Hala Titus, P.E., BCEE
Vice President/Director West Pacific Region, CDM Smith
How would you describe your job?
As a vice president and the sales director for the West Pacific Region, I drive the sales strategy and develop the associated investment plans. I monitor performance of our projects to deliver high quality projects on budget and within schedule.
This includes maintaining and building client relationships to further understand the market, industry drivers and trends including strategic partnerships. I work to highlight our leadership in the industry; particularly at major conferences. Last, but not least, I manage the staff and their development and training.
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Opportunity to Support Permit Terms Legislation
The National Water Policy Fly-In, hosted by NACWA and WEF, takes place April 3-4. This annual event, as part of Water Week, is designed to allow utility leaders to visit elected officials to educate them about important issues facing the water and wastewater community.
We encourage CASA agencies attending this event to advocate on behalf of Representative Garamendi's permit term extension legislation, H.R. 1764.
CASA’s coalition support letter
contains the primary talking points in support of the legislation.
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Updated: Opposition to SB 332 (Hertzberg)
On April 3, SB 332 will be heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. CASA has taken an “oppose” position on
SB 332 (Hertzberg & Wiener)
. The bill would mandate all wastewater agencies that discharge treated effluent to oceans, bays and estuaries to reduce their discharges by 50% by 2030, and by 95% by 2040. The time to submit opposition letters to this committee has passed, but we encourage our members to view CASA’s official
position letter
outlining our concerns with the bill, as well as a
template letter
for agencies to customize.
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CASA Sponsored Legislation on Wipes Heading to Committee Hearing
CASA’s sponsored bill related to labeling single use wet wipes,
AB 1672 (Bloom)
, has been amended to include substantive provisions and has been referred to policy committees. The bill will require manufacturers to label wet wipe products as “flushable” or “sewer and septic safe” only if they meet specified performance metrics for dispersibility in the sewer system.
CASA has created a
“Wipes”
webpage
with additional information, infographics and communications materials. AB 1672 will be heard in the Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials committee on April 9. CASA distributed a
Member Alert
asking agencies to submit support letters as soon as possible.
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CASA Urges USEPA to Reconsider Renewable Fuels Interpretation
On March 25, CASA submitted a
joint letter
regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard program
with our national partners and individual agency members to the United States EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.
Currently, the USEPA treats transportation fuel produced from biogas generated at wastewater treatment plants using traditional feedstocks (i.e. sewage sludge) differently than fuel produced at that same facility using food or other organic waste. The former (non co-digested) fuel is considered cellulosic in nature and awarded the highest fuel value credits (RINs). Fuel from co-digestion is awarded a significantly lower value credit.
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April is National Financial Literacy Month!
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma kicked off April as National Financial Literacy Month. As part of the resources provided, she
launched
a financial training video designed to inform and empower elected officials. The online educational video was produced by the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission.
CDIAC will deliver the videos through a custom website that tracks a learner’s registration, progress, knowledge gained and certification of completion. Sophia Skoda, Director of Finance at East Bay Municipal Utility District and Christina Valencia, Executive Manager of Finance and Administration/Assistant General Manager at Inland Empire Utilities Agency represented CASA on the steering committee that developing the training program. The
first video
released is titled “What You Need to Know Before Issuing Debt.”
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Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Announces New General Manager
IEUA has announced the hiring of General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh. The 19-year water industry veteran will join IEUA as the Agency's 18 general manager. Deshmukh comes to IEUA from West Basin Municipal Water District, where he served as Assistant General Manager since 2010.
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Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts Embarks on Significant Food Waste to Energy Project
LACSD is planning a large scale project to tap into its existing infrastructure to process food waste into renewable power or transportation fuel. Organics will be processed at its Puente Hills materials recovery facility creating slurry that will be pumped into tanks and shipped to the plant for co-digestion with biosolids. Currently, the system can process 165 tons per day of source separated food waste. By 2020 it will be able to digest 300 to 550 tons per day. LACSD will develop and own the energy project, and plans to deliver any excess power to the grid.
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Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside Reports Zero Spills in 2018
The Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside recently announced that sewer spills on the Coastside were at zero in 2018 due to the dedication, hard work and proactive measures taken by management and staff.
“This achievement is the result hard work, training, and commitment by SAM staff as well as the support of the SAM Board of Directors” says Beverli A. Marshall, General Manager for SAM.
Congrats SAM!
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Central San Recognized for Budget Excellence
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District has received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its 2018-2019 Fiscal Year budget document. The GFOA award recognizes agencies whose budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.
“This award represents a significant achievement, reflecting the commitment of Central San’s Board of Directors to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting, accounting and financial transparency,” said General Manager Roger S. Bailey.
Congratulations on your fiscal achievements!
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CASA Awards Deadline Approaching
CASA seeks to recognize members who provide essential public services and go above and beyond to protect public health and the environment. Member agencies and associates are invited to submit an Award of Excellence application by May 17. More information about the award criteria and categories is available on the
website
.
Award recipients will be honored at the CASA Annual Conference in San Diego.
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CASA Partners with CSDA on 2019 Special Districts Legislative Days
CASA is a proud partner of the 2019 Special Districts Legislative Days which take place May 21-22 at the Sacramento Convention Center. The event is an interactive and informative two-day legislative conference. The event provides an opportunity to learn about policy changes impacting your agency and the ability to exchange ideas with California’s top decision-makers.
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Central Valley Clean Water Association Annual Conference Scheduled for May 15
The CVCWA Annual Conference take place on May 15 at the SASD/Regional San Office Building in Sacramento. The conference provides valuable wastewater industry insight and information for city managers, public works directors, regulators, consultants, council and board members and wastewater industry professionals. The conference theme, “Building Resiliency for the Future,” features eight dynamic speakers addressing building resiliency together for the next decade and beyond.
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CASA Education Foundation Deadline Approaching
If you know a college student looking for a scholarship, the CASA Education Foundation is accepting applications until April 28. For more information, visit the
website
.
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