Good afternoon fellow NIOA-ers! You know, almost 4 months ago to the day, I was thinking "I can't wait for summer to see green grass". Now that I am mowing my lawn every 3 days, I'm reminded to be careful what you wish for! With summer here in full force, I know that schedules are busy, but there are some things we want to make sure you are aware of. 

NIOA Training Schedule

Here is what we have planned through October of 2015 – we hope to see you soon!

·         July 8 - Golf Outing at McCormick Creek Golf Course in Nappanee. Short business meeting, followed by a 1 hour technical presentation by Jeff Hersha on Asbestos Pipe. After training, we will have lunch & hit the greens! If you haven’t contacted Mike to register, please do so asap! Mike needs to know by June 26!

·         August 12 – Lift Station Contingency Training at Potato Creek State Park. Join us for a BBQ lunch followed by 2.5 hours of technical training on lift station contingency options.  

·         September 10 – Mercury and Wastewater at Fort Wayne Public Utilities. We will take a tour of the Fort Wayne Water Pollution Control Facility and then grab a bite to eat before sitting down to learn all things mercury as it relates to wastewater collection and treatment. Plan on 4 hours of technical training.

·         October 14 – Benefits and Methods of Using GIS at Plymouth Wastewater Treatment. After a tour of the Wastewater Treatment Plant, we will eat and learn about how a GIS program can help you operate and maintain your collection system. Plan on 3 hours of technical training.

Change in NIOA Leadership – Your Input is Needed

On June 18^th, Joe Hughes resigned as President of the NIOA. This leaves a void in our leadership & we are looking for a member to come on board and help Mike & I finish the year out strong. During the July business meeting, we will accept nominations for President, who will complete the 2015 term. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me (Craig Williams).

Using the Round Table Forum

You may only use the NIOA website to check the calendar for events, but I want to encourage you to check out the Round Table Forum page. Jeff Krotke set this up years ago & it never took off, but we believe it is a fantastic way to network and share ideas, technologies, etc. that may help us do our jobs. I plan on using the forum to bring up topics of interest for our members.

IDEM Notification – New Bypass/Overflow Forms

Speaking of the Round Table Forum, I have posted a new topic on IDEM’s recent notice about the revised Bypass/Overflow form. The new form requires certain information that used to be optional. IDEM has stated that the use of the revised form (and inclusion of new data) is effective immediately! They have made some other changes that you may want to be aware of. Check out the discussion on the Round Table forum now!