Fall Issue: November 2024

As the warmth and bright light of summer fades into the autumn and winter seasons, all of us here at NEWMOA wish you and yours a nice upcoming holiday season. Soon we'll have an announcement regarding the planned 2026 NEWMOA PFAS Conference, but until those details are final, please read below for news on former NEWMOA staff that you likely interacted with at some point.

As always, please connect with us if we can be of help in your work within our core program areas of solid and hazardous waste, waste site cleanup, and in our three clearinghouses addressing toxicity elimination, reduction and alternatives at the state and local level. Thank you.

~Melissa Lavoie, NEWMOA Executive Director

In Memorandum of Former NEWMOA Executive Director Bill Cass

In Appreciation of Longtime NEWMOA Employee Lois Makina

Lois Makina, NEWMOA’s first full-time paid employee, retired at the end of September. Lois spent her entire 36-year professional career as NEWMOA’s administrative support and office manager. Lois did so much of the behind-the-scenes work to keep NEWMOA running well during all those years. Her dedication to NEWMOA is much appreciated, and her positive outlook, wise words, warm smile, and fun laugh will be greatly missed by the NEWMOA team and everyone that worked with her.  Thank you, Lois!

PFAS Webinars from NEWMOA's Waste Site Cleanup Program

PFAS Webinars

NEWMOA has developed a series of webinars on a wide range of PFAS topics. The next two are happening in December: 

PFAS: Background Studies on December 5th  

• Donald Ward, NYS DEC: Summaries of PFAS in Precipitation Sampling at Two NYS Monitoring Sites and Two NYS PFAS Air Deposition Source Investigations 
• Amy Rosenstein, US ACE: Background PFAS Concentrations in Soil and Sediment – An Overview with a Focus on the Northeast 

More information and registration: https://www.newmoa.org/event/pfas-background-studies 

PFAS: Investigating Wastewater and Septic Systems as the Source on December 11th  

• Jennifer Harfmann, NH DES: Presence of PFAS in Domestic Wastewater and Potential Sources 
• Brittany O’Brien-Drake & Jasmine Stefansky, NYS DEC: Two Case Studies: Exploring Commercial, Industrial, & Wastewater Sources of PFAS 

More information and registration: https://www.newmoa.org/event/pfas-wastewater-septic-systems-webinar

The below webinars have already occurred – PDFs of the presentations are posted on our website, and you can access more information by clicking the blue links in the titles below.

PFAS: Some Basics  

• Linda Gaines, US EPA: Historical Uses of PFAS 
• Ian Ross, CDM Smith: Broad Spectrum PFAS – Detecting Precursors 

PFAS: Two Emerging Issues  

• Ian Ross, CDM Smith: PFAS Ultrashorts: The Long and Short of It! 
• Laura Trozzolo, TRC: PFAS Practical Guide to Vapor Intrusion 

PFAS Forensics: Best Practices for Unwinding Complex PFAS Sources 

• Michael Eberle, TRC: Whose PFAS is it? Tips for Forensics Evaluations 
• Matt Dunn, TetraTech: Precursor PFAS: A New Fluorinated Feedback Loop 

 

PFAS: Improving Risk Communication with the Public  

• Claire Nitsche, Washington State DOH: Be Less “Government-y!”: Community-Centered PFAS Risk Communication in Washington State 

PFAS: Investigating Inputs to Wastewater Treatment Plants  

• Logan Hayes, California DTSC: Cosmetics Contribute to PFAS at Wastewater Treatment Plants in California’s Dense Urban Environments 
• Anne Tavalire, Michigan EGLE: Reducing PFAS Discharged to Wastewater Treatment Plants: the Michigan Experience 

PFAS: Thermal Technologies  

• Rebecca DiStefano, Calgon Carbon: Thermal Destruction of PFAS During Full-scale Reactivation of PFAS-laden Granular Activated Carbon 
• Robert Martin, Clean Earth: Developments in the Remediation of PFAS Contaminated Soil by Thermal Desorption 

PFAS: Definitions for Policymaking & Federal Regulations Update  

• Linda Gaines, US EPA: To Be or Not to Be A PFAS 
• Dianne Phillips, Holland & Knight: Buckle Your Seatbelts: 2024 Federal Regulatory Updates for PFAS 

PFAS in Ski Wax: Human Health & Environmental Impacts 

• Kathryn Crawford, Middlebury College: Evaluating PFAS Exposure from Fluorinated Waxes Among US Snow Sport Participants  
• Gail Carlson, Colby College: Environmental Contamination from Fluorinated Ski Wax Use 

PFAS: Agricultural Impacts – Research & Response in Maine 

• Mary Yurlina, Maine DACF: Maine’s PFAS Response for Agriculture – Program Launch & Lessons Learned  
• Duncan Pfaehler, Maine DACF: Investigating Uptake of PFOS in Vegetables on Farms in Maine 

Please contact Jennifer Griffith with any questions regarding the webinars at jgriffith@newmoa.org 

Plastic Waste Reduction & Recycling Project Info from NEWMOA's Solid Waste & Sustainable Materials Management Program

Promoting Strategies to Reduce Plastic Waste & Enhance Recycling

 

NEWMOA has published three fact sheets targeted to the public to educate residents, local officials, institutions, and businesses in targeted areas of Maine and Vermont on why reducing plastic use is important and promote ideas for alternatives. Two of the handouts provide general information on the problems plastic use creates and ideas to reduce plastic use, while the third is more specific to recycling in one of the project partner locations. 

• The Problem with Plastic: Why Care About Reducing Plastic Use?  
• Understanding Plastic Recycling in the Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District (NEKWMD) 
• Plastics: Reduce & Reuse – Save $$$ and the Planet 

Future project work includes developing a guide specific to food service providers such as restaurants, grocery stores, schools, and other institutions and then conducting outreach. 

IC2's Ken Zarker Travel Scholarship

The Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse invites submissions for our 2025 Ken Zarker Award for Students and Early Career Professionals. The next deadline for applications is December 20th 2024 for conferences in 2025. Awards will be announced a few weeks after the application deadline.

The Ken Zarker Award supports the participation of students and early career professionals in attending a green chemistry, toxics use reduction, or alternative assessment conference or workshop that occurs between January 1 and December 31, 2025. These events can be state, regional, or national in scale; they must have a minimum of one session on green chemistry, alternatives assessment (AA), toxics use reduction, pollution prevention (P2), or safer alternatives.

The 2025 award(s) of either $500 or $1,000 will help support expenses associated with participating in conferences or workshops. Applicants will be asked to provide estimated expenses, e.g., transportation, lodging, registration fees, and food.

Learn More:

https://www.theic2.org/about/ken-zarker-travel-award/

 News from NEWMOA's Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH)

In 2024, the landscape of legislation addressing emerging concerns about toxics in packaging is evolving. The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH) held an Open House on September 9th to present how TPCH has been using their interstate clearinghouse framework for over two decades to assist both states and industry with harmonization of, and compliance with, the 19 toxics in packaging laws.

Over 100 attendees heard about the history and structure of TPCH, how it has helped the states of Minnesota, Connecticut, and New Jersey implement toxics in packaging laws, and ways it benefits industry group members.

TPCH is open to new members, including states with toxics in packaging laws or those considering them, as well as industry members whose missions align with TPCH. See this TPCH webpage for copies of the agenda, presentation slides, and a recording of the Open House.

NEWMOA’s FY 2025 Officers:

• Bill Ottaway, NYSDEC, Chair
• Matt Chapman, VT DEC, Vice Chair
• Treasurer (CT DEEP)

Additional FY 2025 Board members:

• Jennifer Perry, CT DEEP
• Graham Stevens, CT DEEP
• Susanne Miller, ME DEP
• Greg Cooper, MA DEP
• Diane Baxter, MA DEP
• Tiffany Skogstrom, MA OTA
• Mike Wimsatt, NH DES
• Mike Hastry, NJ DEP
• Janine MacGregor, NJ DEP
• John Vana, NYSDEC
• Ron Gagnon, RI DEM
• Leo Hellested, RI DEM

FY 2025 Program Chairs:

• Heather Rochford, MassDEP - Hazardous Waste
• Justin Waltz, Oregon Health Authority - Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse (IC2)
• Brenna Giannetti, CT DEEP - Interstate Mercury Education & Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC)
• Chris Nelson, CT DEEP - Solid Waste & Sustainable Materials Management
• Tom Metzner, CT DEEP - Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse
• Diane Baxter, MassDEP - Waste Site Cleanup



news@NEWMOA

news@NEWMOA is designed to help our members and colleagues keep informed about the Association's projects and activities. You are receiving this e-newsletter because you are a member of a NEWMOA working group, committee, or program; invitee to NEWMOA events; a colleague at EPA or a related organization; connected to the Association in some other way; or have expressed interest in our work. news@NEWMOA contributors include Mikalah Bailey, Shaina Cohen, John Fay, Stephanie Frisch, Jennifer Griffith, Karen Knaebel, and Melissa Lavoie.

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NEWMOA is a non-profit, non-partisan, interstate association whose membership is composed of the state environment agency programs that address pollution prevention, toxics use reduction, sustainability, materials management, hazardous waste, solid waste, emergency response, waste site cleanup, underground storage tanks, and related environmental challenges in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. NEWMOA also works collaboratively with non-member states on issues and programs of national importance.  

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