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December 1998 Agenda
| December 18, 1998 |
CAC Meeting, Mattabassett WPCF. |
| January 12-13, 1999 |
"Wastewater Treatment Facility Components & Calculations."
Sponsored by Atlantic States Rural Water & Wastewater Association. Torrington WPCF,
CT. 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm (2 days). $40. For more information, please call 860-889-6373 or fax
860-725-1497. |
| January 13, 1999 |
"Electrical and Switchgear Maintenance: How Motors Work and How to
Maintain Them; Maintenance and Repair of Pump Station Motors and Controls." Sponsored
by Select Energy. Wethersfield, CT. 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. $75 - Lunch included. 0.5 CEUs. |
| January 14, 1999 |
CWPAA Board Meeting - Vernon WPCF - 9:30 am |
| January 20, 1999 |
DEP Certification Examination - Various locations. Further information
forthcoming. |
| January 26-27, 1999 |
"Confined Space Rescue." Course #99140422, $150. Contact the
Connecticut Fire Academy at 860-627-6363 ext. 237 for further information. |
| February 11, 1999 |
CWPAA Board Meeting - Location to be determined. |
Other upcoming seminars sponsored by Select Energy:
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| February 17, 1999 |
"Various Method Of Solids Handling" |
| March 17, 1999 |
"SCADA Systems - What Can They Do For You?" |
| April 14, 1999 |
"BNR - Case Studies." |
| May 12, 1999 |
"Reduce Electric Costs In Your Plant." |
| June 16, 1999 |
"VFDS and Soft Starts" |
All seminars take place in Wethersfield, CT from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. 0.5 CEUs will be
awarded. Each seminar is $75, or $50 per seminar for a group of 5 or more classes (lunch
is included). Questions? Call Gail Spence at: (800) 789-2213. Dial 1, then ext. 376.
Please make it a point to attend the next Select Energy Seminar. It will be packed full
of a lot of good information that will be helpful to you when dealing with your pump
stations. I heard through the grapevine that the instructors are top-notch. So let's have
a good turn out on January 13!
- Jan Marineau |
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Safety Corner
Other violations commonly found at WPCF's:
- Open-sided Floors and Platforms: A standard railing shall guard every open-sided
floor or platform 4 feet or more above adjacent floor or ground level. The railing must
include toe boards when people could pass below. 1910.23 (c) (1)
- Process Hazard Analysis: The employer shall perform an initial process hazard
analysis (Hazard Evaluation) on processes covered by standard. This deals with process
safety management of highly hazardous chemicals. 1910.119 (e) (1)
- Emergency response to Hazardous Substance Release: Training shall be based on
duties and function to be performed by each responder of an emergency response
organization. This deals with anyone who witnesses a release of a hazardous substance
(sodium hypochlorite, chlorine gas, sulfur dioxide, etc.) 1910.120 (q) (6)
OSHA Tip:
- Connecticut Fire Academy puts on OSHA approved training at a low cost and sometimes
includes a meal. Call Ron Keene, Training Coordinator, at 860-627-6363, ext. 237, for more
information. I've also heard through the grapevine that some towns are working together to
see if the Fire Academy can come to them to give the course. If the number of people is
high enough, there is a possibility of saving money and giving operators the chance to
meet other people in the field.
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DEP Corner
CERTIFICATION EXAM. Test date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999. Applications
must be postmarked or received by the address shown below no later than Wednesday,
December 16, 1998 by 4:30 pm. No applications will be accepted after this date. There will
be no acceptance of applications by phone calls or fax. Applications will be acepted
anytime starting in October and up to December 16. There will be a $70 application fee.
Enclose your check payable to DEP-POTW Exam with the application and send to the attention
of:
Joe Nestico
Bureau of Water Management/DEP
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5127
Vacancy on Certification Advisory Committee
The DEP is seeking an operator interested in serving on the Certification Advisory
Committee (CAC) to fill one vacancy. While most current CAC members are Class IV
certified, please be aware that Class IV certification is not a requirement. Any certified
operator at any Class may submit a letter of interest with their qualifications to the
attention of:
William Hogan
DEP
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5127
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Education Update
* Wastewater Treatment Courses at Three
Rivers and Gateway Community Technical Colleges.
Two out of the six Connecticut Community Technical Colleges have been able to offer and
teach a basic wastewater (SAC course Vol. 1) course for this fall semester of 1998. Three
Rivers and Gateway Community Technical Colleges were able to teach these courses because
there was enough of an enrollment of students from these geographic areas. The DEP would
like to encourage future operators who need this type of basic training to make yourself
available for these courses.
For those of you in other parts of the state, Naugatuck Valley (Waterbury), Capital
(Hartford), Tunxis (Farmington) and Northwestern (Winsted) Community Technical Colleges
have all made attempts to offer these courses to you as part of a certificate program. The
lack of enough students was the reason why the courses had to be canceled and the
certificate program put on hold. For your profession as a wastewater operator, all of
these colleges can support your efforts to achieve the proper training to build your
foundational knowledge in wastewater, meet the education requirements and help you pass
the different class exams. As a reminder, spring semester courses will be open for
registration in mid-November and officially starting in January 1999; therefore, you
should contact the schools early on for information.
* Other options... DEP staffs have documented many cases
of fellow operators who have achieved higher classes of certification by pursuing other
avenues of education when the wastewater certificate programs at the above Community
Technical Colleges were put on hold. These operators actually attended the above colleges
but pursued other courses related to wastewater (e.g. Environmental Science). You can do
the same. By contacting your local Community Technical College programs, more wastewater
courses can be offered and taught. But these courses cannot be taught alone, and not
without yor attendance. Get involved and help develop the program Statewide -- it's all
out there waiting for you! |
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Job Opportunities
City of Ansonia announces available position: Water Pollution
Control Operator, Public Works Dept. Salary range: $17.71/hr, step 1 - $19.70/hr, step
5.
Referral by Job Service Request. Application and Job Description available Mon-Fri,
8:30 am - 4:00 pm, by contacting:
Edith Morales, Personnel Assistant
City Hall
253 Main Street
Ansonia, CT 06401-1806
Applications will be accepted until position is filled. The City is an Affirmative
Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/H/V.
Metropolitan District Commission of Hartford, CT seeks an experienced Water
Pollution Control Plant Shift Supervisor. This full-time, 40 hours/week position
requires a high school diploma or equivalent, plus 6 years of progressively responsible
water pollution control plant experience, including at least two years in a crew leader
capacity.
Applicants must have a valid Connecticut Class III Water Pollution Control Plant
Operator's Certificate. Excellent salary and benefit package with a starting rate of
$22.33 per hour. For more information or to apply, contact:
Russ Mannila, Sr. Human Resources Analyst
Metropolitan District Commission
555 Main St.
P.O. Box 800
Hartford, CT 06142-0800
Telephone: (860) 278-7850, ext. 3308
Fax: (860) 278-5548
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For Your Information...
* Dues! It's that time again. CWPAA dues for
the fiscal year 1998-1999 are due and payable. The individual membership fee is $15.00 and
the corporate membership is $35.00.
If, on your mailing label above your name, you have the letter "L" or read
98/99 you are current and have to do nothing. All others must send payment. For
individuals, you will have the letter "A" above your name, and for corporate
members, you will have the letter "C".
If you need an invoice to submit for payment, please let Arnie Bevins know at (860)
871-0859 and he will get one out to you. Payment should be sent to:
CWPAA
P.O. Box 765
Vernon, CT 06066-0655
* For Sale: Perkin-Elmer 2380 A.A./Perkin-Elmer HGA
Graphite Furnace. To be sold as a set. Includes 16 Hollow Cathode Lamps, as well as three
burner heads for air, nitrous oxide, and argon-hydrogen work. Includes various spare parts
such as nebulizers, gaskets, and o-rings. Spare parts for the graphite furnace include
contact rings and graphite tubes. New motherboard on A.A. In interested, contact Steve
Conti at (203) 235-4544.
* CWPAA NPDES Subcommittee. Last month the CWPAA set out
a letter dated November 10, 1998 to all superintendents about permitting issues. There is
an invoice worksheet included on the inserted page.
It is vital that we get this project up and running. As a reminder, the intent is to
negotiate limits and policies, which are workable for all parties, EPA, the CT DEP, and
your municipality or treatment plant. |
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