A Message from the LSRPA: Celebrating Accomplishments and Looking Forward

On Feb 26, 2016

It has been another productive and successful year for the Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association (LSRPA), which advances our profession by providing information, education and technical resources to our membership. The Association promotes the standards of care and use of professional judgment when performing the work of an LSRP in protecting public health, safety and the environment. 

There are currently over 600 members of the LSRPA, 69 percent of whom are LSRPs. Over 160 members are non-LSRP consultants, professionals, suppliers, and lawyers, and 35 students are members. The LSRPA conducts its activities through the volunteer work of our members and their involvement with our various committees that report to the Association’s 11-member Board of Trustees.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) recognizes the LSRPA as the primary group representing LSRPs. Our members are valued stakeholders on NJDEP technical and guidance document committees. They provide comments on proposed regulations, attend all LSRP Licensing Board meetings, and meet quarterly with NJDEP’s Assistant Commissioner of the Site Remediation Program (SRP) and the enforcement, document review and permit processing bureaus of SRP. NJDEP isn’t the only state agency that recognizes the value of LSRPs. According to our member, Mittul Patel, PE, LSRP of BEM Systems, Inc., “the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) and the LSRP process has been a net positive for state agencies including NJ TRANSIT/NJDOT/NJTA. They now have more control over the cleanup schedule, and the assigned LSRP is the 24/7 case manager available to address any regulatory compliance issues.”

The LSRPA shares information with our members in the form of breakfast seminars, continuing education and other training courses, electronic newsletters, periodic member meetings and networking events, compliance alerts and other valuable information posted on our website – www.lsrpa.org.

LSRPA membership essentially pays for itself due to discounts offered to our members by the LSRPA and other continuing education and conference providers.

In addition to the dispute resolution list and the Sounding Board initiatives described in this section, the LSRPA awarded its first four merit-based scholarships in 2015 to assist New Jersey college students interested in a career in site remediation. The newly formed LSRPA Foundation will continue our scholarship program, and a resumé portal for graduating students entering the site remediation field was also established on our website.

The LSRPA has recently begun meeting with key New Jersey legislators to evaluate improvements to SRRA. We look forward to shaping what lies ahead as the program continues to mature.

Sincerely,

Mark D. Fisher, LSRP
President, LSRPA

Mr. Fisher is a Managing Partner of The ELM Group, Inc., an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Princeton, NJ. 

 

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