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2004
January 27th
Topic:
Issues Raised by the Certification and Licensing of
Environmental Professionals
The environmental profession is relatively new
and quite diverse. Unlike other professions such as teaching, nursing,
medicine, accounting, law and engineering, there is no standard licensing or
certification requirement for environmental professionals. Specialized
voluntary certifications including the Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM)
and Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) have been created to address the
issue of professional qualifications. What are the advantages of such
certifications? What is the history and probable future of such certifications?
What changes are occurring in the environmental profession? What are some of
the legal and policy implications of such certifications?
Speaker:
Lisa Gossett
Lisa Gossett is chair of the Environmental
Management Program at the University of Houston – Clear Lake (UHCL), where she
teaches courses in environmental law, environmental permitting, and
environmental policy. She is concluding an assignment as Interim Director of
the Environmental Institute of Houston, an interdisciplinary institute on both
the UHCL campus and the central campus of the University of Houston system that
supports research on environmental issues, environmental education, and public
outreach.
Ms. Gossett earned a B.S. in Mechanical
Engineering from Rice University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the
University of Houston Law Center. Prior to joining the faculty at UHCL, she
worked as an engineer in the petrochemical industry and as an environmental
attorney. She is active in several professional organizations.
April 27th
Topic:
SPCC Requirements
Associated with Implementation of the Revised SPCC Rule
Have you
updated your oil SPCC plan to account for the rule changes that were issued in
2002? Do you know which provisions of the "old" oil SPCC rule were "relaxed" by
the 2002 rule? Do you know what's required to update your SPCC plan? Have you
heard the latest EPA position on various aspects of this rule?
Come to
the April 27th Buffalo Bayou Chapter of CHMMs meeting to have these questions,
and others you may have, answered by one of EPA's leading experts on
requirements of the revised SPCC rule. The clock is ticking towards the August
17th 2004 deadline for revision and professional engineer (PE) certification of
SPCC plans.'
Speaker:
Richard Franklin
Richard is a
member of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region 6 Oil Team,
specializing in oil SPCC and Facility Response Plan (FRP) issues. As part of
his USEPA Region 6 responsibilities, Richard leads emergency response activities
associated with releases of oil and hazardous materials, and oversees oil
removal activities and oil field clean-ups in Texas and Louisiana. On a
national level, Richard
serves as an instructor for
SPCC and emergency response classes. He is also a member of the national
workgroup tasked with establishing the National Oil Policy. Over the course of
the last two years, he has worked directly on national issues involving the
revised SPCC rule, including resolution
of the SPCC
rule litigation that was
recently announced.
July
15th - (joint TAEP
meeting)
Meeting Notice
Topic:
Annual Regulatory Update
Speakers:
Texas
Commission of Environmental Quality
Marsha Hill, Waste Program Manager
Steve Smith, Water Program Manager
Karen Atkinson, Air Program Manager
October 26th
Meeting Notice
Topic:
Effectively Communicating Safety & Health Information Through the Mass Media
In the post 9/11 world, the need to disseminate prompt, accurate
safety and health information is acute. And like it or not, the primary source
of information for the general public in times of emergencies is the mass media.
In recognition of this, safety and environmental professionals need to become
adept at managing their interactions with the media so that the right message is
ultimately conveyed. Unfortunately, many safety professionals are untrained in
media relations because their organizations maintain media relations or public
affairs units that serve as the initial interface with the media. But when
something goes wrong, inevitably the interview with the designated safety
professional will occur. To be better prepared for this eventuality, this
presentation will describe the various forms of mass media outlets and how they
work.
Speaker:
Dr. Robert Emery
Dr. Robert
Emery is the Executive Director of Environmental Health & Safety for The
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Associate Professor of
Occupational Health at the University of Texas School of Public Health. Dr.
Emery has over 25 years of experience in health & safety and holds Masters
degrees in health physics and environmental sciences, and a doctorate in
occupational health. Bob is unique in that he possesses national board
certification and registration in all of the main areas of health & safety;
health physics [Certified Health Physicist, CHP], occupational safety [Certified
Safety Professional, CSP], industrial hygiene [Certified Industrial Hygienist,
CIH], biological safety [Registered Biosafety Professional, RBP], hazardous
materials management [Certified Hazardous Materials Manager, CHMM], security
[Certified Protection Professional, CPP], and risk management [Associate in Risk
Management, ARM]. Dr. Emory is the author of many peer-reviewed articles
on practical health and safety topics and makes frequent presentations on such
issues at the local and national level.
December
14th at St. Arnold's Brewery, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Topic:
This meeting will be a social event. For directions click
here.
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