ES&H HAS HIT ITS STRIDE Jonathan Dearth, Chair, Environmental Safety & Health Committee What an exciting time for the VAA Environmental Safety and Health (ES&H) Committee. ES&H has established bylaws, continues to recruit committee members to bring in as much expertise as possible and has set goals to guide our future endeavors. One of those goals is to raise awareness of environmental, safety, and health within the Virginia Asphalt Association (VAA) membership and the asphalt industry. ES&H consistently meets that goal through industry outreach, increased visibility, and interactions with regulators and consulting professionals. The more ES&H performs, the better it gets, and it’s in a great position to be effective. The partnership with Troutman Pepper has led to a better understanding of potential & upcoming issues, how to be prepared for changes that can’t be controlled, and how to interact with the right people when these scenarios are more pliable. VAA and the asphalt paving industry have become known players in the environmental regulatory space through this committee. Another of the committee’s goals was to be more visible and memorable with regulators, and it continues to exercise that objective. ES&H committee members have built relationships and have had meaningful, memorable interactions with DEQ senior leadership. As a culmination of last year’s efforts, a DEQ senior leadership round table discussion was held with members of VAA at Troutman Pepper in Richmond. ES&H provided good points for discussion and received valuable information about how DEQ leadership approaches compliance and permitting, where we might focus on improving our relationships with their employees, and some permit and online resource updates. Representatives attended the Environment Virginia Symposium at VMI in the spring and learned a lot about PFAS, testing for PFAS, and the ever-changing regulatory landscape and how that can impact our industry. After new environmental regulations were enacted in July, the committee shifted focus to sharing the pertinent regulation changes and then turned toward safety. Through the committee vice-chair Ken Olsen’s leadership and his relationships in the industry, ES&H established a working relationship with ATSSA. From there, the committee worked to integrate this year’s Mid Atlantic Asphalt Expo with ATSSA and is offering a safety summit to the content provided at the December event. This is a terrific opportunity for those with a day pass to get in front of state-of-the-art workplace safety methods and technology. Lastly, partnering with Troutman Pepper and DEQ, ES&H has put together content for an air permit and environmental justice workshop following this year’s Discussion with the department on October 11. The committee has really hit its stride this year. We invite you to join the committee, attend meetings, and take part meaningfully. Your participation ensures ES&H moves in the right direction on behalf of the association. This committee will leave footprints in the industry, and with the association’s support, we will shape the future of asphalt in Virginia. 2024 Air Permitting Workshop VAASPHALT.ORG 27
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