The New Mexico Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) will hold its February meeting in the Banquet Room at the Golden Corral Buffet and Grill (10415 Central Avenue NE, northeast corner at Eubank) in Albuquerque on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, at 11:30 a.m. For more information about AWMA, please visit: http://www.AWMA.org/.
Michael Baca, Environmental Analyst for the Air Quality Bureau (AQB) of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), will present: “Dust in the Wind: Building a Better Understanding of Particulate Matter (PM) Source Areas in the International Border Region of Southern New Mexico (NM).” Dust storms are an inevitable threat to public health and safety in NM, causing adverse health effects, closing down roads, and causing traffic accidents. Due to these events, NMED records exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM in Luna and Doña Ana Counties every year. NMED must provide the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with documentation that natural phenomena caused these events and are beyond NMED’s control or face regulatory action. Although it may seem common sense that desert lands are prone to wind erosion, little is known about the sources contributing to blowing dust. To better understand the extent to which natural desert areas contribute to exceedances, NMED commissioned New Mexico State University (NMSU) to create a geospatial database of source areas in the border region. For more information about the AQB, please visit: http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/air.html. ; For more information about PM, please visit EPA: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/. ; For more information about NMSU, please visit: http://www.research.nmsu.edu/Environment.
AWMA’s N.M. Chapter would like to express its appreciation to Yvette Tovar, Executive Director of the New Mexico Water Collaborative (NMWC), for her January presentation entitled: “Solutions to the Water Crisis in New Mexico.” The NMWC provides resources for the people of New Mexico to facilitate the implementation of water conservation strategies, and to educate our communities about critical water issues. NMWC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports the implementation of water conservation and reclamation technologies for communities in New Mexico. Three different projects focused on solutions to the water crisis ranging from an on-site treated waste water system, to a parking lot retrofit, to a rainwater harvesting program with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) was reviewed. For more information about NMWC, please visit: http://nmwatercollaborative.org/. ; For more information about NMWC’s projects, please visit: http://nmwatercollaborative.org/projects/. ; For more information about ABCWUA’s conservation and rebates, please visit: http://www.abcwua.org/Conservation_and_Rebates.aspx.
Thanks to those who submitted ballots for NM Chapter’s 2015 Board of Directors:
Chair Mary Broemel Central N. M. Community College (retired)
Vice-Chair Melissa Fetman Alliant Environmental, LLC
Secretary Mike du Mond Sandia National Laboratories / NM
Treasurer Heather Seus HazAir, Incorporated
Director I Kip Carrico New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Director II Jonas Berge Henningson, Durham, & Richardson, Inc.
Director III Scott Chazdon Affordable Solar
Past Chair Martin Schluep Alliant Environmental, LLC
Meeting attendance may qualify for one hour (1 hr.) of Continuing Education Units (CEU) or Professional Development Hours (PDH) towards some professional certifications, licenses, or registrations. For attendance verification, please contact AWMA’s New Mexico Chapter Secretary at [email protected].
The Waste Management 2015 (WM2015) Conference will be held March 15 – 19, 2015, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The conference theme is: “Achieving Results Through Technology and Innovation on a Global Scale.” For more information about WM2015, please visit: http://www.wmsym.org/.
AWMA’s New Mexico Chapter continues a popular service through this newsletter to exchange potential employment information. If you are an environmental professional seeking employment or an employer with vacancies, please respond to this E-Mail.
Seeking:
• No availability announcements received for this month.
Vacancy:
• No vacancy announcements received for this month.
AWMA’s local “sister” association, the New Mexico Society of Hazardous Materials Managers (NMSHMM), holds its monthly meetings on the third Wednesdays of the month at the Macaroni Grill, I-40 and Louisiana in Albuquerque at 11:30 a.m. For more information about the NMSHMM with direct links to certification and meeting information, please visit: http://www.NMSHMM.org/.
AWMA’s local “cousin” association, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) New Mexico Chapter, meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month, from 11:30 A.M. – 1:00 P.M., at the MCM Elegante Hotel located at 2020 Menaul NE in Albuquerque. For more information about USGBC New Mexico Chapter events, please visit: http://www.usgbcnm.org/.
AWMA’s local “green sheep” of the family, the New Mexico GREEN Chamber of Commerce, serves “green drinks” the first Wednesday of every month, from 5:30 to 9:30 P.M., Hotel Andaluz, 125 2nd Street Northwest, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87102. For more information about the GREEN Chamber, please visit: http://nmgreenchamber.com/.
AWMA Chapter meetings are normally held the first Tuesday of the month, so please mark your calendars now to meet at the Golden Corral. An open Board of Directors meeting may precede each meeting at 11:00 a.m. To suggest meeting topics or volunteer as a speaker, please contact AWMA Vice Chair Mary Broemel at (505) 224-4661 or E-mail her at: [email protected]. Guests and visitors are always welcome to meetings! No-host lunch (no RSVP or fee required – attendee pays for own buffet lunch and beverages). AWMA’s national Individual Member dues is now $180 while the N.M. Chapter’s Associate Member dues is still only $15 per year. For more information about the Chapter, please visit: https://awma-rmss.org/nmmeetings.htm. ; For more information about the Golden Corral, please visit: http://www.goldencorral.com/.
This AWMA New Mexico Chapter Newsletter is published monthly by the New Mexico Chapter. Subscriptions are available to full and associate members and other interested individuals. With exception of articles derived from other sources, material may be reprinted with attribution. Opinions expressed are those of the authors unless clearly stated otherwise. Send change of address or other correspondence to 8 Monticello Drive Northeast, Albuquerque, NM 87123-9601, or to officers: Chair, Mary Broemel, (505) 224-4661, [email protected]; Vice Chair, Melissa Fetman, (505) 205-4819, [email protected]; Treasurer, Heather Seus, (505) 412-2192, [email protected]; or Secretary, Mike du Mond, (505) 294-7841, [email protected].