October Friday Flash

50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) joined Governor Laura Kelly today as it was proclaimed October 18, 2022, as 50^th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act in Kansas. The signing recognizes the investments made by the state in restoring and maintain chemical, physical and biological integrity of the State’s waters. And has been central to the progress in improving the quality and health of our rivers, streams, reservoirs, wetlands and watersheds.

Kansas was one of the early adopters for administering the Act; developing monitoring and permitting programs, establishing a non-point source program to reduce pollutants coming off agricultural lands, providing financial assistance through the State Revolving Loan Fund and taking a pragmatic approach to working with the regulated community to reduce the delivery of contaminants to the waters of the state

Bureau of Waste Management Attends Topeka Water Festival

Bureau of Waste Management attended the Topeka Water Festival on Sept. 22 at Garfield Park. Katy Schwinghamer and Kerri Kennedy demonstrated the Groundwater Model to over 80 fourth graders to teach them about the effects of pollutants in our groundwater system. Candy Williamson and Jessica Ruiz spoke about the importance of recycling and composting when it comes to conserving water. Each of the kids left with Keep It Clean Kansas pencils made from recycled money and a Toby the Recycling Raccoon activity sheet.

Open Enrollment Season is Just Around the Corner!

Talk to ALEX to learn about your options for 2023. ALEX is an online resource the SEHP uses to walk you through all of your available benefits and explain how they work. ALEX can also help you to compare the various health plan options based on your individual circumstances. Ever wanted to know what the cost difference would be to cover your family on Plan A vs Plan C? Let ALEX do that calculation for you. Open Enrollment books are now available online. View 2023 Enrollment Resources here.

BOW and BEFS Successful Move to KEIMS (Kansas Environmental Information Management System)

KEIMS is an online data management system designed to improve communication, enable sharing of site information, and increase the ease and accessibility of business conducted between various regulatory programs within KDHE and the regulated community. KEIMS can be accessed by both state employees and external partners to create and manage applications, submissions and payments.

Bureau of Water (BOW) and Bureau of Environmental Field Services (BEFS) went live with KEIMS on September 1, 2021.  Much progress has been made in this first year thanks to dedicated central office and district staff.  Both Bureau of Air (BOA) and Bureau of Environmental Remediation (BER) preceded BOW and BEFS offering experience and insight into the design process facilitated by the software consultant, Windsor.  The impetus of this migration to a new standardized system is in large part due to the EPA electronic reporting rule (2015).  BOW data monitoring reports (DMRs) have been reported electronically since 2016 in Oracle.  Bureau of Waste Management (BWM) is in development. 

Shelly Shores-Miller, Permitting and Compliance Section Chief, prepared a grant request for an EPA Exchange Grant ($300,000) allowing BOW/BEFS to commission Windsor (2019) to complete a gap analysis and scope of work to migrate legacy systems into the new KEIMS platform.  January 2020 the bureaus kicked off inventory meetings with Windsor followed by KEIMS development in the spring and summer.  It would be an entire year of beta testing by central office and district staff led by Amy Crotinger, IT Project Manager, to successfully shepherd the bureaus to a KEIMS release on September 1, 2021.  All of which was completed during a pandemic with most testing and meetings being conducted remotely.  It took BOW & BEFS staff dedication, coordination, communication and training to make this first year in KEIMS successful.

Environmental Staff Participate in Mussel Stream Survey

On Saturday, October 8th, members of the BEFS Watershed Management Section, the John Redmond Reservoir Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) group, and several Emporia State University biology students participated in a mussel stream survey in Fox Creek near Strong City. The adventure was led by staff from the Nature Conservancy and the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Participants collected dead shell material of multiple mussel species at various points along the stream. At the end of the search, the mussels were bagged and identified. Freshwater mussels are North America's most endangered group of animals due to the widespread degradation of habitat and water quality conditions. Previous KDHE surveys identified nine species of mussels as having occurred historically in Fox Creek. No live mussels were observed, but recently dead shells indicated several species remain in Fox Creek. Mussels are indicators of water quality; a large abundance of mussels is a sign of high-quality water.

Green in a Minute | Bureau of Waste Management 

Just Leave the Leaves

It is that time of year when the air becomes crisp, and the leaves turn beautiful colors. It also means many folks begin the practice of leaf removal by raking, bagging, and then disposing them at the landfill.

These steps not only waste time, but they can harm the environment and rob your lawns and gardens of valuable nutrients.

This year let the fallen leaves lie and try mulch-mowing instead!

Click here to learn more about Mow & Go. 

Red Rock Creek Fishkill

Red Rock Creek, a tributary of the Ninnescah River, is located in the Cheney Lake Watershed Area in Reno County. On the evening of September 27, 2022, KDHE Spill line received the report of a possible petroleum spill at the crossroads of Whiteside and Arlington roads in the Red Rock Creek which resulted in a fish kill. The caller further reported that the creek dried out before reaching the Ninnescah River. South Central District Remediation and Water staff, as well as a KDWP district fish biologist, conducted an onsite investigation and collected samples the following day. No evidence of petroleum could be located onsite. Due to field observations of the decomposing fish, it was realized the fishkill occurred many days before it was reported. South Central District staff determined the regional prolonged drought and heat resulted in a low flow condition which depleted the available dissolved oxygen needed for aquatic life to survive in that location. Live fish were observed in Red Rock Creek downstream from Arlington Rd. on the afternoon of the fishkill investigation.

HR Spotlight: Vickie Bechtel

Why do you like working at KDHE? I came to Kansas Department of Health an Environment (KDHE) from Kansas Department of Aging and Disability (KDADS) and have enjoyed working for the State of Kansas for 20 plus years, so I am excited for the challenges and learning new processes.

What do you enjoy most about your job? It is a little early to say what I enjoy most, I like how advance the Human Resource Department is (E.g., MYOPS, etc..) with how they do so much on the computer such as Position Descriptions (PD’s) and Position Action Request (PAR’s), more agencies need to be this advanced.

Provide a brief description of your role at KDHE. I am an Assistant HR Director, I am still getting a feel for what my duties are and will be.