MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETING ADC60 – Waste Management in Transportation   January 12, 2005 Hilton Hotel Washington, DC   Attendees (25):          Thomas Abdallah, Jim Barr, Carol Braegelmann, Steve Brown, Melvin Burda, Steven Eget, Michael Fitch, Connie Hill Galloway, Scott Garpiel, Steven Gobelman, Jason Harrington, Julie Hunkins, Bill Hyman, Ileana Ivanciu, Wayne Kober, Mark Kross, Leigh Leventhal, Tom Lewis, Elizabeth Olenbush, Derry Schmidt, Greg Smith, Dave Soltis, Scott Springer, Bob Tatman, Gail Yazersky   Chair Remarks – Scott Springer   Scott provided an overview of the committee’s direction in 2005 by focusing on its mission and goals.  He noted several recent leadership changes.  Kate Quinn is now Chair of the Environmental and Energy Section, replacing Tom Weck. Greg Smith replaces Carol LaRegina as Committee Secretary, and Steve Gobelman fills the new role of Committee Treasurer.  Scott reviewed the Committee’s accomplishments vs. goals in 2004 and the 2005 Work Plan highlights.    Dennis Ramdahin of New York City Transit received the annual “Taking the Bull by the Horns” award for his outstanding work in organizing the highly successful 2004 Summer Workshop in New York City.   Past Committee Chair Bob Tatman received Member Emeritus status in recognition for his exceptional work in developing and leading the committee, from its inception as a Task Force in 1993 through serving as its Chair from 1997 to 2003.   Outgoing Secretary Carol LaRegina received a special Service Award to recognize her significant contributions to the committee since 1993.   The Triennial Self-Evaluation is due this year.  Bob Tatman agreed to head a subcommittee to gather recent information and provide a draft TSE to the Steering Committee by April 1.  A final report is due to the Section Chair by May 1.   Environment and Energy Section Report – Kate Quinn   Kate Quinn, Chair of the Environment and Energy Section (ADC00), briefly discussed the proposed Environment and Energy Needs Research Conference, tentatively scheduled for 2007.  The Section currently is seeking funding for this conference.  TRB Report – Kim Fisher   Kim Fisher, the committee’s TRB Staff Representative, provided a description of the TRB and its mission to promote transportation innovation and progress through research.  Kim noted two awards presented for the outstanding papers submitted to TRB each year – the Fred Burggraf and Pyke Johnson Awards.  The NCHRP anticipates receipt of $35.4 million to fund research this year.  Kim strongly encourages environmental committees to identify potential research projects to take advantage of this funding source.   Attendance at the 2005 Annual Meeting is over 10,000.  The TRB will select 15 audio PowerPoint presentations from this year’s meeting to post on the web.  The Annual Meetings in 2006 and 2005 will occur later in January than usual.  The 2006 Annual Meeting dates are January 22 – 26.  All in attendance are encouraged to recruit new members, especially young and international members.  Mentoring is a useful means for introducing young professionals to TRB.   Kim is developing a web page to address concerns about the relatively small portion of transportation environmental research that is effectively disseminated throughout the industry.  This site will identify crosscutting environmental research, reports and issues in an agency-based format.  Kim noted AASHTO’s comprehensive web site that identifies recent and ongoing environmental research topics, to which a visit is highly recommended.  (http://environment.transportation.org/)   ADC60 did not sponsor any sessions at the 2005 Annual Meeting.  Kim noted that such inaction is detrimental to the long-term health of any committee.  She acknowledged that the committee’s failure to sponsor a session was possibly due to the amount of energy devoted to the 2004 Summer Workshop and offered her help in organizing future Annual Meeting sessions.   Membership Status Report – Greg Smith   Greg Smith reported that there are currently 24 members, including one young member, one international member and one Emeritus member.  Current members’ terms expire in 2006.  Membership is divided as follows: Consultants (9), State DOT (4), Universities (4), City Transit (2), FHWA (2), FTA (1), Rail (1) and Legal (1).  Young and Emeritus members do not count toward the full committee complement of 25 members.  Three additional members may be added.  Committee members were asked to identify potential members with the goal of improving committee diversity to include representation from, among other areas, regulatory agencies and intermodal (ports/airports) entities.  The TRB offers official invitations for membership recommended by the ADC60 Steering Committee.  An excellent source from which to select new members is the list of friends of the committee, on which there are currently 152 people.  Members and friends lists will be distributed for changes and revisions.  Subsequently, updated lists will be posted on the committee website. Papers and Presentations Subcommittee Report – Dave Soltis   Subcommittee Chair Dave Soltis discussed the success of the 2004 Summer Workshop and the ongoing search for presentations for both the 2005 Summer Conference and the 2006 Annual Meeting.   Research Subcommittee Report – Kevin Gardner   Subcommittee Chair Kevin Gardner could not attend.  Elizabeth Olenbush asked the Committee to remember to use the Recycled Materials Resource Center (RMRC) as a source for identifying recyclable materials and their applications.   Communications Subcommittee Report – Tom Lewis   Tom noted two recently accomplished ADC60 goals – a revised website and newsletter.  The website is found at http://www.trbcommitteeadc60.org/.  Upcoming improvements include more pertinent information and frequent updates.  The first edition of the ADC60 Newsletter was electronically distributed to committee members and friends in December.  The newsletter will include news, upcoming events, semi-annual meeting summaries and many other items of interest.  All members and friends are asked to provide Tom with criticisms, comments and content suggestions.  Tom introduced Leigh Leventhal as the new webmaster.   Committee Matrix:  Tom distributed a Census and Skills Matrix Input Form and asked all members and friends in attendance to complete the matrix and return it to him.  This information will update the existing Committee Skills Matrix.   Committee Liaisons:  Tom urged all members and friends to volunteer as a liaison with other TRB Committees or organizations relevant to our concerns.  He distributed a Liaison Volunteer Identification Form for completion by those present.   Treasurer’s Report – Steve Gobelman   Steve reported that the current balance in the Committee’s account is approximately $9000.   Plans for distributing funds were discussed, with a tiered approach for expense approval receiving the most support.  Anticipated uses for funds include supplementing government members’ travel expenses and seed money for summer meetings.  Guidelines will soon be distributed.   2005 Summer Conference Update – Greg Smith   This summer’s conference is scheduled for July 17-19 at the Hilton Downtown & Towers in Charlotte, NC.  The current goal is to have at least two concurrent sessions with major topic areas of waste management, recycling and EMS.  Both the hotel rate ($57.25 + tax / night) and registration ($95 government / $125 non-government) are very reasonable.  ISO 14001 Internal Auditor Training was recently added immediately following the conference (July 20-21) at a special rate of $250/student.  All members and friends are asked to aggressively seek presenters and papers.  The conference web site is ncdot.org/~trb.   2006 Annual Meeting   Scott asked that the Committee members become more aggressive in seeking papers for the Annual Meeting.  He further suggested the Committee “mentor” papers presented during the summer meetings for submission to the Annual Meeting by helping the author(s) meet TRB guidelines and dates.  A discussion ensued regarding whether the Committee should more actively seek PowerPoint presentations for Annual Meeting sessions or to place emphasis on “hard “ research documented through formal papers.  No consensus was reached and, due to time constraints, the topic was tabled for further discussion.   2006Summer Meeting   The location for the summer conference in 2006 has yet to be identified.  Possible hosts include Texas DOT, Washington State DOT, CALTRANS, Illinois DOT/Chicago DOT and Utah DOT.  It is nearing the critical point to begin planning for this conference.   Old Business   Scott reported that the committee’s name change is still under review by TRB.    The committee brochure is complete and will be distributed electronically to all members and friends for subsequent distribution among their respective colleagues.   Other Business   The NCHRP recently released its Project 2525 Final Report, entitled Environmental Stewardship Practices, Procedures and Policies for Highway Construction and Maintenance.  This report “presents a compendium of environmental stewardship practices in construction and maintenance, developed from the literature, state transportation agency manuals and procedures, and the contributions of state DOTs and practitioners.”   Wayne Kober discussed results of the TRB Research Needs Conference held in March 2002.  The conference produced hundreds of research needs, of which roughly a dozen have been funded.  Wayne asked whether the Committee believed another such conference is needed, to better identify research in progress and thereby eliminate identified needs for which research is recently completed or underway.  He suggested that a much better effort put forth to lobby for research funding is needed.   Jason Harrington reminded the committee of the Green Highway Forum scheduled for September 26-29, 2005 in College Park, Maryland.  For more information visit http://www.wetlandsworkgroup.org/.  According to a brochure distributed, the conference goal is to “showcase the premier examples of integrated planning, streamlining, stewardship, EMS and watershed protection.” FHWA Update – Connie Hill Galloway   The US DOT Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) will cease to exist February 20, 2005.  Two new agencies - the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will contain programs formerly under RSPA and other transportation agencies.  RITA includes the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, the Transportation Safety Institute, the Secretary’s Office of Intermodalism and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.  It is intended to allow advancement of the Department’s priorities for innovation and research in transportation technologies and concepts.  PHMSA will oversee the safety of hazardous materials shipments and the nation’s pipelines, and will include former RSPA Offices of Hazardous Materials Safety and Pipeline Safety.  Connie noted that some transportation research will remain within existing program offices, such as the Environmental Research Program, which will remain in the Office of Planning, Environment and Real Estate Services.

BACK