Langan Virtually Hosts Eighth LSRP Summit

The Essential Business of Site Remediation During COVID-19

Caryn Barnes, LSRP, Principal and Neil Rivers, LSRP, Senior Associate of Langan hosted the firm’s eighth LSRP Summit: The Essential Business of Site Remediation during COVID-19. Attendees of this virtual event heard from a diverse group of industry leaders who shared their experiences and expectations regarding remediation and redevelopment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mark Pedersen, Assistant Commissioner at the NJDEP, highlighted the Department’s efforts to shift to working virtually, extend regulatory deadlines, maintain responsiveness, and reevaluate public needs in response to overburdened communities and climate change. To streamline the work flow process, NJDEP has implemented procedures for emailing submissions of reports and permit applications in support of LSRPs during the statewide work-from-home efforts.

Langan’s Brian Blum, CPG, LSRP, Senior Associate led a panel discussion with Shannon Lloyd of Ashland and Joel Bergstein of Lincoln Equities Group, discussing how remediation timelines are often tied to redevelopment timelines. Lloyd noted that even though remediation deadlines are being extended in the Site Remediation Program, responsible parties like Ashland are working with redevelopers to keep the efforts on schedule.  Bergstein shared his optimism from a developer’s perspective, discussing how he believed the migration to working remotely will allow for new adaptations and adjustments to better suit employee collaborations.

Rivers led a panel with Peter Postorino, President of AWT Environmental Services, and Michael Beckerich, President and CEO of York Analytical Laboratories, who shared how they have altered their day-to-day business practices to keep projects moving during the pandemic and to protect all site workers from COVID-19. All of these speakers agreed the technology we have access to today is primarily highlighting new opportunities for professionals to be efficient, safe and successful in ongoing remote remediation efforts.

A roundtable by Langan LSRPs Candace Baker, Charlene Drake, and Brandi Gray highlighted upcoming regulatory and policy changes that clients and LSRPs will need to be aware of. Attendees were given an overview of critical program changes, as well as the extensions in submission deadlines and the forthcoming changes to remediation standards.