December 2006 - PUBLIC EDITION

• NMSHMM Moves Ahead with Plans for ACHMM Leadership Conference
• NMSHMM Needs Candidates for Elections
• Local News Stories
• Upcoming Meetings and Events
• Monthly Meeting Location
• Job Openings
• NMSHMM Officers and Committee Chairs

NMSHMM Moves Ahead with Plans for ACHMM Leadership Conference
Brian Salem, CHMM
New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Hazardous Waste Bureau

El Niño is predicted to make a late but moderate arrival this winter. Let's hope it is on time for an early snow season.

Our November lunch meeting included a presentation by David Henry on the Military Munitions Program at the Albuquerque Office of the Corps of Engineers. Mr. Henry gave an interesting overview of the capabilities of the Corps to address other environmental issues as well. Of local interest was his work in the area of Double Eagle Airport on the west side. The area was used as a bombing range during World War II. Watch out where you walk.

The Academy of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers (ACHMM) Membership Committee recently conducted a survey to determine what the top membership benefits are for their members. The top six included the annual conference, professional development, networking, job listing / resume posting, e-newsletter, and chapter web sites. While ACHMM is enhancing these benefits on a national level, NMSHMM supplies five of the six for its membership. NMSHMM will be improving its web site next year to better serve its membership. Anyone with time and expertise is welcome to help us with this project. Please contact me or any board member to volunteer.

There has been a lot of press recently about a proposed solution to global warming. The idea is to create a thicker layer of pollution in the atmosphere that would in effect shade the planet from any further warming. The recently concluded Climate Change Conference in Nairobi requested more research into its side effects. The experiment may already be underway.

Final planning for the April 2007 ACHMM Leadership Workshop is underway. The workshop will be free and will provide excellent training acceptable for credits toward your CHMM re-certification. Two local speakers have been confirmed. Derrith Watchman-Moore, Deputy Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, and Dick Raaz, Project Manager at the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) Site will give presentations. ACHMM has confirmed some excellent national speakers to fill out the program. Further e-blasts should be going out to the ACHMM membership shortly advertising the workshop.

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2007 NMSHMM Elections

NMSHMM Needs Candidates for Elections

In case you did not get enough election and campaign activity this fall, NMSHMM will hold their 2007 elections in January. We need candidates for President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors-at-large. This is a great opportunity for NMSHMM members to actively participate on the board and plan NMSHMM activities. NMSHMM continues to be a strong environmental and safety professional society that sponsors many professional development events throughout the year. We are gaining higher visibility in ACHMM as exemplified by our sponsoring the 2007 ACHMM Leadership Conference and our strong presence at the ACHMM conference and on ACHMM committees. Serving as an officer will give you leadership experience in managing a non-profit organization, and you will accrue CHMM recertification credits. If you are interested in being a NMSHMM candidate, please contact NMSHMM President Brian Salem at . Ballots will be mailed to NMSHMM members along with a hard copy of the January newsletter.

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Local News Stories

• Clovis residences are concerned with the proximity of a proposed ConAgra ethanol plant. Blake Prather, of Citizens for the Right Choice, said that he was not opposed to the 110 million gallon plant but was concerned that winds could blow pollutants to a nearby elementary school and medical center (Albuquerque Tribune, 10-29-06).
   
• Forest Guardians intend to submit a request to the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission to designate nine New Mexico headwaters and watersheds as Outstanding National Resource Waters. Such a designation would prohibit new pollutants in hundreds of miles of rivers and streams within 1.6 million acres of roadless forest (Albuquerque Journal, 10-28-06).
   
• NMED fined Helena Chemical Company $36,000 for the company's failure to notify NMED of fertilizer spilled by a company truck on a county road near Mesquite. On September 29, a farmer stopped at a stop sign outside of Helena's property, which caused fertilizer in the truck's tank to shift, rupture the tank, and spill nitrate and ammonia onto the county road (Albuquerque Journal, 10-28-06).
   
• A family owned-company called Oops Unlimited canceled their proposed $15 million gasification plant that would have burned manure and wood waste. The plant would have been located on a former feedlot at Seven Rivers north of Carlsbad. Oops Unlimited was unable to find a market for fuel generated from biomass (Santa Fe New Mexican, 10-31-06).
   
• Early in her tenure, Attorney General Patricia Madrid took control of a complicated Albuquerque South Valley pollution case from state Natural Resource Trustee Bill Turner, whom she disagreed with on how to handle the case. Turner attempted to negotiate a settlement and seek funding for an assessment of damages from the legislature, which the legislature rejected. Madrid opted to go to court instead of following Turner's recommendations, but she was unable to succeed in court. The 10^th Circuit Court upheld a 2004 dismissal of the attorney general's lawsuit. Defendants General Electric and ACF Industries remain responsible for ongoing cleanup work (Albuquerque Journal, 11-03-04).
   
• NMED Secretary Ron Curry expressed concern over Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) trying to "short-circuit" an environmental cleanup agreement with the state. Secretary Curry stated, "What we have seen are incidents where they're apparently in our opinion, trying to find ways to either short-circuit or shortcut the order we've negotiated, either by changing the federal law that it would operate under or trying to find legal road blocks to delay implementation of the order." LANL spokesman James Rickman responded, "There has been no attempt to do an end-around on the consent order or undermine it authority." (Albuquerque Journal, 11-11-06)
   
• Chemical Transportation Inc. completed cleanup of 15,000 cubic yards of soil and 40,000-45,000 gallons of water at the site of a sulfuric acid spill on NM 90 south of Silver City. The spill occurred on August 14 when a tanker truck collided with a pickup truck and spilled 500 gallons of sulfuric acid (Albuquerque Journal, 11-11-06).
   
• On November 18, at least 2500 people were force to evacuate the New Mexico State Fair Grounds in Albuquerque when containers of a minute quantity of cobalt-57 and a microcurie of cesium-137 were found beneath a car parked at the Fine Arts Building. People at the fair grounds were evacuated to the Cesar Chavez Community Center. The substances were eventually determined not to be a bomb risk. Cobalt-57 is a radiological isotope used for medical diagnosis. Cessium-137 is a radiological isotope used in moisture-density gauges, leveling gages, cancer treatment, and other devices. The substances belonged to a consultant who works with hospital equipment. The materials were recovered by the Sandia National Laboratories Radiological Assistance Program and will be stored at a safe laboratory at Sandia. State investigators were planning to initiate an enforcement action (Albuquerque Journal, 11-19-06 and 11-21-06, Albuquerque Tribune 11-20-06).
   
• The New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld a more stringent standard for uranium in groundwater that was issued by the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission in 2004. The standard was revised to 0.03 milligrams per liter, which aligns with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard for drinking water (Albuquerque Journal, 11-24-06).
   

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Upcoming Meetings & Events

December 8, 8:00 am, Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) Roadrunner Chapter Annual Meeting at Embassy Suites Hotel, Albuquerque. For more information, go to SWANA web site at www.nmswana.com.

December 20, 5:30 pm NMSHMM Annual Holiday Social at Billiard Palace, 2288 Wyoming Blvd. NE (next to Village Inn on east side of Wyoming just south of Menaul).

January 16, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM board meeting at CDM offices, 6000 Uptown Blvd. NE, Suite 200. All members are welcome.

January 17, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill, 6601 Uptown Boulevard NE, Albuquerque. Richard Cartright, of the ACHMM Board, will discuss ACHMM activities. This will be a good opportunity to learn more about ACHMM activities and future plans.

Did we miss something? To get your event added to the calendar please contact Eric Johnson at .

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Monthly Meeting Location

Our regular monthly meetings are held at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill (6601 Uptown Boulevard Northeast; 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.

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Job Openings

For the latest job openings, please click here.  (MEMBERS ONLY).

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Please send contributions for future newsletters to Eric Johnson at . Thanks!

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