Meet Mike Hastry, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), 2019 NEWMOA Finance Committee member
NEWMOA:
Tell us about yourself and your background.
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Mike:
I am a 33-year veteran of the NJDEP with a B.S. in Environmental Science from Marist College, NY and am also a Certified Public Manager from Rutgers University. Prior to NJDEP, I did some lab work as an inorganic analyst, worked in a county planning office doing flood plain work, and worked on hi-rise construction in NYC. At NJDEP, I started as an inspector/case manager in the waste and remediation programs and worked up the ranks.
NEWMOA:
What do you do at NJDEP?
Mike:
Currently, I hold the position of Director-Waste Enforcement, Pesticides, and Release Prevention, one of the more multi-faceted and diverse Divisions under the Compliance and Enforcement umbrella. I oversee the Solid W aste, Hazardous Waste (RCRA), Regulated Medical Waste, Pesticides, Underground Storage Tank (UST), Discharge Prevention, and the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Enforcement Programs. Our Division is comprised of five bureaus (105 staff) with a combined annual operating budget of approximately $13 million.
NEWMOA:
What are your priorities for NEWMOA? What do you hope it will accomplish?
Mike:
While not a large organization, NEWMOA has steadfastly increased its presence and reach not only in the Northeast but throughout the country and within U.S. EPA. NEWMOA has worked hard to identify emerging issues, coordinate the learning curve, establish appropriate contacts, and provide relevant thoughts as to where to go next. All this, on top of keeping momentum with on-going initiatives and issues and working to secure stable funding through grants and other means. It is my intent that we continue in this fashion. While our environmental challenges never cease, increasing our influence with EPA is most important (particularly at this current time) as it provides us with the opportunity to be as close to the ground floor as possible regarding anticipated new rules and/or rule changes. The earlier we are aware and can try to influence national regulatory direction, (often in concert with other states or organizations), the better the outcome for us. None of our member states are particular fans of simply functioning as a general stakeholder come rule time, especially when we have to enforce many of the federal rules. I am a fervent believer in implementing proactive measures to help drive understanding and compliance, particularly when confronted with rule changes or new rules. NEWMOA continues to lead in this regard by providing training, webinars, publications, data availability, and other avenues with well-rounded and practical guidance.
A major strength of NEWMOA is the expertise that its staff and member states bring to the table to help develop strategies and initiatives, address deficiencies, or increase compliance. This demands not only an understanding of the various issues, rules, and regulations, but also an understanding of the areas and people being impacted. Often, coming up with solutions requires some new ideas and some thinking outside the box. In turn, this requires having diverse staff who can understand and relate to the various perspectives and impacts to help come up with that "Aha" moment or idea. It is often true that 'like' minds have a tendency to produce 'like' ideas. Having a broad base of minds is a must for quality brainstorming and strategy development. This naturally applies to another of our never-ceasing challenges - funding. As we're constantly reminded by Terri (Goldberg), the competition is tough. There are a lot of environmentally-oriented organizations out there, which is a great thing, except when looking for funding help. NEWMOA staff have done their part - consistently "leaning" out its operations (EPA could take a lesson here - or maybe we should branch out to providing "Lean advice services") and seeking new, sometimes non-traditional sponsors to help support the mission. Still more will have to be done.
NEWMOA:
What's one thing you would like people to know about you?
Mike:
My father was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa Claus for over 25 years prior to the current Santa. Myself and my siblings were all in the Parade (either on floats, or as clowns, or holding down the balloons) every year from 2nd grade all through college. Even my kids got to participate for a number of years. Wonderful experience!
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Board of Directors
NEWMOA's Board of Directors met in June in Burlington, VT to discuss state and EPA waste, toxics, PFAS, and pollution prevention challenges and NEWMOA's FY 2019 projects, funding, and strategic priorities. They discussed the initiatives that are described below.
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NEWMOA has partnered with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), and others to organize a regional science conference on PFAS. The conference will take place March 31-April 1, 2020 at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center, in Framingham, MA. The goals of the conference are to:
- Ensure that local, state, and federal action to address PFAS contamination is informed by the most current and reliable science
- Facilitate networking and information-sharing among key stakeholders on PFAS topics
- Identify important gaps in the science and policy to help inform future research
NEWMOA expects conference attendance to be approximately 400 people, including:
- Local, state, and federal government officials
- Academic researchers and students
- Consultants and vendors
- Companies that use, make, or sell products that contain PFAS
- Non-governmental and environmental organizations
The conference will include plenary and concurrent sessions and an exhibit and poster area. The concurrent sessions are anticipated to cover:
- Health Impacts & Environmental Behavior
- Treatment, Remediation, & Disposal
- PFAS Uses & Alternatives
- Environmental Sampling & Analysis
Call for Presentations & Posters
NEWMOA will be issuing a call for presentations and posters. The conference organizers will be holding a poster competition to select at least one for special recognition under each of the conference tracks. Check the conference webpage for the call for presentations and posters later in the summer.
Call for Sponsors
Why should you sponsor?
Conference sponsors will have high visibility prior to and during the conference. NEWMOA will include the sponsors' names and logos on its conference webpages and social media postings and on handouts and signs during the conference. During the conference, the sponsors will be prominently displayed on PowerPoint slides during the plenary sessions and will be acknowledged during those sessions and others. There are three levels of sponsorship, including platinum, gold, and silver.
Conference Sponsors as of July 2019 include:
Platinum
Gold
Silver
For more information and to become a conference Sponsor, contact Terri Goldberg.
Call for Exhibitors
Why should you exhibit?
Many of the attendees buy products and services, such as:
- Analytical instruments and services
- Monitoring and sampling equipment and services
- Remediation and treatment equipment and services
- Consulting services
- Training and education products and service
Table top and booth exhibit space will be available. Check back to the conference webpage for information on the exhibit cost and logistics later in the summer.
Conference Planning Committee
- Meghan Cassidy, U.S. EPA Region 1 Superfund Technical & Enforcement Support Section
- Daniel D'Agostino, U.S. EPA Region 2, Clean Water Division
- Barbara Firebaugh, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC)
- Jennifer Guelfo, Brown University, Superfund Research Program, Texas Tech. Univ. Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering
- Wendy Heiger-Bernays, Boston University School of Public Health, Superfund Research Program
- Steve Maybury, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP)
- Jennifer Miller, Vista Analytical Lab
- Kara Murphy, Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM)
- Geoffrey Pellechia, SGS North America
- Laurel Schaider, Silent Spring Institute
- Mia Rodriguez-Semp, Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance (OTA)
- Tiffany Skogstrom, Massachusetts OTA
- Mark Smith, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Mass DEP)
- Richard Spiese, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC)
- Christina Stringer, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC)
- Elsie Sunderland, Harvard University Arts & Sciences, Superfund Research Program
- Steve Woodard, ECT
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Waste Site Cleanup Program
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PFAS Webinars
NEWMOA's recent webinars on PFAS focused on the "Results of Fish Tissues Studies in New Jersey and New York", "Vermont's Soil Background Study and the Transformation of PFAS in the Environment", "Sampling Challenges in the Field and Michigan's Industrial Pre-treatment Program Initiative", and "Assessing Laboratory Data Quality". To view the PowerPoint slides for these webinars, visit
www.newmoa.org/cleanup/workshops.cfm.
Next NEWMOA Workshop - Redevelopment of Contaminated Properties & Conflicts with Stormwater Requirements: What You Need to Know
To mitigate contamination to waterways, stormwater programs promote the use of onsite infiltration. However, at many contaminated properties, the remediation plan allows contamination to remain onsite if it is isolated from direct contact and precipitation. The goals of the two programs can be at odds, and the redevelopment plan for a contaminated property can be negatively impacted if the two professions do not work together. NEWMOA has organized this workshop to educate state program staff and the consulting community on this topic. The workshop will be held on September 25, 2019 at UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center, Lowell, MA; September 26, 2019 at Fireside Inn and Suites, Lebanon, NH; and November 6, 2019 at Quinebaug Valley Community College, Danielson, CT. For more information, visit: www.newmoa.org/events/event.cfm?m=386 or contact Jennifer Griffith.
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States are facing a wave of retirements and loss of their practical knowledge. In response, NEWMOA has held a series of workshops to share basic information and lessons learned with new staff. NEWMOA recently held the third and final workshop in this series, "Remedy Selection: Planning for Success and Lessons Learned". This workshop focused on choosing a remediation strategy at a site given the conceptual site model (CSM) and the remedial action objectives.
- Setting the remedial action objectives
- Benefits and challenges of technologies
- Feasibility studies
- RCRA requirements at remediation sites
- Moving from remedy selection to implementation
- Case study and lessons learned
Thank you to the workshop sponsors:
Platinum
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Solid Waste and Sustainable Materials Management Program
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Materials Management & Climate Change
The Fact Sheet emphasizes that a significant percentage of greenhouse gases are associate with the production, transportation, and disposal of materials and products. In fact, one recent study has found that greenhouse gas releases from consumption are increasing even as those from direct use of energy by consumers in their homes and for transportation are decreasing. The Fact Sheet includes ten steps that consumers can take to make a difference.
Pharmaceutical Waste
In October, NEWMOA will begin a technical assistance project in northern New Hampshire and Vermont to improve access to proper management of unused medications. The project will focus on establishing collection programs at long-term care facilities, and if possible, at pharmacies and/or law enforcement agencies. The project will also work with home hospice and health care providers to develop standard guidance and provide them with prepaid mailers that clients can use to send unused medication for destruction. For more information, contact Jennifer Griffith.
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NEWMOA held two workshops in June for state hazardous waste staff in EPA Regions 1 and 2 for more than 100 inspectors combined. At least one of the workshops covered: Land Disposal Restrictions (LDRs), e-manifest implementation, enforcement targeting, inspecting for RCRA air emissions requirements, listed waste and how it attaches to cleanup sites, interesting enforcement cases, and waste generated by hemp and marijuana growers and processers.
NEWMOA has also held recent conference calls on EPA's Pharmaceutical Waste Rule, the status of EPA's e-manifest system, EPA's Generator Improvement Rule, and RCRA financial assurance approaches of the states.
These workshops and calls are for state and EPA officials in the northeast, who are involved in the hazardous waste and other waste programs.
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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 a related organization or EPA; connected to the Association in some other way; or have expressed interest in our work.
If you have questions about delivery of this e-Newsletter, contact Lois Makina.
Please share this newsletter with others in your agency or organization that might be interested.
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Newsletter contributors
Andy Bray, Topher Buck, Terri Goldberg, Jennifer Griffith, and Lois Makina.
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