Regulatory Meetings Crop Up Like Crocuses in the Sunlight
Besides PFAS, QACs, Nonos and Fee Increases, Administration Discusses Expansion of TURA
The Commonwealth has an odd way of welcoming spring….
info@nenasf.org
508-754-2671
1 Week Away! New England NASF Virtual Seminar – March 2, 2021
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION
NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER HOSTS VIRTUAL SEMINAR
The Inaugural Virtual Seminar of the New England Chapter of NASF was held on Wednesday October 14, 2020 for the benefit of their membership and the entire metal finishing community. With the elimination of in-person meetings brought about by the COVID pandemic the executive board realized the necessity to continue to have events that would not only educate but, to some extent, bond those associated with metal finishing.
The event, which was a four-hour Wastewater Treatment Update offering continuing education contact hours for Wastewater license renewal, was conducted by means of a Zoom format and attracted about forty attendees. It offered four presentations in two segments from 9:00 to 11:00 and 1:00 to 3:00.
The first presentation covered an overview, regulations and reporting requirements surrounding PFAS substances and was presented by Katherine Robertson, Executive Director of MCTA (Mass Chemistry & Technology Alliance), along, with a panel of experts on the subject. This was followed by a presentation by Remington Schieffer of Dynapower on electrical maintenance for wastewater treatment equipment efficiency and also featured a glimpse at research being conducted that could electrolytically remediate PFAS substances.
The afternoon session featured Robin Deal, senior wastewater specialist at Hubbard Hall, and a panel of experts, offering a presentation entitled “Don’t let Wastewater slow down your Metal Finishing Operation”. The webinar concluded with Fran DiGiovanni, lifelong technical finishing chemistry specialist and metal finishing consultant, who offered a presentation entitled “Training in the Metal Finishing Shop, What We Do Versus What We Need to Do”.
Special thanks to Katherine Robertson of MCTA for offering to act as Moderator for this event, and to Rob Capalbo of NBC TV Springfield affiliate WWLP who acted as technical director and support to successfully bring this Virtual Seminar to reality.
We are living in a very different world today and it is through the combined efforts of NASF Board Members, Committee Members, Chapter Membership and dedicated and talented members of the Metal Finishing Community as a whole that events such as this can be offered for the benefit of our membership.
NEW ENGLAND-NASF VIRTUAL SEMINAR
NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER-NASF VIRTUAL SEMINAR
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 14, 2020
4 WASTEWATER CONTACT HOURS HAVE BEEN APPROVED!
YOUR NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER HAS ASSEMBLED A FIELD OF FOUR METAL FINISHING EXPERTS TO BRING YOU UP TO DATE ON EMERGING WASTEWATER ISSUES AND TECHNIQUES THROUGH THE USE OF VIRTUAL CONFERENCING
PRESENTERS:
Katherine Robertson – MCTA
Fran DiGiovanni – Technical Consultant
Remington Schieffer – Dynapower
Robin Deal- Hubbard-Hall
ON-LINE VIRTUAL SEMINAR
9:00 TO 11:00 am and 1:00 TO 3:00 pm
COST:
$50 / PERSON (NENASF MEMBERS)
$100 /PERSON (NON-MEMBERS)
REGISTRATION AND MORE INFORMATION
CAN BE FOUND UNDER OUR EVENTS SECTION
2020 New England Chapter Annual Winter Seminar
More than thirty members of the NASF New England Chapter attended a Seminar sponsored by the Chapter on February 6, 2020 at the Courtyard Marriott in Marlborough, Massachusetts to receive their required annual RCRA HazMat and Triennial DOT training. This mandatory training was presented to the membership in a combined joint effort of lead presenter and Chapter Board Member Jeff Mosholder of Newpath LLC and a trio of presenters from HRP Associates out of Albany, New York.
Jeff Mosholder lead off the seminar with a comprehensive RCRA Hazmat training session. This is an annual requirement and can at times be repetitious, but Jeff always manages to peek interest with new facts and updated information for the attendees.
The triennial DOT training was conducted by HRP lead presenter and Senior Project Scientist Alisa Werst accompanied by Regional Manger Jason Beach. Alisa gave an intense fact filled two hour DOT educational training presentation followed by a written test and finally the awarding of Certificates of Completion once the attendees passed the test.
The four hour Seminar was concluded with a presentation by Senior Inspector Roger Booth, also of HRP, who brought attendees up to date on changes and pitfalls of Sara 313 TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) filing requirements. Strong emphasis was placed on the emerging PFAS reporting requirements being added to the coming years data collection and reporting.
This Seminar and other events and educational opportunities offered by the New England Chapter are just another reason to join and actively participate in all that the National Association for Surface Finishing has to offer.
NENASF SEMINAR – METAL FINISHING BOOT CAMP 2
METAL FINISHING BOOT CAMP 2
The New England chapter of the National Association for Metal Finishing held their second in a series of Metal Finishing Boot Camp Seminars on September 26 , 2019 at the Courtyard Marriott in Marlborough Massachusetts.
This seminar is designed as a training tool for entry level metal finishers as well as a means for veteran finishers to hone their skills by learning about new and innovative technologies within the metal finishing industry.
The seminar featured three highly qualified experienced advisers from within the metal finishing community. Jim Gallman, director of wastewater chemistries at Hubbard Hall introduced the attendees to various non traditional rare earth chemistries as a means to overcoming phosphate compliance issues in the industrial wastewater treatment streams.
Rob Sheldon of Aquasgroup brought to the table a variety of technologies that can be used as tools for achieving discharge limits in wastewater treatment operations. Rob cautioned all to be wary of the one size fits all compliance tool. He stressed the need for application engineering, where the challenge must be determined before choosing the equipment necessary to complete the task. Although a seemingly basic principle, he pointed out that misapplication of treatment technologies is the single biggest cause of failure when tackling wastewater discharge compliance issues.
The third speaker was NENASF’s own Marko Duffy CEF of Marathon Manufacturing Solutions. Marko gave a lively presentation on the fundamentals of blueprint reading for the metal finisher. He instructed attendees in the pitfalls of blueprint reading through the use of numerous instructional and interactive graphic examples, and how a small mistake or oversight can lead to costly errors on the finishing line.
Our thanks to all who gave of their time and effort to bring this top quality presentation to the NENASF membership. This is just another way in which your Association is working for you. The Executive Board is currently working on developing a members only page on our website where the power point presentation of these speakers, as well as other instructional information, will be available to the membership.
2018 New England Surface Finishing Regional – Annual Foundation Award
The New England Surface Finishing Regional took place this last November 9th, in Salem, Massachusetts. It was a huge success with 150 people in attendance. There were speakers from all over the country that delivered educational and thoughtful presentations to all in attendance. The New England Surface Finishing Regional Committee is honored to have presented the Annual Foundation Award to long time supporter Pyromet. The award was created to recognize a metal finishing supplier that has demonstrated outstanding contributions, support, and dedication to the annual regional event. Pyromet is committed to their customers in supplying the highest quality and excellent silver refining services and silver products to the industries that use them. You can visit them at https://www.pyromet999.com/
SBA Office of Advocacy – Regional Regulatory Roundtable – Boston, MA
Description
Please join the Office of Advocacy for a roundtable discussion of federal regulatory issues impacting your small business. Advocacy is also inviting Massachusetts Congressional offices and key federal agencies to hear your concerns about federal regulations and other issues you may be facing with your small business.
President Trump has made regulatory reform a center piece of his agenda and recently signed two executive orders addressing the regulatory burden faced by the private sector. As the independent voice for small business within the federal government, The Office of Advocacy has a unique and important role to aid agency implementation of the new executive orders. To assist in accomplishing the goals of the executive orders, we have developed a Regulatory Reform Action Plan.
As part of this plan, we are hosting Regional Regulatory Reform Roundtables across the country in an effort to hear from small businesses first-hand about what federal regulations most concern and/or impact them. In order for this Regulatory Reform effort to be successful, we need small business participation. This will be an opportunity for small business leaders to educate Advocacy and federal agencies through first-hand accounts of how federal regulations impact their small business. The information gathered at these roundtables will be utilized to inform agencies, Congress and the public on what specific regulations can be modified or removed to help small businesses.
Registration for this event is free, however please fill out the registration form below so that we will be prepared to discuss various regulatory issues. If you are unable to attend but would still like to provide us with federal regulatory small business concerns, please fill out the form.
https://www.sba.gov/advocacy/regulatory-reform-input
The Office of Advocacy is an independent office housed in the SBA that serves as an independent voice for small business within the federal government, the watchdog for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and the source of small business statistics. Advocacy advances the views and concerns of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers.
The agenda will be created based upon registrations. All small businesses are welcome to attend for as little or as long as their schedule will permit. Small Businesses do not need to attend all day, Advocacy staff and Federal Agency staff will be in attendance to hear your comments and concerns.
Roundtable Agenda:
1:00-1:20 p.m.: Registration and networking
1:20-1:30 p.m.: Opening Remarks and Welcome
1:30-1:40 p.m.: Who is Advocacy and Why are we here?
1:40-2:10 p.m.: Input from the Transportation, Hospitality, and Retail Industries
2:10-2:40 p.m.: Input from the Financial Services, Tech, and Real Estate Industries
2:40-3:10 p.m.: Input from the Construction, Manufacturing, and Marine Industries
3:10-3:20 p.m.: Break
3:20-3:50 p.m.: General Small Business Regulatory Concerns
3:50-4:00 p.m.: Closing Remarks
The purpose of each roundtable is to hear directly from local small businesses in various industries. Depending upon the feedback from the registration comment form, the roundtable agenda may be modified to fit the interests of the small businesses in attendance. Please let us know your regulatory concerns and issue areas by filling out the comment form when registering.
New England Chapter of NASF is an official chapter of
The National Association for Surface Finishing