Course Schedule Updated
Through December 2009

 Environmental Health & Safety Training

Message from the Director

GREETINGS FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE!

On October 7^th, Tom Laubenthal and I met with members of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) Asbestos and Lead-Based Paint Program.  During that meeting, we were briefed on EPD’s EPA AHERA Asbestos in Schools Grant, which became effective in July 2008.  In short, the EPA Grant allows EPD to perform Asbestos in Schools education, outreach, technical assistance and targeted compliance inspections.  The current target audience is Charter schools in Georgia, and all compliance inspection results will be turned over to EPA Region IV for enforcement considerations.

Phase I of the program is going on now, and included a September mailing to approximately 60 Charter Schools in Georgia. EPD worked with Lynn B. Jackson and Gerald Williams with the Georgia Department of Education to select the schools to receive the mailing.

The mailing included:

• a cover letter describing AHERA requirements and EPD’s program;
• a well prepared guidance document entitled Managing Asbestos in Georgia Schools: The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act; Compliance Assistance Guide for School Personnel;
• an AHERA Self-Audit Checklist for Charter Schools;
• a flyer, list of training dates and registration form for EPD’s new AHERA Designated Person Training Course (see below);
• an updated list of accredited Asbestos Inspectors in Georgia; and
• an EPA press release describing some schools that had been cited and fined for AHERA violations.

EPD informed us that a second mailing is scheduled to go out in October and will target 26 Georgia public Local Education Agencies (LEA’s) representing approximately 180 school buildings.

For the first mailing, the Charter schools have been given until October 24^th to return the AHERA checklist to EPD. After that date, schools will be contacted by EPD to discuss the information on the checklist or to inquire as to why the checklist was not returned.  EPD’s goal is to assist these schools in becoming AHERA compliant before formal school inspections begin in January, 2009.

To assist in this effort, EPD is developing a one day AHERA Designated Person Training Course to be offered four times between November and December 2008.  Two of the courses will be in Atlanta, with the other two split between Augusta and Albany.  More details about the courses should be available from EPD shortly. Contact the EPD Duty Officer for more information (404.363.7026).

As previously stated, EPD will begin formal inspections in January 2009, although Debbie Hammond is in the process of completing an inspection of a Charter school in Clayton County at this time.  Prior to that, Debbie Hammond accompanied Scott Halyard with EPA Region IV on four AHERA compliance inspections.

Apparently, allowing Debbie to perform AHERA compliance inspections involved a formal and extensive credentialing process through EPA. In addition to having to be an Accredited Inspector and Management Planner, Debbie had to take the HAZWOPER training class and a 25 module EPA inspector training program where she had to score 100% on the test at the end of each module.  James Jackson and Marcus Mincey are both going through this same credentialing process at this time.

When formal EPD AHERA inspections begin in January, the first priority is expected to be the Charter schools that never returned the checklist they received as part of the September mailing.  As would be expected, the inspections will involve a review of the original AHERA Inspection and Management Plan and all subsequent documentation (3-year re-inspections, 6-month surveillance, annual notifications, training documentation, etc.) and a physical inspection of the school(s).  At the end of the inspection, EPD will discuss the findings with the school, including potential violations.  As stated previously, all compliance inspection results will be turned over to EPA Region IV for enforcement considerations.

Finally, while EPD has always had the authority to audit the Asbestos Supervisor Initial and Refresher training courses, the EPA grant now gives them authority to audit the Inspector, Management Planner, Designer and Worker Initial and Refresher courses as well. EPD expects to conduct approximately 20 asbestos course audits between now and the end of June 2009.

I look forward to seeing you in the near future!

Dave Hogue

October 2008