Winter, 2015/2016
In this Issue:
December is naturally a time to look ahead and plan for the
next year. Before getting too wrapped up
in thinking about what comes next, however, I think it is important to reflect
on all that has been accomplished over the past year. Whatever the metric is that you use – permits
issued, inspections conducted, etc. – it has been a busy and productive year at
the Department. For example, DEP has concluded a total of 4,225 permit applications in 2015, illustrating the hard work and dedication of Department staff.
2015 has also been a year of change,
and that will continue into 2016.
Obviously, Pattie’s departure marked a change in the Commissioner’s
Office, but there were many more changes, including Leslie Anderson stepping in
as a new Bureau Director and the departure of long-time Department employee Jim
Dusch. Most recently, we added a couple
of new faces to the Commissioner’s Office with Bill Longfellow stepping in as
Director of Innovation and Assistance and Ron Mongeon taking over all
enforcement activities. Whether change
is the result of people coming and going or realigning the structure of
bureaus, everyone has stepped up to the challenge and we’ve been able to
fulfill the Department’s mission.
Reflecting on the year also
provides a great opportunity for recognition.
This month, the Governor presented his Manager of the Year awards and
his Employee of the Year awards.
Marybeth Richardson was this year’s recipient of the Manager of the Year
award and N. Lynn Cornfield was the posthumous recipient of the Employee of the
Year award for the Department. Of
course, there are certainly others who deserve recognition for their service
and dedication to the environment and people of Maine. Not everyone may believe this but I get a
fair share of e-mails and letters every month from constituents praising the
work of the Department and its employees.
These are always great to receive and it is important that this good
work is recognized.
Soon enough, we’ll turn to
preparing for and planning 2016 but before then please join me in looking back
warmly on 2015.
|
As the DEP continues to implement ways to do more with less, the New Year will see realignment of portions of the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management (BRWM). By realigning some of the functions of the RCRA and the Ground and Surface Water Fund areas, we are better situated to meet the realities of reduced funding and growing environmental cleanup demands.
The RCRA Corrective Action and Closure work will move to the Remediation Division where it is more functionally aligned. The remaining work in the Hazardous Waste Unit will move to the Materials Management Division, previously the Solid Waste Management Division. Staff will cross train in solid waste, liquid waste, beneficial waste, and hazardous waste to create a more holistic approach to waste and materials management.
Our realignment will allow this group to complete a comprehensive and long overdue update and review of our State rules and regulations to align with new federal rules on hazardous and pharmaceutical wastes and meet our commitments to EPA. In order to ensure the Materials Management Unit has the capacity and resources to timely implement these critical projects, landfill licensing and corrective actions will move to Technical Services and be functionally realigned with the engineering unit for landfills.
The Oil and Hazardous Waste Unit will be re-titled the Petroleum Management Division. Two project managers from Remediation will join the Petroleum Management Unit to include bulk oil storage and transport. The Department is facing an enormous increase in tank removals unlike any we have seen in 30 years. This will stress the groundwater fund as never before. The Petroleum Management Division is charged with tackling the challenge of developing a plan for handling the removal assessments, cleanups, and establishing remediation priorities to be addressed and implemented within a short time frame. Working as a team, the entire Bureau will develop and implement innovative response and cleanup procedures from discovery through remediation of sites so that we can achieve the greatest environmental benefit with limited funding.
As part of our commitment to supporting and engaging our partners in environmental protection, DEP and our partners host many educational opportunities across Maine. For a complete list of training opportunities, visit the Maine DEP Training web page.
New Online MAIRIS Training
In an effort to make training more accessible, the Air Bureau's Emissions Inventory Unit has completed two of ten planned online training segments for users of Maine’s Air Inventory Reporting System (MAIRIS). Licensed facilities use this online system to submit their annual air emissions inventory. The segments are available on the DEP Training webpage under “Webinars”. Each training segment will be approximately 5-10 minutes and will provide training and instruction for specific stages of the inventory submission.
Additional Training Resources
Tank Smart Online Operator Training
Asbestos and Lead Training Opportunities
Code Enforcement Officer training calendar
Maine DOT Local Roads Program workshops
Congratulations and best wishes to our recent retiree:
Glen Wall, Oil & Hazardous Materials Responder I
A warm welcome to the newest members of the DEP staff and department transfers:
Doris Peaslee, Office Associate II Supervisor - Bureau of Land Resources
Lisa Shenett, Office Associate II - Bureau of Land Resources
Dawn Abbott, ES III - Bureau of Land Resources
Andrea Lani, ES III - Bureau of Land Resources
Kurt Yuengling, ES III - Bureau of Water Quality
Cindy Dionne, ES III - Bureau of Water Quality
|
The long tradition of DEP staff generosity continued this year with two charitable efforts: more than $14,000 in charitable donations through the Maine State Employees Combined Charitable Appeal (MSECCA) and also by providing over 70 gifts to 13 veterans currently served by the Bread of Life Ministries homeless shelter in Augusta.
During its 35-year history, about $8 million has been raised through MSECCA, making it one of Maine’s most meaningful workplace giving campaigns. Last year, State workers and retirees showed their collaborative commitment to their communities by contributing almost $300,000 through one-time gifts or scheduled payroll/retirement deductions. Hundreds of charities are affiliated with the campaign through participating federations, but donors can also direct monetary gifts to an organization of their choice not listed.
Bread of Life Ministries under
contract with the Homeless Veteran’s Program at Togus Hospital (Veteran’s
Administration) provides emergency shelter services for combat and non-combat
service members. This is the only shelter in the State of Maine that offers
this service. The program and services include but are not limited to; 24 hour
shelter, food and case management services to connect our Veteran’s to
necessary resources. These resources include the following; accessing
permanent housing, mental health and substance abuse services, medical
services, legal services, and employment services, among many others. The
Veteran’s emergency shelter offers an environment that is “home-like” and
offers camaraderie where they feel safe and honored for their service to this
country. As of November 30th of this calendar year, Bread of Life
has served 75 Veterans.
 |
|
This past summer, Massabesic Middle School principal Mark
Fisher contacted staff from the Division of Sustainability to help them develop
a composting program to handle the nearly 500 lbs. of food scraps that are
collected each week by student volunteers.
The school team decided to compost using horse manure in a large
pile. Food is added to the pile on a
weekly basis and turned as needed using the school's tractor. On December 10th, staff visited the school and
found that the program is operating exceptionally well. The first pile is almost done and ready to be
moved to a curing area. Following
Christmas break, the team plans to build a new compost pile so that they will
have plenty of compost this coming spring!
Stay up to date and follow Maine DEP on twitter @maine_dep.
|
| 
