Training and Technical Assistance for Small Water Systems and Private Well Owners

Transcription

1 Training and Technical Assistance for Small Water Systems and Private Well Owners National Webinar September 21, 2016 PHOTO

2 Our Speakers Today Bill O Connell NRWA Robert Stewart RCAP Glenn Barnes UNC

3 Webinar Tips Need Help? For technical assistance with installing the WebEx plugin, joining a live session, or accessing an archive recording, contact the 24/7 WebEx Support Team at (866) WebEx may ask you for the Meeting Number for this session:

4 Webinar Tips

5 Joining the Webinar You will be able to join the webinar 15 minutes before the session begins via this link: WDW/ic45224 When you see the login screen, type your confirmation number (provided in confirmation ). Click the Sign In button.

6

7 $ 12.7 Million Grants Competition (September, 2015) Training/TA for: Small drinking water systems Small/Decentralized wastewater facilities Private well owners

8 Grants Competition, cont. Small = Water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people Wastewater systems with flows of less than 1 million gallons/day

9 Grants Competition, cont. Training: On site approaches (facility visit, classroom training) Remote approaches (webinars, etc.)

10 Grants Competition, cont. Technical assistance: Telephone, web based consultation In person visits to facilities

11 Grants Competition, cont. Services available in all 50 states, Tribal Lands and U.S. territories Consultation with primacy agencies and EPA Grantees providing match with own resources

12 Grant Awards 1. Training/TA for technical capacity ($8 M total): National Rural Water Association (NRWA) $4 M Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) $4 M 2. Training/TA for managerial/financial capacity ($1.8 M): UNC Environmental Finance Center 3. Training/TA for small/decentralized wastewater systems ($1.2 M): National Rural Water Association (NRWA) 4. Assistance for Private Well Owners ($1.7M) Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP)

13 EPA Grants Project Officers Michael Finn, PO for NRWA Small DW System grant Matthew Reed, PO for RCAP Small DW System Suzanne Kelly, PO for RCAP Private Well Owner Grant John Irizarry, PO for UNC EFC grant

14 Bill O Connell Program Manager for the National Rural Water Association. 20 years experience with PWS Initiated EPA/NRWA wellhead protection program in Montana BS in Geological Engineering from Montana Tech

15 National Rural Water Association NRWA/EPA Training Program 1978 Over 30 years NRWA is the nation s largest water utility operator training organization 49 State Rural Water Associations Covering all 50 states 500 staff throughout country

16 NPA #1: Training and Technical Assistance to Small Public Water Systems to Achieve and Maintain Compliance with the SDWA Scope of Grant T/TA for SDWA compliance for Small PWS 8,085 hours of Classroom Training and/or On Site Training and Technical Assistance Minimum classroom training 2,020 hours (25% of total hours)

17 Training and Technical Assistance to Small Public Water Systems to Achieve and Maintain Compliance with the SDWA What s New?

18 Training and Technical Assistance to Small Public Water Systems to Achieve and Maintain Compliance with the SDWA Continue Collaborative Effort with Primacy Agencies to help small drinking water systems. Goals and Objectives Developed with Primacy Input Primacy Agencies Help Guide Priorities

19 Collaborative Process State Primacy Agency Contact is Identified Start of a year long Collaborative Process and the continuation of a decades long collaboration EPA/Primacy and Rural Water Rural Water and Small PWS

20 Prioritization Challenges faced by small public water systems Training Topics Specific rules Other

21 Communication Other comments State Issues Regional EPA Comments Suggest a date for midyear program review meeting Requests suggestions for methods of notifying TNC and NTNC systems of training available

22 WaterPro Online Community What it is: Collaborative interactive website Provide free access to the WaterPro OLC for small system personnel in the U.S. Territories

23 Case Studies

24 NEW COLLABORATION REALITY new

25 Goals and Objectives Target number of classroom and/or onsite T&TA to Achieve and Maintain Compliance with SDWA 8,085 hours of T&TA Now more than ever these programs have been critical to the success of our partnership EPA HQ (1979) Case Studies Highlighting results of T/TA Webinars Rules Tribal WaterPro OLC Increased number of PWS s meeting SDWA requirements Informed Boards and Councils Enhanced Technical Capacity Source Water Protection

26 Contact Information Bill O Connell billo@nrwa.org Phone: Address: 2915 South 13 th Street Duncan, OK 73533

27 QUESTIONS?

28 Robert Stewart Executive Director of RCAP since 2006 Over 30 years experience in direct technical assistance and training for small water and wastewater utilities and management of state and national technical assistance programs B.A. and M.P.A., University of Texas

29 RCAP EPA NPA 1: Training and Technical Assistance for Small Public Water Systems to Achieve and Maintain Compliance Robert Stewart, Executive Director Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP)

30 Rural Community Assistance Partnership Practical solutions for improving rural communities Western RCAP Rural Community Assistance Corporation (916) Midwest RCAP Midwest Assistance Program (952) Southern RCAP Communities Unlimited (479) Northeast RCAP RCAP Solutions (800) Great Lakes RCAP WSOS Community Action Commission (800) RCAP National Office 1701 K St. NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC (800) info@rcap.org Southeast RCAP Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (866)

31 Partners American Water Works Association Illinois State Water Survey at University of Illinois Inter Tribal Council of Arizona United South and Eastern Tribes

32 Focus Addressing the root causes of compliance failure Systems serving fewer than 10,000 people CWS, NTNCWS, TNCWS 50 states & 2 territories Selected tribes Operators, managers, boards, and councils Tribal and non tribal water systems

33 Approach Training Compliance based, capacity building training Face to face sessions Webinars Web based learning modules Video demonstrations Hands on activities Web based resources

34 Approach Technical Assistance Compliance-focused technical assistance On site Distance Assistance Web based trainings and resources

35 What are training topics? Who receives T & TA? Community projects and trainings chosen through proactive collaboration with primacy agencies and input from EPA Regions Assessment of compliance issues: Causes of compliance failures Priority systems Individual on site assessments

36 State and Local Workplans Technical capacity assessment of the system Identifying technical capacity needs of operators and managers A prescription for training Topic specific courses to be taken, by whom, on what platform, and expected outcomes

37 What s in a Workplan A prescription for technical assistance Including the required level of expertise of the TAP providing the assistance and expected outcomes Summary and timeline of what is needed for the system to come into compliance and stay there

38 Training Topics Basic math and chemistry for operators Strategies to comply with specific regulations Monitoring and Reporting Requirements Revised Total Coliform Rule Ground Water Rule Lead/Copper Water Quality in Storage Facilities Operations and Maintenance Plans Climate Adaptation

39 RCAP and Partner Training Deliverables Provider 1 RCAP Training Activity Description Target Audience Training Method / Platform Face-to-face compliance-focused trainings Operators & Managers of CWS and NCWS Classroom, with interactive/field exercises 2 RCAP Tribal face-to-face compliance-focused trainings Tribal operators & managers Classroom, with interactive/field exercises 3 RCAP+AWWA 4 UI 5 UI 6 RCAP Face-to-face compliance-focused trainings, full-day Trainings videos on distribution system best practices Access web-based compliance information and training Career opportunities in drinking water operations Operators, managers and owners Spanish speaking operators and managers Operators, managers and board members High & vocational schools, workforce centers Classroom with interactive exercises Online Classroom at national, regional or state conferences Brochure

40 RCAP & Partner Training Deliverables Provider Training Activity Description Target Audience Training Method / Platform 8 USET Regulatory updates, sampling protocols, laboratory procedures and SOPs Tribal operators in EPA Regions 1, 2, 4 and 6 Classroom, with interactive exercises 8 AWWA One elearning course: 3-hours long, covering RTCR Operators nationwide Asynchronous online training 9 UI Regularly updated web-based resources, including bi-weekly newsletters, bi-monthly tribal newsletters, regular blog posts, national calendar of training events Operators, managers, board members, trainers TA providers Web-based info system On-site training Remote training 10 UI Operations of NCWS using groundwater; CEU approved curriculum NCWS operators Asynchronous webinars (on demand)

41 RCAP Technical Assistance Deliverables Provider Activity Description Target Audience Delivery Method 1 RCAP Consult with primacy agencies and EPA to determine priority compliance projects/systems Primacy agencies, EPA Regions Primarily face-to-face 2 RCAP Conduct assessments on priority systems and provide tailored technical assistance Operators of priority systems (nontribal) On-site 3 RCAP Technical assistance projects at tribal systems to resolve compliance failures Tribal water systems identified through assessment process On-site

42 Partner Technical Assistance Deliverables Provide r Activity Description Target Audience Delivery Method 4 UI Respond to compliancerelated questions sent by phone or Operators Phone calls and s 5 UI Create and distribute video interviews on operations best practices Operators and managers Web based/youtube 6 ITCA Tribal technical assistance projects Tribal PWSs in EPA Regions 5-10 On-site 7 USET Tribal compliance projects Tribal Water Systems in EPA Regions 1, 2, 4, and 6 On-site

43 RCAP EPA NPA 4 Drinking Water Grant Improving Water Quality through Training and Technical Assistance to Private Well Owners Robert Stewart, Executive Director Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP)

44 Project Partners Illinois State Water Survey at University of Illinois National Groundwater Association National Environmental Health Association Water Systems Council Texas A&M University Penn State University

45 Project Activities Classroom trainings for sanitarians on well assessments and outreach (RCAP and UI) Classroom trainings for well owners on well assessments (RCAP, TAMU PSU) Online trainings for environmental health professionals (NEHA) based classes for well owners (10 lessons UI; 5 NGWA) Web based trainings for sanitarians (UI) Web based trainings for well owners, including Spanish language classes (UI and NGWA) National Stakeholder Workshop for groundwater and public health professionals (UI)

46 Project Activities Children s Water Festival classroom education for children, teachers and parents (WSC) On site private water well assessments (RCAP) Multi platform technical assistance, website, social media, phone (UI) Monthly newsletter to all stakeholders (UI) Online decision tree and other web based informational resources, including testing and treatment options (NGWA) A nationwide (state, territory, and tribe) contact list of local experts and regulators;

47 Project Activities A multi platform approach to technical assistance queries and responses, including a phone line, address, online chats and social media accounts that are all monitored 5 days a week (WSC) A dedicated website housing Private Well Class materials, webinar recordings, and additional resources for well owners (UI) Informational brochures and newsletters, print and online (WSC)

48 For More Information RCAP s Resources at U/I s Resources at NGWA Resources at WSC Resources at TAMU Resources at PSU Resources at

49 Contacts Executive Director Robert Stewart Project Manager Dave Clark Training Manager Joy Barrett

50 QUESTIONS?

51 Glenn Barnes Senior Project Director at EFC at UNC Has worked with the EFC since 2006 Financial training, program design, business planning, tool development Financial assistance for drinking water, wastewater wetlands, and clean energy

52 Training and Technical Assistance to Improve Financial and Managerial Capacity Glenn Barnes Senior Project Director Environmental Finance Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

53 Project Team + Countless partners in states and territories that help make our work successful

54 Project Team Khris Dodson Project Managing Director Heather Himmelberger Project Co Director

55 Our Finance & Management Areas Asset Management Fiscal Planning and Rate Setting Energy Management of Water Systems Water Loss Reduction Workforce Development Regionalization and Water System Partnerships Accessing State and Federal Funding Programs Financial and Managerial Leadership Water Conservation Climate Resiliency

56 Our Services Live Content In-person workshops Webinars NEW! Peer-to-Peer and Ask-the- Expert web events Comprehensive technical assistance Small group sessions on energy Funder forums Working with financial regulators (PUCs)

57 Our Services On-Demand Content Rates dashboards elearning modules Webinar recordings Blog posts NEW! Educational videos

58 Past & Upcoming Workshops Upcoming Since January 2016

59 Current Technical Assistance Efforts

60 Special Focus on Tribes Training events specifically for tribal audiences co-sponsored by Indian Health Service Tribes will be invited to all inperson workshops and all webinars Will work specifically with EPA tribal coordinators

61 Consultations with States, Territories, Navajo Nation, and EPA Regions We will do something in person in every state and territory Stand alone workshop Part of an existing training or conference In person technical assistance

62 Consultations with States, Territories, Navajo Nation, and EPA Regions We need your feedback on the subject area(s), who to serve, when to hold the workshop, and where Enhance, not duplicate, training and assistance efforts already underway Our goal = You get your first choice

63 Ongoing Project Updates Our quarterly update webinars will continue in the next project round Miss one? They are recorded and posted on our YouTube channel

64 Best Resource: EFCNetwork.org

65 Training and Technical Assistance to Improve Financial and Managerial Capacity Glenn Barnes Senior Project Director Environmental Finance Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

66 QUESTIONS?

67 STATE/EPA ONLY Q&A

68 EPA Grants Project Officers Michael Finn, PO for NRWA Small DW System grant Matthew Reed, PO for RCAP Small DW System Suzanne Kelly, PO for RCAP Private Well Owner Grant John Irizarry, PO for UNC EFC grant