Articles in the April 2007 issue:
Association News
Association News • The Water Environment Research Foundation is sponsoring research that will enable biosolids managers and facility operators to protect groundwater resources near land application sites.
• Investigators from the Water Environment Research Foundation have identified a strong correlation between dewatering processes and biosolid odors.
• The Highway Safety Improvement Program requires states to submit reports describing at least 5 percent of the public roads exhibiting the most severe safety needs.
• The Water Environment Federation reports that public sanitation advances are considered the greatest medical milestone since 1840, based on reader responses from the British Medical Journal.
• The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Onsite Sewage Program announced that onsite professionals should receive renewal notices six months before the expiration date on their ID cards.
Building the Business
An Incentive for Success By Faye Kelley
A motivated workforce is the key to success for any small business. In fact, in a service business like yours, motivation may mean the difference between growing fast and going slowly out of business. That’s because quality service is the primary advantage you offer over your competition. As the manager or business owner, you do spot checks, but you don’t have time to follow your employees to check on everything they do. Ultimately, you need to trust that they will fulfill their responsibilities and be self-motivated.
Classy Trucks
Sullivan Septic & Excavating, Longmont, Colo. A spotless white 2006 Kenworth T-800 is the daily driver of Kevin Sullivan, who has run Sullivan Septic & Excavating with his wife, Cindy, for 14 years. Their newest service vehicle is built for running in difficult Rocky Mountain terrain and to serve a variety of onsite system maintenance purposes. The truck was custom-ordered with a 400-hp Cummins power plant, 10-speed Eaton-Fuller transmission, double frame and drive-axle lockers that keep the truck moving as long as a wheel is on solid ground. Sullivan built out the truck himself, adding a 4,000-gallon steel tank purchased from LMT Inc., a 500-cfm liquid-cooled Wallenstein pump and custom toolboxes on both sides of the truck to carry a full Ridgid SeeSnake cleaning machine, SeeSnake camera, pressure washer and miscellaneous lift pumps. The gray interior features twin Captain’s chairs, and the truck was ordered with the extra-cab feature to create more room for Sullivan’s mobile office. The couple chose an all-white color scheme for a cleaner look in an area dominated by sunny, dry weather. The two-tone green signage with metalflake reflector was created by Color Graphics of Denver.
Cover Story
Keeping it Kleen By Richard Ryman The slogan at Ohio’s Porta Kleen isn’t “why not,” but it could be. The Lancaster-based portable restroom operator is not big on limits, be they geographic or theoretical. “I ask our sales and marketing people every year, ‘what’s next?’ Four years ago, no one at Porta Kleen thought of doing shower trailers. Now it’s 35 percent of our business,” says general manager Larry Ailes. Porta Kleen supplies restroom trailers, showers and bunkhouses to clients around the country.
Industry News
Industry News • Infiltrator Systems and its subsidiary, Champion Polymer Recycling, have been recognized by the Carpet America Recovery Effort for their commitment to recycling and the environment.
• JWC Environmental, Franklin-Miller Inc. of Livingston, N.J., and JBI of El Dorado Hills, Calif., have jointly agreed to settle the patent infringement lawsuit brought by JWCE.
• Four registrants for the 2008 Pumper and Cleaner Environmental Expo International in Louisville, Ky., received personalized Louisville Slugger baseball bats from the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Winners were Rhonda Eavenson of J&J Disposal Services, John Szollose of John M. Szollose Inc., Robyn Garrett of Robyn’s Septic Service and Paul Christian of Advanced Sanitation.
Interview
Creating Clear Restroom Rules By Scottie Dayton The Michigan Septic Tank Association realized it had a problem when members reported that private homeowners’ associations were blocking their entrance into neighborhoods to deliver portable restrooms to construction sites or to service the units. The MSTA decided to look at the construction code as written and develop legislation to address several issues. Madeline Houdek, secretary and co-editor of the association’s newsletter, sits on the Portable Restroom Regulatory Investigation Committee and acts as its spokeswoman. She and husband James own Houdek’s Tuff-Jon Rentals in Lake Leelanau, Mich.
Legal Advice
Forecasting Financial Disaster By Fred S. Steingold Financial woes can sneak up on a business. Is your business facing hard times? If so, you need to focus on damage control. We share several practical suggestions that can help legally protect you and your personal assets.
Lighter Side
Gallery on Wheels By Jim Kneiszel When art dealer Patti Bell began working as a consultant for interior decorating projects, she was choosing the art for hospitals, law offices and upscale homes. The owner of Studio B in Asheville, N.C. never conceived she’d be placing artwork in restroom trailers … That is until she talked to Larry Ailes, of Lancaster, Ohio-based Porta Kleen. Bell was called on to select art to display in eight new JAG Mobile Solutions 30-foot special event trailers last summer. “My business is really going to pot,’’ says Bell, who can’t resist an obvious one-liner about the task.
Money Manager
Writing It Off By Erik Gunn It's that time of year again – when we add up the profits and the costs of doing business and give Uncle Sam his cut. By now you've pored over your books to file your federal income tax return (and your state one, too, if your state also has an income tax). Ideally you have a professional bookkeeper, or better still, an accountant; or at the very least software such as Intuit's TurboTax or Kiplinger's TaxCut. Whether or not you do, though, you should be aware of some important opportunities to reduce your tax bill that business owners sometimes miss.
NAWT
Association Promotes Affordable Retirement Plan By Tom Ferrero If you run your own small business, you may well be in need of a good retirement plan. At one time, you might have considered a 401(k), only to discard the idea when you realized that some of the costs and burdens. But now, NAWT has added a member benefit that makes a 401(k) plan easy and affordable—the NAWT 401(k) Retirement Plan. The NAWT 401(k) Retirement Plan can be customized to your personal needs.
Overheard Online
Point of Sale Inspections Pumping contractors bemoan the difficult situations they face with inspections tied to real estate deals.
Product News
Product News • The BACKSENSE rear-detection backup warning system from Brigade Electronics Inc. alerts the operator inside the cab of rear obstructions.
• The Model BS-2740 stainless-steel submersible dewatering and solids-handling pump from ITT Flygt Corp. is designed to be extremely wear resistant and easy to maintain.
• Continuous duty replacement engines from Water Cannon are available in both recoil and electric start.
• The Sales Team Management tracking system from Clear Computing monitors sales dollars, accounts, commissions, rate analysis and receivables for each team.
Profile
Designed to Succeed By Marian Bond Located on an 80-acre farm in Bellefontaine, Ohio, Clifford and Mary Jane Kelly have been in the onsite system installation and pumping business from their home office since 1987, initially installing septic tanks. When it became apparent to the couple that there was a need for someone to pump those tanks and many others being installed in the growing area, they switched the business to that line of work in 1991. The advent of Honda Corp. manufacturing plants in the area fueled the growth of many small businesses in the mid-western region of Ohio, and Kelly's Septic was a big beneficiary.
Reader Pipelines
What Else Can I Do for You? By Carol Brzozowski When you’re young and starting a new business, work can dominate your life, while family and your health can suffer from the stress. When you’re putting in those grueling 60-hour weeks to establish the business, your children are growing up and your family may not receive the nurturing it needs. And the rigors of this industry require pumpers to take care of mind and body as carefully as they take care of an onsite system and the business bottom line. So how to achieve that balance?
Reading Between the Lines
“A Wake-Up Call“ By Jim Kneiszel The phrase “accident waiting to happen’’ could have been coined to describe a tragic story about a broken septic tank riser and the horrible death of a cute little 3-year-old boy near Kalispell, Mont. On Jan. 24, according to news and police accounts in Montana, Mark Rogers picked up his son, Loic J.M. Rogers, from a babysitter’s house, pointing the boy toward their car parked in the driveway before going back inside to round up his daughter. When the elder Rogers emerged from the house a minute later to secure Loic in his car seat, the boy was nowhere to be found. After two days of searching, officials had the babysitter’s septic tank pumped and found the boy drowned inside.
Rules and Regs
Nebraska Faces Higher Onsite Fees By Scottie Dayton The Nebraska Environmental Quality Council proposes increasing fees for onsite system registrations from $50 to $140. The increase takes effect in late spring if approved by the governor. The DEQ also proposes increasing professional certification fees by 50 percent.
• Delaware
Effective in February, homeowners with onsite systems were required by law to maintain service contracts with certified service providers for the life of the systems.
• Washington, D.C.
The Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund could see a $20 billion boost over the next five years based on legislation that sailed through the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee in February.
• Wisconsin
As part of updating Wisconsin’s onsite code, the Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Technical Advisory Committee made two proposals: to eliminate the venting requirement for holding or treatment tanks, and to allow house vents to ventilate septic systems.
• Virginia
The state House passed a bill requiring the Board of Health to establish an operation and maintenance program for onsite systems.
• Washington
Beginning July 1, onsite system owners are responsible for operating, monitoring, and maintaining the units to minimize failure.
Septic System Answer Man
Biomat Basics By Roger E. Machmeier I have written about the biomat and its function before, but perhaps this is a good time for a refresher course. Septic tank effluent flowing into a trench is already deficient in oxygen. The effluent from an aerobic sewage treatment tank contains oxygen, but in the environment of the trench, the conditions soon turn anaerobic, or oxygen deficient. So we must understand that the environment of the soil treatment trench and the liquid in the trench is naturally very low or deficient in oxygen.
Special Feature
Standard Restroom Roundup: Best of Show By Jim Kneiszel Though the demand for special event portable restrooms—with the latest bells and whistles—remains on the rise, manufacturers continued to showcase popular standard models at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International in February. After all, they know that the day-to-day demand from American workers in construction, agriculture and other fields make up the lion’s share of customer base for many successful portable restroom operators. Without good, sturdy units to put out on the job site, restroom contractors wouldn’t be able to stay in business to snag lucrative special events contracts.
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