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MINUTES OF MEETING #105
May 19, 2009
The Maine Public Drinking Water Commission (DWC) held its 105th
meeting on May 19, 2009, at the Aqua Maine office in
Present were:
Time: Judy Kelley called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m.
A. Approval
of Minutes:
v
Bob moved
to approve the last meeting’s minutes (Meeting #104), and Rebecca seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously by Commission members. George noted that his email address had
changed.
1. AFM Fee and Collection Status:
v
Roger reported that the Drinking Water Program
(“DWP”) sent three separate notices / invoices to public water systems with
overdue AFM payments.
2. Security/ Operator Licensure / Compliance:
v
Security:
Roger reported that the DWP currently has money for WARN,
the mutual-aid network for water districts and departments to assist each other
in cases of emergency; however, Roger stated that future federal funds are
unlikely.
v
Operator
Licensure: Roger reported that operator exams were scheduled for June. The
Operator Expense Reimbursement Grant will be depleted. This grant provided
money to small public water systems for exam and license fees in the past. The
current fee is $70 for a two-year license.
v
Compliance
/ Rulemaking: Cross Connection Rule changes should be adopted by the
end of July 2009.
3. Legislation and Bond Issues:
v
Roger distributed a list of legislative bills
that the DWP is tracking. LD 119 proposes to remove the cap to AFM fees and
amend rules to also increase maximum amount to charge for a base fee to
$75. The cap removal, which would only
affect current AFM fees for Portland Water District, would increase, beginning
July 1, 2010. LD 318 proposed to form the Hancock Pond Water District, which
would consolidate Anson and Madison Water Districts, to become effective on
July 1, 2010.
4.
Staffing
Update / State Spending:
v
Staff:
·
Five DWP staff plan to retire this summer. Linda
Robinson, Compliance Officer for all transient public water systems, retires on
June 30, 2009; Carol Champagne, Clerk for the Water Operator Board and Welldrillers’ Commission, retires June 30, 2009; Geraldine
Poulin, Data Control Clerk, retires July 31, 2009; Rod Hanscom, Field Inspector
for the Penobscot County area, retires in September 2009; and Cheryl Pratt
unfortunately retires on July 31, 2009. Cheryl has served the public and the
Drinking Water Commission for many years, and she will be missed. While the DWP is hopeful that the positions
will be filled, only one position (Linda Robinson’s) has been approved for
rehiring, as of the date of this writing.
·
The receptionist position was filled by Daniel
Thompson, a state employee whose position was bumped from DOT. David Welch
filled a position funded through the New England Interstate Water Pollution
Control Commission and is assisting with administering SRF funds, as well as
helping with other financial tracking/accounting projects. A summer intern,
Frank, a retired chemical engineer, was also hired May 18th through Americorp via the Dept. of Conservation, to provide
outreach to small public water systems and track land ownership around wells of
public water systems.
·
Jennifer Grant and Daniel Piasecki are assisting
field inspectors in managing SRF projects, due to the increased workload under
ARRA.
v
State
Spending: State employees will experience twenty shutdown days over the
course of two years; in addition, those employees earning more than $30,000 in
their salary will be required to pay 5% for their insurance in the first year
and 10% in the second year.
1. Review of AFM Spending & Approval of
AFM Fee Rates:
v
Roger reported that DWP costs were $65,000
higher than the previous year. Half of the increase is due the new DHHS Cost
Allocation Plan (Indirect). The Cost
Allocation Plan now assesses the same indirect charges on all federal and dedicated
revenue accounts. Historically dedicated
revenue accounts (such as the AFM) only paid a 2.5% indirect changed. Although the Cost Allocation Plan fee will
vary from quarter to quarter, it is approximately 10 percent. Roger also attributes the increase to IT
costs.
v
President Obama’s proposal for the 2010 budget
will increase funding to DWP because set-asides would increase. Congress is
currently looking to remove the state match requirement.
v
Roger proposed to keep rates the same because
the AFM account has an estimated surplus of $68,677 and staff salaries will be
cut by approximately 5 percent for the next two years. George moved to keep existing
.
2. Annual
Report:
v
Roger will assign staff to complete the annual
report and will use the same format as is reported to EPA. He invited
Commission members to provide input on the content of the report. The report is
due August 1, 2009.
3. Staff Merit Award
Nominating Committee:
v Bob agreed to continue to chair the committee, and Harvey and George agreed to continue to serve, as well. The deadline to solicit nominations is May 22, 2009.
v
Update: Amilyn Stillings received the 2009 Staff
Merit Award, which was presented by Judy Kelley at the annual DWP summer
meeting at
4. Update
on American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Spending:
v
Roger reported that more waivers to the Buy
American Act were able to be submitted, in order to avoid delays in
construction.
5.
Drinking
Water Commission Membership:
v Judy Kelley is not renewing her membership on the Drinking Water Commission and represents public water systems serving over 10,000 people. We all thank Judy for her two terms as a member and Chair. We will miss her greatly.
v Tom Brennan will renew his membership.
v Dick Berry, who represents the general public, is not renewing his membership. Dick served many years as DWC Chair and showed an ardent dedication to the Drinking Water Program. Thank you, Dick! You will be missed.
v Alan York is expected to renew his membership.
6.
Capacity
Review Meeting:
v Roger reported that a capacity review meeting occurred that explored how DWP funds are spent, along with a discussion on efforts used to help public water systems. Sara Lippert, the DWP Capacity Development Coordinator, sent a summary, which identified items needed for training to benefit either public water systems, operators, or DWP personnel.
v The DWP could also assist public water systems in identifying goals and measurements. Technical assistance providers from Maine Rural Water Association could help to implement these goals.
7. Motion to Adjourn:
v Tom moved to adjourn at 10:20 and Bob seconded. The vote to adjourn was unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Tera R. Pare, J.D.
Dept. of Health and Human Services