Greetings!

It's the Delayed Summer Edition 2019 - Bringing the highlights from the first part of the year.

Included in this Newsletter:
Message from President John Troutman
March Meeting - Dutchland, Inc.
Public Education Committee Offering
May Meeting - Township of Spring
WEF Quarter Century Club
Dues Notice
28th Annual Industrial Pretreatment Conference Recap
PFOS and Biosolids
From the President - John Troutman

As we start to dry out from all of our wet weather events, we can hopefully take a breath and start to enjoy the fall colors before we are facing snow and freezing weather. We continue to have committee meetings and events to keep the you, the members informed and in a serious but sometimes jovial atmosphere. I would like to especially thank the Education and training Committee for reaching out to our operators in the north and preparing a training session in Lackawanna County as well as working on webinars.

As we look to continue to educate and inform the association, we need your help in committee planning, preparing, and execution of the committee objectives. Please take a look at the calendar on our website and see the meeting and events planned or look at the link for the officers/committee chairs and see what all committees there are. Talk to a committee chair and asked to get involved. Your involvement is based on the availability given by your employer but I’m sure guarantees satisfaction.
Dutchland, Inc.
March 2019 Meeting
(2019 President - John Troutman -presents plaque to
Ben Kauffman, President/CEO of Dutchland, Inc.)

Where’s the Meeting?

They say that 64 vendors and 152 attendees showed up for a meeting at Dutchland but I couldn’t find anybody.  After I got off the Fun Slide, I asked around and it turns out I was at Dutch Wonderland by mistake (that’s me in the picture below on the left).
I quickly made my way to Dutchland, where there were no rides, but lots of prestressed concrete instead. For those who are not aware, prestressed means you worry ahead of time about what could go wrong. Here’s a cool prestressed tank by Dutchland:"
Dutchland Incorporated has been specializing in the design, manufacturing and construction of prestressed concrete tanks for the water and wastewater industry for over 30-years. Dutchland has designed and built over 1,000 prestressed concrete tanks and wastewater treatment plants in nineteen states. Some of their clients include: IBM, United States Military Academy, United States Air Force, Army National Guard, Perdue Farms, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Pasteur, The Hershey Company, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Harrisburg International Airport, United States Army Corps of Engineers, MillerCoors Brewing Company, and PA American Water. Their 110,000 square-foot, Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) certified, manufacturing facility includes rebar fabrication and casting bed areas, their own QA/QC testing laboratory, and a state-of-the-art automated batch plant.

The attendees were able to talk to the Vendors and go on an interesting tour of the manufacturing facility where Dutchalnd showed us how they make their prestressed tanks.

Following the events at the Dutchland facility, lunch and the business meeting were held at the Fireside Tavern in Strasburg, but to be safe, no food was served, since it was actually during Lent.

The education presentation was a “Project Highlight: West Goshen WWTP Upgrade” by Mike Schmidt from Dutchland and Josh Fox of HRG (well mostly Josh who did a great job- I have to say that, he’s a client).
Special thanks to Dutchland, the Mailing Sponsor H. A. DeHart & Son, Marykay, and all the Vendors for a great event.

New President John Troutman called me Bill, but other than that his performance was flawless. (Click For More Pictures.)

Somewhat Accurately Submitted by Phil “Bill” Schwartz, FAKE NEWS Specialist.
A beautiful day to exchange information and stories.
A beautiful day to see the facility.
Everyone is hardhat and safety glasses ready.
The making of a reinforced concrete panel - what was seen by meeting attendees while taking a tour of the facility.
EPWPCOA Public Education Committee members are committed to helping our membership with public outreach in our respective communities and for providing resources and understanding for communities looking to learn more about our most valuable resource – WATER!

EPWPCOA Public Education Committee members are available to assist with any treatment plant tours, school events, and community events such as Earth Days. The Public Education Committee has EPWPCOA handout items available to give out at your events such as sidewalk chalk for kids and Card Caddy Phone cases for adults. 

Some tools that the EPWPCOA Public Education Committee can offer, include:
  •       Enviroscape Models: The EnviroScape® environmental education models show water pollution and prevention through shared responsibility. A series of portable models dramatically demonstrate water pollution concepts and their prevention. EnviroScape® effectively communicates our shared responsibility for the environment to people of all ages, languages and cultures. Our models are engaging and effective, as they create a real sense of understanding through experience and hands-on demonstration. EPWPCOA can provide a watershed/nonpoint source runoff model OR a drinking water/wastewater treatment model.
  •         A list and map of EPWPCOA member treatment plants who are interested and available to provide educational tours of their facilities.Click Here for a list and map of facilities that provide tours.

To request assistance from the Public Education Committee or access to use the Enviroscape model(s) or EPWPCOA Handouts, please email
Township of Spring
May 2019 Meeting
(Paul Darrah and staff accepting plaque from First Vice President - David Wisser.)

What’s in a Name?

If I wasn’t confused enough about Dutchland vs. Dutch Wonderland from that meeting, I give you the Township of Spring. Or is it Spring Township, or Sinking Spring or Springfield, Any State, USA (Simpson’s Fans understand)?

Just to clarify we were at an EPWPCOA event at the Township of Spring in Sinking Spring this Spring, (May 17 th , 2019 to be precise). 64 Vendors and 137 attendees figured out where to go.

If you’re not confused yet, get this: The Township of Spring WWTP consists of three (3) separate plants, Plant 1 (.8 mgd), Plant 2 (.45 mgd), and Plant 3 (1 mgd). The flow is spilt between Plants 1 and 2, then combined and mixed in with the flow from Plant 3. Also, WAS from Plant 3 is pumped into Plant 1.
All Operators at this plant are Math Majors.

Thanks to Brentwood Industries and Gapax for the Mini-Training Session at the plant. Thanks for Breakfast, Entech Engineering, and gracias to Tri-State Environmental for being the mailing sponsor.

After the plant tour (the place looked great), we headed over to the Inn at Reading (is that a new location for us? I don’t remember being there before) for the lunch and the business meeting.

I want to give a special shout out to Dale Miller (the better-looking smarter Miller brother according to Dale) who provided an 8 minute presentation on, Simultaneous Nitirification Denifirication, SND. I was simultaneously impressed by the technical content and the brevity of the presentation. Nicely done, Dale!
Lunch was a mix of food followed by an expertly led, fast-paced business meeting by David Wisser, 1st VP President. President John Troutman was supposedly at his daughter’s graduation, but rumors of impeachment were heard. (Click For More Pictures.)

Reported while partially sober by Phil Schwartz.
WEF - Quarter Century Operator Club
 
Have you been an operator for at least 25 years and a member of WEF for at least the last five consecutive years? You may qualify for the WEF Quarter Century Operator Club - an award sponsored by WEF. The award recognizes operators of wastewater treatment facilities for their service and dedication in a difficult and dangerous profession. When filling out the application, the contact for PWEA is Susan Boynton.
Click here for more information and the application.
 
You can pay your dues on-line!
This is only to renew your membership.

Dues $40. After Dec 31st - $45.
28th Annual Industrial Pretreatment
The IPP Conference was held April 25 & 26th this year at new location near Allentown - The Center at Holiday Inn in Breinigsville, PA. The conference is done in cooperation with the EPA, who present and provide great information and are available for questions. There were 119 attendees - who are also a great source of information. Eight Vendors sponsored the program and were present during the conference. Watch for the 2020 Indurstrial Pretreatment Conference announcements.
Biosolids & PFOS
If you have not heard of "PFAS or PFOAA", it's time to become more aware. Water contamination caused by the numerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (a class of chemicals that includes more than 4,000 individual chemicals with similar properties) has concern that the chemicals could end up in biosolids.
An article in Environmental Health News lists the concerns as it highlights a Dairy Farm where the milk has been found to have high levels of the compounds, which have been linked back to Biosolids. Click for Article.
Check out North East Biosolids & Residuals Association (NEBRA) for more information on how to deal with concerned citizens and current information
Please let us know if you have an idea for a story or something you would like to include in a newsletter.

Sincerely,
Eastern Pennsylvania Water Pollution Control Operators Association
John Troutman, 2019 President
Cora Shenk, Editor