Meet Our Newest Board Members

The
Volume XXXIX Number 1 Winter 2013
AuthorityView
www.aeanj.org
A Publication of
The Association of Environmental Authorities
Meet Our Newest Board Members
by Tracy Ecclesine Ivie
Spring is the season for new beginnings and fresh starts. It’s also a good time to welcome the most recent additions to the
AEA board: Rich Brand of East Windsor MUA, Justin Flancbaum of Lakewood Township MUA and Mike Rogers of Monroe Township Utilities Department. Each will serve a three-year term on the board. (See the inside front cover of Authority
View for a complete list of the current AEA Board of Directors.) Below Rich, Mike and Justin tell us about themselves and
share some of their thoughts about the industry and the AEA.
Mike Rogers, Monroe Township Utilities Department
About 30 years ago, when he
was new at the Monroe Township, Mike Rogers had a water
problem he couldn’t solve. He
had heard about the AEA and
reached out to then director,
Ellen Gulbinsky, who invited
him to a meeting of AEA’s
water committee. Rogers got
immediate help. “I laid out my
problem, and sure enough they
Mike Rogers
had answers for me,” he says.
Several committee members
had similar issues and decided that maybe it was time for
legislation to solve their common water
problems.
After this, Rogers promptly joined
AEA and its water committee, and he has been a strong
proponent of the organization
ever since. He’s says that because money is so tight now,
municipalities need the AEA
more than ever.
Inside
3…
President’s Message
8…
Green Infrastructure
“There are plenty of towns that
10…
have never been members and
NRDC Petition
they probably don’t realize what
denied
we provide,” he says. “Part
of the problem is that water and
sewer in a municipality are low on
the totem pole of interest and concern –
out of sight and out of mind. As long as the water
is flowing and the sewage is going, the municipalities
don’t have a problem with it,” he notes. “Water and
sewer are the quiet entity that you never hear about
until they stop functioning properly.”
He feels there’s an individual who needs to be
reached in each town, generally the administrator
or mayor. “We’ve got to find out who it is in each
municipality, get to that person and make sure they
understand the value we provide,” he says.
Storm Response, Under temporary lighting powered by generators,
Passaic Valley Sewer Commission Lead Mechanics Kevin Bolcar and
Matt Czachorowski work feverishly to get the primary sludge pumps
back online three days after Hurricane Sandy. See more photos from
Sandy on pages 12-13.
Rogers believes that “asset management” is one of
the biggest issues in the water and sewer field, and
by assets he means infrastructure, finances and employees. “Towns have to understand that they have a
Continued on page 4
2013 Leadership Team
OFFICERS:
RICK DOVEY
PRESIDENT
Atlantic County UA
JERRY CEVETELLO
1st VICE PRESIDENT
Manasquan River RSA
MICHAEL RUPPEL
2nd VICE PRESIDENT
South Monmouth RSA
JOSEPH BATEMAN
TREASURER
Willingboro MUA
PAM CAROLAN
PAST PRESIDENT
Mount Laurel Township MUA
DIRECTORS:
BOB BONGIOVANNI
Two Bridges SA
RICHARD BRAND
East Windsor MUA
JUSTIN FLANCBAUM
Lakewood Township MUA
DAVE HARPELL
Jackson Township MUA
JOHN KANTOREK
Stony Brook Regional SA
HOWARD HURWITZ
NW Bergen County UA
JOHN NAPOLITANO
Johnson & Conway
CHARLES NORKIS
Cape May County MUA
MANUEL PONTE
R3M Engineering
MICHAEL ROGERS
Monroe Township Utility
Department
TIMOTHY SHEA
T&M Associates
BRUCE SMITH
Hackettstown MUA
JOHN VENA
Birdsall Services Group
LEGAL COUNSEL
EDWARD KONDRACKI,
ESQ.
Law Offices of Edward A.
Kondracki, L.L.C.
Advertiser Index
Birdsall Services Group..................................19
CDM Smith..................................................20
Ferraioli, Wielkotz.........................................19
Hatch Mott MacDonald..................................6
Hazen & Sawyer..............................................4
Maraziti, Falcon & Healey...............................5
Kleinfeld/Omni.............................................16
Spectraserve...................................................19
T&M Associates............................................18
The Buzak Law Group...................................19
URS Corporation............................................6
These advertisers support your association.
Authority View is written and edited by AEA
staff and volunteer contributors. It is printed
by Hermitage Press, Trenton NJ.
Editor: Peggy Gallos
Associate Editor: Karen Burris
Advertising Manager: Karen Burris
Contributing Writer: Michael Dimino
Contributing Writers, this issue:
John Hall, Esq.
Tracy Ecclesine Ivie
Matthew Jones
Direct to Web
Download the FREE QR reader app.
Point your smartphone at this QR symbol to go directly
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Peggy Gallos
OFFICE MANAGER
Karen Burris
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 2
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
What Sandy Revealed: New Jersey
Needs a Better “Plan B” for
Sludge Disposal
by Rick Dovey
In the days after Superstorm Sandy,
while hard-hit wastewater treatment
providers around the state kept generators running and scrambled for diesel
fuel, word began to get out. “PVSC
is down.” On AEA daily conference
calls, in the hallways of the DEP,
and in conversations that managers
were having over sometimes spotty
cell phone service, the bad news was
passed along. “PVSC is down.”
The damage at Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority (PVSC) in Newark was
as extraordinary as the storm itself.
The facilities completely submerged
included the lower levels of the
PVSC grit and screening chamber,
the grit and screening incinerator,
the cake storage building, the sludge
handling maintenance facility, the
wet weather pumping station, and the
PVSC administration building. The
flooding in the administration building took out its power and communications. There was 18 feet of water in
the basement of the oxygen production facility, where a variety of spare
parts – insulation, control valves,
pipe fittings and so forth—were
stored. Fencing was pushed over,
and building façades were damaged.
There was seven feet of water in the
first level of the primary clarifiers,
and the lower levels were completely
submerged. The basement of the filter
press had fifteen feet of water. Process, electrical and control equipment
were submerged. The list went on.
And what that meant to many New
Jersey wastewater treatment providers
in the state was that for the foreseeable future, there would be nowhere to
take sludge for incineration. Seventy
percent of the state’s sludge went to
PVSC. And theirs was not the only
incinerator down. Bayshore RSA’s
incinerator had been rendered inoperable as well. What ensued was a sort
of “organized chaos” as some of us
tried to find places that could take
our sludge and some of us reviewed
our operations to see if we had extra
capacity. The DEP Bureau of Pretreatment and Residuals, Division of Water
Quality posted and updated each day
on the DEP website a list of providers
that could take sludge, and word of
who could take what—sludge, gray
water, dewatered sludge—was passed
along on the daily AEA conference
calls. Somerset-Raritan RSA powered
up its second incinerator. Two Bridges
SA took sludge from 20 temporary
customers, including Rockaway Valley
RSA, Pompton Lakes MUA, Wanaque
Valley RSA, and Washington Township MUA, along with municipalities
including Morristown, North Bergen,
Township of Morris, Roxbury and
Cedar Grove. The DEP’s Pretreatment
and Residuals in the meantime was
checking out-of-state options, to have
them at the ready if we could not accommodate all the sludge in-state.
When all was said and done, New
Jersey managed to take care of its own
sludge immediately after the storm and
since then. But few of us want to walk
that close to disaster again. That’s
why it is good news that the State
and the wastewater sector are putting
Rick Dovey
heads together about a better back-up
system for handling sludge. A number
of good options have been suggested:
giving solid waste incinerators the ok
to take sludge under certain conditions, permitting landfills with liners
at leachate control systems to accept
sludge in emergencies, allowing for
temporary open-air sludge storage at
plants that have room, and creating a
standing list of providers of mobile
sludge treatment units that could be
drawn on in an emergency. Related
issues that could also ease the stress
on the sludge management system
include revising the rules about diesel
storage, exploring new technologies
and systems for treatment, and finding
some way to keep existing incinerators
in operation despite looming tougher
federal emissions standards. There is
broad agreement that more detailed
sludge management back-up plans
would make sense. But there is also
broad agreement that a one-size-fits-all
approach is not a good idea. We are all
aware of the problems we encountered
with a county-based approach to solid
waste management planning.
The bottom line is what it always is:
money. The State – and all of us in our
own communities – need to dedicate
resources to solve this problem. We
Continued on page 6
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 3
Meet Our Newest Board Members
Continued from page 1
certain amount of assets in their water and sewer and if they
wait until the last minute until it’s broken, it’s usually a lot
more costly to fix it than to just maintain it. It’s the old pay
me now, pay me later concern. You can’t rob Peter to pay
Paul.”
He looks forward to serving another term on the board and
says the AEA is a great resource for members who want to
run their businesses more effectively.
Rich Brand, Executive Director, EWMUA
With 31 years in the field, Rich
Brand brings a lot of knowledge
to the board. He has seen the
industry from several perspectives, from a utilities authority,
a municipal utility and a private
water and wastewater treatment
company.
In his current job as executive director of East Windsor
Municipal Utilities Authority,
Rich Brand
Brand’s foremost challenge
is finding new ways to keep costs down. The municipality
Water
Wastewater
Environmental Studies
Wet Weather
Utility Management
has a high debt service caused by a major facilities upgrade
before he came on board.
He’s looking at reverse auctions, solar power and anything
else that might lower costs. “We’re being very aggressive
now,” he says. “The public demands it.”
One way he’s saved money is by belonging to several purchasing co-ops. Thanks to one of these groups, he reduced
his electricity costs by about 35 percent, saving approximately $370,000 last year.
Brand would like to investigate whether AEA could form
its own co-op because “once you get beyond basic buying
needs, such as paper, office supplies, fuel and gas, utilities
have very specific needs as far as vehicles, equipment, tools
and chemicals.”
He feels that an AEA co-op might also be a good way to
bring in new members, a key association goal. Another potential membership draw would be operator training classes
where participants could get TCH (training contact hours)
toward license renewals. Brand heard about this at a recent
meeting and thought it was a great idea. “You’ve got to get
your name out there so people will know what you’re about
and want to join,” he says.
Brand started in the industry after earning a business degree
from Florida State University. He joined National Lead
Industries as an assistant superintendent of power and utilities, and worked for New Jersey American Water for 22
years before moving to the East Brunswick Water and Sewer
Utility, and then to his present position. Along the way, he
also earned a master’s degree in public administration from
Rutgers University.
801 Market Street
Suite 1001
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215.592.0600
215.592.0690 fax
498 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10018
212 . 777 . 8400
212 . 614 . 9049 fax
As for serving on the board, Brand is thrilled. “It’s an honor.
It really is. I do appreciate it and I’m going to do the best I
can to help the organization move forward.”
Justin Flancbaum, Executive Director, LTMUA
Justin Flancbaum is relatively
new to the industry, becoming
executive director of the Lakewood Township Municipal Utilities Authority in mid- 2009. But
he’s learned a lot very quickly,
which he credits largely to his
membership in AEA.
www.hazenandsawyer.com
Justin Flancbaum
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 4
“To serve on the board is a great
opportunity for me personally
because when I interact with the
other board members – and the other members in general –
I always learn something. There’s a lot of knowledge there,
and I’m thankful for it.”
Before Flancbaum worked for the municipal authority, he
was in real estate development and construction, where
he became quite familiar with water and sewer issues. He
feels that in today’s economic climate, utilities authorities are under more scrutiny than ever and need to be very
responsive to the public.
“We live in an age where everybody has everything at
their fingertips. Maybe 20 years ago nobody thought
of the local utilities authority, but now it’s common
knowledge,” he says, adding that the board has a great
opportunity to educate people about the role of utilities
authorities.
After his MUA installed a $3 million water meter upgrade
(see his article in the Fall 2012 Authority View), he was
asked to speak at a local housing development. “I was
happy to do it. It wasn’t my idea but it was a good idea.
I’m not a professional speaker, but I certainly don’t shy
away from these things.”
He got another chance to speak about the industry recently when he, along with several AEA members and
representatives of two private sector water companies,
met with Assemblywoman Grace Spencer, who chairs the
Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee. The
Chairwoman invited AEA to share its expertise as part of
a briefing on the water and wastewater infrastructure of
the state.
“I think this was a real learning experience for her,” he
says. “We really had a great discussion . . . Opportunities
like that are out there and I think they are great things for
us to do.”
About the writer: Tracy Ecclesine Ivie is a writer, editor
and author based in Clinton, NJ.
Spring Conference Theme: Managing Today,
Building Tomorrow. Check out article on
page 11 to find out what is on the agenda for
the spring utility management conference.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 5
President’s Message
Continued from page 3
certainly hope that a portion of the Sandy relief funds can
be used for that purpose (in a way that would not complicate
qualification for FEMA money). NJEIT could be a good
vehicle for a combination grant and loan program to assist
us in building and upgrading facilities. And it is good news
that the DEP plans to dedicate some of its own resources to
creating GIS and other databases that can provide pinpointed information about our facilities, their locations, and their
capabilities during a disaster. But there are other options
that should be explored. More efficient wastewater treatment
saves energy and is better for the environment, and perhaps
NJ Clean Energy Program funds can be set aside for this
purpose. The DEP and the DCA could join forces to require
more consistent asset management in utilities authorities and
municipal utilities alike. And they could be more assertive
about discouraging municipalities from raiding the water
and wastewater piggy banks when those funds could be used
to address some of these needs as well.
There is actually another bottom line: public education.
We – AEA, our members, those who aren’t AEA members and the State itself – need to make our case and help
the public understand the great importance of addressing
wastewater issues – from incineration, to sludge, to the
advantage of allowing authorities to maintain reasonable
capital funds.
All in all, when PVSC went down, and New Jersey’s sludge
disposal system was disrupted, we rose to the occasion. We
worked the problem, without the benefit of any existing
comprehensive back-up plan. But let’s hope we use the experience of Sandy to help us ensure that we are not in such a
vulnerable position again.
Our colleagues in the electric and gas utilities have been doing similar soul-searching. On Feb. 20, Ralph Izzo, CEO of
PSE&G, New Jersey’s largest electric distribution company,
presented an action plan for the electric and gas infrastructure. We in the public wastewater, water and solid waste
sector need to do the same.
The 2013 AEA Annual Meeting
is scheduled for
Tuesday and Wednesday,
Nov. 19-20 in
Atlantic City.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 6
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Thinking Out of the
(Valentine’s Day Candy) Box
Who would have thought? The Valentine’s Day tours of the New York
City’s Department of Environmental
Protection Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenpoint,
Brooklyn, have proven so popular that
this year they added a third tour to the
schedule. Last year, more than 200
people toured the 300mgd plant, one
of 14 New York City plants, according
to several New York Times articles on
the topic that ran in February.
In the one that ran on Valentine’s Day
itself, writer Lisa Foderaro describes
how Joseph Szabo surprised his wife
Erika with this special Valentine’s Day
outing. And she loved it. “It’s gorgeous. It’s unbelievable. I would never
think this was romantic, but it is,”
Foderaro quotes Ms. Szabo as saying.
Visitors get a presentation about the
history of sewage treatment in New
York City and a close look at the eight
digester eggs that operate in the plant.
And from the observation decks, they
get some pretty spectacular views of
cityscapes. Who would go on such
a tour? Engineers, urban planners,
people who work for environmental
organizations – or folks who aren’t
interested in the Empire State Building
or the Bronx Zoo. The recently overhauled plant has actually been honored
by the NYC Art Commission, according to the article, and it is lit in elegant
blue, a design conceived by lighting
designer Hervé Descottes.
So reading the article, I was not
surprised by the fact that a plant was
offering tours. Lots of AEA members
do that. I think what intrigued me
about it was the audience for the tours.
We tend to think of tours as the stuff
environmental education teachers and
local chapters of ANJEC (Association
of NJ Environmental Commissions)
would care about. But what about
urban design students? Art students?
Engineering grad students? Until this
article, I had never thought of sewer
plants as presenting unique challenges
to lighting designers or young people
studying architectural design.
Peggy Gallos
begin. Or there is perhaps another
event or community activity that you
can plan—a presentation to a community college urban design class, an art
or poetry contest, or an invitation to
visit for local mayors and legislators.
Maybe local landscape artists would
like to sketch and paint in the shadow
of your clarifier. Seems like a crazy
idea? I suppose – but so did Valentine’s Day tours until I read the New
York Times in February.
This article reminded me to remind
AEA that there is always room for a
fresh perspective and there are always
new audiences to appeal to when it
comes to community relations. And
even if you are not ready to jump on
the “tour-a-sewer-plant-with-yourspecial-someone” band wagon, you
may want to take a fresh look at
1. Doing tours to begin with.
2. Where and to whom you are promoting tours. 3. Whether there are
ways to connect with groups in your
community you
have not previously connected
About This Newsletter
yourself to.
This newsletter is published by the Association
So you have
of Environmental Authorities of New Jersey as
some time to
a service to its members. No material maybe
consider all of
reprinted from this publication without the
this in anticipaexpress permission of the editor. The Association
tion of Valenof Environmental Authorities of New Jersey
tine’s Day 2014,
assumes no responsibility for opinions or statebut remember
ments of facts expressed by contributors or
that Earth Day
advertisers, and editorials do not necessarily rep2013 is just
resent official policy of the organization. Display
around the corand classified advertisements are included as an
ner—Monday,
educational service to our readers. Advertising
April 22. If you
haven’t done
rates and information may be obtained by calltours, maybe
ing 609.584.1877 or by referring to the AEA
Earth Day is a
web site www.AEANJ.ORG.
good time to
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 7
SOLUTION CENTER
Using Green Infrastructure in
Your Wet Weather Toolbox
by Matthew Jones
As we continue to develop and redevelop what were once natural areas,
the negative impacts of these activities
on our water resources and surrounding environment becomes more
evident. For decades, efforts have
been underway within big cities and
small towns to better manage stormwater runoff using approaches like
increased treatment plant capacity in
combined sewer systems and localized
detention ponds in separately sewered
areas. Over time, the feasibility and
effectiveness of these conventional approaches has become limited while the
threats of urbanization to water quality
have become better understood, generating a need for innovative approaches
to stormwater management.
One such innovative approach is the
use of green infrastructure to manage
stormwater runoff. Green infrastructure relies predominantly upon natural
processes to reduce the rate and
volume of stormwater leaving an area
while also directly improving water
quality. Examples of green infrastructure controls include rain gardens,
bioretention, stormwater wetlands,
permeable pavement, green roofs, blue
roofs, and rainwater harvesting. Green
Matthew Jones
infrastructure controls are often designed to manage smaller events, such
as 1 inch or smaller storms, which
represent the majority of annual runoff
volume. In some cases, these controls
can retain 100% of the stormwater
they receive, effectively eliminating
the impact of that runoff on downstream areas. Localized detention,
infiltration, filtration, evaporation, and
plant uptake all contribute towards effective stormwater control.
Green infrastructure can also support
sustainable development and redevelopment by providing an array of
additional benefits. Although specific
benefits will vary based upon the type
of control and how it is implemented,
benefits may include reduced urban
heat island impacts, improved biodiversity, enhanced aesthetics, increased
property values, and more. In essence, green infrastructure can provide
stormwater management facilities that
enhance the environment and community rather than being hidden underground or behind fences like some
conventional approaches.
Green infrastructure relies predominantly upon natural processes to reduce the
rate and volume of stormwater leaving an area while also directly improving water quality. Examples include the bioretention technique, picture above.
Because green infrastructure relies
upon natural processes, it typically
requires unique design and construction considerations, often associated
with the vegetation and soil system.
For example, a bioretention area or
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 8
be effectively used to
support widespread
implementation. The
benefits provided by
green infrastructure
can go a long way in
helping to secure public
and stakeholder support,
while also providing
demonstrable improvements to the environment and community
for public infrastructure
investments.
rain garden will
be most effective
when sited in an
area with permeable underlying
soils. Similarly, it
is important that
these soils are not
compacted or otherwise degraded
during construction. These unique
considerations can
make it very advantageous to have
an experienced design, construction,
and maintenance
workforce, which
can also support
the creation and
preservation of local green jobs.
When addressing the
prevalent stormwater
management challenges
within New Jersey and
beyond, it is important
to have access to the
full suite of available
tools, including the latest
innovative approaches
like green infrastructure.
Beyond effective
Even within a dense urban area, green infrastructure controls such green
When used effectively,
stormwater control roofs, can be implemented within parks, medians, rights-of-way, parking
green infrastructure can
and other benefits, lots, and on rooftops.
provide a high level of
green infrastructure
stormwater control while also providing an array of addioffers a framework of adaptable tools that can be used to
tional benefits, enhancing communities and the environment
address stormwater concerns within challenging areas. By
throughout New Jersey.
their nature, green infrastructure controls are often widely
distributed on a small scale throughout an area. This makes
About the writer: Matthew Jones is a principal engineer at
it easier to fit individual controls within small areas and also
Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. His associate, Eileen Feldman, P.E.,
incrementally implement controls as funds are available or
is a member of the AEA Water Committee.
other logistical hurdles are overcome. Even within a dense
urban area, green infrastructure controls can be implemented within parks, medians, rights-of-way, parking lots, and
on rooftops. This distributed nature can present challenges
when addressing routine maintenance needs, but can often
Earth Day 2013:
be addressed through special consideration during the planMonday, April 22
ning and design stage.
As with any stormwater infrastructure improvements,
providing adequate funding can be challenging, but also
critical for overall success. Successful green infrastructure programs often combine some elements of short and
long-term funding mechanisms. Short-term funding such
as grant programs can help to establish planning efforts
and pilot programs for this innovative stormwater management approach, establishing the feasibility of green infrastructure within a local area and laying the groundwork for
future implementation. Long-term funding options such
as a stormwater utility or incentive-based programs can
April 22, Earth Day was first organized in
1970 to promote ecology and respect for
life on the planet as well as to encourage awareness of the growing problems
of air, water and soil pollution. It is a great
time to offer tours if you don’t already or
to do a presentation for a local school or
Rotary Club.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 9
EPA Denies NRDC’s Petition
Requesting Secondary
Treatment to Include
Phosphorus and Nitrogen
Limits for POTWs
by John Hall, Esq.
On November 27, 2007, the National
Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
and ten other environmental groups
submitted a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting
EPA (1) “publish updated information
on the pollution reductions that secondary treatment can achieve” for publicly
owned treatment works (POTWs) and
(2) “establish technology-based nitrogen and phosphorus effluent limits . . .
attainable through the application of
secondary treatment.” NRDC proposed
0.3 mg/l total phosphorus (TP) and 3
mg/l total nitrogen (TN) limits, stating these limits were attainable using
current technology. NRDC reasoned
that the upgrades would be minor
because most POTWs are already using
activated sludge systems, nitrification
units, filtration processes, or methanol
or chemical additions and would result
in environmental benefits and “net savings in treatment costs.”
In response, numerous other interested
parties, including the Association of
Environmental Authorities (AEA),
submitted comments to EPA regarding
NRDC’s petition for rulemaking to
require secondary treatment to include
nutrient requirements for nitrogen and
phosphorus for POTWs. AEA argued
that based upon legislative history,
the plain statutory language of the
1981 amendments and EPA’s policy
guidance, secondary treatment only
involves the removal of carbonaceous
pollutants; not advanced biological and physical/chemical treatment
processes to control TN and TP as
asserted by NRDC. Additionally,
it would be inappropriate and outside of EPA’s authority to amend the
definition of “secondary treatment”
to include effluent reduction attainable through advanced biological and
physical/chemical processes. Finally,
utilizing a one-size-fits-all approach,
as proposed by NRDC, is inappropriate due to site specific natural factors
effecting algal-related impairments
which render secondary nutrient limitations useless in most areas.
EPA denied NRDC’s petition, in part,
on December 14, 2012. Regarding the
NRDC’s request for EPA to publish
updated information on the degree of
nutrient reduction attainable through
secondary treatment of POTWs, EPA
agreed to publish the most current data
available. EPA noted that “secondary
treatment technology is not designed
for nutrient removal,” therefore; very
little nutrient removal data exists for
POTWs since POTWs are not required
to report incidental nutrient removal
information to EPA. In response to
NRDC’s request to impose TP and
TN limits as part of the secondary
treatment regulations for POTWs, EPA
denied the request because it would
be inappropriate to apply a blanket,
uniform national standard. EPA goes
on to state “not all POTWs nationwide
need to meet minimum technologybased limits for nutrients to protect
water quality; and that many POTWs
would incur high costs individually,
and POTWs overall would incur
annual costs of tens of billions of dol-
John Hall
lars nationally to meet such uniform
technology-based limits.” Unlike,
the NRDC assumption that upgrades
to existing facilities would be minor,
EPA found that many POTWs would
require significant upgrades to meet
nutrient removal technologies and
installing such technologies would
“either be technologically difficult
(e.g., due to land constraints) or would
involve extremely high costs.” EPA
estimated the capital investment
required to retrofit existing technology to be $45 billion and to replace
existing technology to be $130 billion.
EPA stated the “smaller POTWs
have a proportionately higher cost
to achieve nutrient removal...” and
therefore imposing such requirements
nationwide was not appropriate.
In sum, EPA has decided to continue “pursuing the control of nutrient
discharges at POTWs by means of
site-specific, water-quality based permitting.” EPA found the “water-quality
based permitting provisions of the CWA
and EPA’s implementing regulations
give the EPA and the authorized states
the flexibility” to continue to apply a
site-specific approach. And that “[i]n
many areas water quality-based permit
limits can prevent or correct nutrientrelated impairments more effectively
than national technology based nutrient
limits due to site-specific variability of
waterbody response to nutrients.”
About the writer: John Hall’s law
firm, Hall & Associates, is based in
Washington D.C.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 10
Spring Conference Sessions Address Handling
the Challenges Here and Down the Road
George S.
Hawkins
David Brauner
John Berg
Todd Segmund
As this publication goes to print, we are
putting the finishing touches on prep for
the AEA annual spring utility management conference, to be held March
12-13 at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic
City. The theme this year is Managing Today. Building for Tomorrow. We
are continuing our efforts, begun in
January, to provide information about
disaster recovery and discuss resiliency
and other long-term implications of
Superstorm Sandy. A representative of
the EPA will demonstrate the Climate
Resilience Evaluation and Assessment Tool (CREAT and pronounced
“cree-ate”), which can help drinking
water and wastewater utility owners
and operators assess potential climate
change threats. A team of experts will
introduce the concept of Integrated Water Resource Management. IWRM is a
comprehensive planning approach that
takes into account the dimensions of the
water itself, the social and economic
uses, and the environment in which the
water exists.
We are very pleased to have George
S. Hawkins as our keynote speaker.
Anyone who has seen George in action, whether on youtube or in person,
knows he is passionate about his work.
Hawkins, general manager of the
DC Water and Sewer Authority (DC
Water), will offer his often-outspoken
views on the challenges facing the
water and wastewater sector today.
As always there will be an exhibit
hall with great people, products and
services to check out. Thanks to our
exhibitors and our sponsors.
Concurrent to Session 1A and also beginning at 9:30 a.m.,
is Session IB –a continuation of the leadership development
session held in January called So You Want to be an Executive
Director? In this “take two,” Veteran EDs Mike Ruppel and
Joe Rizzuto will once again discuss what it takes to be an effective
executive director, from politics to
budgets to labor relations to ethics
and more. New executive directors,
mid-levels manager or operators
who would one day like to lead
could all benefit from this session.
(Note: Those attendees from the
January session who are new or aspiring executive directors and managers will be given first preference
in registration. As with the January
session, seating will be limited.)
Bob Weimar
In Session II, Matthew Jones of Hazen and Sawyer will discuss green
infrastructure and how it can be a
key element in sustainable rebuilding
Brandon Vatter
efforts. Session III, the final session
before the Wave Awards luncheon, will
be a panel that will include Hackettstown MUA Executive Director
Bruce Smith. Joining Bruce will
be John Berg of Direct Energy Business, and the panel will discuss the
reverse auction method of procuring
electricity and other energy management approaches that can save
time and money. (Please note that in
Carrie Turner
order to allow sufficient time for a
complex topic, we have taken off the
agenda the session on the new health care law. We intend
to offer this as a stand-alone workshop later in the spring.
We hope to have additional information about this at the
conference.)
As always, the culmination of the spring conference is the
Wave Award Luncheon. We are especially excited that this
year’s awards program will include special awards recognizing the response of our members to the storms, power outages
and flooding experienced this year. We have had a fantastic
response to these new categories. We will be recognizing
excellence in public education, energy innovation, commissioner leadership and among those who had to respond to
disaster. This awards luncheon promises to be especially
memorable. Don’t miss it!
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 11
Hurricane Sand
The administration building
(top) at Passaic Valley SA is
flooded after the storm surge.
Waters have pushed a storage
tank (second row, this page,
left) at Long Branch MUA off
kilter. After the storm, water
pours in (second row, this
page, right) at the Two Rivers
WRA. A heavily damaged
pump station (bottom row, this
page) at the South Monmouth
RSA.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 12
dy, Oct. 29, 2012
Zimpro workers (left) scramble to
do repairs at the Passaic Valley SC.
Debris covers a generator (this page,
second row, left) that has been damaged by water at the Two Rivers WRA.
The TRWRA driveway (bottom) is
impassable because of downed trees
and other debris. At Bayshore RSA
(middle row, right), workers remove
floodwaters from the unundated
return sludge pump station.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 13
Storm Tales and More at the A
Steve Specht (this page, top right), deputy executive director at Brick
Township MUA, was among those who discussed how Sandy affected
his facilities. A standing-room-only crowd (top, both pages) listened
intently to the stories shared by Steve, Bob Fisher, Mike Ruppel and
Bernie Bujak.
Dennis Palmer, above left, said that after Sandy
Peggy Gallos showed leadership like Gov.
Christie, so Dennis presented her with a blue
fleece jacket like the one the Governor wore
after the storm. David Smith, above center,
helped Dennis present the “award.”
Photos by
Gary Nucera
Karen Burris (photo second from top, left) moderates the “So You Want to be an Executive Director?” session.
Pam Carolon (bottom left photo) chats during the reception, while Howard Hurwitz (at left in bottom right photo)
talks with John Scheri.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 14
AEA Annual Meeting in January
Andy Kricun
(holding award,
photo at left)
accepts from
Rick Dovey, AEA
president (left),
and Peggy Gallos,
AEA executive
director (right),
a belated 2012
Wave Award for
Best Management Practices on
behalf of Camden
County MUA.
Frank Hartman (pictured above) enjoys a
laugh during the opening reception. Steve
Blankenship (photo at left) stands beside the
podium during a panel about community
relations. Panelists Dave Harpell (seated far
left) and Bob Barry (seated second from left)
also participated in the discussion. Dennis
Palmer (seated, right) moderated this panel
and the legislative update that followed.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 15
How Authorities are Governed
by Sid Weiss
(Editor’s Note: The following is taken from the AEA Commissioners’ Handbook. Although portions of the current
2010 edition are outdated, overall the handbook still
contains a wealth of information that can help new board
members become familiar with authority law, AEA, and related issues. Do your new commissioners have a copy? This
handbook is available on the AEA website Member Content
section, or by request from the AEA office.)
The governing body or governing bodies of local units
that establish a municipal utilities authority or sewerage
authority (“authority”) appoint its members for five-year,
staggered terms. Most authorities have five (5) members
(sometimes called commissioners), but the size can be increased under certain circumstances. The size of joint authorities (created by two or more municipalities) depends
upon the number of participating municipalities. Members
serve with or without compensation.
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The members of the
authority elect a chair
and other officers of
the authority. They
appoint an executive
director, who is responsible for the dayto-day management of
the authority. The
Sid Weiss
Board of Members
oversees the budget
and approves expenditures, hires consultants, and oversees
negotiations with labor representatives of the authority’s
employees. The board makes the sometimes-controversial
decisions on the siting of facilities, the choice of design,
and options for management. It sets the user rates and,
in the case of authorities that operate sewerage systems,
allocates sewerage capacity. This information may be
utilized by local zoning boards. This last function means
that authorities may also inform local zoning boards about
whether there is sufficient sewerage capacity for specific
projects. However, contrary to a common misconception, it
is the zoning board, and not the authority, that reviews and
approves the projects for development.
There are many restrictions on authorities and their operations. For example, the Division of Local Government Services within the Department of Community Affairs exercises
oversight of authority budgets through the Local Authorities
Fiscal Control Act. The Local Finance Board reviews financing plans prior to the sale of bonds for needed environmental
projects. The Local Government Ethics Law directs the Division of Local Government Services to review disclosure forms
completed by all authority board members and to screen them
for potential conflicts of interest. In addition to these oversight
procedures, various laws govern authorities. These include:
• Open Public Meetings Act
• Open Public Records Act
• Local Public Contracts Law
• Municipal Land Use Law
• New Jersey Clean Water Act
• NewJersey Clean Water Enforcement Act
• Water Quality Act
• Safe Drinking Water Act
• New Jersey Occupational Health and Safety Act
• New Jersey Workers Right to Know Act
• Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act
• Affirmative Action Law
• Local Government Ethics Act
• Disabilities Act
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 16
• Clean Air Act
• Recycling Act
• Landfill 38 Closure Law
Authorities are also subject to stringent rules and regulations pursuant to these laws, as well as other rules including
laboratory certification rules, New Jersey Water Quality
Standards and the New Jersey Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) regulations.
Powers of the Authority
Every municipal utilities and sewerage authority is a public
body, politic and corporate, constituting an instrumentality of its creating local unit or units, exercising public and
essential governmental functions to provide for the public
health and welfare. Municipal utilities and sewerage authorities have virtually identical powers, which include the
following:
• To adopt and have a common seal and to alter the same
at pleasure.
• To sue and be sued
• In the name of the authority and on its behalf, to acquire,
hold, use and dispose of its service charges and other
revenues and other moneys.
• In the name of the authority but for the local unit or
units, to acquire, hold, use and dispose of other personal
property for the purposes of the authority.
• In the name of the authority but for the local unit or units,
to acquire by purchase, gift, condemnation or otherwise,
real property and easements therein, necessary or useful
and convenient for the purposes of the Authority and sub ject to mortgages, deeds of trust or other linens, or other wise, and to hold and to use the same, and to dispose of
property so acquired no longer necessary for the purposes
of the Authority.
• To provide for and secure the payment of any bonds and
the rights of the holders thereof, and to purchase, hold
and dispose of any bonds.
• To accept gifts or grants of real or personal property,
money, material, labor or supplies for the purposes of the
Authority, and to make and perform such agreements
and contracts as may be necessary or convenient in con nection with the procuring, acceptance or disposition of
such gifts or grants.
• To enter on any lands, waters or premises for the purpose
of making surveys, borings, soundings and examinations
for the purposes of the Authority, and whenever the
operation of a septic tank or other component of an on site wastewater system shall result in the creation of pol lution or contamination source on private property such
that under the provisions of R.S. 26:3-49, a local board of
health would have the authority to notify the owner and
require said owner to abate the same, representatives of an
authority shall have the power to enter, at all reasonable
times, any premises on which such pollution or contam-
ination source shall exist, for the purpose of inspecting,
rehabilitating, securing samples of any discharges im
proving, repairing, replacing, or upgrading such septic
tank or other component of an on-site wastewater system.
• To establish an inspection program to be performed at
least once every three years on all on-site wastewater sys tems installed within its district which inspection pro gram shall contain the following minimum notice provi sions: (i) not less than 30 days prior to the date of the
inspection of an on-site wastewater system as described
herein, the authority shall notify the owner and resident
of the property that the inspection will occur; and (ii)
not less than 60 days prior to the date of the performance
of any work other than an inspection, the sewerage
authority shall provide notice to the owner and resident of
the property on which the work will be performed. The
notice to be provided to such owner and resident under
this subsection all include a description of the deficiency
which necessitates the work and the proposed remedial
action, and the proposed date for beginning and duration
of the contemplated remedial action;
• To prepare and file in the office of the sewerage authority
records of all inspections, rehabilitation, maintenance, and
work, performed with respect to on-site wastewater dis posal systems.
• To make and enforce bylaws or rules and regulations for
the management and regulation of its business and affairs
and for the use, maintenance and operation of the utility
system and any other of its properties, and to amend the
same.
• To do and perform any acts and things authorized by this
act under, through or by means of its own officers, agents
and employees, or by contracts with any persons.
• To enter into any and all contracts, execute any and all in struments, and do and perform any and all acts or things
necessary, convenient or desirable for the purposes of the
Authority or to carry out any power expressly given in
this act subject to “Local Public Contracts Law,” P.S.
1971, c. 198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.).
• To enter into any and all lease agreements with sewerage
authorities, and municipalities, and counties operating
sewerage systems for the rental of equipment owned by
the authority and municipality and/or county, together
with the personnel to operate said equipment (Sewerage
Authorities); and
• To extend credit or make loans for the planning, design ing, acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving,
equipping, furnishing, and operating any part of a solid
waste system, sewerage treatment system, wastewater
treatment or collection system, within or without district,
subject to certain conditions and requirements set forth in
the statute; and to secure such loans or credits by loan
and security agreements, mortgages and other security
instruments. (Municipal Utilities Authorities).
About the Writer: Sid Weiss is general counsel for the
Southeast Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority and
is a member of the AEA Legislative Committee.
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 17
THE HUDDLE
The Huddle is a virtual water cooler – a “place” where
AEA members can informally help one another. The following questions have been posed recently. If you can help the
member listed, send them an email.
Problem
When the surge from
Hurricane Sandy started
to reach Bayshore RSA
in Union Beach, the
water came from several
directions north, east and
south. The incinerator
buildings, the treatment
facilities, and even the
administration building
took water. The flooding
Bob Fischer
affected motors, pumps,
blowers, computers, the entire communication system, entire
electrical system and more. The task of getting the water
moving again, assessing the damage, collecting and remov-
ing sludge, making repairs was overwhelming to the beleaguered staff.
Solution
Bob Fischer, the executive director, set up a makeshift command center in the administration building, one of the few
indoor areas that could be used. He pulled down the public
notices and announcements normally posted on the large bulletin board and split the board in half. He titled the right side
of the bulletin board “Not Working” and titled the left side
“Working”. Staff then wrote the name of each major piece of
equipment or process on a sheet of paper and placed it on the”
Not-working” side of the board. Each day when he and the
staff met for updates, they would move repaired items from
the “not-working” side to the “working” side.
“We had so many problems to solve. It was easy to feel discouraged. I knew we needed a visible sign that we were making progress. It was a relief to all of us to see more and more
items moved from one side to the next. It gave us a sense that
we were going to make it through this.”
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Thank you to our partners who helped make the January annual meeting a success with their sponsorship
and their exhibits.
Birdsall Services Group
BNY Mellon
Bowman and Company LLC
The Buzak Law Group
Energy Market Exchange
Ferraioli, Wielkotz, Cerullo & Cuva, PA
Flow Assessment Services
Hatch Mott MacDonald
Hawkins Delafield & Wood, LLP
Johnson Controls, Inc.
Johnson & Conway
Kleinfelder / Omni
Law Offices of E.A. Kondracki
Maraziti, Falcon & Healey, LLP
Maser Consulting
PERMA Risk Management Services
Rapid Pump & Meter Service Co., Inc.
T&M Associates
Valley National Bank
THE AUTHORITY VIEW • WINTER 2013 • PAGE 18
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