AUTUMN CONFERENCE, AWARDS & LOOK FORWARD

The last time we had an Annual Conference Dinner and Awards was, not surprisingly, as far back as 2019 in a world before COVID.

In May 2022 the Board took the gamble and committed to holding the Annual Conference and Awards Dinner at Marriot, Nottingham, Belfry in their events suite and with support from their experienced events team.

INTER COMPANY GO KARTING AT TEAMSPORT SPONSORED BY NRC ENVIRONMENTAL

Would you trust them with a Go-Kart?!

The Inter Company Go Karting was a fun way of kicking off the event and we have several teams entered. The racing was on a

750m multi-level track with hairpins, fifteen corners and chicanes. We would expect to see speeds of up to 40mph on the straights from the 200 CC petrol go karts. All safety equipment was provided and there was a safety briefing.

Teams raced a series of qualifying rounds and all competed in a second session to decide the winners and complete the ladder .

It was clear that Spill Response Wales had done some practicing (or maybe they were younger and braver!) as they had the

early edge. However a few of the older (more reckless UKEireSpill Board team) threw caution to the wind and started to nudge up against them with lap times for everyone improving the more one got used to the course.

THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY OAMPS HAZARDOUS INDUSTRIES

Alex Moore of Spill Response Wales received the Inter Company Go Karting Award 2022 from Stewart Ower, Chair of ISAS

The conference was attended by 49 members growing to 54 in the afternoon.

It was opened by a reflection of where the Association is from the outgoing Chair, Lee Barber, who, with his Board has seen the Association grow through new and returning members and seen finance move into a more secure position that when he took over in 2020.

Neil Stothert, lately MD of RSK Raw and now running his own consultancy Olteo Ltd, discussed some of the challenges facing spill response in the transition to net zero and how this will change the nature of response. It was not all gloom and he highlighted that change often leads to opportunity for those with flexibility, imagination and drive. Indeed he was optimistic for the future which was good as it could have been a long day!

This was followed by a talk on Sustainability in Spill Response, delivered by Chris Ramsbottom of OHES/Adler and Allan and highlighted why this is relevant to our industry and how Adler and Allan were undertaking their journey to reducing the carbon footprint of their activities, What was also interesting was how they have started to calculate the impact that their work has and how they have started to offset it. There was a lively discussion after the presentation after which the conference agreed that this should be one of our thought leadership topics during 2023. (Afternote: https://ukeirespill.org/ sustainability-in-spill-response/)

The morning concluded with an interesting case study of a major remediation project at an old stone built property following a significant oil spill. Alex Moore of Spill Response Wales demonstrated the complexity of the remediation which required access under the property which had to be stabilised by inserting steel beams to support its walls so that excavation work could continue inside, outside and beneath the building. The excavation was being undertaken. It demonstrated just how innovative members have to be to ensure work is completed well.

After a networking lunch Adam Shefras, MD of OAMPS Hazardous Industries brought the conference back to earth with a talk on Professional Indemnity Insurance. He forcussed on what it is, what it covers and why it is important that specialist contractors, like our members, should hold it and how members must be clear in a project who is bearing the liability. It was a sobering presentation but one that clarified a degree of confusion. The talk had been requested by the Insurance Working Group ( https://ukeirespill.org/insurance-industry-working-group/) whose membership felt that as the cost of this specialist cover had significantly increased some members may not be continuing these policies. Not surprisingly the talk raised a lot of question!

Adam Shefras of OAMPS Hazardous Industries gave a thought provoking talk on PI Insurance

We then had an entertaining talk by Josh Doran of Oracle Environmental Experts whose company is a founding member of our Plastic Pollution Working Group. ( https://ukeirespill.org/plasticpollution-working-group/) which has brought together hose UK based response organisations who have attended plastic spills, government bodies and some academia to work collaboratively together to produce best practice guidance on how to plan for and then manage plastic pollution incidents should they occur. In April 2022 the Group set themselves 10 ambitious goal to achieve by mid 2023 that are being delivered through peer-reviewed reports with a webinar to accompany each one. These are freely available through the working group microsite. (link is above).

After a break Adrian Bhreathnach of ASP Environmental gave an interesting talk explaining what Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) are and why they have become known as forever chemicals due to their persistence in the environment and then gave a case study on of the these related chemicals Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) such as those used in firefighting foams.. He was then joined by Amy Parekh-Pross of Construction Testing Solutions to host questions. Following this the conference agreed to the suggestion that we form a PFAS Working Group. ( Details of their objectives and membership are at https://ukeirespill.org/ pfas-working-group/)

Next up was a presentation on the work of the Employment Opportunities Working Group (https://ukeirespill.org/ employment-opportunities-working- group/) . It had distributed a consultation paper to members and run a webinar (https://ukeirespill.org/webinar-ondevelopment-of-career-pathwaysand-training-on-spill-response/) on its suggestion to develop new career pathways and training to support the changes in spill response that we will see as we transition to net zero. There was a wide ranging discussion. When put to the vote the Conference unanimously supported implementation of the working group’s work during 2023.

The conference concluded with a light hearted talk delivered by the Executive Director titled ‘Where there is muck there is brass’! This was a tongue in cheek look at how members were diversifying their product delivery in a changing business environment

THE ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING

The Annual Members Meeting was well attended and saw the retiring Chair, Lee Barber, summarise how the Association was doing and where it hoped to go.

The meeting approved the appointment of new Board Members, Matt Clement, from Oil Spill Response Ltd; Dan Jones being confirmed into his Board role and the appointment of Mark Shepherd as Chair and Gerard McDaid as Vice Chair.

The Meeting also agreed the appointment of the Rising Star winner once awarded at the evening’s ceremony.

There were thanks to all retiring members and support for the strategic direction that the Board seek to take.

The meeting also agreed the following changes:

Associate membership will only now be available for overseas members. There will be an increase in membership fees by 7.5%, the first rise since 2016. The Annual Accounts were approved.

The meeting expressed their thanks to the Board for their work in stabilising the Association, making it more relevant and visible and their work with the Exec Director to develop the Association in so many ways.

This was seconded by Stewart Ower, also a past Chair, who wished to express the Association’s thanks to Lee Barber as the retiring Chair and his welcome to Mark Shepherd as the incoming Chair There was a generous round of applause.

THE AWARDS DINNER

The dinner was attended by 47 members and was a very social and fun evening that went fairly late into the evening.

The Awards that were sponsored by International Spill Accreditation Scheme (ISAS) were the :

1.RISING STAR AWARD – Recognising the importance of attracting new talent into our industry and celebrating their outstanding achievements. This award is open to individuals of any age who have been in their current role for less than three years. Shortlisted for the Award are:

Josh Doran Oracle Environmental Experts Ltd

Abigail Smith Adler and Allan Ltd

Dhanik Parmar MEL Environmental Ltd

The winner was Josh Doran, Oracle Environmental Experts Ltd

Josh Doran receiving the Rising Star Award from Stewart Ower, Chair of ISAS. See article on all of the shortlisted entries on page 16

INLAND RESPONDER - to recognise response actions by and from within a company to a spillage incident which has resulted in significant success for that company in the field of spill response over the last three years. Shortlisted for the Award are:

LCM Environmental Services Ltd

Adler and Allan Ltd

MEL Environmental Ltd

The winner was Adler and Allan for the response and mitigation of the incident following the derailment at Llangennech.

The Adler and Allan Llangennech response team receiving the Inland Responder award from Stewart Ower, Chair of ISAS.

MARINE/INTERNATIONAL RESPONDER – to recognise response actions by and from within a company to a spillage incident which has resulted in significant success for that company in the field of spill response over the last three years. Shortlisted for the Award are:

Oil Spill Response Ltd

RSK-RAW Ltd

Adler and Allan Ltd

The winner was Adler and Allan for the response and management of the fire onboard a large powerboat at Torquay Marine.

INNOVATION OF THE YEAR - Innovation is what drives the industry forward, especially during times of economic restraint – this award is for a product or a service that has made a significant impact within the industry over the last three years. Shortlisted for the Award are:

RSK Raw Ltd

Oracle Environmental Ltd

Adler and Allan Ltd

The winner was RSK Raw Ltd for their innovative solution to the remediation following the loss of 45000 litres of working strength liquid fertiliser into a recreational fishing lake.

Hugh Neatherway RSK, receiving the Innovation Award on behalf of RSK Raw from Stewart Ower, Chair of ISAS

Following the Awards thanks were expressed to OAMPS Hazards Industries for their sponsorship of all of our events and for ISAS for sponsoring the Awards and to Stewart Ower for presenting them.

The general consensus was that the hotel was a cost effective and central location for members. We have booked for 1-2 November 2023!