Merry Christmas to the friends of the NIOA

The January NIOA Training will be held at the Mishawaka Water Treatment Division - 401 E. Jefferson Blvd on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. Registration will begin at 10a, training will begin at 10:30a. If you plan to attend, please RSVP no later than noon, January 6.

Help us bring you the training you want, where you want it! If you have topics that you would like to see covered, or attended a session somewhere that you think would benefit other NIOA members, please let us know! Once we know what you want to learn about, we need a place to meet! If your utility/company/organization is willing to host, give us a shout. We try hard to take training to our members, so we are always happy to bring the topics to you!

The New Year is almost upon us - it is time to apply for the Indiana Water Environment Association's annual awards! Deadlines for many of the award categories are June 1st, but awards such as the Safety Excellence Award (due Feb. 22) and Laboratory Excellence Award (due Feb. 28) are due much sooner.

EPA Office of Water National Nutrient Survey. If you work at a wastewater treatment plant, you are likely aware of the USEPA Nutrient Survey. This survey is completely voluntary, and utilities who are considering participation should consider investing an hour watching NACWA's Informational Webinar on the survey and what utilities should consider before participating.

Citizens Petition to Initiate Rule-Making Process - 2012 EPA Recreational Water Quality Criteria. A number of Indiana Communities have submitted a petition to the Indiana Environmental Rules Board to direct IDEM to adopt an Indiana-appropriate version of the 2012 EPA Recreational Water Quality Criteria. Adoption of this criteria will help provide regulatory certainty to over 100 Combined Sewer Overflow Communities that once they meet the required level of CSO control, future investments in wastewater infrastructure will not be wasted on massively expensive projects with no environmental benefit. The Environmental Rules Board will hear from the Office of Legal Council on this matter on Jan. 8, and we anticipate the ERB to accept the petition and direct IDEM to initiate a workgroup to develop a rule and an implementation plan. You can learn more about this issue here.

IFA Regional Planning Meetings. In 2018, the State convened the Water Infrastructure Task Force (“Task Force”) to study drinking water and wastewater utility needs and best practices in Indiana. One recommendation of the Task Force was for the State to assist utilities with long term planning by establishing Water Infrastructure Study Areas for the purpose of studying supply and demand, drought preparedness, infrastructure needs, and opportunities for utility collaboration within a region. The Task Force also recommended that participation by utilities should be required. This may be something that the NIOA could facilitate as part of our monthly meetings. What do you think? If you would like the NIOA to work with the IFA to provide an opportunity host task force meetings as a portion of regular training, let us know.

Annual Membership renewal. If you have not renewed your NIOA Membership, this is your reminder to get it done! The registration form can be found here. If your employer needs an itemized invoice to pay for the 2020 dues, please contact John Magsam.

Alliance of Indiana Rural Water Operator Certification Training. The Alliance of Indiana Rural Water is offering Water and Wastewater Certification Exam Review Courses around the state. If you or someone you know is planning on taking their certification exam this year, the Alliance does a great job helping prepare for those exams. 

See you all next year!