February 2022
Examinations
Currently, all PSI wastewater exam testing centers are open. Each location has its own Covid-19 policy, as described on the PSI website:
https://online.goamp.com/CandidateHome/displayTCList.aspx?pExamID=21568&pClientCode=ABC-MEWW.
If you are scheduled for an exam, please check the website before traveling to the site to make sure the Covid-19 policies are followed.
If a candidate cannot meet the requirements of specific locations, they will need to take the exam at another location. The Department will not be making special arrangements for alternative test locations at this time.
Biennial Renewals - March 1, 2022 Deadline for Even-numbered Certifications
Renew online by going to www.JETCC.org.
Renewals include paying renewal fee ($125), updating contact information, and providing documentation that you obtained required TCH.
To check the accepted TCHs for each operator listed by certificate number, go to http://jetcc.org/wastewater-operator-renewal.php. If you completed a class that is not posted, please send the TCH request form and required information to certification@neiwpcc-jetcc.org.
Please do not wait until the last minute to submit training that requires approval!
TCH Acceptance Criteria
Refer to the Department’s Wastewater Operator Certification Program website for details on certification renewal requirements: https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/wwoperator/.
Certified wastewater operators must obtain eighteen (18) Training Contact Hours (TCHs) of DEP-approved wastewater continuing education training during each biennial (two-year) renewal period and provide documentation of completed TCHs to renew their certification Training must be relevant to the operation, maintenance, safety, or management of a wastewater treatment plant.
Training must be presented by established providers including from government agencies, professional associations, technical schools, colleges/universities, and private instructors through classes, workshops, conferences, webinars, and in-house sessions. All training must be at least one-hour in length. The same course, (excepts for safety) cannot be used for successive renewal cycles. TCHs cannot be carried over to the next renewal cycle. Multi-month training is credited for the period that the course ended.
Safety and Treatment Plant Management Training - As an option, up to 6 of the 18 TCHs of required training per renewal cycle may be a combination of safety and/or management topics. Management training must have direct relevance to the operation of the wastewater plant.
Human Resources (HR), utility policy, and general office training are not accepted for Management TCHs. Defensive driving courses are accepted for safety TCHs only if part of an operator’s duties and not solely for commuting purposes.
For courses that are not preapproved, send requests to NEIWPCC-JETCC using the TCH Request form and include course title, agenda, instructor bio, course description and explanation of relevancy to wastewater operation, maintenance, safety, or management.
Here are some quick links to certification documents:
Training Contact Hour (TCH) Requirements for Certification Renewal
Approving Online Sessions for Wastewater Training Contact Hours (TCH)
Training Calendar - Updated Monthly
TCH Request Form
Exam Application Form
An Excel spreadsheet that lists approved training providers and on-demand courses can be downloaded from the website.
Training, Conferences, and Virtual Classes
Check out the DEP website for a listing of upcoming training sessions, webinars and on-demand classes, https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/wwoperator.
MWUA Annual Conference & Tradeshow
It’s not too late to join MWUA for the 96th Annual Conference & Tradeshow on February 2-3, 2022 at the Augusta Civic Center.
Go to www.mwua.org or contact Cindy Wade at cwade@mwua.org for more details.
MEWEA Spring Meeting April 1, 2022
Don’t be fooled by MEWEA’s April 1, 2022 Spring Meeting. This one-day meeting will be held at the Black Bear inn in Orono.
Go to www.mewea.org for more details.
1. What could be the cause of poor effluent quality in a treatment pond or lagoon?
a. Organic overloading
b. Animal burrowing
c. pH 6.8-8.2
d. Torn liner
2. Inability to maintain sufficient liquid level in a treatment pond or lagoon can be caused by
a. Blockage of light by excessive plant growth
b. Low temperature
c. Excessive evaporation or percolation
d. Mixing/agitation equipment malfunction
3. A Dissolved Oxygen (DO) profile in an activated sludge aeration tank is used to
a. Determine filamentous activity at the bottom of the tank
b. Develop fermentation sections
c. Show areas of improper mixing or plugged diffusers
d. Calibrate the probe
4. When available food is depleted in an activated sludge plant, the oxygen consumption will
a. Increase
b. Decrease
c. Oxidate
d. Vary
5. Water is flowing at 2.5 ft/sec in a channel connecting a primary clarifier to the aeration tanks. If the distance between the clarifiers and tank is 200 feet, how long will it take the water to travel from the clarifiers to the aeration tank?
a. 8 seconds
b. 80 hours
c. 80 seconds
d. 500 sec
6. The average grit removal at a facility is 2.8 cu.ft/MG. If the average flow in April is 3.6 MGD, how many cubic yards of grit would be removed in the month? Note: Use the conversion 27 cu.ft/cu.yd.
a. 101.1 cu ft./day
b. 303 cu. ft./mo.
c. 27 cu.ft./mo.
d. 11.2 cu.yd./mo.
The Department is now accepting applications for SCG program funding requests to correct malfunctioning septic systems which directly or indirectly discharge sewage to waterbodies of the State or are causing public health problems. The SCG Application must be submitted by February 18, 2022, before 5pm.
With the 130th Maine Legislature’s approval of Governor Mills’ The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, one-time funding in the amount of $3,000,000 has been allocated to the Small Community Grant program, administered by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This funding was provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to be used toward State Fiscal Recovery. In 2022, $1,000,000 is available for Municipalities to apply for projects, and the remaining funds will be released in 2023.
The Municipality must submit the Grant Application, to determine initially if the Owner(s) qualifies for grant funds by providing the Applicant Information form and the Application Description of Existing Conditions Form which can be found at https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/grants/scgp.html along with more information about the program.
Please submit the Grant Application to Zoe.LeBlanc@maine.gov or by mail addressed to Zoe LeBlanc, SCG Project Engineer, Bureau of Water Quality, 17 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0017, by February 18th, 2022, before 5pm.
If you have any questions about the process, please contact Brandy Piers, SCG Coordinator by email at brandy.m.piers@maine.gov or by phone at (207) 287-6093 or Zoe at the above email or phone (207) 287-2730.
Source: Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), www.cisa.gov.
Choosing and Protecting Passwords
Passwords are a common form of authentication and are often the only barrier between you and your personal information. There are several programs attackers can use to help guess or crack passwords. By choosing good passwords god passwords and keeping them confidential, you can make it more difficult for an unauthorized person to access your information.
Why you need strong passwords
You probably use personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords, or passphrases every day: from getting money from the ATM or using your debit card in a store, to logging in to your email or into an online retailer. Tracking all of the number, letter, and word combinations may be frustrating, but these protections are important because hackers represent a real threat to your information. Often, an attack is not specifically about your account, but about using the access to your information to launch a larger attack.
One of the best ways to protect information or physical property is to ensure that only authorized people have access to it. Verifying that those requesting access are the people they claim to be is the next step. This authentication process is more important and more difficult in the cyber world. Passwords are the most common means of authentication, but only work if they are complex and confidential. Many systems and services have been successfully breached because of non-secure and inadequate passwords. Once a system is compromised, it is open to exploitation by other unwanted sources.
How to choose good passwords
Avoid common mistakes
Most people use passwords that are based on personal information and are easy to remember. However, that also makes it easier for an attacker to crack them. Consider a four-digit PIN. Is yours a combination of the month, day, or year of your birthday? Does it contain your address or phone number? Think about how easy it is to find someone’s birthday or similar information. What about your email password—is it a word that can be found in the dictionary? If so, it may be susceptible to dictionary attacks, which attempt to guess passwords based on common words or phrases.
Although intentionally misspelling a word ("daytt" instead of "date") may offer some protection against dictionary attacks, an even better method is to rely on a series of words and use memory techniques, or mnemonics, to help you remember how to decode it. For example, instead of the password "hoops," use "IlTpbb" for "[I] [l]ike [T]o [p]lay [b]asket[b]all." Using both lowercase and capital letters adds another layer of obscurity. Changing the same example used above to "Il!2pBb." creates a password very different from any dictionary word.
Length and complexity
In order to develop strong passwords, consider using the longest password or passphrase permissible (8–64 characters) when you can. For example, "Pattern2baseball#4mYmiemale!" would be a strong password because it has 28 characters and includes the upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. You may need to try different variations of a passphrase—for example, some applications limit the length of passwords and some do not accept spaces or certain special characters. Avoid common phrases, famous quotations, and song lyrics.
Dos and don'ts
Once you’ve come up with a strong, memorable password it’s tempting to reuse it—don’t! Reusing a password, even a strong one, endangers your accounts just as much as using a weak password. If attackers guess your password, they can get access to your other accounts with the same password. Use the following techniques to develop unique passwords for each of your accounts:
• Use different passwords on different systems and accounts.
• Use the longest password or passphrase permissible by each password system.
• Develop mnemonics to remember complex passwords.
• Consider using a password manager program to keep track of your passwords. (See more information below.)
• Do not use passwords that are based on personal information that can be easily accessed or guessed.
• Do not use words that can be found in any dictionary of any language.
How to protect your passwords
After choosing a password that's easy to remember but difficult for others to guess, do not write it down and leave it someplace where others can find it. Writing it down and leaving it in your desk, next to your computer, or, worse, taped to your computer, makes it easily accessible for someone with physical access to your office. Do not tell anyone your passwords and watch for attackers trying to trick you through phone calls or email messages requesting that you reveal your passwords.
Programs called password managers offer the option to create randomly generated passwords for all of your accounts. You then access those strong passwords with a primary password. If you use a password manager, remember to use a strong primary password.
Password problems can stem from your web browsers’ ability to save passwords and your online sessions in memory. Depending on your web browsers’ settings, anyone with access to your computer may be able to discover all of your passwords and gain access to your information. Always remember to log out when you are using a public computer (at the library, an internet cafe, or even a shared computer at your office). Avoid using public computers and public Wi-Fi to access sensitive accounts such as banking and email.
There's no guarantee that these techniques will prevent an attacker from learning your password, but they will make it more difficult.
Don’t forget security basics
• Keep your operating system, browser, and other software up to date.
• Use and maintain antivirus software and a firewall.
• Regularly scan your computer for spyware. (Some antivirus programs incorporate spyware detection.)
• Use caution with email attachments and untrusted links.
• Watch for suspicious activity on your accounts.
Regularly change passwords to critical systems and avoid reusing passwords for different accounts.
For more information about cybersecurity, visit www.cisa.gov.
Over the course of the past several months CDX has been moving all their program services to cloud-based servers. NetDMR is one of the many program services hosted on CDX servers and is scheduled to be migrated to the cloud-based server in February of this year.
While the user experience inside NetDMR will be the exact same before and after the migration, once the migration is completed users may need to update their NetDMR login URL to access the correct link.
If you use the NetDMR support portal to login to NetDMR (current location is found here: https://usepa.servicenowservices.com/oeca_icis?id=netdmr_homepage) then you do not need to do anything to prepare for the migration, the link on that page will be updated to point to the cloud-based NetDMR server.
If you have an internet shortcut or bookmark that brings you directly to the NetDMR login page, then prior to the migration you must update your shortcut to point to this location: https://npdes-ereporting.epa.gov/net-netdmr. This URL works now and will continue to work after the NetDMR migration in February.
If you have questions about the NetDMR migration or other issues related to NetDMR, please contact Brett Goodrich at 207-287-9034 or Brett.A.Goodrich@maine.gov.
1. a.
2. c.
3. c.
4. b.
5. c. 200 ft / 2.5 ft/sec = 80 sec
6. d.
Grit removal (cu.ft./day) = 2.8 cu.ft./MGC X 3.6 MGD = 10.1 cu.ft./day
Using 30 days in April:
10.1 cu.ft./day X 30 days/month = 303 cu.ft./month
Convert cubic feet to cubic yards: 303 cu.ft./month / 27 cu.ft./cu.yd. = 11.2 cu.yd.
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