January Monthly Newsletter

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January 2021

Conferences & Events

View the 2022 Schedule

One Day Training Sessions

Find a convenient class for you!

2022 Spring Conference - March 16th & 17th

Exhibitor & Attendee info has been sent out via mail and

email. Make sure to book your room ASAP! Our block is

already almost 50% full. Last year we oversold our room block, and the hotel completely sold out of rooms!

Make your reservations at the hotel by calling the French

Lick Resort at 888-936-9360 and use group code:

0322AIR to get a rate of $130/night. Or book online in our

block directly!

All classes and descriptions are available in the attendee packet.

Attendee Registration

Exhibitor Registration

2022 Legislative Updates

The 2022 legislative session is in full force. There are many bills being considered that could have an impact on the Water/Wastewater utilities.

The following bills are important for us to follow and comment on.

House Bill 1245 (Prohibits Connection fees)
House Bill 1263 (Sewer & Storm Water fees incurred by Tenants)
House Bill 1378 (Lead testing in schools)
House Bill 1025 (water well testing)
House Bill 1037 (Wastewater Holding Tanks in RV Campgrounds)

Senate Bill 153 (Annual customer report)
Senate Bill 288 (Eminent domain)
Senate Bill 374 (Service areas) (Support)
Senate Bill 375 (811 Utility location)
Senate Bill 272 (Wastewater Infrastructure)
Senate Bill 273 (Financing)
Senate Bill 334 (Mandatory base rate cases)
Senate Bill 346 (Wastewater Facility Improvement District)

We will be at the statehouse communicating with our legislators on these bills. Please contact Connie Stevens with your comments or concerns.

Now Accepting 2022 Scholarship Applications

We are now accepting 2022 Scholarship Applications!

Each year the Alliance awards scholarships based on

fundraising from our annual Golf Outing and Clay Shoot.

This year we will be awarding 4 scholarships for $2,000

each! Eligible applicants must be a citizen or legal

resident of the United States, a resident of the state of

Indiana, enrolling as a first-year college student in the fall

of 2022, and a dependent child of a voting member

system employee. (If you are unsure if you are a voting

member, please contact the Alliance office.)

Scholarship application deadline - January 31, 2022.

More info and application...

2022 Awards of Excellence Nominations

Do you know someone who is doing a great job?

Goes above and beyond the call of duty?

Of course you do, because we know that the rural water industry in Indiana truly has the best, most hardworking people around!

Help us give recognition where it is due!

Full Details & Nomination Form...

Deadline - February 11, 2022

Exam Prep Courses

The schedule for our 2022 Exam Prep Courses has been posted on our website. Courses are $400 for members/$500 for non-members and will be held online.

Water Exam Prep Course Info...

Wastewater Exam Prep Course Info...

Best Wishes to Laura Vidal & Welcome to Kristin Bean

Last week we let you know that our Marketing and PR Director, Laura Vidal, will be moving on to a new position with 120Water.

We are excited to announce we have hired Kristin Bean to fill her position. Kristin brings over 7 years of marketing and event planning experience.

She and Laura will be working together to make sure the transition is as seemless as possible as Kristin joins the team January 31st.

Update from IDEM Regarding SSO & Bypass Reports

IDEM’s Office of Water Quality’s Compliance and Enforcement Branch is engaged with IDEM’s Information Services team on a complete overhaul of the system for permittees and reporters to submit Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) and bypass reports to IDEM.

The new system is being designed as a website portal-based system where permittees and reporters can log in to submit SSO/bypass reports. The system will seamlessly upload reports to IDEM’s Virtual File Cabinet and will also populate the data into a database tracking system.

This system may go live in early to mid-spring 2022.

As always, you can count on the Alliance to continue to provide updates as we receive them!

PFAS Cost Recovery Program

There are many unknowns related to PFAS contamination in our water supply, wastewater discharges, and bio-solid disposal. These unknowns impact decision-making, budgeting, and costs.

Systems that have detections at any level or their water source is near an airport, military base, landfill, firefighting activity, or manufacturing can take steps to protect themselves and ratepayers from the looming financial burden of testing, treatment, and/or remediation of PFAS contamination. In order to benefit from the PFAS Cost Recovery Program, a system In must be registered onto the cost recovery rolls prior to a settlement being reached. There is no upfront cost or threshold to register onto the cost recovery rolls.

More Information...

EPA Webinars

Free webinars are typically held on the last Tuesday of the month from 2:00-3:00 pm ET (Optional Q&A session from 3:00-3:30 pm ET). Attendees have the option of receiving a certificate for one contact hour for each live webcast attended.

The next FREE Small System monthly webinar will be on February 22, 2022 - Tribal Community Water Systems.

Full Schedule / More Information

EPA Water Research Webinar Series

A webinar will be offered every other month that will focus on EPA water research.

The 2022 schedule will be coming soon.

Full Schedule / More Information

If you attend these webinars, you must submit the certificate and the credit form, yourself. If you do not submit the form with the verification document you will not get the credit.

(EPA Webinars must also be pre-approved to obtain wastewater credit.)

February 2022

World Wetlands Day (2/2): This date may be in the shadow of a groundhog, but this is no excuse to wait six more weeks before bringing attention to this important part of our landscape. More than 64% of our wetlands have vanished since 1900, eliminating the home of thousands of species, reducing our protection from floods, and removing a natural filter of pollutants.
Shower with a Friend Day (2/5): On February 5 we are all encouraged to shower with a buddy. If that's not really your style, celebrate the day by using #ShowerWithAFriendDay to educate others on the importance of water conservation. "Winter is the coldest and loneliest season of the year. With dwindling daylight and Valentine's Day at its heart, February can often leave people feeling dejected and somber. National "Shower with a Friend Day" injects a bit of humor into the season while also serving to educate people on the benefits of showering in fresh, filtered water (and the effects of chlorine)." Turns out, the day was proclaimed in July 2014 by the National Day Calendar after being registered by a Colorado company, New Wave Enviro to help sell shower filters!
Global Day of the Engineer (2/24) & Engineers Week ( the week that includes 2/22): Celebrate the engineers who make our water delivery and collection systems happen. Their innovative designs behind the scenes help to keep our waters flowing to our homes and businesses. Share their accomplishments with your community. Highlight new engineering projects/infrastructure upgrades you have made to show safe clean water is a priority for your water system.

Affinity Partners / Programs and Services Portfolio

As the only affiliate of the National Rural Water Association in the state, the Alliance of Indiana Rural Water is proud to offer our members an array of products and services that have been vetted and specifically chosen as partners that work well with and for rural water and wastewater utilities. If you have any questions about any of these programs, please contact our office at 888-937-4992 or ask your circuit rider.