published quarterly for members of the texas lone star ...€¦ · your jsa library is a work in...
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Published Quarterly for Members of the Texas Lone Star Chapter of SWANA
Update on Texas Legislative Issues by Ty Embry
Table of Contents
2014 TxSWANA Jack C. Carmichael, P.E. Scholarships 4
2014 TXSWANA Annual Road-e-o, El Paso, TX 5-6
Keeping Staff Safe with JSA’s 8
14 Notice of Election of Directors and Officers
The Texas Legislature continues to make its steady march toward the 84th Regular Ses-sion which will begin on January 13, 2015. The March party primary elections have come and gone and the primary election run-offs have been scheduled for May 27. While some legis-lators are involved in the party primary run-off elections, the Texas Legislature has started to hold public hearings on the study topics that the Lt. Governor and Speaker have assigned to the various Senate and House Committees in preparation for the Regular Session that begins in January. In many cases, the legislators will turn the recommendations made by the legisla-tive committees into the legislation they will file during the Regular Session. We will be fol-lowing the interim committee work by the Texas Legislature and closely studying the re-ports that are ultimately issued by the commit-tees.
At the recent TxSWANA Board Meeting in Austin held as part of the Annual Confer-ence, two legislative issues of interest were dis-cussed. The Board members talked at length about the collection and use of tipping fees that fund the Solid Waste Disposal Fee Account at
the TCEQ. The Texas Legislature reduced the amount of tipping fee collected during the 2013 Regular Session as part of the Legisla-ture’s larger effort to reduce the amount of money that is held in accounts with unex-pended balances. The Board discussed TxSWANA’s interest in restoring the amount of the tipping fee and addressing the TCEQ’s process to distribute funds from the Solid Waste Disposal Fee Account.
In addition, the Board also expressed its interest in the Request for Attorney Gen-eral Opinion submitted in February by State Representative Dan Flynn who has asked At-torney General Abbott if the bans on plastic bags and fees on replacement bags adopted by several cities in Texas is legal and consis-tent with the Texas Health and Safety Code. The general rule is that the Attorney General issues an Opinion in response to a Request within six months of the submission of a Re-quest. TxSWANA will be following closely the Opinion issued by the Attorney General and assessing its impact on bans on plastic bags in Texas.
Volume 14, Number 2 Spring 2014
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The Lone Star
TxSWANA Officers & Board of Directors
Director:
Bengy Williams
City of Beaumont
4955 Lafin Road
Beaumont, TX 77704-3827
(409) 842-1483
Director:
Ron Smith
City of Dallas
3112 Canton Street, Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 670-3555
Past President:
Brenda A. Haney, P.E.
City of Irving
825 W. Irving Blvd.,
Irving, TX 75060
(972) 721-2349
President:
Michael G. Rice, P.E.
City of Amarillo
509 E 7th Avenue
Amarillo, TX 79105
(806) 378-9337
IB Rep:
Vance Kemler
City of Denton
1527 Mayhill Road
Denton, TX 76208
(940) 349-8002 [email protected]
Director:
Lawrence Mikolajczyk
City of Corpus Christi
P.O. Box 9277
Corpus Christi, TX 78469
(361) 826-1966
Vice President:
Ellen A. Smyth, P.E.
City of El Paso
7968 San Paulo Drive
El Paso, TX 79907
(915) 621-6719
Secretary:
Richard McHale
City of Austin
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, TX 78767
(512) 974-4301
Director:
Paul Gosselink
Lloyd , Gosselink,
Rochelle & Townsend, P.C. 816 Congress Avenue, Suite 1900 Austin, TX 78701
(512) 322-5806
Director:
Hector Chavez
City of Eagle Pass
100 South Monroe Street
Eagle Pass, TX 78852
(830) 773-9408
Director:
Frank Pugsley, P.E.
CP & Y, Inc.
1820 Regal Row, Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75235
(214) 638-0500
Director: Robert H. “Holly” Holder, P. E.
Parkhill, Smith & Cooper
4222 85th Street
Lubbock, TX 79423
(806) 473-2200
Visit www.swana.org for a
membership application.
Director:
Lonnie Banks
City of Garland
1434 Commerce Street
Garland, TX 75040
(972) 205-3424
Director:
Jeffrey D. Mayfield, P.E.
North Texas Municipal Water
District
P.O. Box 2408
Wylie, TX 75098
(972) 442-5405
Treasurer:
David W. McCary
City of San Antonio
4410 W. Piedras Drive
San Antonio, TX 78228
(210) 207-6471
Director:
Harry Hayes
City of Houston
611 Walker
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 837-9103
Director:
Morris Williams
City of Midland
PO Box 1152
Midland, TX 79702
(432) 685-7278
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The Lone Star
Message from the President by Michael Rice
Dear TxSWANA!
As president of TxSWANA, I continue to be very proud of
our membership and our faithful supporters. Our chapter was
founded upon our hard working members, and our member-
ship continues to step up and perform on a daily basis. Thank
you for your service and your participation in the chapter.
The TxSWANA Annual Conference this year was great! It
is always a pleasure to come to Austin, and Richard McHale
and his conference committee did a fantastic job with this
year’s 2014 TXSWANA Annual Conference.
TxSWANA recognized several different award winners during the Conference.
These winners included the Jimmy Huff Safety Award winner: City of University
Park, and the TxSWANA Excellence Award winners: City of El Paso—Environmental
Services, City of Houston, Texas State University—Horticulture Program, City of Austin—
Austin Resource Recovery, and the City of Denton—Solid Waste and Recycling Depart-
ment. Congratulations to each of these. This group represents some of the best in our in-
dustry and I am very proud of each recipient.
There are a couple of upcoming events that I encourage you to attend. First, the
TxSWANA Road-e-o is just weeks away. El Paso is hosting this years event on June
21st, and participants and judges should sign up very quickly. Forms for this event are
located on the website at www.txswana.org. Road-e-o participants who take 1st or 2nd
place in their division will be eligible to participate in the SWANA International Road-e-o
which will be held in Denver, CO on September 20,2014. Next, the SWANA National
Conference will be held in Grapevine, Texas on August 24th-28th at the Gaylord. It is
an honor for Texas to host this event for SWANA, and your board and other TxSWANA
members are working very hard to make this another Texas event that will be talked
about and admired across the country for many years to come. I am very appreciative
and proud of everyone that is working so hard to make this event a great success.
The TxSWANA Board continues to work hard to serve their members. If you have
any suggestions or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me or any other board
member. Michael Rice
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The Texas Chapter of SWANA will once again in 2014 offer scholarships for college students. This excellent Scholarship Program has awarded over $79,000 in Scholarships since its inception.
To be eligible for the scholarship you must be:
1. the son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, grandson or granddaughter of a TXSWANA member in good standing at the time of recommendation, the selection, and the award,
-and-
A. A graduating high school senior, or graduate equivalent certified candidate, who has been accepted for enrollment in a
junior college, four year college or university,
-or-
B. A currently enrolled full-time college or university student.
2. A currently enrolled full-time college or university student who is also a Student Member of SWANA prior to application submis-sion deadline.
If you are interested in applying, an Application Form is available on line at the TXSWANA web site at www.txswana.org under the “Scholarship” link on the home page.
You may also request a form by mail from:
Richard McHale
TxSWANA
1814 Dywer Avenue
Austin, TX 78704
In addition, you may call Richard at: (512) 974-4301, or contact him by email at: [email protected]
The deadline for submission of the application is Friday, June 20, 2014.
2014 TXSWANA
Jack C. Carmichael, P.E.
Scholarships
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The Lone Star
Spring is here: Summer is around
the corner, our annual conference is be-
hind us but our insatiable thirst for learn-
ing and developing into better solid waste
professionals continues. One area of op-
portunity resides in solid waste safety.
How do we use safety to improve our op-
erations? It is an integral part of all effi-
ciencies. The roles that solid waste safety
professionals play are valuable. Safety is
one area that will pay dividends.
You may think of safety profession-
als most commonly during periodic
safety meetings and training, or when an
incident occurs and a field investigation
is needed and a formal report is pro-
duced. But your Solid Waste Safety Pro-
fessionals are on the task focusing on
prevention rather than reaction. One
great example of this is a Job Safety
Analysis (JSA) Program that many of us
have in our communities.
One primary goal of a JSA program
is to prevent accidents before they occur.
The creation of a JSA includes the analy-
sis of a particular task by breaking it
down into specific actions, identifying the
potential hazards, and planning for a
proper and safe means to address those
hazards. Generally speaking, JSA’s can
be broken down into four steps:
Job Selection
Job Behavior
Hazards Identification
Development of Preventive Measures
Many of the JSA’s (that staff in our
industry conduct) relate to the various
functions of our industry. When we
speak of solid waste safety, we often fo-
cus on the operations side of the busi-
ness. It is probably the most visible, and
it has a high exposure of visibility, but
the administrative side of our business is
often neglected even though our office
family members are subjected to expo-
sures and workplace injuries.
Determining which tasks to add to
your JSA library is a work in progress for
all of us. Some may choose to look and
see what our top incidents are and work
to reduce them. Others may use a diver-
Keeping Staff Safe with JSA’s by David Vartian, City of University Park, Texas
Use S.M.A.R.T.
We’re part of the
Solution!
(Continued on page 12)
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(Continued on Page 1X)
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The Lone Star
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Diamond Sponsors
THANKS !!!!
2014 Conference
SPONSORS
The Lone Star
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TxSWANA’s Finest Award Winners - 2014
Composting
Texas State University
Horticulture Program
Collections
City of El Paso
Environmental Services
Public Information
City of Austin
Austin Resource Recovery
Recycling
City of Houston
Integrated Waste Management
City of Denton
Solid Waste and Recycling Dept.
The Lone Star
sified approach deal-
ing with a broad array of occupational
safety issues. Ultimately the main goal
of conducting JSA’s is to identify and
address potential hazards that could af-
fect our team members.
Though not the primary objective,
an added bonus to the JSA program is it
increases communication not only be-
tween our team members and supervi-
sors, but it increases communication
between your safety professionals and
management. It helps foster a relation-
ship of trust and adds a layer of trans-
parency to the goal of compliance. We
have a tendency to be a team of “rule
followers”. It is not our desire to make
rules, but it is our desire to improve
safety and this desire drives our dedica-
tion to focus upon prevention instead of
reaction.
Many of you have attended my
safety training sessions at our annual
conferences, and at each session I am
always happy to see how well the ses-
sion is attended. I always find enthusi-
astic individuals who are eager to listen
and engage, and I believe our safety cul-
ture will improve. When we make a
conscious effort to change our attitudes
and develop a safety attitude, our goals
of improving workplace productivity
will be met.
I encourage all of you to speak
with your safety team and conduct a
JSA for each of your task groups be-
cause JSA’s will help you identify where
you need to place your resources. If you
would like more information on this,
feel free to contact me
or any of your
TxSWANA SMART
Members. We are al-
ways available as a re-
source.
12
The Safety Management and Resource Team is a network of Safety professionals organized to effectively share
methods of injury and collision prevention. Contact David Vartian at (210) 207-6406 to obtain safety support, exchange
safety strategies, or to arrange an onsite audit of your work practices.
(continued from Page 8)
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JIMMY HUFF SAFETY AWARD The TxSWANA Jimmy Huff Safety Award program attempts to identify private and public firms throughout
the state which achieve and maintain exceptional safety records. The program is designed to stimulate in-
terest in accident prevention and to promote safety in the workplace by providing an incentive to employers
and employees to maintain a safe and healthful working environment. In order to qualify for the annual
TxSWANA Jimmy Huff Safety Award, an organization must meet the criteria established by the TxSWANA
SMART committee. The criteria includes:
The applicant organization must be a current member of TxSWANA.
The organization must be actively involved in solid waste operations.
The organization must be Fatality Free during the fiscal year.
The organization must have a reduction in lost workday cases from the
previous year.
The Jimmy Huff Safety Award was presented to the City of Houston during the
2014 Annual conference awards luncheon. The award was presented by the cur-
rent SMART Chair—Rusty Cochran (left) and Jimmy Huff (right) to Gary Middle-
ton—City of University Park (center). Congratulations to the City of Houston for
their work in maintaining a safe and healthful workplace for their employees.
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SWANA-TEXAS LONE STAR CHAPTER
NOTICE OF ELECTION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
In accordance with Article VII of the Bylaws of the Texas Lone Star Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America, an election of Directors and Officers will take place during the Chapter’s Annual Business Meeting on August 28, 2014 in Grapevine, Texas. Members in good standing may vote in person at the Annual Business Meeting, or by absentee ballot. In accordance with the Bylaws, Article 7.5, “A valid ballot will include a member’s identification number.” Mem-bers who are unable to locate their SWANA member number may obtain their member number by emailing a request for same to the TXSWANA Newsletter Chairman at [email protected]. All ballots must be received not later than 10 days before the date of the Annual Business Meeting. Ballots may be submitted electronically to [email protected], or ballots may be sent by US mail to the address listed at the bottom of this ballot.
The Nominating Committee has recommended the following Slate of Directors and Slate of Officers for 2014-2016, beginning Sep-tember 1, 2014 to serve a two years term. Questions concerning this election, including write in votes, may be directed to Michael Rice at (806) 378-9337.
SWANA-TEXAS LONE STAR CHAPTER
NOMINATIONS FOR DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
FISCAL YEAR 2014-2016 Past President: President: Vice President: Treasurer:
Michael Rice, P.E. Ellen Smyth, P.E. David McCary Richard McHale
City of Amarillo City of El Paso City of San Antonio City of Austin
Secretary: IB Director: Director: Director:
Morris Williams Vance Kemler Frank Pugsley, P.E. Robert (Holly) Holder, P.E.
City of Midland City of Denton CP & Y, Inc Parkhill, Smith & Cooper
Director: Director:
Paul Gosselink Brenda Haney, P.E.
Lloyd Gosselink, P.C. City of Irving
SWANA – TEXAS LONE STAR CHAPTER
ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR 2014-2016
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
VOTE FOR RECOMMENDED SLATE OF DIRECTORS
AND OFFICERS (CHECK BOX)
MEMBER NAME: __________________________________________
MEMBER NUMBER: ________________________________________
CITY/COMPANY: __________________________________________
MAIL COMPLETE BALLOT TO:
CITY OF AUSTIN ATTN: RICHARD MCHALE
P.O. BOX 1088
AUSTIN, TEXAS 78767 May 16, 2014
The Lone Star
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Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P.C.
is proud to announce that our following law partners have been selected to The Best Lawyers in America© 2014. (Copyright 2013 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, S.C.):
Georgia N. Crump - Energy Law Geoffrey M. Gay - Energy Law
Michael A. Gershon - Water Law Paul G. Gosselink - Environmental Law & Administrative/Regulatory Law
R. Lambeth Townsend - Energy Law
Best Lawyers is considered the oldest and most respected peer-review publication of legal excellence in the legal profes-sion. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers after ex-haustive, confidential peer-review surveys of tens of thousands of leading lawyers.
Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P.C. 816 Congress Avenue, Suite 1900 | Austin, Texas 78701 | Telephone: (512) 322-5800
Learn more about the firm at www.lglawfirm.com
Congratulations to one of our Board members, Paul Gosselink. Paul has recently been recognized as a Best Lawyer in Environmental and Administrative/Regulatory Law and as a Chambers Designate in Environmental Law. This is the fourth consecutive year that Paul has been so recognized. These highly selective honors are the result of an extensive peer review process. We appreciate the legal talents Paul brings to TxSwana and congratulate him on his awards.
The Lone Star
2014 TXSWANA State Road-e-o
June 21, 2014
El Paso, TX
2014 WASTECON
August 24-28, 2014
Grapevine, TX
2014 TXSWANA Annual
Business Meeting
August 28, 2014
Grapevine, TX
2014 SWANA International Road-e-o
September 20, 2014
Denver, CO
Calendar of Events
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MEETINGS
May 16, 2014 Denton
June 20, 2014 El Paso
July 18, 2014 Amarillo
Aug. 28, 2014 Grapevine
Sept. 19, 2014 Houston
Oct. 17, 2014 Austin
Nov. 21, 2014 San Antonio
MEMBERSHIP ===========================================================
We Welcome the Following New Members (Through May 1, 2014 )
Richard M. Abramowitz
Strategic Materials Inc.
Omar Alegria City of New Braunfels
Jared Birkhead City of Bryan
Curt Bucey Strategic Materials Inc.
Ricky Caballero City of Lubbock
Juvenal Chapa City of Houston
Janie Chapa City of Edinburg
James Collins City of Houston
Jacob Davis Call-Em-All
Brian Dudley Cook-Joyce Inc.
Michael Fair City of Houston
Jordan Fenel City of Georgetown
Consuela Fuentes Waste Management
Gregory J. Fuller City of Houston
Darren Gentle City of Houston
Samiro Gomez City of Edinburg
George M. Hale City of Houston
Chadrick Hobbs City of Houston
Wanda G. Jackson City of Houston
Kerry Jefferson City of Houston
Todd S. Johnson City of Houston
Shawn Johnson City of Houston
Garry W. Jones City of Houston
Michael K. Jones City of Houston
Sunanda Katragadda-Yung
Univ. of Texas at Austin
Teng Lee Graduate Student
LaShunda D. Little City of Houston
Chadwick Little City of Houston
Shae Luther City of Georgetown
Sam H. Masiel City of Conroe
Duane McDonald Republic Services Inc.
Courtney Osborne City of Houston
Chennella Queen City of Houston
Kathy Ragsdale City of Georgetown
Yellambalsi Ramachandra
City of Huntsville
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Demetria Reed City of Houston
John Richardson City of Houston
Raul Rodriguez City of Fort Stockton
Joanne Song Yu City of Houston
Cozell Taylor City of Houston
James Taylor City of Houston
L. Jamie Terzulli Air Liquide
Kyle A. Walker Biggs and Mathews
Steven Warren City of Houston
Don Webb Multi-Seal Corporation
Andre Webb City of Houston
Ronald Wilks SCS Engineers
Clyde Willis City of Houston
Jill Ybarra City of Plano
Jeff Young Weaver Boos Consultants
Edward Zilton City of Houston