Highlights of the ACHMM Board Meeting, August 2, 1998, St. Paul, MN
1. New CHMMs from IHMM records: April 98 - 30; May - 38; June - 83. 65% of new CHMMs have joined ACHMM; only 55% of existing CHMMs are members of ACHMM. IHMM is now required to release numbers of successful CHMM applicants as part of requirements for recognition of CHMM by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB). CESB has set several other requirements including restructuring of the IHMM Board. See January and July IHMM Bulletins for details in this area.
2. Staffing within ACHMM is under budget. New hire shortly to support Jeanie.
3. The Board is supporting a phone survey of ACHMMs who have dropped out of the academy to determine why.
4. Treasurer's report. ACHMM is doing well financially. ACHMM has $29,000 in interest bearing accounts. The New Jersey Chapter received $12,000 in profit from the 1997 conference. Dues collection is 30% ahead of last year. ACHMM expenditures are well under budget for 1998 primarily because some key activities have not been done or started.
5. ACHMM is developing its own reference book (not a text book). ACHMM is behind schedule - lack of responsiveness of some authors. Currently 16 papers are in; 23 papers in progress. The schedule is to have all papers in by September 1. The early publishing date is December 15. Likely release date is March 15, 1999. The book is to be published by McGraw-Hill. ACHMM will buy 1,000 for $35 each. Board members discussed that they did not want to be competition with IHMM for the reference book. IHMM is currently revising its book. Board members stated that they were maintaining control of all papers until camera ready versions were submitted to the publisher, which should eliminate the quality problems. IHMM takes papers from authors and the authors do not see the paper until published; there appears to be no one in the loop to catch the typical problems observed in the IHMM handbook. ACHMM is also contracting a technical editor to review all papers before submittal to the publisher.
6. The Chapter Development Committee (of which our own Ed Morales is chairman) expressed concern that there is no visibility of ACHMM in local chapters. One concern is that chapters do not know which of their members are also members of the Academy. One suggestion is to have ACHMM collect dues for both ACHMM and the local chapter.
7. ACHMM is considering ISO14000 training courses for CHMMs.
8. CSP Affiliation. ACHMM is still pursuing joining CHMM and CSP - i.e., reduced CSP requirements for CHMM recognition. CSP is developing format for joining credential. Request is on hold; they are not evaluating the ACHMM request until format is developed. ACHMM proposal is to have a CHMM pass the basic CSP test, and have CSP waive the specialty test, in order for a CHMM to become a CHMM. IHMM is not interested in joining with CSP; ACHMM is interested because they believe it adds recognition to the credential.
ACHMM Government Committee Highlights, St Paul, August 2, 1998
Bob Teitler sat in on the Government Committee session providing active input and comments on the efforts by ACHMM and IHMM to achieve recognition of the CHMM credential by government agencies.
1. The largest obstacle in attaining CHMM recognition is from the "professional engineer's lobby" who have been successful at the removal of language equating a CHMM with a PE for the signing of environmental/hazardous materials documents. Unfortunate, because many engineers are not qualified to sign an environmental document as a CHMM is unqualified to sign a design.
2. CHMMs need to establish a network of interested individuals within the government to promote the credential.
3. IHMM/ACHMM needs to prepare/distribute a booklet on how laws are enacted and how CHMMs can provide input into the process.
4. ACHMM must work with IHMM in interaction with government agencies.
5. The ACHMM web page needs to distribute information regarding laws under development and how to promote the credential to law makers/agencies.
6. Bob Teitler suggested that ACHMM be the generator of government interaction activities, but that IHMM should be the clearing house. This will prevent conflicting activities and duplication of effort.
7. Bob Teitler suggested that we get State employees involved by waiving examination fees. IHMM is currently promoting this. He talked about waiver of DOE and DOT employees for the examination fee and offering scholarships for State employees.
8. Bob Teitler requested dual approval (IHMM:ACHMM) on all matters involving the CHMM credential and legislation.
9. The need for dual letterhead (IHMM:ACHMM) for writing letters to legislators was discussed. 10. The need to have someone in each State to track government affairs relative to promotion/recognition of the CHMM credential was discussed.
Chapter Development Committee Highlights, ACHMM, August 2, St. Paul
1. Committee attempting to get standardized bylaws for new chapters. Seeking Board approval of the standard bylaws. Committee would like to see that all existing chapters have the same bylaws.
2. Committee wants each chapter to submit to Board an annual report. The report would state chapter officers, chapter contacts, number of members
3. Committee would like to establish minimum standards for each chapter. The Board must approve the standards.
4. The Board is considering a single dues bill for IHMM and ACHMM, as was done before the split. The group discussed having chapter dues collected at the same time.
5. The committee group discussed having an annual chapter leadership conference aimed at development of leadershiop skills of aspiring chapter leaders.
6. The Albuquerque Chapter offered to sponsor a regional meeting of chapter officers.
7. The Board will be making increasing emphasis on the role of the President-Elect position for each chapter. The President-Elect will be groomed for the leadership position, while the current president runs the chapter.
ACHMM Conference Plenary Session, St. Paul, MN
Speaker: Robbie Roberts -Environmental Counsel of States (ECS)
ECS formed in 1993 and includes state environmental commissioners (i.e., state agencies that are the equivalent of USEPA) The purpose of ECS: (1) act as clearing house of environmental information for state commissioners (2) facilitate communication between states; (3) lobbying activity to Congress and USEPA for state issues (e.g., provides the State perspective.). 48 states are involved. The responsibility for environmental compliance/cleanup continues to shift from the Feds to the States. 3/4th of environmental $$ are spent by the states; 3/4th of enforcement done by states. States are in the best position to understand their needs, particularly for small business who are not structured to comply with federal law. Civil rights laws are now being applied to environmental protection. There is a potential for federal funding limitations to be placed on cleanup actions based on environmental equity issues. New USEPA guidance could adversely affect/discourage brownfield development due to environmental equity considerations. ECS is opposing the guidance as currently written.
Speaker: Mary Adler, USEPA Office of Criminal Enforcement
The USEPA enforcement program started in 1982 with 23 enforcement specialists; grew to 89 in 1989. The 1990 Pollution Prosecution Act resulted in the number increasing to 200 in 1995. In 1993 criteria were developed for the enforcement officer to pursue criminal investigations:: Exercise of Investigative Discretion (available from NITS). The purpose of the guidance is to achieve consistency and be flexible for enforcement cases. EPA is looking at environmental harm and culpable conduct for enforcement. All factors in guidance must be met in order for USEPA to pursue. USEPA relies on the community to be their "eyes". USEPA targets the responsible individual for enforcement. In 1991 90% of cases involved companies. In 1996 only 26% of cases focused on companies. Voluntary disclosure policy from environmental audits. EPA is encouraging companies to disclose criminal acts, including the responsible individual. The company is not prosecuted if full cooperation is obtained. EPA has a WEB page that includes agent names and phone numbers.
Speaker: Peter Jensen, Federak Emergency Management Agency
Floods are the primary disaster that also involve haz mat incidences. Floods release and move chemicals and containers. Cleanup of chemicals, particularly agricultural chemicals can be extensive following a flood. The largest hazard comes from propane tanks. These can float away. Barbecue gas containers pose major threat to rescue boat propellers. FEMA considering tie down rules for flood zones for fuel tanks. FEMA is the focal point for response actions, but does not do the responses. New FEMA policy is to prevent flood related problems before they occur e.g. secure containers, cap wells before the flood hits. FEMAs long-term plans include relocation, better safety systems, education, pre-event response training, cooperation, and most importantly, use of lessons learned.
ACHMM Business Meeting Highlights, August 3, 1998, St. Paul
The ACHMM Business Meeting was primarily a repeat of the Board meeting (ACHMM is financially sound, ACHMM needs a newsletter editor, ACHMM needs a Webmaster, ACHMM needs an updated CHMM register, the new ACHMM Reference Book will be available sometime next year). ACHMM has entered an agreement with an insurance firm to offer reduced liability insurance for CHMMs (look to your ACHMM newsletter for additional information regarding the insurance for CHMMs).
The major portion of the business meeting involved the current relationship between ACHMM and IHMM. Someone asked Cindy Savage regarding the status of the ongoing difficulties with IHMM. Cindy emphasized that they were over and that ACHMM was working positively with IHMM. Bob Teitler, who was in the audience, spoke up to confirm that all of the past problems were over and that IHMM was working well with ACHMM. Bob Teitler fielded a number of questions. Teitler stated that recognition of the CHMM credential by the national accreditation board requires several changes within IHMM: (1) New Board of Director structure, 8 members, no more life-time members, there will be two CHMMs on the Board. (2) IHMM must disclose examination results. (3) IHMM must establish criteria for passing of the exam. (4) Recertification requires a minimum of 20 hours training each year.
Meeting with Bob Teitler On August 4, 1998
Karen Beyerlein and I had a nice chat with Bob Teitler. I have talked to Bob numerous times on the phone, but this was the first chance to talk to him personally. Bob is aware of the demise of HAZMACON but I let him know that we were considering other means of promoting the credential. Bob reaffirmed that everything was well between IHMM and ACHMM (although he did mention past problems with a former ACHMM president whom he believed to not be "truthful"). Bob has recognized the downturn in the number of new CHMMs and is pursuing means of recruitment. One avenue is working with DOT and DOE on training/certification programs. He is promoting his scholarship/examination fee waiver as a means of getting federal and state employee certified. He want us to pursue such with local federal and state employees. He will be providing me with guidelines on scholarships/fee waivers for qualified employees. He does not want to recruit local agency personnel because he believes that they cannot influence legislation for recognition of the credential. Credential recognition by federal and state agencies being the primary reason Bob is pursuing this program.
NCC-ACHMM would like thank the North Star Chapter for all of your many, many hours of planning, attention to detail, and tremendous energy and coordination that it took to make the 1998 ACHMM Conference a success. Karen Beyerlein and myself were impressed with the professionalism and content given to the conference. Everything ran quite smoothly and the sessions were highly informative and applicable to the field of hazardous materials management.
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