Arkansan to lead waste panel
National organization deals with environment cleanup
One of the chief administrators at the state’s environmental regulatory agency has taken the top job at a national organization focused on solid-waste management.
Ryan Benefield, deputy director for the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, became president of the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials last month at a quarterly meeting of the association in Washington, D.C. Benefield was elected the association’s vice president in 2012 by the 14-member board of directors.
The association, formed in 1974, draws representative members from each of the 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia, Benefield said.
Dania Rodriguez, the association’s executive director, said the organization typically deals with environmental remediation measures, such as the Brownfields Program, which provides funds to help restore abandoned industrial sites, and the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.
“We primarily focus on the ‘cleanup policies,’” Rodriguez said, noting that association officers typically interact with administrators at the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies to address questions about the disposal of solid waste.
While some programs for dealing with different forms of waste and pollution are federally funded, solid-waste programs are typically funded by the states in which the waste is produced and stored, Benefield said.
Benefield said he has represented Arkansas since 2005, when he oversaw the department’s hazardous-waste division. He served on the association’s board of directors until 2012, when he was elected vice president. Members who are elected vice president spend one year in the position before becoming president for one year. At the end of that year, the member takes on the title of “past president.”
The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.