MSECA Virtual Meeting on Regulator Updates

Our Virtual Meetings are hosted on an interactive platform that allows attendees to move freely from “table” to “table.” This enables small group discussions with the ability to “move” around. So please join us before the presentations for the opportunity to socialize and network with other Environmental Professionals.

“Know Before You Go” Guide on the Remo Virtual Platform

An overview of Michigan’s collaborative strategies for PFAS, how this has been applied to various programs and what results Michigan has seen from the statewide efforts to investigate PFAS. This presentation will also give examples of the complexities of PFAS investigations and the need for coordination.

Abigail Hendershott, Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, MPART
Abigail (Abby) Hendershott is a 30-year veteran of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), is the Executive Director of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team. MPART is a multi-agency task force charged with investigating PFAS contamination, overseeing clean-up and other response activities aimed at protecting Michigan’s drinking water.

Ms. Hendershott has focused on PFAS response activities since 2017 and led the team responsible for Michigan’s largest PFAS contamination response to-date, the investigation into the former Wolverine Worldwide tannery in Rockford. In that role, her team was responsible for a $113 million legal settlement establishing clean-up plans and municipal water connections for thousands of residents in northern Kent County.

She supervised the Remediation and Redevelopment Division’s Grand Rapids district office and has more than 25 years of project management experience for complex environmental remediation projects.

Ms. Hendershott has a B.S. in Resource Development from Michigan State University and is a graduate of the Michigan State Great Lakes Leadership Academy.

Nationwide there are approximately 58,000 petroleum UST releases that have not been completed. This “corrective action backlog” has been coming down slowly over the last 10 years. EPA and many cleanup professionals believe that many of these sites no longer pose a threat to human health and the environment, even though they do not meet current state cleanup standards. We have formed a Task Group in ASTM Committee E50.04 to develop a standard that provides alternative closure criteria, based on our current understanding of how petroleum behaves underground, and best management practices for moving sites to closure.

Tom Schruben, US EPA
Tom Schruben is a physical scientist in the EPA Office of Underground Storage Tanks where he concentrates on cleanup issues. He started his professional career as an environmental engineer in 1981. In 1986 he joined EPA OUST to help write the Federal UST regulations and to assist State regulatory programs and State Funds with corrective action issues. From 1992 to 2021 he: developed and managed environmental insurance programs; facilitated redevelopment at Brownfields; and consulted on environmental litigation. He has participated in the development of numerous ASTM standards, including Risk Based Corrective Action and is currently Chairing ASTM’s Moving Sites to Closure Task Group.

This presentation will focus on Environmental Justice and its current status in federal policy, including topics such as:
• Defining Environmental Justice, particularly from an EPA perspective.
• The history of Environmental Justice as a movement.
• Current federal policy regarding Environmental Justice.
• How Federal agencies are incorporating environmental justice into the fabric of their organization.
• EPA’s role in leading the EJ effort and programs to support new policy.
• How Environmental Justice should be considered in Brownfield and other redevelopment work with an emphasis on partnerships within the community.

Yolanda Bouchee, Revitalized Communities, LLC
Yolanda Bouchee is President/Founding Principal of Revitalized Communities, LLC-a Community Development consulting company that specializes in Community Partnership and Redevelopment Planning. She also teaches “Critical Thinking in Public Health”, at the University of Illinois Chicago’s School of Public Health and continuing education classes at UCLA.

Before starting her company, Yolanda retired as Chief of Brownfields and Land Revitalization at USEPA Region 5 in Chicago. Her career also included serving as Chief of the Region’s Superfund Community Involvement program. Before working at EPA, Yolanda worked for the Department of Treasury managing community programs and investment training. She has an MBA in Program Management with a focus in Real Estate Development.

Revitalized Communities, LLC is a partner with Kansas State University’s EPA funded, TAB (Technical Assistance to Brownfields) program.

There is an opportunity after the Meeting to stick around and chat with other attendees about the presentations or any other topic you would like. Our Virtual Meetings are hosted on an interactive platform that allows attendees to move freely from “table” to “table,” which enables small group discussions.

“Know Before You Go” Guide on the Remo Virtual Platform