Quick… Feb 7th Public Hearing in Augusta at 9am:The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has scheduled a public hearingfor Tuesday, February 7, 2006 at the Augusta Elks Lodge, Route 27, Augusta. Thehearing will commence at 9:00 AM and is being held for the purpose of receivingverbal and written comments on changes proposed by the Department to CMR 245 –Rules for Site Evaluators of Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Systems. Deadline forwritten comments is Friday February 24, 2006 so mark your calendars today !

Summer FieldDay… freelunch for all!Attendees were ingeneral agreementthat a discussion ofthe test pits, in asuitable room withphotographs, is aworthwhile event...particularly whenMASE buys thelunch! (article andphotos pages 4 & 5 )

January, 2006

What’s New? - News:Alan Burnell steps downResolutions from the floorOrdinance Books are hereNew Power Point projector

2

MASE Annual MeetingAgenda, Feb 14th

Treasurer’s Report ‘05New website to see

3

Site Evaluator’s Field ExamSept. 1, 2005 (article andphotos of meeting)

4& 5

Membership Form 2006 6

What’s inside? Winter 2006 Newsletter

MASEMaine Association of Site Evaluators

MASE Winter meeting is fast approaching:The annual MASE meeting will take place Tuesday, February 14, 2006 at the Au-gusta Elks Lodge. This year our featured guest speakers will include Judy Gates andDavid Rocque. Gates, who works for Maine DEP, will explain the proposed regula-tions regarding Vernal Pools and Rocque will discuss seasonal high water table indi-cators other than soil mottling.Division Director Russ Martin will also give a presentation on developments at theState level, including proposed Rule changes. There will be a greater number ofVendor displays in 2006, including at least one new Vendor, displaying a new dis-posal area technology. As usual there will be coffee and pastries available in themorning and a luncheon, featuring a new menu. There will also be door prizes, pro-vided by our generous Vendors.The Business Meeting is always important, as Board Officers are elected, the Treas-ury is discussed and issues of interest are discussed from the floor. There is still timeto reserve a place at the meeting by immediately contacting Treasurer Gary Fullertonat gfullerton@sebagotechnics.com (see full meeting agenda on page 3).

Newsletter Staff:

Editor—Mark Cenci

Layout/Photographer -

Elizabeth Fossett

**********

Visit our new website at

www.mainese.com

make the book much too large.He designed a survey and mailed it to each Town,

asking for a copy of any local wastewater ordinancethat varies from the Maine Plumbing Code. Responsehas been good, although not complete, and the resultsare now available for all MASE members. A book ofthese local ordinances can be picked up at the MASEWinter Meeting, February 14, 2005.

Brady sees this as an ongoing project of MASE.While we hope that Towns choosing to not respond toBrady’s request do so because they have no such ordi-nances, the fact remains they may still exist. He re-quests all Site Evaluators who encounter ordinances notincluded in the book to send him a copy. The MASEBoard plans to post these ordinances on the MASE website in 2006 (www.mainese.com).

We’ve all been there. You get a call to do adesign in a town where you haven’t worked fora while. After the work has been done you getthe dreaded call from the client, or perhaps theLPI, telling you the design is rejected because itdoes not meet a local ordinance. A local ordi-nance? What local ordinance?

For the past year, MASE vice-presidentBrady Frick has worked to accumulate any andall local wastewater disposal ordinances fromthe hundreds of Towns in Maine. These localrules can be anything from requirements for ad-ditional test pits, to idiosyncratic setback re-quirements from water bodies, to design flowand separation distance adjustments. Articlesfrom the many Subdivision and Zoning Ordi-nances are not included, however, as this would

MASE Purchases Power Point Equipment:

After borrowing the State’s Power Point equipment for years, the MASE Board decided to purchase ourown equipment. Brady Frick undertook this purchase and for $3347 bought a laptop and a Power Pointprojector. Our new equipment was put to good use at the luncheon discussion following the 2005 SummerField Day and will be used again at the upcoming Winter Meeting. This equipment is available for anyMASE member to use for educational and informational presentations, upon written request to MASE.

PAGE 2 WINTER 2006 NEWSLETTER

Local Ordinance Reference Book is Now Available:

Alan Burnell to Step Down as MASE President:

After serving two years as President of our organization Alan Burnell is stepping down and will not seekre-election. During Alan’s term in office, while maintaining a busy schedule at Pinkham and Greer Con-sulting Engineers, MASE has seen a growth in membership, continued fiscal responsibility, the purchase ofour own image projection equipment, a renewed interest in the Summer Field Day, the publication of a ref-erence book of Local Ordinances, and progress on a project of the Education Committee. All of us canthank Alan for his voluntary service to our professional organization Each year all Officer positions andone Director position come up for election at the Annual Meeting. Volunteers are sought for these posi-tions. Meetings are held monthly and duties are not excessive. Please consider serving on the Board!

Resolutions from the Floor:

The Annual Meeting will be held earlier in the month than past years. This will allow MASE members todiscuss issues and enact Resolutions, which can be submitted as written comments to the Division in timefor consideration during Rule Making. Resolutions can be made on the proposed Rule changes or any issueof interest. The proposed adoption of a continuing education requirement for Site Evaluators is causing aconsiderable amount of discussion behind the scenes. The Public Hearing is open to individuals for com-ment, and written comments are accepted as well. A Resolution from the floor of the Annual Meeting, ex-pressing the opinion of the membership and submitted as a written comment, would be a constructive addi-tion to the rule making process. Interested Site Evaluators should consider this as the meeting approaches.

8:00 - 9:00 Registration, Coffee, and Vendor/Sponsors Displays9:00 - 10:00 “Beyond the Mottles” David Rocque, State Soil Scientist

Dave will speak about how to determine the seasonal high water table from something other thanred/ gray mottles. Dave has 21 years of experience in state government as State Site Evaluatorand State Soil Scientist, as well as a member of New England Hydric Soils Technical Committee.

10:00 - 10:15 Break10:15 - 11:30 Annual MASE Business Meeting: Report from the Board of Directors, Committee Reports,

Election of New Board Members, Items from the Floor11:30-1:00 Lunch and Vendor Displays – Roast Top Round of Beef au jus, Baked Chicken,

Rice Pilaf, Mashed Potato, Green Bean almandine, cold sliced meat tray, cole slaw, tossed salad,pasta salad, assorted rolls & butter, coffee, tea or milk, and apple pie for dessert.

*If you have not yet registered, then immediately email Gary Fullerton at gfullerton@sebagotechnics.com1:00 – 2:00 Russ Martin, Director, DEH/Wastewater and Plumbing Control Program.

Update on recent DEH business, including rule changes2:00 – end “Vernal Pools” – Judy Gates, Bureau of Land & Water Quality - DEP

Judy will discuss the latest regulations of Vernal Pools in the State of Maine and how they mightimpact our job as site evaluators.Questions or Comments

Door Prizes from several vendors will be awarded to winners… who’re present!Registration (includes lunch): MASE Members - $15.00; Non-Members – $20.00

(refer to back panel for registration form and mailing address for membership payment)

Don’t miss our Annual Meeting…

on Valentine’s Day.

PAGE 3WINTER 2006 NEWSLETTER

MASE Treasurer’s Report—2005:

Cash on Hand as of 12/31/04 $ 7,120.11Income

Membership Dues/ Annual Meeting $ 6,670.0015th Annual Golf Tournament $ 575.00

ExpensesLaptop Computer & Projector $ 3,347.92Elks Lodge $ 2,498.87Fall Seminar $ 1,828.14ASF – Smithsonian Soils Exhibit $ 1,000.00Miscellaneous (copies, postage) $ 904.3015th Annual Golf Tournament $ 646.05Envirothon $ 500.00General Liability Insurance $ 351.00Municipal Surveys $ 284.78Corporation Filing $ 35.00

Period of 12/31/04-12/31/05 Total Income: $ 7,245.00-Total Expenses: $ 11,396.06

$ - 4,151.06

Cash on Hand as of 12/31/05 $ 2,969.05

Fidelity Mutual Fund Balance as of 12/31/05 $ 11,254.64(+ $501.61 from 12/31/04)

Total Assets as of 12/31/05 $ 14,223.69

Visit our new website

www.mainese.com

The newly reorganized web site ofMASE is now available for use. TheURL is www.mainese.com.

Currently the site contains a calen-dar of events, a list of members, amembership and dues form, usefullinks, meeting minutes and a contactlink. Future plans include PDF ver-sions of the newsletter, and local sep-tic system ordinances.

Suggestions are welcome and theycan be sent to the MASE Board viathe contact link on the web site.

We can thank MASE TreasurerGary Fullerton for taking the initiativeon this website upgrade.

MASE 2006Technical Seminar and

Annual Business Meeting

Tuesday, February 14, 2006Augusta Lodge of the ElksRoute 27, Augusta, Maine

Site Evaluator’s Field Exam—Sept. 1, 2005

PAGE 4 WINTER 2006 NEWSLETTER

The Site Evaluator Field Exam test pits were used for review and discussion on Septem-ber 1, 2005. The site of the field exam was on land owned by Steve and Kay Shepherd inHallowell, Maine.

MASE hosted a luncheon (at no charge to members) at The Senator Inn in Augusta,following the field review of the test pits. Attendance was standing room only, with 65people! This was the best-attended test pit discussion in many years... as you can see inour photos (which still did not capture everyone who attended the meeting).

Ken Stratton led a discussion, effectivelyusing photographs of the test pits taken theprevious day by Elizabeth Fossett.

During our MASE luncheon, Elizabeth alsotook photos of almost everyone in thecrowd attending our luncheon. As usual,there was much discussion about the inter-pretation of the soil profiles and conditions,both in the test pits and after the luncheonconcluded.

Photo of Prismatic Structure in Silt Loam

PAGE 5WINTER 2006 NEWSLETTER

Ken Stratton shows no signs of fatigue after hand-digging all of the test pits the day before!?

A rare vertical stratificationwas revealed in this test pit.

MASEMAINE ASSOC IATION OF SITE EVAL UATORS

c/o Gary Fullerton, Treasurer104 Millturn RoadLimington, ME 04049

MAINE ASSOCIATION OF SITE EVALUATORS2006 Membership Form & Annual Meeting

MASE NEEDS YOU!Your membership is important and our budget depends on your dues! All MASE memberships ex-

pire in February. You can join now and be assured of another year of representation of your interestsby MASE. We are working to keep license fees down, mandates and regulations reasonable, hostquality field seminars, interesting winter seminars, newsletter and website. Please work with us!

Please complete a separate form for each individual:Regular Membership $25 (Maine Licensed Site Evaluator)or Associate Membership $15 (Unlicensed individualswith an interest in the goals and purpose of MASE)

Annual Meeting - February 14, 2006 Member: $15(includes lunch) or Non-member: $20 * Please register byJanuary 31, 2006 to reserve a meal, email Gary Fullerton.

New State Code(s) How many?______@ $5 per Municipal Wastewater Booklet(s)

How many additional?______@ $10 per(1 FREE to members in attendance)

Make Checks Payable to: MASETotal Enclosed:$ ________

Name: ____________________________________________________ License #_____________________________

Company Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________Address: _______________________________________________________ State: ________ Zip: ______________

Telephone (day) #_____________________ (evening/cell) #________________eMail: ____________________________

Please return this form to: MASE c/o GARY FULLERTON, TREASURER 104 MILLTURN ROAD LIMINGTON, ME 04049