Rural Community Assistance Partnership

Practical solutions for improving rural communities
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August 2012

Missouri newspaper: 'Clean water is as much a job creator as any'

Posted Mon, 2012/08/20 - 11:16am by RCAP

The HazlewoodPatch, a local newspaper in Hazlewood, Mo., has an Aug. 16 article with the headline "In Tough Economy, Midwest Businesses Say Jobs Depend on Clean Water."

The article begins:

"As the largest watershed in the United States, the Mississippi River Basin is something of a workaholic.

"The Mississippi River basin drains all or part of 31 states, irrigates the country’s bread basket, attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists, cools several power plants, and supplies drinking water to 15 million people. It also creates jobs.

EPA webinar: How a Multi-Year Training and Exercise (T&E) Plan Can Help You

Posted Mon, 2012/08/20 - 9:54am by RCAP

This brief webinar will help you improve your emergency preparedness.

WHO: Drinking water and wastewater utilities interested in learning how to develop a training and exercise plan and how its implementation can help improve their organizations’ emergency preparedness.

WHAT: A webinar that provides information on steps to take when developing a multi-year training and exercise plan and lessons learned from DC Water, which has developed its own plan.

A Day in the Life of An Operator

Posted Mon, 2012/08/20 - 9:35am by RCAP

A great posting on the Operation Matters blog of the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection is titled A Day in the Life of An Operator.

It is a first-person account, written in casual, everyday language, about the duties that an operator performs in the course of a typical workday.

Washington Post: Beverage companies, fearing lack of water will hurt business, invest millions in conservation

Posted Fri, 2012/08/17 - 4:36pm by RCAP

This Aug. 8 article begins:

"WEST COLUMBIA, Texas — Fifty miles outside the nation’s fourth-largest city is a massive field of waist-high grass, buzzing bees and palm-size butterflies, just waiting to be ripped up by an entrepreneur.

"Rather than develop this pristine remnant of coastal prairie, vast enough to house more than 300 football fields, the Dr Pepper Snapple Group is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure it remains untouched...

EPA to hold webinar on sustainability planning for utilities

Posted Fri, 2012/08/17 - 4:30pm by RCAP

Effective planning is essential for utilities to sustainably manage their operations and ensure that water infrastructure investments are cost effective over their life cycle, resource-efficient, and support other relevant community sustainability goals.

US, Mexico sign agreement addressing high-priority border environmental issues

Posted Fri, 2012/08/17 - 4:26pm by RCAP

WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson joined Mexico’s Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources Juan Elvira Quesada to sign on Aug. 8 the Border 2020 U.S.-Mexico Environmental program agreement. The signing was witnessed by a number of leaders including the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico E.

Tools and resources for building capacity in the technical, managerial, and financial areas of a water system

Posted Fri, 2012/08/17 - 3:10pm by RCAP

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has a well-organized section of its website with an index of educational materials and templates on a variety of topics.

Many of its resources on the following topics in the three major categories are free:

Technical Tools:

  • Distribution System
  • Drinking Water Regulations
  • Operator Training and Certification
  • Water Rights

Managerial Tools:

Format: 
Website (with more resources)
Topic: 
Operations (technical)
Finance
Management
Regulations
Loans/grants
Planning
Security/emergency-response planning
Board/council
Workforce/personnel
Asset management
Source water
Source: 
Other government entity
Audience: 
Operator
Board/council member
Mayor/town manager/elected official (local)
Plant manager
Financial manager/accountant/bookkeeper

Videos for newcomers and existing members of Water and Wastewater Agency Response Networks (WARNs)

Posted Fri, 2012/08/17 - 9:56am by RCAP

These two EPA-produced videos on WARN are to improve awareness of the WARN initiative, attract new members to existing WARNs, and promote the benefits of WARN and conducting tabletop exercises.

The first video, titled “Background on the WARN Initiative”, is targeted to non-WARN members and response partners unfamiliar with WARN. The video describes how WARN programs were started, the current status of WARNs across the United States, and the benefits of joining a WARN.

Format: 
Video
Topic: 
Security/emergency-response planning
Source: 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Audience: 
Operator
Board/council member
Mayor/town manager/elected official (local)
Plant manager
Related Resources: 
EPA resources and support on mutual aid and assistance among water systems (including WARNs)
Fact sheets on WARNs (Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network)
The ABCs of NIMS and WARN
Why WARN?

Two new videos on Water and Wastewater Agency Response Networks (WARNs)

Posted Fri, 2012/08/17 - 9:52am by RCAP

EPA has produced two videos on WARN to improve awareness of the WARN initiative, attract new members to existing WARNs, and promote the benefits of WARN and conducting tabletop exercises.

The first video, titled “Background on the WARN Initiative”, is targeted to non-WARN members and response partners unfamiliar with WARN. The video describes how WARN programs were started, the current status of WARNs across the United States, and the benefits of joining a WARN.

New resource for labs on testing during a radiation emergency

Posted Fri, 2012/08/17 - 9:42am by RCAP

Very few, if any, U.S. laboratories possess the capacity to analyze the large number of samples that would arise during a radiation emergency on U.S. soil. Given such limited capacity, decision makers and laboratory directors face difficult decisions about the order in which samples are analyzed. A new document developed by the National Alliance for Radiation Readiness (with significant leadership from the Association of Public Health Laboratories) provides an overview of some considerations that decision makers might include in the prioritization process.