Six Years of Accomplishments and Many Opportunities Ahead

On Feb 26, 2015

As this special section of New Jersey Business magazine goes to print, the New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association (LSRPA) is observing its sixth anniversary! We’ll celebrate by sharing our history, our accomplishments and our insights about the next generation of site remediation improvements.

The LSRPA began as a coalition of environmental scientists and engineering consultants who realized that the changes envisioned in the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) would have a significant impact on the scientists, geologists, engineers and other professionals in the field of site remediation. Knowing that our voices needed to be part of the debate to overhaul New Jersey’s site cleanup program, the coalition gave remedial professionals the gravitas needed to sit at the table and join the discussion with the Legislature and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as the new program was being developed. Incorporated on March 10, 2009 as the LSRPA, a 501(c)(6) trade organization, we have stayed at the table ever since, advocating for remediation program improvements and the importance of professional judgment in remedial decisions that are protective of human health and the environment.

LSRPA volunteers have been on the front line of regulatory and guidance document debate, preparation and implementation. Our Committee Chairs and members attend every Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board meeting, and we have established a range of quarterly meetings with DEP management to enhance communication and advocate on behalf of LSRPA membership concerns. We share the information from those meetings with our members in the form of breakfast seminars, electronic newsletters, practice pointers, compliance alerts and “tools of the trade” posts to the Association website, www.lsrpa.org. Our website also provides scheduling information and registration links for a wide range of the continuing education courses required by all LSRPs to maintain their certification, including the LSRPA sponsored ethics course, which every license holder must take during each 3-year licensing cycle. Sue Boyle, our Executive Director, ensures that inquiries posted to our website are routed to the best technical resources within the Association’s Steering Committee, which it promptly addressed.

Anniversaries are wonderful opportunities to reflect on accomplishments, but also a time to look ahead to the future. We initiated events for aspiring licensees by joining with other like-minded organizations in hosting informative networking sessions for the next generation of licensed professionals. Our sixth anniversary was the right time to initiate our scholarship program. Named to honor Elmeryl Davies, the late wife of Julian Davies, one of the coalition’s and Association’s founders and most active members, the LSRPA is awarding $10,000 in scholarships in 2015 to students at New Jersey colleges and universities interested in pursuing careers as site remediation professionals.

The LSRPA is glad you are spending some time with us on our anniversary. Enjoy the section and please feel free to reach out to us if you require additional information.

Sincerely,

Steve Posten, LSRP
President, LSRPA

 

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