Don Kennedy, NEIWPCC training coordinator, will receive the 2020 James J. Courchaine Collection Systems Award in January, awarded by NEWEA virtually at their annual conference. The award recognizes outstanding efforts and dedication in the collection systems field. Kennedy will be retiring in January 2021 after 21 years with NEIWPCC and 47 years overall in the environmental services field. For many years, Kennedy travelled all over New England and New York conducting more than 500 trainings to share his knowledge of collections systems, pumps, and industrial wastewater treatment. He plans to stay with NEIWPCC as a trainer in a limited capacity.

Emilie Hauser, NEIWPCC environmental analyst and HRNERR estuary training program coordinator, was honored by NOAA and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) with a Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes her service, leadership and contributions to the Coastal Training Program, NERRS, and to the community she served. Hauser announced her retirement at the end of 2020. She has been a NEIWPCC employee since 2002 and has worked diligently to promote informed coastal management and decision-making by developing a successful Coastal Training Program, as well as a myriad of other achievements.

JETCC, a NEIWPCC Program Partner, and Leeann Hanson, NEIWPCC program manager, were nominated for the 2020 Dr. Kenneth D. Kerri Excellence in Workforce Development Award through the Association of Boards of Certification (ABC), which is awarded to an individual or entity that has demonstrated exceptional efforts to work with future generations to promote education and recruitment within the water and wastewater operating profession.

Hanson will be co-presenting at ABC’s Annual Conference Innovation in Certification in January with Judy Bruenjes, wastewater certification officer with MaineDEP. Their session is titled “Adapting to the ‘New Normal’ of Certification and Training” and will be a discussion of how they adapted to training and certification program disruptions during the pandemic. The nomination and a brief summary of Bruenjes/Hanson’s presentation are both located on the ABC Innovation in Certification conference website.

Environmental Analysts Audra Martin and Drew Youngs recently completed the Quality Assurance Program Manager Designee Base Training, which prepares designees with an understanding of the structure and requirements for quality assurance project plans (QAPPs), and provides instruction on NEIWPCC’s review and approval process. With the addition of two more designees, NEIWPCC’s capacity for QAPP review has increased, and our Quality Management System is strengthened. See our story on Quality Management field assessments, also in this issue.

Congratulations to NEIWPCC Director of Water Quality Programs Richard Friesner who recently earned a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from George Mason University’s School of Policy and Government. The program included 15-credit hours focused on management, law, governance, ethics, and financial concepts.

The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program website has a new look! Thanks to Julia Bancroft, NEIWPCC environmental analyst and NBEP watershed coordinator, who marshalled ideas and information, ensured a collaborative and inclusive approach across the Estuary Program team and partners, and contributed to final web development. NBEP now has a more modern website that offers greater clarity, functionality, and beauty. It balances the mix of requirements coming from NEIWPCC and the EPA National Estuary Program, and it establishes the program’s identity and value in the region. Bancroft’s knowledge of the organization, its history, its people, and the development of the previous website was integral to the effort. The new site went live in December.

Tom Groves, NEIWPCC Wastewater and Onsite Systems Division director, has accepted the position of executive director of NOWRA (National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association) and will be leaving in January after more than 30 years with NEIWPCC. Groves served as director of the Wastewater and Onsite Systems Division since 2000, overseeing several major environmental training initiatives, both through NEIWPCC’s regional training program and our program partner, JETCC.

Dr. Christina Stringer, NEIWPCC program manager with the Water Resource Protection Division, will be the new Wastewater & Onsite Systems Division director beginning Jan. 25. Stringer joined NEIWPCC in 2018, and has been the Lowell project manager for the New York Source Water Assessment and Protection Program. She also has managed the Emerging Contaminants and the Ground Water and Source Water Protection Workgroups.

James Plummer, NEIWPCC environmental analyst in the Water Resources Protection division, is transitioning into the Wastewater and Onsite division. Plummer served as the Youth and the Environment program's summer intern in 2015 and 2016, and joined NEIWPCC full-time as an analyst in 2017. 

Employment opportunities and internships are posted as they become available. We are currently accepting applications for the following positions:

January 26, 28 and February 2, 4, 2021, Virtual: New England Water Environment Association's Annual Conference.

February 9-11 and 16-18, 2021, Virtual: New York Water Environment Association's 93rd Annual Meeting, Bringing Water to Life!

March 3, 5, 9, and 11, 2021, Virtual: NEIWPCC's Northeast Aquatic Biologists Conference.

March 17-18, 2021, Virtual: Association of Clean Water Administrators' Mid-Year Meeting.

May 20, 25, and 27, 2021, Virtual: NEIWPCC's 31st Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference.

To submit your event for possible inclusion in a future issue, please send an email with a link to your event to: NEIWPCC.