Braced for a TMDL – the Chesapeake's Watershed
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ecoletter SPRING 2010 ISSUE Cooperstown Finger * Lakes Triple Point * Mount * Ararat ^ Bituminous ^ Coal ^ ^ Anthracite ^ ^ Coal ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ * C&D Canal Back * River Mt. Porte Crayon * * Great Cypress Swamp * Blacksburg * Appomattox * Bay Bridge and Tunnel Braced for a TMDL – The Chesapeake's Watershed CHESAPEAKE A Publication of the Water and Waste Operators Association of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, and the Chesapeake Water Environment Association WWO A 2 Spring 2010 • Ecoletter PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE CWEA President WWOA President —Hiram Tanner —Duane McCoy pring is one of the busiest ello members! As the sea - Stimes of the year for CWEA. Hson changes we are looking Fortunately, this year the Associ - forward to spring bringing new ation has a new Administrator to challenges for you. As I sat help keep us on target with all through Jake Blair’s memorial that we do. With that as an intro - dedication, I recognized the duction, I would like to welcome Ann Baugher on impressive accomplishments and sacrifices he made aboard, our new Administrator. If you are active with for our industry. Jake’s drive and passion were like a any committee see how an email from her brings a tree, and the people he touched were the branches. new joy to your day. You know that she is working hard People like Karl Ott, Steve Elder and Lenny Gold are on your behalf. One of her biggest priorities is to work just a few of the branches that will continue to reach with the Board Secretary, Carlos Espinosa. So if you out and carry the torch that he lit. need her services please place your request with him, I have received certification training from many so that her talents are used to the fullest. sources, from North Carolina State University to Vir - Welcome aboard Ann!!! ginia Tech ; but the best operator training I received Last week I had the pleasure of representing CWEA was at the Maryland Center for Environmental Training and presenting a plaque in memory of Jake Bair to the (MCET), an organization that Jake helped found in Maryland Center for Environmental Training. As I learned 1982 and where he served for many years as its direc - from the many attendees, Jake was a great man and a tor. Jake formulated and put a plan into action that has great leader in the environmental field, especially for blaz - been the model for the rest of the country to follow. A ing a trail to train water works and waste systems opera - lot of information was shared at MCET about the direc - tors. Operator training and certification continues to be a tion water and wastewater professionals have taken proven way to establish skill sets and pay grades so that and future goals and ideals were promoted for our pro - operators are recognized for all they do for our communi - fession. One of those ideals is incorporating more ties. Thanks a bundle to Russ Sharpe for spearheading schools in the work we do as an industry. By doing this, this effort to get the Chesapeake Tri-Associations to sup - we are educating our children and possibly igniting a port this tribute and donating the plaque to MCET. spark of interest that will lead our children to follow in The only regret that I have about this event is that our foot steps to a rewarding career. We need to con - this honor was bestowed on a deserving man posthu - tinue work at changing the perception of water and mously. For the past several years I have served on wastewater professionals and educate people on the CWEA Awards Committee and it always seems such a important role we play in the improving the environ - struggle to find nominees for the various WEF Awards. ment, public health, and safety of our workforce. Whether one wins is not as important to the nominee I, as president, would like our members to invest as much as knowing your fellow colleagues feel you back into our profession and organization as volun - are worthy of the award. teers. We have so many committees that not only need During this years’ Awards Committee meeting I your support but also need your involvement. I know challenged the committee to adopt WEFs Water we have a lot of untapped talent that needs sharing so Heroes program. So as to not let this idea drop, I am we can all be the best we can be. Our collective knowl - designating CWEA’s Inaugural Water Hero, Russ edge, like my slogan says, is a terrible thing to waste. Sharpe. Need I say more? For the rare person who So step up and make a contribution. I’m proud to be a does not know Russ—Russ is a treasure of knowledge, part of what we do and how we do it. With that being history and support for CWEA, WWOA and CSAWWA. said, we have a spring eastern regional section meet - Now retired, Russ embodies the dedication necessary ing coming up along with our yearly short course to make treatment and distribution of safe drinking school. I hope to see you there so we can continue our water and collection and treatment of wastewater that education. Last but not least, don’t forget we have a Tri- meets the goals of the Clean Water Act happen. Conference at the Convention Center in Ocean City Thanks Russ, for all you have done for our the first week of September that our members will truly industry and association!! enjoy. I look forward to seeing you there. Spring 2010 • Ecoletter 3 ecoletter CALENDAR OF EVENTS Spring 2010 Co-Editors Floyd B. Johnson, P.E. Cynthia A. Lane, P.E. May 6 –CWEA/CSAWWA Joint Spring Meeting Box 175A-1 Regulatory Engineer Johns Hopkins University Conf. Ctr., Baltimore, MD Paw Paw, WV 25434 American Water Works Association 202-379-6085 1300 Eye Street NW, Suite 701W May 18 –CWEA Water Reuse Seminar [email protected] Washington, DC 20005 Maritime Institute, Linthicum Heights, MD W / 202-628-8303 June 7-11 –61st Short Course [email protected] Washington College, Chestertown, MD Advertising Managers August 31-September 3 –Tri-Conference Bob Andryszak, P .E. Bob Wimmer, P.E. Ocean City, MD Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, LLP Black and Veatch 81 Mosher Street 2533 Paso Fino Drive October 2-6 –WEFTEC Baltimore, MD 21217 Finksburg, MD 21048 New Orleans, LA W / 410-728-2900 W / 410-871-284 F / 410-728-2992 F / 301-921-2862 [email protected] [email protected] www.wwoa- cwea.org Staff Pearl Laufer Charles C. Reichert Laufer and Associates City of Balt Dept of Public Works TO ALL MEMBERS: 6252 Kind Rain Court Utility Engineering Section When completing membership renewals, Columbia, MD 21045 305 Abel Wolman Munic. Bldg. H / 410-997-0694 Baltimore, MD 21202 make sure all information is correct and current. C / 443-812-9658 W / 410-396-5315 We use WMBA (WEF Membership By Access ) [email protected] F / 410-545-3649 for membership information. If there is an [email protected] e-mail address, please include it. Samuel R. Schlegel Peter J. H. Thomson, P.E. White Marsh Environmental Black & Veatch Systems, INC. 18310 Montgomery Village Ave. CHANGE OF ADDRESS 1100 South Little Creek Rd. Gaithersburg, MD 20879 Dover, DE 19901 W / 301-921-8239 Please forward your change of address and W / 302-734-7500 ext. 1110 F / 301-921-2868 membership number to the appropriate organization: F / 302-734-9297 [email protected] [email protected] WWOA Secretary CWEA Secretary Janet Owens Carlos Espinosa Chip Wood, P.E. DCWASA KCI Water & Sewage Systems 202-787-4197 410-316-7858 16 Bittersweet Dr. [email protected] [email protected] Hagerstown, MD 21740 W / 301-733-0849 F / 301-733-4438 [email protected] Printed on Recycled Paper TABLE OF CONTENTS President’s Message ........................................................3 The Chesapeake’s Watershed ........................................16 Editor’s Corner ..................................................................5 Back River Water Quality: Some Progress, 2010 Tri-Association Conference Announcement ............8 But a Long Way to Go ..............................................24 Introducing Ann Baugher ................................................12 On Finding leaders ..........................................................34 Russ Sharpe—CWEA Inaugural Water Hero ..................12 Agreement is Sometimes Hard ......................................35 WEF Member Advisory: ‘Work for Water’ Campaign and Call to Action ......................................................13 4 Spring 2010 • Ecoletter EDITOR’S CORNER ith the end of the year the deadline for the Bay wide does what they are asked they could step in to; expand WTMDL, EPA has issued a heads up in the form of NPDES permits to currently unregulated sources such preliminary annual limits of 200 million pounds of nitro - as certain stormwater discharges and concentrated gen and 15 million pounds of phosphorus. And they went animal feeding operations, increase NPDES oversight, further and made the following annual allocations: require net improvement offsets to accommodate Maryland— 41.0 million pounds of N, consisting of development and growth to 2025, and require addi - 0.8 for the Susquehanna, 12.8 for Eastern Shore, tional point source reductions. 10.2 for Western Shore, 3.1 for the Patuxent and 14.1 for the Potomac. For phosphorus, 3.04 million •••••• pounds, consisting of 0.05 for the Susquehanna, We all know excess algae are bad for the Bay but now 1.24 for Eastern Shore, 0.62 for Western Shore, a group is saying wait a minute. The Chesapeake 0.24 for the Patuxent and 0.89 for the Potomac. Algae Project is studying harvesting the wild algae Virginia— 59.2 million pounds of N, consisting of growing in the Bay thanks to over fertilization and 1.6 for Eastern Shore, 16.1 for the Potomac, 6.5 for using it to produce biofuel.