 - 10:00, during which Liz Callahan and I will be available via Zoom.com.

At the very least we will take your questions, issues and concerns and try to find answer... or provide an opportunity to vent. Feel free to check in during that time, and we'll see how this format works for you (and for us).

It may be productive to send questions in to the [email protected] mailbox so that we can get a head start on the response.

Details for the call are below.  You might want to add it to your calendar as a recurring event.
  • Paul Locke
P.S. The handout and link to video from yesterday's meeting is (will be) available through the BWSC Advisory Committee web page.  

Topic: MassDEP Waste Site Cleanup Advisory Office Hours 
Date: Every Thursday, Starting April 2, 2020
Time: 09:00 - 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
 
Join Zoom Meeting 

Meeting ID: 523 450 5769

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LSPA PFAS Task Force

April 19, 2019 - POSTED BY Kristi Lefebvre POSTED IN Blog

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. 
 
3 Minute Update: 9/27/18 MassDEP Advisory Committee Meeting

October 16, 2018 - POSTED BY Kristi Lefebvre POSTED IN Blog

LSPA Regulations Committee

3-Minute Update

Here is a 3-minute update on the September 27, 2018 BWSC Advisory Committee meeting, from the LSPA Regulations Committee Co-Chair, Joe Roman. For a more detailed five page summary of the meeting, please click here.


MassDEP Finalizes Guidelines for Five PFAS in Drinking Water

June 11, 2018 - POSTED BY Kristi Lefebvre POSTED IN Blog

MassDEP released drinking water guidelines today for five PFAS chemicals and sent the following information to Public Water Suppliers and other parties.
 

From the Waste Site Cleanup perspective, the background information on the development of the guideline will also serve as background information for Waste Site Cleanup’s soon-to-be-proposed MCP Method 1 GW-1 Standard for PFAS. 

MassDEP expects to keep us up-to-date throughout the summer on the status of the proposed MCP revisions and MassDEP’s approach to PFAS.

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September Compliance Tip

September 27, 2017 - POSTED BY Kristi Lefebvre POSTED IN Blog

The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the September Membership Meeting at Marriott Newton Hotel in Newton, MA on September 26, 2017. 

When a property with a Notice of Activity and Use Limitation (AUL) has been sold, the Responsible Party must submit to MassDEP a Form BWSC 113 with a copy of the recorded deed conveying the record title.  Remember it is essential that subsequent property owners be given notice of the AUL.

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