The LSP Association Scholarship Fund is accepting applications for educational scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year. Deadline for submission has been extended to Friday, May 29, 2020.
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. |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.
|
On Friday, April 3, 2020 the LSPA submitted comments to the MA Department of Revenue on Working Draft Regulation 830 CMR 63.38Q.1, the Massachusetts Brownfields Tax Credit. Read our cover letter and the accompanying spreadsheet which presents our comments in more detail. Many thanks to the LSPA's Regulations Committee for compiling comments and to the many LSPA members who shared their feedback on the Working Draft regulation.
|
Provided below is more information on three items that may be of interest to LSPA members:
Emergency Order Extending State Permit Deadlines Governor Baker signed an emergency order on March 26, 2020 which essentially extends state permit deadlines and specifically addresses constructive approvals, hearing deadlines, decision deadlines, appeal rights, and more.
|
Federal Payroll Protection Program for Small Businesses, including sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals
The Federal government has expanded the Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loan eligibility to include certain small businesses and other organizations. This includes small businesses and also sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals
Brian Kindorf, the LSPA's bookkeeping/accounting contractor at Non Profit Capital Management www.npcm.com, reports that:
The loans will be made via SBA approved lenders - which means local banks will be administering this program directly. The application has not been released yet but you can always pro-actively contact your bank's lending department for details and information. Expect a few weeks for this program to get fully up-and-running - but maybe the SBA will move faster in this case.
More information from NPCM is provided here.
Additional information here.
Take care and be safe.
|
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.
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
One tap mobile
+19294362866,,5234505769# US (New York)
+13126266799,,5234505769# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 523 450 5769
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/axNF9imf4
|
The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the February 2020 Membership Meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough, MA on February 12, 2020.
COMPLIANCE TIP OF THE MONTH
The LSPA received the following email from MassDEP on Thursday, January 23, 2020.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has updated its Method for the Determination of Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons (EPH) and the corresponding CAM protocol, WSC-CAM-IVB, Quality Control Requirements and Performance Standards for the Analysis of Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons (EPH) in Support of Response Actions under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan. The updates include revised holding times when samples are frozen, clarifications on the peak integration process during calibration, and a series of other minor revisions and clarifications. A complete list of the updates is provided in the preface of the revised method. The revised method may be found here.
The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the January 2020 Membership Meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Andover, MA on January 16, 2020.
COMPLIANCE TIP OF THE MONTH
The LSPA presented the following compliance tip at the November 2019 Membership Meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough, MA on November 21, 2019.
COMPLIANCE TIP OF THE MONTH
Last night, LSPA’s Emerging Professionals Committee hosted Introduction to Drilling Techniques with Technical Drilling Services (TDS). At the sold-out event at their headquarters in Sterling, TDS demonstrated various drilling and monitoring well installation methods. Environmental consultants along with students from Bridgewater State University (BSU) learned about basic drilling/sampling techniques (including continuous and discrete soil cores) and groundwater monitoring well installations on a 15-foot monitoring well.
Here are a few photos from the event (photo credit to Michael Penzo).
In anticipation of the LSPA’s November 21, 2019 member meeting on MassDEP’s Natural Resource Damages (NRD) Program, the LSPA highlights one such project: the completion of the Mystic Riverfront Restoration project on the shores of the Mystic River in Arlington, MA at a location directly impacted by a 2013 spill of nearly 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
To compensate for the harm to the Mystic River from the spill, MassDEP settled a claim for Natural Resource Damages. These funds support work that began in 2017 and involved MassDEP, DCR, the Town of Arlington's Conservation Commission and DPW.