Summer 2021 Issue

Summer 2021
REMEDIATION
by Mary White
Page 40
It is hard to believe that 2021 is halfway over. The COVID pandemic brought lots of
changes to the way the Remediation Team worked, but we barely saw a change in our
everyday work flow. In fact, we saw a productivity increase in what we could accomplish.
While the Remediation Team has always been a collaborative force, working remotely
has continued the testament of how collaborative we are. Calendars filled up with
meetings between each other, consultants, and facility owners/responsible parties.
Additionally, we made use of the Google Chat feature (GIPHYs are everyone’s favorite)
and old-fashioned phone calls are still a go-to.
Additionally, we had some personnel changes over the past year: First we welcomed
Patrick Lawler in February 2020, and within three weeks, we were working remotely. He
has done such a fantastic job at this quick transition so soon in his career at OPS! On
October 1, 2020 the Remediation Supervisor, Robert Herbert retired and moved back to
Utah. I became the Remediation Supervisor and the Remediation Team has been
practicing agility and respect in supporting me as I moved into this role. Jennifer Strauss
said her final goodbyes on June 30, 2021 to go work for Commerce City as a Storm
Water Coordinator. Finally, on August 2, 2021 we will welcome John Ritchie as our
newest Environmental Protection Specialist.
Some highlights of from the year are:
• Tom Fox became a team lead for a new ITRC group that will showcase the three ITRC
Petroleum Guidance Documents together.
• Murray Brown co-presented a poster at the REMTEC conference in March 2021.
• Kyle Campbell was selected to be on the Natural Source Zone Depletion panel for the
Batelle 2021 Conference
• The State Lead Technical reviewers, Tom Fox, Hannah Williams, Kyle Campbell, and
Orren Doss were led by Julia Fraser in the effort to select eight new State Lead
Contractors for the new Master Agreement, to be effective November 1, 2021.
• Michelle Howard, Julia Fraser, and Tom Fox diligently worked on UAT Testing for the
new COSTIS-IA database.
• Jane Bral came back for another 9 months to help out Remediation!
• Hannah Williams welcomed her first child, Eli Allen!
All in all, with all of the challenges, the Remediation Team has maintained agility,
collaboration, accountability and most of all respect for their colleagues through these
dynamic times. A special kudos to all of you for making it through this past year with
positive attitudes!