December is when many people evaluate the year’s accomplishments. It’s no different for an organization like the National Association of Wastewater Transporters.
Our milestone for 2010 was writing an approved 135-page manual describing NAWT policies and procedures for all operations. We’ve done most procedures for a long time, but some situations have to play out before we know how to modify them. Therefore, the Board of Directors made it easy to change the language and clarify certain areas. While the manual is still a work in progress, it’s great to have everything in writing.
The manual also gave us a clearly defined and working Ethics Committee. We needed one because some state codes lack disciplinary actions and officials depend on NAWT to police its certified professionals. When the states turned to us for enforcement assistance, our ethics rules explained how to submit complaints. Currently, three complaints are under investigation. If the Ethics Committee finds that these individuals inspected systems incorrectly, the NAWT board will pull their credentials.
We’re updating the bylaws and restructuring the board, using five appropriate models for our template. Some of this work is long overdue and another benefit of having our policies and procedures manual.
The NAWT office continues to be an informational resource for homeowners, Realtors, and industry professionals. It’s gratifying to hear, “Thank you. That was a great tip you gave us.” One way or another, the staff finds the answers to the questions.
We awarded two scholarships this year. Todd Frank, a sophomore at Ohio’s Ashland University, won the William Hapchuk Memorial Scholarship essay. The $1,000 scholarship is for college students or high school seniors entering college and participating in environmental science, life science, or related curriculum. Michael B. Waller Sr. received the $500 NAWT scholarship through the Delaware Technical and Community College. He is majoring in environmental water/wastewater engineering. We fund the scholarship because the college supports NAWT training programs. For the first time, we opened nominations for the NAWT Excellence in Service Award to the membership. Previously, board members did the nominating. Nominees do not have to belong to NAWT, but must have done some exceptional things, inspired others, exhibited leadership, or made significant contributions to the wastewater profession.
NAWT ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
The Excellence in Service award, COLE Publishing Ralph Macchio Lifetime Achievement award, and the Wm. Hapchuk Scholarship will be awarded at the NAWT annual membership meeting on Friday, March 4, during the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International in Louisville, Ky. We’ll begin at 7:30 a.m. with a short business meeting and free coffee and doughnuts. Anyone interested in forming a state association or sharing their problems should attend. The formalities will conclude well before 9 a.m. when the Expo opens.
NAWT certified 1,000 attendees (250 more than in 2009) in 26 training events in 12 states: Pennsylvania, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Indiana, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico. Regulatory requirements drive these programs in Arizona and New Mexico, and to a lesser degree in Texas and California. Colorado counties are just beginning to require septic inspections as part of their buy-sell agreements.
We’re negotiating with the Florida Onsite Wastewater Association to incorporate our onsite inspection training into its 2011 CEU courses. The move results from a new state law requiring septic tanks to be inspected and pumped every five years. The ruling also bans land-applied septage in 2016, and most municipal plants do not accept it. Consequently, many members visited the NAWT booth at FOWA’s annual conference in August to learn more about our Waste Treatment Symposium in September.
The California Onsite Wastewater Association and Maine Association of Wastewater Transporters have joined the NAWT family, bringing the total to 15 states with regional and local representatives. We waive the $100 fee the first year to encourage associations to see the benefits of membership for themselves. If an association drops out, it’s because the representative never took part in the nine 60-minute teleconferences per year and therefore couldn’t report on our activities and their results. Representatives who participate in the teleconferences usually have no trouble seeing the value of their memberships.
Our partnership in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Decentralized Wastewater Memorandum of Understanding continues to be a great experience. This year, NSF International, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control became members. These organizations do research on onsite systems and bring additional expertise to the partnership.
One issue we’re discussing with NSF representative Tom Bruursema is that many service providers certified by aerobic treatment plant manufacturers inspect just the unit. NAWT maintains that ATUs are only a portion of the system and that the entire system must be inspected. Some manufacturers agree, because the first thing customers blame if the system isn’t working is the ATU. The other side of the problem is manufacturers with regional territories. If my customer is in that territory, I can’t touch the aerobic unit. Therefore, I’m going to install the ATU I’m certified to maintain, even though Brand X may be a better fit.
Two excellent workshops have come out of the partnership so far. The first was the water softener task force and its efforts to determine the impact of regeneration water on onsite systems, then prioritize areas for study. The second was working with the Water Environmental Research Foundation, a funding organization, to develop a list of research needs. The top five were:
1) Evaluate the costs of operation and maintenance for onsite technologies, coupled with treatment expectations over the life of the systems. The comprehensive analysis will assist in selecting systems used by small communities.
2) Develop reuse opportunities beyond groundwater recharge, especially the better use of greywater. This also includes developing water conservation and energy efficiency measures.
3) Evaluate the effectiveness of long-term maintenance contracts on individual onsite system performance. Evaluate financial and social acceptance of contracts to maintain systems.
4) Develop a simple protocol for estimating risks presented to water quality in a given receiving environment, then assign appropriate performance criteria including soils as part of the treatment train.
5) Develop a readily applied standard protocol for identifying the relevance of onsite systems in watershed pollution problems using GIS mapping, water quality testing, and source-tracking techniques.
In 2011, we’ll begin looking at how we can implement some of those priorities. It’s going to be another exciting year.
