MassDEP announces new Western Region deputy regional director; staff outline program priorities at Wayside Cleanup advisory meeting

Millie Garcia Serrano, Bureau of Site Cleanup Assistant Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), opened the Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (BWSC) quarterly Wayside Cleanup advisory committee meeting and announced the hiring of a new deputy regional director for the Western Region.

"We are really happy that you're joining in for this quarterly Wayside Cleanup advisory committee meeting," Garcia Serrano said as she welcomed advisory committee members, DEP staff, LSP practitioners and the public. She told attendees the meeting would cover regulatory and policy updates, program work and planned technical presentations for 2025.

Garcia Serrano announced that, effective Sept. 23, Tamara (introduced on the slide as "Tamara Carjondomarek") was hired as BWSC's Western Region Deputy Regional Director, reporting to Michael Gorski. Tamara then introduced herself to the committee, saying, "My name is Tamara Cardona Maric and I am new to MassDEP. I joined just recently in September and, but I'm not new to cleanup. My background is in environmental science. I have a doctorate in environmental sciences, specifically fate and transport of contaminants." She described prior roles including brownfields technical assistance (regions 9 and 10), leading cleanup work on the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site in Washington State, and cleanup program work in Alaska.

Garcia Serrano acknowledged Tamara's federal- and state-level experience and thanked Katherine Skiva for serving as acting Deputy Regional Director prior to Tamara's start. She said Boston and regional staff have been active in outreach and technical engagement, listing fall attendance at the LSPA membership meeting, a CERCLA/Brownfields symposium in Oregon, a SWOMO board meeting in Washington, D.C., the EPA National Site Assessment Symposium in St. Louis, and other technical conferences where BWSC staff presented and provided support.

On program priorities, Garcia Serrano said BWSC will continue work on MCP amendments and implementation (including Subpart I Q&A and activity limitations), final drafting of COM-24 soils policy, PFAS-related work, and broader engagement with the regulated community. She also previewed upcoming agenda items during the meeting, including a presentation from Michelle Craddock on natural resource damages statistics and settlements, reports from the LSP Board and the LSPA, an update from Ken Mara on MCP implementation, and a technical presentation from Natalie Johnson.

The administrative update closed with a reminder that BWSC hosts monthly coffee hours and office hours for informal questions and follow-up and with an affirmation of the committee's upcoming meeting schedule.

Next procedural steps: the committee proceeded to the scheduled program presentations and updates later in the agenda.