It's Who You Know - For Layne Baroldi, Relationships are Key to Success
In more than 30 years in the wastewater business, Layne Baroldi has learned the importance of relationships and partnerships. Now the vice president of governmental affairs and technical services at CASA associate member
Synagro Technologies, Inc
., Layne began his wastewater career at Orange County Sanitation District.
Layne’s work for Synagro requires him to travel throughout the United States, keeping tabs on legislative and regulatory developments regarding high priority issues. He coordinates the company’s advocacy efforts with lobbyists, consultants and staff from member associations, including CASA. He’s been active in CASA since the late 1990’s, when he served as Chair of CASA’s Land Issues Forum. Layne has also served as Chair of the Associates Committee and as a member of the CASA Board of Directors. He says the relationships he’s formed as a CASA member have enhanced his own work product and his company’s performance. He especially values the opportunity to work with Greg Kester, CASA’s Director of Renewable Resource Programs, who is a recognized national industry expert.
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Winter Conference Registration Now Open
The 2020 Winter Conference is just a few months away and registration is now open! Discover what water professionals need to plan for in 2020 by hearing from experts on: legislative and regulatory developments, innovative technologies and more. The winter conference program mixes poignant presentations with enhanced opportunities for participant engagement and interactive roundtable discussions. This is where professionals gather to network, share ideas, and discover solutions to complex challenges facing the wastewater community. Join us in Indian Wells January 21 - 23, 2020! To register and view the Preliminary Program, go
here
.
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Today’s Youth are Tomorrow’s Leaders: Consider making a Donation to the CASA Education Foundation
The holidays have arrived and with them comes the opportunity to donate to the causes that mean the most. The CASA Education Foundation helps ensure clean water for Californians by awarding scholarships to promising students on a path to serving the environmental community. Your support helps to further our mission through education is an investment in the next generation of environmental professionals.
With no funding received from outside sources, the foundation relies 100% on individual and organizational donations. In 2019, the CASA Education Foundation presented $5,000 scholarships to three worthy students. Thank you for all who have donated in the past. To learn more or make a donation go
here.
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Legislative, Regulatory and Legal News
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Federal Single Use Plastics Proposal Includes Wet Wipes Labeling Requirement
On October 31
st
, Representative Alan Lowenthal and Senator Tom Udall
announced
their intent to introduce legislation to dramatically reduce plastic pollution. Importantly, their announcement included a link to a legislative discussion draft which includes provisions requested by CASA that would require all wet wipes sold in the United States to be labeled with appropriate disposal information. This is consistent with efforts to reduce the improper flushing of single use wipes that contain plastics.
Similar to CASA’s sponsored legislation in California, the Lowenthal/Udall proposal sets requirements for labeling both non-flushable wet wipe products and sets parameters for which wipes can be labeled as “flushable” or “sewer and septic safe.” Additionally, the discussion draft language includes provisions that would require wipes manufacturers to include statements about wet wipes containing plastic content. Comments on the discussion draft are due November 21
st
, and CASA is circulating a
coalition support letter
that agencies can sign on to in support of these provisions.
Please review the CASA Coalition letter and let us know if your agency would like to sign on to support this provision of the proposed legislation. If you would like to sign on to the letter or have any questions about the letter or discussion draft, please contact
Jessica Gauger.
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CASA Submits Comments on Ocean Protection Council’s Draft Plan
CASA and a coalition of water and wastewater associations submitted
comments
late last week on the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) Draft 5-Year Plan (Draft Plan). Most of CASA’s prior work with the OPC has been focused on microplastics management and the development of analytical methods for measuring and quantifying the presence of microplastics in wastewater effluent. However, the Draft Plan now includes new language that would set a target for reducing ocean discharges by 80-100% by 2040. The language is included under a plan objective relating to addressing ocean acidification and hypoxia, which is troubling given that the research on the causes of those phenomena have yet to be scientifically determined, and significant research is currently underway to determine the contributing factors from both wastewater and other sources.
The draft plan was released on Thursday, November 8, and will be heard as an informational item on Wednesday, November 13. Because of the significance to the wastewater community that this part of the plan presents, CASA will be testifying at the OPC meeting. Adoption of the plan is currently slated for February of 2020, which should allow the wastewater community to more thoroughly engage in the discussion. We will provide an update on the outcome from Wednesday’s OPC hearing in a later edition of CASA Connects. For more information please contact
Jared Voskuhl
or
Jessica Gauger
.
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U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Significant CWA Case
On November 6, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in
County of Maui v Hawaii Wildlife Fund
, one of the most significant Clean Water Act (CWA) cases to reach the court in the last decade. The court was presented with a key jurisdictional issue: namely whether the CWA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements apply to discharges from point sources that enter groundwater before reaching navigable waters.
Lower federal courts, including the 9
th
Circuit, had held that the County of Maui’s releases of treated wastewater from injection wells that ultimately reached the Pacific Ocean via groundwater required a NPDES permit because the discharges were “fairly traceable” back to a point source. CASA and a number of other entities filed a
coalition amicus brief
arguing against such a standard and highlighting the significant potential negative impacts of that approach on public clean water agencies.
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Groundbreaking Ceremony for Final Expansion of the World’s Largest Potable Reuse Facility
Orange County Sanitation District and Orange County Water District celebrated the Final Expansion of the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by elected officials, project stakeholders and industry professionals. The Final Expansion of the GWRS is the third and final phase of the project.
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Lilia Corona Named New District Manager of Mt. View Sanitation District
Mt. View Sanitation District selected veteran employee Lilia Corona for the role of District Manager of MVSD. She replaces Neal Allen, who is retiring after 15 years with MVSD. Lilia hopes to lead MVSD toward continuing its improvement culture. She hopes to continue to protect public health, the environment and to improve efficiencies and cost effectiveness of her district’s activities that serve the public better.
“The best part of my job is serving the public,” Corona said. “Public service motivation brings passion that gives me a sense of fulfillment in my job. Ultimately, meeting with and being accessible and responsive to district customers is rewarding.”
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Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certification Program Meeting in December
The State Water Resources Board’s Wastewater Operator Certification Program Advisory Committee will be holding a meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019 at 10 a.m. at the CalEPA Headquarters Building. These certification and training meetings generally happen only twice a year. Sign-in is required. For more information, go here. Any questions can be answered by calling 916-341-5648, or send an email at
[email protected].
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