PRESS
RELEASE: July 2, 2015
DEP HOSTS WATER/WASTEWATER
OPERATOR WORKSHOPS
~Continuing education leads to better environmental protection~
 DEP hosted workshops for drinking water and wastewater utility operators
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Florida Department of
Environmental Protection’s Central District hosted workshops for drinking water
and wastewater utility operators, providing current information on issues and regulatory updates as well as promoting compliance and strengthening
relationships between the department and industry personnel.
“Providing
this type of education to our regulated community is a win-win situation for
all involved,” said Central District Director Jeff Prather. “Not only do these
workshops enable the department to provide helpful training to our regulated community,
environmental protection is enhanced through increased compliance rates that
are a result of the workshop.”
The drinking water portion of the
workshop included topics such as the Revised Total Coliform Rule, permitting
and complying with the Stage 2 Disinfection Byproducts Rule. The wastewater
session covered topics such as sanitary sewer overflows, discharge monitoring reports,
Ez-DMR (a web-based alternate to paper reporting) and permitting. Both
workshops included information about StormTracker, a useful online
tool for facilities to communicate with the department during storm events.
The
district office routinely hosts operator workshops for both drinking water and
wastewater utility operators. The 50 attendees who participated in the free workshops received continuing education credits. The
benefits also extend to the department by helping increase compliance
rates, by opening lines of communication with operators, and by inspectors getting to know
facility personnel.
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