June 2009
| PLEASE NOTE: Some newsletter content is only available to members in good standing of NMSHMM. |
- President's Message - Riding the Rails to Santa Fe
- Plan Now to Attend the 2009 Essentials of Hazardous Materials Management Course
- Membership Update
- Local News Stories
- Upcoming Meetings and Events
- Monthly Meeting Location
- Job Openings
- NMSHMM Officers and Committee Chairs
| Our Mission |
| To
provide environmental professionals in the Southwest a
forum for professional development, education, and networking opportunities; and to offer our community environmental, health, and safety expertise |
President's Message - Riding the Rails to Santa Fe
Mike Sanders, CPG, CHMM
GRAM, Inc.
The May NMSHMM General Meeting was held at Tiny’s restaurant in Santa Fe on Thursday, May 21. Attendance was excellent, with 21 folks from both the Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas, making the event a marked improvement over the last few years for this evening meeting. Approximately 10 folks from the Albuquerque area took the Rail Runner to Santa Fe to attend the evening dinner event. Tiny’s is located within an easy walk of both the Santa Fe Rail Runner stations. The State of New Mexico Runnels office building Station is located west of Tiny’s, and the downtown Santa Fe Depot is located next to Thomasitas restaurant. It was nice to be able to get a short walk in the cool evening air back to the downtown station after dinner.
The speaker (arranged by President-Elect Debbie Finfrock) was Peter (Pete) Maggiore with North Wind Inc., an environmental and engineering services firm with a local office in Los Alamos. Pete was the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Secretary from 1998 to 2002 and was appointed to that position by Governor Gary Johnson. Previously he was Environmental Protection Division Director for the NMED. He is a certified professional geologist (CPG) and holds a B.S. degree in geology from Stony Brook State University and an M.S. degree in geology from University of New Mexico. He has more than 25 years experience in the field of geology and has worked in the fields of mineral exploration, oil and gas exploration, academia, and environmental consulting. Perhaps we could interest Pete in attending our Essentials of Hazardous Materials Management (EHMM) course in November, and becoming a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM)!
Pete talked about the impact of over $200 million in economic stimulus money for Los Alamos National Laboratory environmental and facility remediation projects. He also remarked that companies like North Wind will have a difficult time finding enough qualified people to work on stimulus-funded projects. He noted that there is currently a strong demand for experienced people in the environmental restoration and remediation field.
A number of dinner attendees (myself and Paul Karas included) have known Pete since the late 1980s, and enjoyed catching up. The food and margaritas were excellent, and a good time was had by all. Rail Runner riders caught the train back to Albuquerque at 8:15 pm and arrived by about 9:30 pm. The train was an excellent and enjoyable way to travel between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
It is time to mark your calendar for a fun night of summer baseball at Isotopes Park. NMSHMM is again teaming up with the Albuquerque Health Physics Society to bring you another fun night at the Isotopes Park on Sunday, August 9. This same event was held in July 2008, and a good time was had by all. Thus, a repeat is in order. There will be upper deck seating behind third base at the park, and all-you-can eat food. Seating is limited: a minimum of 40 people and maximum of 50. Seats will be split between NMSHMM and Health Physics Society. The cost for this event is $25.00/person and includes admission to the park, upper deck seating, and all-you-can-eat food. These seats have access to the less crowded upper deck bars and restrooms with no lines. Reservations will be taken on a first-come / first-served basis, so please make your reservations early and RSVP to . I look forward to seeing you there.
Another quick note: on May 5, the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM) celebrated its 25th anniversary, and also announced that a Mr. Erik Delaney had become the industry’s 15,000th CHMM. Current EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is also a CHMM.
REQUEST: If you are planning at attend the AHMP National Conference in San Diego, please send an e-mail to . We are considering organizing a social event for NMSHMM members and one or two of the other AHMP chapters.
Mike Sanders
Plan NOW to Attend the 2009 Essentials of Hazardous Materials Management Course
Paul Karas, CPG, CHMM
The 2009 Essentials of Hazardous Materials Management (EHMM) Course will be held November 16 - 18, 2009, at the NMED District 1 office, 5500 San Antonio Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM. The 3-day course offers a comprehensive review of the physical and chemical properties of hazardous materials, environmental laws and regulations, and safety and health principles important to every environmental and safety professional. This is an excellent opportunity to prepare for the Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) or Certified Hazardous Materials Professional (CHMP) Exam or to satisfy training or re-certification requirements, enhance competence in the profession, and to stay current with new rules and regulations.
Watch for information about course registration and logistics in future newsletters and on the NMSHMM website. Please contact Paul Karas, NMSHMM Education/Professional Development Committee Chair, at 505-243-3200 or if you are interested in learning more about the EHMM, to volunteer for the EHMM organizing committee, or to be considered as an instructor.
Please remember to renew your NMSHMM membership. Historic membership applications, those greater than five years old, will be purged in June. Only the last five years of membership records will be maintained. Membership dues for the 2009-201 year were due in April. Thanks to the 24 or so AHMP/NMSHMM combined dues members and the 20 other members who have already renewed.
Local News Stories
Compiled by Eric Johnson, AICP, CHMM
The following are news stories reported during the past month:
- The Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) completed
upgrades to their San Juan Generating Station west of
Farmington. As a result of a consent decree with the New Mexico
Environment Department (NMED), Grand Canyon Trust and Sierra
Club, PNM spent $330 on pollution control improvements in order
to bring the plant into compliance for nitrogen oxides, sulfur
dioxide, and opacity. PNM and its partners in the plant have
also set aside $6.9 million in an escrow account to cover $6.9
million in fines as part of the consent decree.
(Albuquerque Journal, 5-6-09; Santa
Fe New Mexican, 5-6-09)
- In a report prepared by the American Lung Association, San
Juan County was rated as having good air conditions in terms of
particle pollution (dust, sand, ash, soot, and chemicals), but
the county received an “F” for ozone. Janice Nolen, of the
American Lung Association said the county has a “real problem”
with ozone, which can cause chest pain, shortness of breath,
wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks, and respiratory infections.
(Farmington Daily Times, 5-8-09)
- Santa Fe County will pay courthouse construction contractors
about $40,000 per month while contamination issues are being
resolved. A leaking underground storage tank on Montezuma Avenue
is believed to be the source of soil and groundwater
contamination at the courthouse site.
(Santa Fe New Mexican, 5-8-09)
- Fish biologists are optimistic that the Rio Grande silvery
minnow populations will recover. The Rio Grande silvery minnow
is a small fish that occurs in a reach of the Rio Grande
extending from Cochiti Dam to Elephant Butte Reservoir. The once
abundant minnow was listed as endangered in 1994. Additional
water from the San Juan-Chama Project and habitat improvements
are improving the prospects for the minnow.
(Albuquerque Journal, 5-10-09)
- Contaminated groundwater beneath the Asarco smelter, in El
Paso, Texas, is expected to be the most expensive challenge to
cleaning up the Asarco site. An estimated $21 million will be
used to drill wells, limit the spread of the groundwater plume,
and treat contaminated water. The overall site cleanup budget is
$52 million, including $8.8 million to demolish smokestacks and
other structures. (Las Cruces
Sun-News, 5-12-09)
- The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish will not stock
channel catfish in Bataan Lake, also known as Lower Tansill Dam,
because large catfish already in the lake were found to contain
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). “Obviously, the large stocked
catfish would not contain PCBs, but the angling public would not
be able to tell the difference and might consume a fish with
potentially high PCB levels that had been in the lake awhile,”
said Mike Sloane, fisheries chief with the Department.
(Carlsbad Current Argus, 5-18-09)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) personnel are watching
cooling water used for plutonium after an audit by the Defense
Nuclear Facility Safety Board determined that the water could
boil away, and plutonium containers could burst, if the cooling
system failed. In response to this concern, LANL officials will
check water levels on a daily basis. LANL intends to eventually
place all plutonium in burst-proof containers. Two hundred such
containers are used to store plutonium-238 that is used as
long-lived power supplies for National Atmospheric and Space
Administration (NASA) deep space missions.
(Albuquerque Journal, 5-20-09)
- NMED proposed a $1.87 million fine against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and LANL in response to leaking contamination from a groundwater monitoring well. NMED is requiring LANL to implement corrective actions for contaminant releases into groundwater. LANL will be able to enter into settlement discussions with NMED regarding the proposed fine. (Albuquerque Journal, 5-23-09)
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Society luncheon meetings are held at
Golden Corral Buffet on Central and Eubank (10415 Central Avenue NE) at 11:30 on the third Wednesday of the month (except Mar. and Dec.) |
| June 2009 |
June 2, 11:30 am, New Mexico Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) monthly meeting at the Golden Corral (10415 Central Avenue NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. For more information, e-mail .
June 11, New Mexico Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) technical meeting, Furr’s Fresh Buffet, 2004 Wyoming Blvd. NE. For more information, e-mail .
June 16, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM Board Meeting at GRAM offices, 8500 Menaul Blvd. NE, Albuquerque. All members are welcome.
June 17, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Golden Corral (10415 Central NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. Sandra Ely, NMED Environment and Energy Policy Coordinator, will speak on the Western Climate Change Initiative and expected changes in New Mexico.
| July 2009 |
July 7, 11:30 am, New Mexico Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) monthly meeting at the Golden Corral (10415 Central Avenue NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. For more information, e-mail .
July 9, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM Board Meeting at Mike Sanders' home. All members are welcome. Please email for the address and directions.
July 9, New Mexico Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) technical meeting, Furr’s Fresh Buffet, 2004 Wyoming Blvd. NE. For more information, e-mail .
July 15, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Golden Corral (10415 Central NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. Roger Polisar with the City of Albuquerque will speak on air quality issues related to the oil and gas industry in the San Juan Basin.
| August 2009 |
August 9, Isotopes Night. NMSHMM and the Health Physics Society will share a skybox at the Isotopes Park. The cost for this event is $25.00/person and includes admission to the park, upper deck seating, and all you can eat food. Reservations will be taken on a first-come / first-served basis, so please make your reservations early and RSVP to .
August 18, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM Board Meeting at AMEC Earth and Environmental, 8519 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque. All members are welcome.
August 19, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Golden Corral (10415 Central NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. Speaker to be announced.
August 30 - September 2, AHMP National Conference, San Diego. For more information see AHMP web site at www.achmm.org
| September 2009 |
September 1, 11:30 am, New Mexico Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) monthly meeting at the Golden Corral (10415 Central Avenue NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. For more information, e-mail .
September 10, New Mexico Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) technical meeting, Furr’s Fresh Buffet, 2004 Wyoming Blvd. NE. For more information, e-mail .
September 15, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM Board Meeting at AMEC Earth and Environmental, 8519 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque. All members are welcome.
September 16, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Golden Corral (10415 Central NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. A fall field trip is being planned.
| November 2009 |
November 16-18, Essentials of Hazardous Materials Management (EHMM) Course presented by NMSHMM at the NMED Albuquerque office, 5500 San Antonio Drive NE. For more information, please click here.
Did we miss something? To get your event added to the calendar please contact Eric Johnson at .
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Society business meetings are
held at
AMEC Earth and Environmental, 8519 Jefferson NE, at 5:00 on the third Tuesday of the month (except Mar. and Dec.) |
Our regular monthly meetings are held at Golden Corral Buffet on Central and Eubank (10415 Central Avenue NE - click here for a map). Meetings are held the third Wednesday of the month (unless replaced by a special event as announced via this newsletter) from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm. If you have any ideas for speakers or field trips, please contact a NMSHMM board member.
For the latest job openings, please click here. (MEMBERS ONLY)
NMSHMM OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS
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Officers:
President
Past-President
President-Elect
Treasurer
Secretary
At-Large Director At-Large Director |
Committee Chairs: Communication Education/Professional
Development
Membership |
Please send contributions for future newsletters to Eric Johnson at . Thanks!