News Feed for Clean Water News http://www.orawca.org/news.php Clean Water News from the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies en-us gillaspie@oracwa.org gillaspie@oracwa.org Wed Mar 10 03:19:29 2010 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:19 MST 60 ACWA Pretreatment Committee meeting - Thursday, March 11, 2010 9:00am to Noon at the City of Woodburn WWTP,2815 Molalla Road, Woodburn, OR 97070

]]> Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00 MST Public Communications Camp - Friday, April 9, 2010 PNCWA is sponsoring a Public Communications Camp - a day long workshop in Vancouver WA on April 9, 2010. See link for additional details and registration information.

http://www.pncwa.org/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId=245623&orgId=pncwa&recurringId=0

]]> Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00 MST ACWA Stormwater Summit Set in Eugene for May 5 The ACWA annual Stormwater Summit is set in Eugene for May 5th. The registration form is available here - more details on the program agenda will be available shortly.

]]> Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00 MST ACWA Biosolids/Recycled Water Committee meeting - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 10:00am to 12:00pm at Salem's Willow Lake Treatment Plant, 5915 Windsor Island Rd. N., Keizer, OR

]]> Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00 MST ACWA Water Quality Committee meeting - Thursday, March 4, 2010 9:30am to 1:00pm, Willow Lake Treatment Plant, 5915 Windsor Island Rd N, Keizer

]]> Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00 MST Presentation materials from the Big Green Machine Workshop - February 11, 2010 Sustainability Leader-East Bay MUD leading the way - Dave Williams, East Bay MUD

Biosolids Products for Soil Improvement in Urban Landscapes - Dr. Dan Sullivan, Oregon State University

Gresham's Path to Becoming Energy Independent- Conservation, Biogas, Solar-How about Wind... - Dave Rouse, City of Gresham

Electric Utility Agreements for Renewable Power Resource-What You Need to Know... - Mark Osborn, PGE

Capture Heat from Your Effluent-Cut Your Energy Bills - Ernie Strahm, City of McMinnville

Get Paid for Biosolids-Moving to Class A - Steve Wilson, Brown & Caldwell

Phosphorus Recovery-Mining Your Wastewater - Rob Baur, Clean Water Services

]]> Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00 MST Statewide Drug Take Back Events Planned for March 13, 2010 Over 25 communities in Oregon are planning prescription drug take back events Saturday, March 13, 2010. Click here to learn the local contacts in your community: http://www.orpartnership.org/web/CARSA/Drug%20Take%20Back%20Events.asp

Use the information to publicize the event to co-workers, family and friends.

]]> Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00 MST Integrated Water Resources Strategy Lunch and Learn Event - March 10, 2010 March 10th - Oregon’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy Lunch-n-Learn Event from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Portland Building located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue, 2nd floor, Room C. Cost - $10 includes lunch.

Please join Commissioner Jeanne LeJeune of Oregon’s Water Resources Commission and Dr. Brenda Bateman of Oregon’s Water Resources Department for this Lunch & Learn Workshop. The Water Resources Department, together with the Dept. of Environmental Quality, Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Dept. of Agriculture, and stakeholders and partners from around Oregon, are developing the state’s first Integrated Water Resources Strategy. Following a brief presentation, participants will conduct an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) that will help us better understand and meet our water resource needs in Oregon.

More information in the flyer below.

]]> Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00 MST Need Info for Statewide Drug Take Back Event Scheduled 3/13/2010? If your community is participating in Oregon’s statewide drug take back event scheduled 3/13/2010 and you’d like some additional information on the need for effective and convenient drug take back programs, this one-page summary of the key motivators - - avoidable poisonings, preventing prescription drug abuse especially in teens, and protecting water quality - - might be helpful. Feel free to customize. Water Environment Federation also has a brochure “Drug Free Drains” - - more information is available at http://www.e-wef.org/timssnet/static/PE/HP1904.htm

]]> Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00 MST ACWA Groundwater Committee meeting - Thursday, March 18, 2010 City of Gresham, 1333 NW Eastman Parkway Room A, Gresham, OR

]]> Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00 MST Gresham Activates Largest Ground Mount Solar Power System in the Pacific Northwest The City of Gresham has dedicated a 419 kW ground mount solar power system at the Gresham Wastewater Treatment Plant. The solar power is expected to generate 7% of the plant’s annual electricity, and at the height of summer the system could produce electricity at its full 420 kW capacity - enough to run half the plant. The system was installed in partnership with Sun Edison with no upfront costs to Gresham taxpayers. More at http://greshamoregon.gov/city/city-departments/environmental-services/wastewater-division/template.aspx?id=20337

]]> Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00 MST DEQ Initiating a Revision of Its Water Quality Standard for Turbidity - February 17, 2010 Oregon DEQ has initiated a revision of its water quality standard to address turbidity. Additional information about this process is available at: http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/standards/turbidity.htm Oregon DEQ will hold a meeting to discuss the process for revising the turbidity standard on February 17 from 9-11am at the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs Building in Salem.

DEQ will post an agenda and conference call information to the website prior to the meeting if you can’t make it in person. For additional information, please contact Aron Borok at Oregon DEQ at 503-229-5050 or borok.aron@deq.state.or.us.

]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00 MST Statewide Drug Take Back Event Planned A statewide drug take back event is being organized by the Oregon Medical Association Alliance and the Oregon Partnership to be held March 13, 2010. Partners are welcome to assist in organizing the take back events in local communities. Additional information about how to connect with the take back event planned in your community is available in the flyer below.

]]> Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00 MST DEQ Prepares Report on Water Quality Permitting Program DEQ has prepared a report on its improvements and efficiency measures in its water quality permitting program. The report is available at: http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/pubs/reports/2009WastewaterLegReport.pdf

]]> Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00 MST DEQ Revises Water Quality Trading Policy DEQ has revised and updated its policy (…called an Internal Management Directive…) for water quality trading. A link to the revised policy is available at: http://www.deq.state.or.us/WQ/trading/trading.htm#Pro

]]> Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00 MST ACWA Workshop Focuses on Expanding Wastewater Services - February 11, 2010 An ACWA workshop "Big Green Machines - Transitioning Oregon Wastewater Utilities to Provide More Goods and Services" is scheduled in Salem on February 11, 2010.

The workshop is focused on learning how wastewater utilities can provide more goods and services for their communities AND make money by implementing programs to generate electricity, mine for phosphorus, and other innovative ideas. Registration information and further details are included in the PDF below.

]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00 MST ACWA UIC Group Completes Comprehensive Stormwater Data Report The ACWA UIC Water Pollution Control Facilities Technical Advisory Committee is working collaboratively to prepare for a municipal WPCF permit for UICs that receive stormwater. The group has just completed the report Compilation and Evaluation of Existing Stormwater Quality Data from Oregon, December, 2009. The report was prepared by Kennedy/Jenks Consultants.

The report analyzes stormwater data from over 25,000 samples taken in Oregon between 1990 and 2008. The data consisted of 45 analytes collected between 1990 and 2008 and includes stormwater from Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems as well as Underground Injection wells. Data from 15 Oregon public agencies is included. The report builds on earlier work completed for ACWA in 1997 by Woodward-Clyde Consultants which also examined stormwater quality data. It is the most comprehensive single report on stormwater quality completed for Oregon municipalities and districts to date, and may be useful to other ACWA members.

]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00 MST Washington Clean Air Expert Nominated for EPA Region X Administrator Dennis J. McLerran, most recently the head of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, has been nominated to serve as the EPA Region 10 Regional Administrator. More details in the EPA news release.

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/A46DC1F496AE1243852576AA007EC2E2

]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00 MST EPA Developing Action Plans for some SB 737 listed pollutants EPA has announced that it is developing Chemical Action Plans for additional chemicals including Long-chain perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), Penta, octa, and decabromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in products, phthalates and short chain chlorinated paraffins. PFCs, PBDEs, and phthalates are all included on the Oregon SB 737 Priority Persistent Pollutant list developed by Oregon DEQ. More details at : http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/enhanchems.html#action

]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00 MST Materials from the ACWA/DEQ SSO Briefing - Tuesday, December 15th ACWA and DEQ held a briefing for members on SSO issues 12/15/09. Handouts and other materials discussed at the meeting include:

1. Meeting Agenda

2. DEQ Internal Management Directive (IMD) on SSOs

3. DEQ presentation on IMD at meeting

4. ACWA ‘preferred alternative’ discussed at the meeting.

The DEQ SSO IMD can be found at http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/pubs/imds/SSOEnforcement.pdf

]]> Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00 MST