December 2022
Odd-Numbered Certification Renewals March 1, 2023
Now is the time to prepare for your 2023 renewal by completing any needed continuing education training and renewing your certification. If you have moved, contact the NEIWPCC South Portland office to ensure you receive important renewal notices.
Use this link to renew your certification online, check your TCHs, download forms, and read the certification policy:
https://jetcc.org/wastewater-operator-renewal.php
For more information on how to renew your certification, contact Spring Conolly at 207-253-8020 or email certification@neiwpcc-jetcc.org.
Refer to the Department’s Wastewater Operator Certification Program website for details on certification renewal requirements: https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/wwoperator/.
MRWA 42 Annual Conference and Trade Show
MRWA is thrilled to return to the Samoset Resort for their 42nd Annual Conference on December 6-8, 2022 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, ME. The space is big enough to accommodate the tradeshow and expansive selection of live classes and offers many amenities and expansive ocean views!
MRWA highly recommends booking your room sooner rather than later once the room blocks become available. The accommodations located at the Samoset will go fast!
For more information go to www.mainerwa.org.
NEWEA 2023 Annual Conference & Exhibit
NEWEA is excited to connect in person with our water industry colleagues at the 2023 Annual Conference & Exhibit, taking place at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, Boston, MA, January 22-25, 2023. The NEWEA Annual Conference is a great forum to meet colleagues, professional allies, make new friends and exchange information.
This prestigious conference, which consistently attracts over 2300 engineers, consultants, scientists, operators and students features a variety of technical sessions and over 200 exhibitor displays. The conference provides an opportunity for professional exchange of information and state-of-the-art concepts in wastewater treatment and other water environment issues.
For more information, go to the NEWEA website, https://annualconference.newea.org.
MWUA’s 97th Annual Tradeshow & Conference – Looking Ahead
MWUA’s 97th Annual Tradeshow and Conference will be held on February 1st and 2nd, 2023 and will be hybrid/in-person at the Augusta Maine Civic Center. The event is Co-Sponsored by MEWEA .
Go to www.mwua.org or contact Cindy Wade at cwade@mwua.org for more details.
The North Country Convention (NCC) Returns to Presque Isle!
Mark your calendars for the North Country Convention (NCC)’s return to Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) in Presque Isle on April 5 & 6, 2023.
This 2-day educational event and trade show held in "The County" is co-sponsored by NEIWPCC-JETCC, MEWEA, and MWUA. NCC is designed to bring water and wastewater professional together for technical sessions, exhibitor interaction, luncheon speakers, and opportunities to network with others. Each day offers 6 training contact hours for Water and Wastewater operators. Participation in the entire conference offers 12 hours of training.
For more information, go to www.jetcc.org.
Monthly Training Calendar
Every month the DEP emails to certified operators a list of upcoming training opportunities offered by non-profit organizations. The email also includes DEP-approved On-Demand classes taught by both public and private training providers. These lists are found on the DEP website, https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/wwoperator/ under Additional Materials. The website also lists DEP training policies, forms, and other resources.
For more information, contact Judy.K.Bruenjes@maine.gov.
1. A valve that allows water to flow in one direction only is a ___ valve
A. gate or ball
B. foot or check
C. globe or knife
D. butterfly or needle
2. Organic material is broken down in a waste stabilization pond by
A. bacteria
B. pathogens
C. duckweed
D. algae
3. Chain of Custody is the
A. statistical analysis of the sample
B. communication amongst samplers
C. chain of results sent from lab to client
D. record of each person involved in the possession of a sample
4. What is the main purpose of a polishing pond?
A. reduce short circuiting
B. control emeent plants
C. lower BOD
D. provide final clarification of wastewater
5. Effluent samples are preserved prior to analysis to:
A. oxidize the sample
B. chlorinate the sample
C. reduce biological activity in the sample
D. freeze the sample
6. Carbon dioxide is used by algae to produce simple sugars through a process known as
A. nitrification
B. photosynthesis
C. composition
D. decomposition
7. A storage lagoon is 5.4 million gallons. If the projected influent flow is 90,000 gpd, how many days of storage in the lagoon?
A. 6 days
B. 16.7 days
C. 60 days
D. 486 days
8. For most biological systems, aeration requirements during winter months should:
A. increase
B. decrease
C. stay the same
D. be adjusted per day/night temperature differential
Back in August, the Department announced our effort to reach out to all Maine municipal and quasi-municipal wastewater entities to gather information on the state’s wastewater infrastructure via our 2022 Clean Watersheds “Needs Survey” (CWNS). The last Official Survey was conducted in 2012, and now the Environmental Protection Agency has launched their request for information to benefit of the state and its communities.
We are getting closer to being ready to accept submittals, planning on being ready by October 31st, with December 30th being the deadline.
Completion of this survey is crucial because it allows the Department to provide the gathered wastewater needs information to both the Executive and Legislative branches of state government, thus justifying funds for both the state match in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program and State bonds or sustainable funding mechanisms for grants.
To secure the needed funding for wastewater infrastructure in Maine, our goal is to have 100% participation from all publicly owned treatment works and satellite collection systems. To lend credibility to the survey, costs must be supported by acceptable documentation. Even if your system has no documented needs, we are requesting that you complete the Facility Information and User Rate Information portions of the survey.
Note: participants in the survey will receive additional points in our annual environmental ranking process, which could mean the difference for some projects in eligibility for Principal Forgiveness. However, we will be limiting our Principal Forgiveness (PF) funds for the next two years to those who have participated in the CWNS so that we can prioritize projects with documented needs. While you would still be eligible to request funding in the form of loans, you could miss an opportunity for an available $3.5M-$4M in base SRF funding PF and $8M in supplemental (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) funding PF per year.
Please submit your completed survey sheets electronically to Maine.CWSRF.Grants@maine.gov by December 30, 2022. Electronic submission is preferred, but if it is not possible, please mail to the physical address specified in the General Survey Instructions. Should you have any questions as you fill out the survey please contact Robert Hartley at (207) 881-9490 or Patricia Korbet at (207) 287-7805.
More information on the CWNS can be found at this link: https://www.epa.gov/cwns To see a summary of what was entered in 2012, go to https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/cwns2012/f?p=241:3 There you can find facility fact sheets, a state-wide summary, and other collections of data. We will also be updating our DEP website to include a link to the State Coordinator manual, as well as the links above, which describes the program in great detail.
Please complete this survey and help us help you get future money for your system!
To provide a broader view of the enforcement program, Division of Water Quality Management (DWQM) staff is providing a regular enforcement update of not only administrative consent agreements, but also notices of violation, which is the Department’s first formal step in the enforcement continuum. Notices of violation (NOVs) may be the final step or a required interim step before escalating to an administrative consent agreement, court action via Rule 80K, or referral to the Office of Attorney General or the Environmental Protection Agency.
NOVs can be written by compliance or enforcement staff and include descriptions of the specific issues and citations (permit, rule, and/or statute) that were violated. NOVs often have requested corrective actions. The timely and effective response of the facility to the NOV is a substantial factor in whether the Department will pursue further actions.
So far in 2022, DWQM staff issued 20 NOVs. The wastewater facilities were cited for effluent limit violations, sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), collection system failures, and failure to properly operate and maintain collection and treatment equipment. The industrial stormwater facilities were cited for failures to maintain a stormwater pollution prevention plan, failures conducting routine inspections, training, and sector specific visual monitoring and benchmark monitoring.
Recently the Board of Environmental Protection approved an Administrative Consent Agreement (ACA) with a municipal facility for non-reporting of SSOs, serious lab issues, equipment and paperwork tampering, apparent record falsification by the operator in responsible charge (ORC) at the time. After the facility failed to pass its Discharge Monitoring Report Quality Assurance testing the Department required the facility to use a commercial lab for biochemical oxygen demand compliance monitoring and E.coli analysis. The ACA also addressed the facility’s permit effluent limit violations from 2018 until 2022. The facility hired a new ORC on March 29, 2021. As part of the enforcement action, the facility completed updating its operation and maintenance and wet weather plans, and its lab manual. The facility has also completed employee lab training, employee and Board member permit requirement training, development of a tracking system for collection system trouble complaints, SSOs and other issues. The facility must develop an operating budget, an asset inventory and management plan, and a capital improvement plan. The facility was fined $46,000 with all but $5000 suspended contingent on the timely completion of all the corrective actions.
If you have any questions about the DEP’s enforcement program, please do not hesitate to contact Pam Parker at 207-485-3038 or pamela.d.parker@maine .gov.
 Brian Kavanah Retiring
After almost 35 years at DEP, I’ll be retiring on December 30, 2022. I am grateful that most of my time at DEP has been involved with wastewater issues. I started in 1988 in the Sludge and Residuals Utilization Program. I was in the Utilization program for six years and during that time I was able to visit many of the POTWs across the state and interact with many operators and consultants on utilization and composting issues. I then spent six years in the Office of the Commissioner in the Small Business Assistance and Pollution Prevention Programs. In 2001, I became the Director of the Division of Water Quality Management and in 2019, I was promoted to Director of the Bureau of Water Quality.
It has been very rewarding to work with all of you, the wastewater professionals on the front lines. I’m proud of the relationships that we developed with MeWEA, MRWA, MWUA, and JETCC to work together on a variety of issues such as increased funding for wastewater infrastructure, creation of new operator training programs, regionalization of infrastructure, legislative advocacy, and regulatory changes that advance the profession and improve protection of water quality. My best wishes to you all, and thank you for your very important work to protect and improve the waters of the great state of Maine!
Brian Kavanah
Director, Bureau of Water Quality
brian.w.kavanah@maine.gov
530-0293
In 2022, 122 wastewater treatment facilities in Maine participated in DMR-QA Study 42, 87 of which passed all required tests on the first try. This passing rate of 74% is slightly lower than the passing rate for the last couple years. Seven facilities (6%) received “Not Acceptable” results for 2 or more parameters, again this is a higher rate of multiple parameter failures than we’ve seen the past couple years.
Facilities that received Not Acceptable results for one or more test parameter are required to perform retests for each Not Acceptable parameter. Retest results for DMR-QA, along with a corrective action report, were due on November 4th, 2022. The corrective action report can be a simple email describing what the permittee believes was the cause of the failure, and changes to prevent future occurrences
The official announcement of the opening date for the 2021 DMR-QA is expected to be early to mid-April. All facilities that are enrolled in the DMR-QA program should receive an email from EPA at that time announcing the opening of the study, along with an announcement letter. Please review that letter carefully as it contains important forms that must be filled out along with due dates for results.
If your facility is enrolled in the DMR-QA program and does not receive the announcement letter by mid- April, contact the Maine DEP NetDMR coordinator to get a copy. The study can also be found on the EPA website, https://www.epa.gov/compliance/discharge-monitoring-report-quality-assurance-study-program.
If you have any questions or need to update your contact information, please contact Brett Goodrich at Brett.A.Goodrich@maine.gov or call 207-287-9034.
What is Asset Management?
In the simplest terms, Asset Management can be thought of as applied common sense. It is a tool to help people decide how and where to spend their money to achieve the desired results. Many municipalities experience competing priorities for limited funding. Asset Management is a framework to help utilities provide the desired level of service at the lowest life cycle cost.
Asset Management can be as complicated or as easy as is right for your facility. A large facility may purchase a customized program while a smaller plant may only need simple spreadsheets, or even a file card system to track their assets. It doesn’t have to be expensive or cumbersome to develop a system that fulfills the needs of your facility. In fact, most utilities have already implemented some elements of Asset Management as part of their existing budgeting and maintenance programs
There are five core components of Asset Management:
• Asset Inventory - What assets do you manage, where are they, what condition are they in, what is their useful life, how much are they worth, and what is their energy use?
• Level of Service - What level of service do you want to provide for your customers? How will you measure performance?
• Criticality - What is the overall business risk based on probability and consequence of asset failure? Is there redundancy to reduce risk?
• Life Cycle Costing - Is there a strategic plan for operating and maintaining system assets? Is a process, based on risk, in place to determine when to repair, rehabilitate or replace assets? Are you considering energy efficiency?
• Long-Term Funding - Do you have funding sources to provide the capital you need for O&M, capital replacement and energy efficiency improvement?
What are the Benefits of Asset Management?
There are many benefits to implementing asset management programs, including working more efficiently, improving knowledge management, and knowing how to use your limited finances as efficiently as possible.
Some examples of where Asset Management can improve work efficiency include:
• Planning efficient O&M, reducing field time, and trusting spare parts are available when needed,
• Turning data and information into knowledge to improve decision making, and
• Seeing your investments in preventive and predictive maintenance pay off in long-term savings.
What is the Next Step? How do I get started?
Most utilities have implemented some parts of Asset Management. Determining what is already in place and what needs to be added, or establishing your baseline, is a good way to start. Starting small and growing from what you learn along the way is best. Visit the Asset Management Switchboard at https://swefcamswitchboard.unm.edu/am/ for help getting started.
The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), a national non-profit organization that provides assistance to small and rural communities, can help you develop an Asset Management plan at no charge. Contact Michelle Coad (mcoad@rcapsolutions.org) or Wade Hanson (whanson@rcapsolutions.org) for more information
The DEP website https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/wwtreatment/index.html provides useful information for Asset Management resources, including a link to a recent training course, Asset Management for Maine Small Systems presented on November 9-10, 2022 by the EPA Environmental Finance Center at Wichita State.
Management and finance are important for small systems to operate correctly. But oftentimes personnel in small communities must wear many “hats”, and may not be sure where to turn for help making complex financial and business decisions.
RCAP is pleased to announce a free webinar on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM titled Management & Finances Training for Small Maine Water & Wastewater Systems. Topics include key areas of management, boards and stakeholder roles, asset management, budgets and the importance of reserves and rate setting. The webinar will cover:
• Management Overview
• Project Management
• Communication
• Finances
• Budgets
• Reserves
• Financial Monitoring
• Rates
This training is geared for managers, superintendents, board member and administrative staff. It is also a requirement of the Maine State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) Principal Forgiveness Program.
To register, go to this link, https://bit.ly/ME-Mgmt-Fin-2023.
Questions? Please contact Michelle Coad, 207-270-0142, Email: mcoad@rcapsolutions.org.
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. D
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. B
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