Looking Back and Ahead

On Mar 16, 2022

All years are challenging, but 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic challenged everyone.

Still, the LSRPA managed to provide all its services to its members and held its first virtual Site Remediation Conference in 2021.

After beginning to offer online continuing education courses, in 2020, all courses were online in 2021. The Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board approved 57 continuing education applications by the LSRPA, including popular roundtables, new education courses, and tech talks. Six collaborative courses were held with the NJDEP.

More online courses are planned for 2022, including on-demand courses. The licensing board also recently announced it will treat many online courses as if they were held in person for the purpose of renewing an LSRP license.

Of course, regulatory changes continue, as they do every year. Mark Pietrucha, the LSRPA president for 2021, says, “We stayed on top of a lot of pending regulatory changes and we are continuing to do that.” LSRPA input was vital to more than 10 NJDEP documents issued in 2021, including RAO guidance, fill material guidance, and the field sampling procedures manual. The LSRPA also contributed to LSRP case study training.

Pietrucha is particularly proud the LSRPA fundraising programs both continued and expanded throughout the year. “Our fundraising efforts are not only important to our scholarships, but they are also important to developing a good LSRP network and getting our members involved,” he says.

Two events – a cornhole tournament and a golf event – together raised $48,000 for the scholarship efforts of the LSRPA and the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Women Environmental Professionals. For those new in their careers, the Aspiring Professionals Committee brought people together for networking, trivia and training.

In keeping with their purpose, LSRPs also continued to clean up contaminated industrial sites despite the pandemic. From early 2020, when it began, through most of 2021, LSRPs closed more than 1,100 projects around the state, including filing more than 2,500 RAOs, indicating that remediation of a site or a portion of a site was completed.

In 2022, the LSRPA membership selected seven members for either renewed terms or new terms on its board: David Morris, who will be president for 2022; William Call and Candace Baker, who will be vice presidents; Ken Haduch, who will be secretary; and John Scagnelli, Andrew Robins and Michael Poland. Rebecca Hollender, who is already serving a term on the board, will be treasurer.

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