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Showing posts with label #FEDTCPACNY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #FEDTCPACNY. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 02, 2023

The 2023 PACNY Fishing Derby - A Beautiful Day on the Lake But Where Are All The Fish?

On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) held its 10th Annual Salmon Fishing PROAM tournament in Point Breeze, New York.  19 Boats were part of this year's tournament, one more than last year's tournament.  Unfortunately, Future Environment Design's boat this year was down two and only included Ms. Veronica Hansen-Garcia and Angelo Garcia, III but we were in the same boat as the previous year's "Catchin' Hell" piloted by Captain Tom Murray and First Mate Mike.

Sun coming up off Point Breeze

We would to send a great big "THANK YOU" to Darren Yehl of Cornerstone Training (CTI) and PACNY for organizing this event.  This event allows us to catch up with many of the PACNY members and see how the year is doing.  Here was this year's line-up of PACNY members and boats:

  • Cornerstone - Sunrise II
  • Cornerstone  - Legacy
  • Lozier - Richmond II Salmon Doctor
  • United Rentals - Tomahawk
  • Paradigm Environmental - Shotgun
  • Paradigm Environmental - Gone Costal
  • Sessler Environmental Services - Intimidator 
  • Republic - Double Trouble
  • Republic - Troutman
  • Future Environment Designs - Catchin’ Hell
  • Expert Environmental - Get Hooked
  • Abscope Environmental - Make the Turn
  • DiVal - Rally Killer
  • Aramsco - Mister 
  • Aramsco- Lake Runner
  • AAC Contracting - Bite Me
  • First On-site - 3 Dogs
  • Metro Environmental - Rusty Lure
  • Cornerstone - Bait Master

Our catch was a bleeder.

A beautiful day on the lake it was actually a perfect temperature with a slight breeze.  This was the first time we took a nap while fishing which was only possible because we only caught one fish the whole time from 6 am to noon.  Though it seems we weren't the only ones.  Thank you again Darren Yehl for making our trip worthwhile by giving us the fish you and your team caught.   After the weigh-in, a catered buffet lunch was provided by the Black North Inn, delicious as always, and the trophies/prizes were awarded.  This year's winners were:  

First On-Site with Captain Jason Matthews of 3 Dogs Sportfishing

We enjoy our trip to Point Breeze every year, however, we have a little trepidation about next year.  The fishing was really bad this year and it looks like we will be missing Sheryl & Matt, again next year.  We will have to decide what Future will do next year.  The event next year will be Wednesday, July 10, 2024.  We hope to see you next year! 


 

Monday, March 13, 2023

Counting Down to a Month of Conferences - First it's PACNY's Environmental Conference and Then EIA's!

The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) have announced the dates and schedule for their annual Environmental Conference on March 16th and 17th, 2023.  It will be held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.  To register for the conference or sponsor the conference click here!  Also, this month is the Environmental Information Association's (EIA's) 2023 National Conference & Exhibition being held from March 25th to March 29th, 2023.  It is being held at Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee.  To register for the conference or sponsor the conference click here!

PACNY 2022

Both of these conferences provide tons of information that helps keep our classes up-to-date.  We are looking forward to several presentations that should provide information about some current issues such as "Managing Typical Regulated and Hazardous Wastes Generated on Abatement/Remediation Projects in NYS", "Asbestos Building Inspectors - an Open Discussion", "Exposure Assessments", "Asbestos-Myth Busters", and "What Your Injured Employee Think of You, Navigating the NYS Worker's Compensation Law and Related Benefits" just to name a few.

EIA Conference 2022 in Phoenix, AZ

We will have a table at the PACNY conference and we will be tweeting the conference using the hashtag #FEDTCPACNY.  We will be selling our asbestos air sampling tables ($15 per table) and we will be selling and signing our book "Do As I Say, Not As I Did" ($15 per book) at the table.  Come by and say hello!  Sheryl Esposito will be womaning the booth as she has for the past couple of years.  Our co-host for Two Guys Talking Pumps, Dan Crothers, the International Sales Director of FermionX maker of the Airbox Sampling Pump, will also be attending the conference and is also a sponsor.  To know more about the Airbox sampling pumps see our YouTube video "Two Talking Pumps" below or visit him at his booth where he will have the Airbox sampling pump in person!  Looking forward to seeing you there.  



Friday, April 15, 2022

PACNY's 2022 25th Annual Environmental Conference Reestablishes Itself! Part One.

 On Thursday, March 3, 2022, the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 25th Annual Environmental Conference opened after a one-year hiatus.  The conference was held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, and the hotel and casino didn't seem to change much, however, the Lodge had a new bar that was beautiful and was very peaceful.  As usual, the service at the hotel/casino and the TS Steakhouse was personable and professional!

John from TS Steakhouse making the Gotham

The conference began with opening remarks and a conference welcome from Craig Kaputa, PACNY's President, Kevin Hutton, PACNY's Vice President, and Deb Sanscrainte, of Aramsco, Inc., PACNY's Conference Chair.  The first presentation, "Tribute to Past President - Chuck Kirch", was by Joe Cantone, Colden Corporation, it achieved the right balance of somber, respectful, and funny.  Chuck Kirch passed away in November 2021.  Brent Kynoch from the Environmental Information Association (EIA)  invited us to become members of the EIA and then updated us on what's happening at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regarding asbestos and the "Draft Risk Evaluation of Asbestos - Part 2".  The last presenter before the break was Mark Gonzales, of Cornerstone Training Institute, speaking about "Cannabis in the Workplace".  Since the New York State Cannabis Law does not define the term "specific articulable symptoms."  Mr. Gonzales discussed the difficulties with assessing employee impairment from cannabis use, however, it is evident that an employer can act against an employee unable to perform their job duties or who poses a safety hazard due to their use of cannabis.  The break was to let the attendees go see the vendors in the exhibit hall and get some refreshments.  

Refreshments with the Vendors in the Exhibit Hall

After the break, the presentations began again with a virtual presentation by Tom Laubenthal, of  AirQuest Environmental, Inc., on "Lead-Based Paint; EPA & Housing and Urban Development (HUD), A Review and Updates of Recent Changes in Rules".   Mr. Laubenthal's presentation went through a host of lead regulations from EPA, HUD, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding Target Housing, Child-Occupied Facilities (both are based on pre-1978 construction), certifications, real estate transactions, and the different numbers and procedures for handling lead-based paint.  The amazing part was that Mr. Laubenthal was able to fit his whole presentation within 45 minutes.  Angelo Garcia, III, Future Environment Designs, Inc., was the last presentation before the lunch break.  Mr. Garcia's presentation was on the "Trials & Tribulations of Training During a Pandemic" to see the presentation click on the link, which will take you to our dropbox folder on conference presentations (our presentation is in the 2022 PACNY Presentations folder).  We discussed how the pandemic has affected our company and the training industry with supporting data from Ms. Karen Cummings, M.P.H., Director of the New York State Department of Health's (NYSDOH's) Asbestos Safety Training Program, and Mr. Chek Beng Ng, P.E., Professional Engineer, of the New York State Department of Labor's (NYSDOL's) Engineering Services Unit (A Big Thank You to the both of you!).   A buffet lunch was served in the Oneida Room.  In our next post, we will discuss the presentations after lunch!  Until then!


Thank you to Lynn Burlingham, of Cornerstone Training Institute, for taking the video and to Joe Cantone, Colden Corporation for taking the photo!

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

PACNY's Environmental Conference Is Back!! Counting Down The Days to March 3 and March 4, 2022!!!

The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) have announced the dates for their annual Environmental Conference to be held on March 3rd and 4th, 2022.  It will be held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.  Visit Turning Stone Casino's website for pandemic questions.  To register for the conference or sponsor the conference click here!

Return of New York State Department of Labor Panel

Obviously, due to the pandemic, last year's conference was not held.  This year's conference goes back to the original format of two days - Thursday & Half-day Friday.  Thursday is usually the Professional Day and we're looking forward to the following presentations: a presentation by a New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Inspector by Elizabeth Kirkland;  The Evolving Role of the NYS Project Monitor, and a roundtable discussion by PACNY experts on mold, that will include Jack Springston of ATCPACNY has asked us, (Angelo Garcia, III's, of Future Environment Designs, Inc. (FEDTC)), to speak and we will be presenting on the "Trials and Tribulations of Training During a Pandemic".  We hope our presentation will be an entertaining look into trying to maintain a training program during a pandemic.  We would like to thank Ms. Karen Cummings, M.P.H., Director of the New York State Department of Health's (NYSDOH) Asbestos Safety Training Program for providing us with data for our presentation regarding the number of asbestos training certificates issued during the last four years.  We would also like to thank Mr. Chek Beng Ng, P.E., Professional Engineer, of the NYSDOL Engineering Services Unit, for also providing us with the mold training data, since 2015, for our presentation.  With this information, it will be interesting to see the impact the pandemic had on training and in extension on the available workforce.   After the last presentation, we will head over to the Exhibition Hall with the Vendors/Sponsors of the conference and network with the attendees at the open bar.  Yes, that's right Happy Hour is back! 

Happy Hour At the Exhibition Hall

FEDTC is one of the sponsors of the conference again and will have a booth in the Exhibition Hall.  Ms. Sheryl Esposito is returning to be the woman at the booth.  Come by and say hello!  As we have in the past, we will be tweeting the conference.  To follow the conference on Twitter, you can search for the hashtag #FEDTCPACNY or you can follow on our Twitter account at https://twitter.com/angelogarcia3
  
Sheryl Esposito at the FEDTC Booth

Half-day Friday is Regulatory Day with the NYSDOL's Asbestos Control Bureau usually doing a brief presentation and then doing a questions and answers session.  One question certain to be asked will be when will the Fast Track Variances return?  Mr. Ed Smith, P.E., Program Manager of the NYSDOL Engineering Services Unit will be expected to answer that question.  This year we will have new people on the podium.  Dr. Eileen Franco has retired and the new director is Amy Phillips.  Mr. Kirk Fisher takes over for Mr. James Meacham, P.E. as head of the Enforcement Unit.  This ponders the question of who takes over the Licensing and Certification Unit?  Mr. Paul Demick, Associate Safety & Health Inspector, will be on the podium for the NYSDOL License & Certificate Unit.    Lunch on Friday is the last meal of the conference and the last chance to network with the attendees.  It will be good to get back to Turning Stone and see all our friends and business associates, again.  Hoping to see you there!

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

PACNY's Environmental Conference Day Three - A NYSDOL Surprises with Fast Track Variances!

The last day of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 24th annual Environmental Conference was held at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York on Friday, February 28, 2020.  The last day started similar to the first day with opening remarks from Ms. Deb Sanscrainte, of ARAMSCO and the conference chairwoman, and Timothy Thomas of Tetra Tech and President of PACNY.  These remarks included a change in the program because a snowstorm caused the originally scheduled speaker unable to attend the conference.  The beginning presentation was by Martin S. Rutstein, Ph.D., President of Ecological Consulting & Management Services, Inc. discussing talc litigation.  Followed by Brent Kynoch of the Environmental Information Association (EIA) discussing the benefits of joining the EIA.  The Regulatory Day of the conference includes the last chance of visiting the Vendor Exhibit Hall with a continental breakfast and visit the 30 vendors to get a chance to win the vendor gift cards/prizes.

Dr.Rutstein speaking about talc litigation

After the two morning presentations, and a short break in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, the New York State Department of Labor's (NYSDOL's) Panel with a question and answer session began.  The panel included  Dr. Eileen Franko, the Director; Mr. James Meacham Program Manager, Asbestos Control Bureau; Mr. Kirk Fisher, Program Manager, Licensing & Certification; and Mr. Ed Smith, Program Manager, Engineering Services Unit.  Questions and answers session was moderated by Mr. Tim Thomas of Tetra Tech Engineering.

NYSDOL Panel Discussion

The panel started with some opening remarks by Dr. Eileen Franko which included announcing her retirement in March 2020.  Making this the last year she will be on the panel.  Those of us who have gotten to know Dr. Franko through the years will miss her leadership and her willingness to listen to the industry and work with the industry to better things for all contractors and consultants.  As usual, the discussion of a new industrial code came up and it is still being worked on.  Mr. Smyth announced, to everyone's surprise, that they had launched a pilot program for certain site-specific variances (SSVs).  This pilot program is called Fast Track Variances.  These variances are common variances that are issued regularly by NYSDOL.  The purpose of this program is to speed up the review process for these routine variances and reduce the workload.  Currently, SSVs can take two to three weeks to turnaround.  Fast Track Variances can potentially be issued within the same day they are received.  There are 10 Fast Track Variances available and can be found at NYSDOL's Division of Safety and Health (DOSH) Engineering Services Unit's website.  Mr. Meacham discussed enforcement regarding Article 32 the NYS Mold Law.  NYSDOL has received 175 complaints and has issued 30 violations.  Most of the complaints are tenant-landlord complaints which do not apply to the law.

Future Environment Designs was a Gold Sponsor of PACNY's Environmental Conference

Another conference has ended and another successful year for PACNY with over 600 people attending the conference with 30 vendors exhibiting in the Vendor Exhibit hall both increases versus last year.  Though we are happy for Dr. Franco and wish her all the best, the industry will miss her.  Though she does leave us with a solid group of professionals running the various divisions that matter to the asbestos and mold industries.  Hope to see you next year!  

Saturday, May 09, 2020

PACNY's Day Two - So Much Information Packed Into One Day, Amazing!

On Thursday, February 27, 2020, Ms. Deb Sanscrainte, of ARAMSCO and the conference chairwoman, and Timothy Thomas of Tetra Tech and President of PACNY,  opened the second day, known as the Professional Day, of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 24th annual Environmental Conference, being held at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.  Attendees expected a full day of presentations ending with the Conference Sponsors Reception.  Presentations from the conference can be found on PACNY's website.  The Professional Day of the conference includes the opening of the Vendor Exhibit Hall with a continental breakfast and 30 vendors attending the conference, an increase from last year!  See the reception video to see the various vendors!


The keynote speaker for the conference was Ms. Luann Meyer, Solid Waste Administrator for Monroe County Department of Environmental Services, speaking on "Recycling-The Long and Winding Road".  She discussed that most counties have fact sheets to know what is or aren't recyclable or you can tell by the shape of the container.  She also discussed the New York State's plastic bag ban that went into effect March 1, 2020, all single-use plastic bags have been banned.  Paper bags are not part of the ban and all stores that collect sales tax are impacted.  Our next speaker was Jack Snider III, President & Sr. Consultant of AMRC Environmental Services, speaking on "Take Home Asbestos Exposure".  Mr. Snider discussed the asbestos abatement illusion regarding the decontamination of the workers.  He stated that workers, in Florida, during the removal of the floor tile, mastic, and other non-friable asbestos-containing materials (ACM) typically wore street clothes into the work area, and they are not showering nor vacuuming themselves/their clothing upon exiting the containment.  If showers and vacuums are provided the showers are not connected nor attached to the work areas.  When questioned why the workers did not decontaminate or wear proper personal protective (PPE) common responses included "the air samples did not show elevated fibers"; "It's floor tile"; and "I have been doing this longer than you!".  The presentation then went into how he collected his samples using the American Society of Testing and Material (ASTM) standard D5755-09 microvacuum sampling method to collect several samples from workers, their clothing, vehicles, and surface areas after clearance of the work area was conducted.  Findings from his study suggest asbestos abatement workers are bringing home significant amounts of asbestos fibers from these types of projects.  The presentation was eye-opening! 

Ms. Luann Meyer Discusses Recycling


After a break in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, the presentations continued.  Similar to the first day of the conference, the next two presentations and the last presentation of the day awarded continuing education points for architects and engineers attending the conference.  These points were awarded by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and were coordinated by Kevin Hutton, of the Rochester Colonial Manufacturing Corp.  The presentations awarding these points were Martin S. Rutstein, Ph.D. & Marc E. Rutstein, CAI, Presidents of Ecological Consulting & Management Services, Inc., discussing "Regulations - How did we get here and Where are we going?"; Sean Miller's and Mike Mazzara's, of Genesee Environmental, LLC, presentation included information provided by Stephen R. Gheen, PE, of Gheen Engineering (who could not present due to illness), on "Mercury in Sports Floors, Regulatory Guidance, Remediation, and Disposal"; and Joseph Cantone, of Colden Corp., Sean Hart, of Energy & Environment, and Peter Delucia, of AAC Contracting, presentation "Asbestos Surveys: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly".

Kevin Hutton, of the Rochester Colonial Manufacturing Corp. 

The Rutstein's presentation talked about the asbestos regulations and some advice for asbestos professionals -  plan the job-take a fresh look, hire good staff (exert oversight of site staff), maintain required records, and plan for unexpected contingencies!  Mr. Miller's and Mr. Mazzara's presentation on Mercury in Sports Floors was a deep dive into mercury remediation regulations, guidelines, and the disposal process.  An important point made in the presentation was how it was different from an asbestos job.  In addition, Mr. Mazzara's section on mercury waste handling, transportation, and disposal provided a lot of information on handling hazardous wastes.
   
Sean Miller Discusses Its Not An Asbestos Job
 
Mike Mazzara Discusses Mercury Waste Handling, Transportation & Disposal

After a lunch break and time spent in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, the next presenter was Jennifer Kavney Harvey, Esq., Partner of Coach White, LLP,  discussing "NYS WBE/MBE Requirements".  Ms. Harvey's presentation pointed out that spending in the last nine years for Minority-owned and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) has increased by 25 times (in dollars) while the number of MWBEs has increased by 18%.  In addition, she discussed the Governor's 2014 press release increasing the statewide composite goal to 30% without a disparity study basis, modifying the Executive Law, or modifying the MWBE regulations. Most goals from 2014 to the present were 30%.  After a short break in the Vendor Exhibit Hall, the next presenter was Karlee Bolanos, Partner at Bolanos Lowe PLLC, discussing "Understanding Your NYS Sexual Harassment Prevention Obligations".  Ms. Bolanos discussed Sexual Harassment Prevention requirements that were effective October 9, 2018, that included a New York model policy that at a minimum must prohibit sexual harassment; provide examples of prohibited conduct; include information concerning the federal and state laws; include a statement regarding applicable local laws & contacting law enforcement; include a standard complaint form: include a procedure for the timely and confidential investigation of complaints and due process for all parties; include information about rights of redress; clearly state that sexual harassment is considered a form of employee misconduct; and clearly state that retaliation against individuals...is prohibited.  She also discussed recent changes that were effective October 11, 2019, regarding behavior beyond a "petty slight" or "trivial inconvenience" that may be illegal.  


Jennifer Kavney Harvey, Esq Discusses MWBE Spending & Utilization

Karlee Bolanos discussing Sexual Harassment Law

The final presentation of the day was Joseph Cantone, of Colden Corp., Sean Hart, of Energy & Environment, and Peter Delucia, of AAC Contracting, discussing "Asbestos Surveys: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly".  Obviously, their presentation was broken into three sections with Mr. Cantone talking about good asbestos surveys,  Mr. Hart talking about bad asbestos surveys, and Mr. Delucia talking about ugly asbestos surveys.  The day ended in the Vendor Exhibit Hall with the Conference Sponsors Reception, which included Hors d'oeuvres, food, and an open bar.  The after-party at Dival's Safety Equipment's hospitality suite allowed for more time to network and discuss the presentations of the past two days!  All the presentations were excellent and provided very useful information for those who attended the conference.  Looking forward to day three and the New York State Department of Labor Panel! 
 
Peter Delucia, Sean Hart & Joseph Colden

 

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Proficiency Day - Day One of PACNY's 24th Annual Environmental Conference!

Every year we look forward to the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) Environmental Conference.  This year was no exception considering it was the 24th annual.  The conference started on Wednesday, February 26, 2020, with Proficiency Day and Mr. Angelo Garcia, III of Future Environment Designs, Inc., (FEDTC) who had the honor this year of starting off the conference.  Proficiency Day this year focused on asbestos contamination assessment that was suggested by Mr. James Meacham, PE, of New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) and we greatly appreciated his agreeing to also do a presentation on the topic.  In addition, we were able to convince Mr. Bart Gallagher, of Enviroscience Consultants, Inc., to do a case study presentation on the contamination assessment involved with the Long Island dumping cases.  For the second year in a row, proficiency day provided 3 PDH for professional engineers, architects, & other certifications.

Poll Everywhere Result

Angelo Garcia, III's presentation focused on the regulatory requirements or the lack of regulatory requirements of asbestos contamination assessments. The presentation also included polling of the audience using Poll Everywhere.  The basic points of the presentation were that most of the information we use regarding contamination assessments come from the Guidance Document which was a frequently asked questions document created by NYSDOL as a supplement to NYSDOL Industrial Code Rule 56 - Asbestos Regulation and the collection of dust and debris samples is very tricky, and the most important thing is how do you interpret the results?


Mr. James Meacham, P.E. discussing Contamination Assessments
 James Meacham's presentation focused on some of the issues NYSDOL has been seeing regarding contamination assessments.  He discussed the assessment tools such as using your eyes, documentation, bulk sampling, air sampling, wipe sampling, micro-vacuum sampling, and tape lifts.  What do the results mean using these assessment tools and does it need to be zero?  Well maybe not.  Clean air under state law is less than 0.01 fibers per cubic centimeters of air (that's not zero).  Mr. Meacham also discussed debris pile assessment and the need for the inspector to visually inspect the debris for suspect asbestos-containing materials (ACM) and determine if representative sampling is feasible and can be done safely.  The presentation included a draft decision tree for debris assessment.

Bart Gallagher discussing the Case Study
After a short break, Bart Gallagher's presentation was on the contamination assessment that was done for the Long Island dumping case.  Mr. Gallagher's presentation went into the different causes of damage such as environmental causes or ignorance, carelessness, and neglect.  Criminal actions are rare...but are committed.  The specific points of the Long Island dumping case were that soil borings were done with Geoprobe and split-spoon sampling to test for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-VOCs, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides.  Test trenches were more effective for finding ACM than the Geoprobe.  The variance application to NYSDOL was similar to 56-11.5 controlled demolition with machine excavation and loading into lined trucks/roll-offs, decontamination area for equipment, proper disposal, and project monitoring and air sampling.

"Remember I'm not in the book"
The first day then continued later that evening with the PACNY President's (Timothy Thomas, of Tetra Tech) reception which included drinks and appetizers and a lot of networking.  Some of the above presentations are available in our dropbox folder under conference presentations (2020PACNY presentations) or you can also find them at PACNY's website.  The first day went extremely well and did a great job warming everyone up for the conference yet to come!



Wednesday, December 04, 2019

Save The Dates February 26th through February 28th 2020!!! PACNY's Environmental Conference Is Set!!

The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) have announced the dates for their annual Environmental Conference to be held on February 26th through February 28th, 2020.  It will be held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.  To register for the conference or sponsor the conference click here!

NYSDOL Asbestos & Mold Control Bureau 
This year Future Environment Designs  is working with PACNY to put together the Wednesday, February 26th, 2020, Proficiency Day.  We are working with the regulatory bodies to start the conference with a bang and get the professional development points for professional engineers/architects, which would also apply for the American Council for Accredited Certifications (ACAC) and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH).  We are focusing on Asbestos Contamination Assessments - what is expected by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Engineering Department to approve a Site-Specific Variance and What NYSDOL Enforcement expects in the cleanup process?

Professional Presentations
On Thursday, February 27, 2020, will be the Professional Day this day will include information on Vinyl Asbestos Tile (VAT) removal; exposure updates on talc; mercury flooring; waste management, recycling, and your carbon footprint; New York State (NYS) harassment training; and NYS Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)/Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE) requirements.  The Vendor Exhibit Hall will also open on Thursday.  As usual Future Environment Designs will have a booth and we will have our book for sale "Do As I Say Not As I Did" and it can be signed by the author Angelo Garcia, III.

Vendor Exhibit Hall

On Friday, February 28, 2020, will be Regulatory Day.  The day will open with a round table panel and discussion including survey requirements expert panel discussion.  Afterward, the NYSDOL Asbestos Control Bureau will once again be present to update us and answer questions from the attendees.  It plans to be another fantastic conference and we look forward to seeing you there!

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Future Environment Designs Attends the Plattsburgh Safety Expo and the PACNY Fishing Tournament


For a while there, it felt like Future Environment Designs was traveling all over the place.  We were in Plattsburgh/Montreal area at the end of June.  We were in Ohio/Michigan for the 4th of July week.  Then we were on Lake Ontario the week after.  We also developed two new online courses that allowed us to initiate a new training service.  The two new online (e-learning) courses are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication and the New York State Right-to-Know Hazard Communication training courses.  Both courses were developed to meet the training requirements in the OSHA Hazard Communication standard (1910.1200).  While the NYS Right-to-Know course meets the New York State Right-to-Know training requirements in New York State Labor Law Section 551, Articles 48 and 28 and Title 12 of New York Code of Rules & Regulations Part 820, these laws are enforced by New York State Department of Labor's Public Employee Safety Health (PESH) division, in addition to the OSHA Hazard Communication standard (1910.1200).  The addition of these online courses to our training catalog allows us to provide a training subscription service that can meet your annual training requirements under the OSHA standards and New York State laws.  In some cases, we can reduce your training costs to $20 per student.  Contact us if you are interested.

Our Display at the NASHC Safety Expo 2019

On June 27, 2019, we attended the North Adirondack Safety and Health Council's (NASHC) Safety Expo 2019 at West Side Ballroom in Plattsburgh, New York.  The Safety Expo had a short agenda but the presentations were excellent.  Our favorite presentation was "Hazards of Working on or Near Energized Electrical Circuits" by Mr. John Olsen, of Blue Collar Safety.  His presentation on Arc Flash/Blast was particularly eye-opening.  Ms. Lola Miller's (of the Volvo Group) presentation "Preventing Serious Injuries & Fatalities" was also interesting especially since she was using Menti,com to make the presentation interactive.  Her presentation was challenging Heinrich's Triangle, which is the theory of industrial accident prevention.  It says if you reduce the number of minor accidents there would be a corresponding fall in serious accidents.  Her data with working with the Volvo Group did not indicate that.  Her view was you need to evaluate Serious Injury & Fatalities (SIF) precursors and make sure these are addressed.  There were 15 vendors at the Safety Expo 2019, Reynolds and Son's display had an interesting variety of catalogs including a catalog called Cut Safe.  The Cut Safe catalog had a variety of cutting tools that use ceramic technology, visit their website for more information.

Mr. John Olsen of Blue Collar Safety at NASHC Safety Expo
Our next trip was 4th of July week to Ohio (OH) & Michigan (MI).  Though this trip was more pleasure than business, we did write the July issue of Safety Suzy during this trip.  As many people know, we are a beer enthusiast.  So on this trip, we hit several of my favorite breweries Hoppin Frog Brewery (OH), Founders Brewery (MI), Brewery Vivant (MI), and New Holland Brewery (MI).  We had a great time and drank a lot of great beer.  In addition, we got to see and put our feet into Lake Michigan, which a week later we went fishing on Lake Ontario.

Sunrise on Lake Ontario
On the morning of July 10, 2019, we attended the 6th Annual Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) Fishing Pro-Am Tournament.  It was a beautiful day for fishing the water was still and the sun was warm.  There were 15 boats in the tournament this year.  They were:

1. Dival - Reel Excitement
2. Cornerstone Training Institute (CTI) - Sunrise 2
3. CTI- Legacy
4. AAC- Shotgun
5. AAC- Troutman
6. NRC- Reflection
7. Abscope- Rusty Lure
9. SES- Intimidator 
10. Aramsco- Pleasure Unit
11. Paradigm - Free Spirit
12. Sienna- Get Hooked
13. Expert - Irish Thunder
14. Expert - Screaming Reels
15. ECG - Richmond 4 

My big catch for the day!

We had the good fortune to catch just enough Salmon & Steelhead to last us the entire year and fill our freezer again!  Thank you, Darren Yehl, of Cornerstone, for giving us his catch to add to what we caught!  The winners were:


So far the summer has been entertaining but is going quickly and soon it will be fall and the rush for asbestos and mold refresher classes will be on.  This year is the 4-year anniversary of Article 32 the Mold Law and most everyone's license will be expiring between September and January 2020.  See you soon!


Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Over 600 Attend the 23rd Annual PACNY Environmental Conference - A Most Successful Conference!

The third day of the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York's (PACNY's) 23rd Annual Environmental Conference at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, is typically called Regulatory Day because of the New York State Department of Labor attending and discussing the status of the programs they run.  This year's conference was the most attended conference with over 600 attendees, attending the three-day conference.  Ms. Deb Sanscrainte, of Aramsco, and the chairman of the conference, and Ms. Lisa Brown, of Summit Environmental, administrator of PACNY did what has become their routine process of getting the conference together (the most successful ever!), keeping everyone on point, focused on the conference, and the presentations.  Peter DeLucia and Greg Mance of AAC Contracting worked the audiovisual equipment as pros, even though this was there the first conference working the audiovisuals.  They have also made sure that they have gotten most of the presentations up on the PACNY website, click here.  Usually, the day after the vendor reception, the next morning starts out very slowly.  With vendors and attendees enjoying coffee, tea, and danishes in the vendor area.

Vendor Reception
The conference opened with a discussion of the hazards of lead-based paint by Mr. Kevin Hutton of Rochester Colonial Manufacturing.  Followed by Mr. Stephen Gheen, P.E. of Gheen Engineering speaking on New York State Department of Education (NYSED) rules regarding hazards of lead-based paint and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has different certifications and licenses for working in schools on lead-based paint.  Then Mr. Peter DeLucia of AAC Contracting spoke on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations regarding lead exposure.  All three then took questions and answers from the audience regarding lead-based paint.  All three presentations can be found on PACNY's website.

Lead Panel Discussion - Stephen Gheen, Kevin Hutton, & Pete DeLucia
After a short break, the conference proceeded with the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) panel consisting of Dr. Eileen Franko, the Director; Mr. James Meacham Program Manager, Asbestos Control Bureau; Mr. Kirk Fisher, Program Manager, Licensing & Certification; and Mr. Ed Smith, Program Manager, Engineering Services Unit.  Questions and answers session was moderated by Mr. Tim Thomas of Tetra Tech Engineering.

Questions for the Lead Panel
Mr. Meacham filled us in that NYSDOL received another 3-year grant (runs through to 2021) to audit school's compliance with the EPA's Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA).  To date, NYSDOL has audited 115 schools throughout the state.  Dr. Franko re-emphasized as she does every year that Article 32 the mold law is a consumer protection law and there are limitations in the law.  Mr. Fisher informed us that the online notification systems are not working they want and because of staffing issues licenses and certifications are taking 30 days to 6 weeks to process.  Mr. Smith informed us that they will start working on the fast track variances, again.  Fast Track Variances are a pilot program for certain site-specific variances (SSV).  These are common variances that are issued on a regular basis.  They are planning 9 variances to be available at the start of the program - negative air shutdown, exhausting to an interior space, elevator door removal, fire door removal, crawlspace with dirt floor, intact component removal, buried cementitious (e.g., Transite) pipe, HEPA drilling spot removal, & air sampling at elevated exhaust duct locations.   These would be the guidelines for getting a fast track variance:

  • A completed SH-752 form must be submitted. The form must include all the necessary information for obtaining a variance, including the hardship. NO information about the work plan should be included with the application.
  • The SH-752 form must be submitted by a certified Project Designer working on behalf of the Petitioner.
  • The variance fee of $350 must be included.
  • In Section 9 of the SH-752 form, the Petitioner's Agent must write in the number of the FTV that is requested.
  • The FTV will be issued as it is written. If some part of the FTV doesn't meet the project's needs, then a standard SSV is required.
  • Other relief cannot be added to the FTV.
  • No re-openings or amendments are allowed.
  • Termination date extension requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis,
  • These FTVs have no bearing on notification times.
During the questions and answers, several questions were asked related to the expiration date of training by NYSDOL versus the expiration date of AHERA.  With NYSDOL's view that this is only an issue for the initial class and that student as long as they comply with the annual training requirement related to the birth month, this is not an issue.  We also learned that NYSDOL has suspended the disruptive enforcement/reconciliation of records process they developed back in 2013 in response to a Thomas DiNapoli audit saying NYSDOL had no process to find those breaking the law for notification, surveys, etc.  According to NYSDOL, they do not have the staffing to handle this at this time.
Mr. Thomas introducing the NYSDOL panel Dr. Franko, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Meacham
The conference ended with lunch and Future Environment Designs was proud to be one of the sponsors of the conference.  Though it ended with NYSDOL indicating they are having staffing issues that are obviously impacting licensing, certification, and enforcement.  It was good to hear that NYSDOL is moving forward with the fast track variances.  As usual, we are already looking forward to next year's conference which will be February 26, 27, & 28, 2020.  See you there!

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