Congratulations to the Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) staff and teams that were recognized with achievement awards during the Wisconsin DNR’s Environmental Management Division’s 3^rd Annual Awards ceremony, held in January.

RR staff received five awards for individual or team accomplishments during the past year, FY 16-17:

• Nancy Ryan, Project Manager, Southeast Region (see photo). Remediation and Redevelopment Program Employee of the Year.
• Sonya Rowe, IT Project Coordinator, Central Office (see photo). Environmental Management Division Employee of the Year.
• John Robinson (retired), Northern Region RR Team Supervisor (see photo). EM Division Supervisor of the Year.
• Spills Team. EM Division Team of the Year. (Members include: John Sager, Rick Joslin, Mike Schmoller, Ted Amman, Trevor Nobile, Pat Collins, Matt Thompson, Steve Mueller, Phil Richard and David Woodbury.)
• RR Program Records Management Team. EM Division Team of the Year. (Members include: Sonya Rowe, Darsi Foss, Jenna Soyer, May Vang, Christine Haag, John Robinson, Shelley Fox, Lee Delcore, Raquel Sanchez, Dave Rozeboom, Danielle Wincentsen, Kathleen Shafel, Denise Danelski, Wendy Weihemuller, Deena Kinney and Chue Yee Yang.)

The RR Program staff and teams were recognized for superior achievements and contributions to the RR Program, the Division and to the Agency.

Nancy Ryan (center), RR Program Employee of the Year, with (l to r) Darsi Foss, Pam Mylotta, Bart Sponseller, Pat Stevens

Sonya Rowe (center), EM Division Employee of the Year, with (l to r) Darsi Foss, Jenna Soyer, Bart Sponseller, Pat Stevens

John Robinson (center), EM Division Supervisor of the Year, with (l to r) Darsi Foss, Mary Robinson, Bart Sponseller, Pat Stevens

Applications are currently being sought for entry and senior-level Hydrogeologists for multiple positions around the state within the Remediation and Redevelopment Program.

The deadline to apply for these positions is August 7, 2017. Click here to view the announcements.

Vacancies are being filled in a number of locations, and the Program anticipates additional openings in the next several months. The agency intends to use this recruitment to fill those vacancies.

Bill Fitzpatrick, Christine Haag and Judy Fassbender Not pictured: Alyssa Sellwood, Gena Larson and Darsi Foss

The Remediation and Redevelopment Program would like to congratulation our staff who received the DNR’s 2016 Environmental Management Division Awards. Each award winner brings unique qualities, knowledge, and passion to their work. We are honored to have these outstanding people – and all our staff members – on the Remediation and Redevelopment team.

The following were recognized this year for their contributions to the RR Program:

• Remediation and Redevelopment Employee of the Year – Alyssa Sellwood
• Environmental Management Division Supervisor of the Year – Christine Haag
• Environmental Management Division Team of the Year – Contaminated Materials Management Workgroup (RR members) Judy Fassbender, Gena Larson, Darsi Foss

Recent RR transfer Bill Fitzpatrick was also recognized as the Employee of the Year in the Office of the Great Lakes for his work in that program prior to joining Remediation and Redevelopment.

The RR Program recently hired four new staff. Two are from outside the program; two are from within, accepting new assignments. They are:

South Central Region Team Supervisor: Steve L. Martin.

Steve is a trained hydrogeologist and has spent most of his 25-plus years working in the private sector. Steve has worked on a wide variety of contaminants across many regulatory programs such as CERCLA, RCRA and NR 700 and has extensive experience as a project manager and supervising teams of hydrogeologists. He’s been with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection for the last four years, working on remediating sites affected by agricultural chemicals. Steve started with the agency on May 15 and is located in the South Central Region headquarters in Fitchburg.

Waste Management Engineer: Angela Carey

Angela is the engineering technical advisor for all RR program projects. She is responsible for providing assistance with planning, coordinating and evaluating engineering aspects of projects within the RR Program including evaluating alternatives for site remediation, particularly the design and construction/implementation of remedial actions, including untried, new and innovative remedial action technologies. She will also evaluate response action performance at state lead projects and conduct periodic optimization evaluations. Angela will serve as an expert for PCB/TSCA cleanups, hazardous waste requirements at cleanup sites, and RCRA Corrective Actions.  She will also assist with sites in the Superfund and Superfund Alternative program. Angela’s first day with the Program was April 17.

Northeast Region Spills Coordinator: Rick Joslin

Rick started in the RR Program’s Green Bay Office in 2015 as a hydrogeologist and back-up regional spills coordinator. For the last year he’s been acting as the Regional Spills Coordinator while maintaining his responsibilities as a project manager. Rick has worked in the environmental consulting industry for the past 14 years and has been involved with projects in the agriculture, commercial, industrial, government, and solid waste practice areas. Rick’s new position was effective as of May 15.

West Central Region Spill Coordinator: Pat Collins

Pat has 38 years of experience, the last 26 of which has been as a project manager in the RR Program, with three of those years as the backup spills coordinator for the region. Pat has a BS in Soil Science, as well as post-graduate coursework in hydrogeology. In addition, Pat is a Professional Soil Scientist and a Certified Soil Tester, registered in Wisconsin. Pat’s new position was effective as of May 15.

After nearly 27 years, the Remediation and Redevelopment Program says goodbye to its SCR Team Supervisor, Linda Hanefeld. Linda began her career as an LTE in 1981 in Fitchburg (now the SCR office and then called the Southern District) in the Wastewater Landspreading Program. In 1984, Linda again held an LTE position in the Fitchburg office in the Solid and Hazardous Waste Program, completing preliminary site assessments for the Superfund program.

Linda was hired permanently in 1990 in the Wisconsin Rapids office, first as a Landspreading Specialist and Laboratory Certification Inspector, then for about 9 months in the Solid and Hazardous Waste program working on petroleum tank clean-up sites. In September of 1991, Linda transferred to the regional office in SCR as a Solid and Hazardous Waste Inspector for Dane County.

In 1999, Linda transferred to the RR Program as a Hydrogeologist in the Dodgeville office for nearly 6 years, then transferred to SCR. Linda served on the program’s Land Recycling team, using her excellent customer service and communication skills to help promote the redevelopment of brownfields properties. She was promoted to RR Team Supervisor in October 2010. Linda wishes her co-workers well and plans to immediately sleep late and vacation.

Linda’s last day with the DNR will be February 3, 2017.