INSIDE THIS ISSUE: DRINKING WATER ACADEMY BULLETIN DRINKING WATER ACADEMY DWA Winter 2005 DWA DEVELOPING WATER FY 2004 SEES THE DRINKING WATER ACADEMY SYSTEM REGULATORY COMPLETE ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR GUIDANCE DWA PI LOT TESTS COMPLIANCE COURSE DRINKING WATER ACADEMY CONTACTS TRAINING COURSE SCHEDULE DWA OFFERS COURSE IN SECURITY RISK COMMUNICATION DWA ADVISORY BOARD HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING IN DC DWA COMPLETES EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN VIDEO DWA DELIVERS UIC INSPECTOR TRAINING IN PUERTO RICO On The Cover: An inspector for the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program of Puerto Rico demonstrates the use of testing equipment at the UIC Inspector Training and Certification course. (Mario Salazar photo) The Drinking Water Academy (DWA) team was honored in FY 2004 with EPA Bronze Medals. The medals recog- nized the great strides the DWA has made in increasing the amount and quality of training provided to EPA and state drinking water staff. DWA training covers all aspects of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and ranges from introductory to regulatory to technical training courses. The DWA currently offers 67 different courses. In FY 2004, the DWA com- pleted 68 training deliveries, including 23 Web conferences, 3 deliveries for EPA's Water Careers program, and 9 sanitary survey trainings. Web conferences are a cost- effective alternative for participants and a way for the DWA to reach more people. The DWA completed develop- ment of two versions of the Electronic Sanitary Survey (ESS) software: one for Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and one for Tablet PCs. A conference in Austin, Texas, showcased the ESS and the Class V underground injection control software. The meeting highlighted the various ways in which the software has been adapted, and the way small electronics are being used to support the safe drinking water and water system security programs. The DWA continued its efforts to address security issues at small water systems. In FY 2004, the DWA completed an addendum to the Sanitary Survey Learner's Guide that addresses security issues and conducted a Web conference on the topic. The Academy also completed two videos for small water systems, one on vulnerability assessments and one on emergency response plans. (See related story on page 5.) In FY 2005, the DWA will continue to pursue two goals first articulated in FY 2004: i*Q Increase the use of advanced communication technologies to support training activities. i*Q Continue to integrate water system security issues into sanitary survey and other drinking water training. The DWA will continue to use Web conferences as its primary means of delivering training. The Academy will maintain its current level of deliveries and continue to increase the number of course offerings. The DWA also will continue to enhance the utility of the ESS. Support for security issues at small water systems also will remain a priority. ------- Winter 2005 DWA DEVELOPING WATER SYSTEM REGULATORY GUIDANCE The Drinking Water Academy is assisting EPA Region 8 and the State of Colorado in developing regulatory guidance docu- ments for water system operators. Each guidance will provide, in one place and in plain English, all Safe Drinking Water Act regulatory require- ments applicable to the water system. A separate guide is being developed for each of the following water system types: i*Q Community surface water systems. i*Q Community ground water systems. i*Q Transient non-community surface water systems. j*D Transient non-community ground water systems. i*Q Non-transient non- community surface water systems. i*Q Non-transient non- community ground water systems. The requirements will also be broken down by system size in each guide, where this is relevant. The DWA is creating basic guidances with the federal regulations in 40 CFR Part 141 and will then modify them to include Colorado's require- ments. Other states will be able to take the basic federal guidances (which will be in Word format) and modify them to their own standards where they are different. States can use their primacy crosswalks as a starting point to identify where their regulations differ from the federal regulations. The federal versions are expected to be available during the summer of 2005. DWA PILOT TESTS COMPLIANCE COURSE The DWA piloted the course Steps to a Successful Regulatory Compliance Program during the annual DWA Advisory Board meeting. The course is being developed specifically for Webcasts. It discusses the necessary components of a public water DRINKING WATER ACADEMY CONTACTS Contact Jackie LeClair Norma Ortega Rick Rogers Janine Morris Bill Spaulding Bill Davis Stephanie Lindberg Dan Jackson Barry Pollock Bill Chamberlain Mark Anderson Debra Cerda Stew Thornley Murlene Lash James Bourne Location EPA Region 1 EPA Region 2 EPA Regions EPA Region 4 EPA Regions EPA Region6 EPA Region? EPA Regions EPA Region 9 EPA Region 10 Virginia Texas Minnesota EPAHQ EPA HQ Telephone (617)918-1549 (212)637-4234 (215)814-5711 (404) 562-9480 (312)886-9262 (214)665-7536 (913)551-7423 (303)312-6155 (41 5) 972-3563 (206) 553-851 5 (804) 786-5569 (512)239-6050 (651)215-0771 (202)564-3818 (202) 564-4095 E-mail leclair.jackie@epa.gov ortega.norma@epa.gov rogers.rick@epa.gov morris.janine@epa.gov spaulding.william@epa.gov davis.williamh@epa.gov lindberg.stephanie@epa.gov jackson.dan@epa.gov pollock.barry@epa.gov chamberlain.william@epa.gov manderson@vdh.state.va.us dcerda@tceq.state.tx.us stew.thornley@health.state.mn.us lash.murlene@epa.gov bourne.james@epa.gov supply compliance and enforcement program, and it provides information to help new compliance staff suc- cessfully pursue compliance activities. Topics covered include: i*Q Know your law, rules, and regulations. i*Q Identify your regulated community. i*Q Encourage compliance. i*Q Learn about your regula- tory compliance strategy. i*Q Assess compliance. i*Q Select and prioritize compliance responses. i*Q Initiate and support compliance responses. The Advisory Board members provided feedback on the course, which will be revised to reflect their comments. A second pilot is anticipated in March. The final course will be presented as a Webcast during the summer of 2005. ------- Winter 2005 TRAINING COURSE SCHEDULE Course Title Audience Schedule Location Contact Sanitary Survey Training Hawaii sanitary survey inspectors Jan. 24-27,2005 Maui, HI Bill Wong (808)586-4259 waterbill@aol.com SDWIS Federal Reporting (Fed Rep) State SDWIS staff and Operational Data System (ODS) Jan. 25,2005 Web conference Abe Siegel (202)564-4637 siegel.abraham@epa.gov Sanitary Survey Training Hawaii sanitary survey inspectors Feb. 1-4,2005 Hilo, HI Bill Wong (808)586-4259 waterbill@aol.com Security Risk Communication Hawaii drinking water staff Feb. 2-4,2005 Maui, HI Bill Wong (808)586-4259 waterbill@aol.com Security Risk Communication Hawaii drinking water staff Feb. 7 & 8,2005 Hilo, HI Bill Wong (808)586-4259 waterbill@aol.com Security Risk Communication State drinking water staff Feb. 10 & 11,2005 Kona, HI Bill Wong (808)586-4259 waterbill@aol.com Introduction to Capacity Development Federal and state drinking Mar. 2,2005 water staff Web Conference Drinking Water Academy dwaweb.conference@epa.gov Introduction to EPA's Drinking Water Source Protection Programs Federal and state source water Mar. 9,2005 protection staff Web Conference Drinking Water Academy dwaweb.conference@epa.gov Sanitary Survey Training State sanitary survey inspectors March 14-17,2005 Boise, ID Chris Levelle (208)373-0486 clevelle@deq.state.id.us Electronic Sanitary Survey Training State sanitary survey inspectors Mar. 17 & 18,2005 Boise, ID Chris Levelle (208)373-0486 clevelle@deq.state.id.us Source Water Contamination Prevention Measures State and federal source water Apr. 13,2005 Web Conference protection staff Drinking Water Academy dwaweb.conference@epa.gov Introduction to the Safe Drinking Water Act Federal and state drinking May 11,2005 Web conference water staff Drinking Water Academy dwaweb.conference@epa.gov Sanitary Survey Training Military sanitary survey inspectors May 24-27,2005 Fort Hood, TX Bill Davis (214)665-7526 davis.williamh@epa.gov Introduction to the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program Federal and state drinking May 25,2005 Web conference water staff Drinking Water Academy dwaweb.conference@epa.gov Assessing Capacity through Sanitary Surveys State sanitary survey inspectors Jun. 1,2005 Web conference Drinking Water Academy dwaweb.conference@epa.gov American Government Roles New federal and state drinking Jun. 8 & 9,2005 Washington, DC Jamie Bourne water staff ' (202)564-4095 bourne.james@epa.gov DWA courses may be presented as requested. See the course catalog on the DWA Web site for more information (www.epa.gov/ safewater/dwa/course.html). ------- Winter 2005 DWA OFFERS COURSE IN SECURITY RISK COMMUNICATION Good communication during an emergency or crisis is critical to successfully handling the event and protecting public health. The public must know what the security threat is, how it is being addressed, what risks they face, and how to mitigate those risks, if possible. Organizations responding to different aspects of a security threat must also communicate effectively with each other. The Drinking Water Academy is offering a course to address these issues. SDWA Security Risk Commu- nication builds on the existing SDWA Risk Communication course, which the DWA has offered for the past 3 years. The 2-day course covers principles of risk communica- tion—valid for security-related DWA ADVISORY BOARD HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING IN DC The DWA Advisory Board held its annual meeting in Washing- ton, DC, on November 3 and 4, 2004. The meeting featured remarks by Steve Heare, Director of the Drinking Water Protection Division in the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, and Chuck Job, Chief of the Infrastructure Branch. Clint Lemmons, from the SDWIS State Team, gave a presenta- tion on SDWIS training, and Ed Cottrill, also from the SDWIS State Team, updated the Board on the status of the project to build a "bridge" from SDWIS to the Electronic Sanitary Survey (ESS) software. The Board received reports on sanitary survey and security activities, FY 2004 accomplish- ments, the project to develop water system-specific guidance documents, and the ESS. Members also discussed and approved a new 5-year plan for FY 2005 - 2009. Jamie Bourne, who manages the DWA, recognized the Board members for their important contributions to the Academy. He presented them with plaques reflecting their reappointments to the DWA Advisory Board through 2006. emergencies and non- emergency communication— and discusses tools for successful communication. The course presents several security-related scenarios, which the students address through role-playing activities. This highly interactive course has been presented 10 times: once each in New York, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Vermont, twice in Puerto Rico, and three times in Hawaii. For more information about the course, please contact Jamie Bourne at bourne.james@epa.gov or (202) 564-4095. ------- Winter 2005 DWA COMPLETES VIDEO ON EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS Securing and protecting our drinking water are critical to ensuring the availability of a safe supply. Undertaking a vulnerability assessment is a good place to start in protect- ing the drinking water supply, but what does a system do once the assessment is complete? How can a system address its vulnerabilities? A well-prepared and practiced Emergency Response Plan (ERP) is the key to increasing system preparedness and addressing drinking water system vulnerabilities. The DWA recently completed a video for small water systems serving between 3,301 and 10,000 people, which would also be useful for systems serving smaller populations. The video uses character- based scenarios to show the viewer how to develop or revise an ERP. It highlights the process of completing an ERP, as well as the relationship between an ERP and a system's vulnerability assess- ment results. The video is available at no cost from the National Environmental, Safety and Health Training Association, P.O. Box 10321, Phoenix, Arizona 85064-0321, (602) 956-6099, www.neshta.org. UIC INSPECTOR TRAINING DELIVERED IN PUERTO RICO The DWA sponsored a delivery of the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Inspector Certification training in Puerto Rico. The training, which was conducted in Spanish, was presented December 6-9, 2004, in San Juan. The course presentation was organized by Mario Salazar of OGWDW, Norma Ortega of EPA Region 2, and Luis Rodriguez of EPA Region 3. They also served as the instructors. Fifty-two environmental professionals from several island agencies participated in the training. The course included a field trip to a local UIC site where students could apply their lessons themselves. Partici- pants took an examination at the end of the course, and those passing were certified as UIC inspectors. The slides and supplemental materials translated into Spanish will be made available on the DWA Web site. A Sense of Where You Are. Luis Rodriguez of EPA Region 3 (center) explains how to operate a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver during the UIC Inspector Certification Training held in Puerto Rico in December. (Mario Salazar photo) Office of Water (4606) EPA816-N-04-006 www.epa.gov Winter 2005 ------- |