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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.a.2) General Manager Written Announcements%a. 2. Board Meeting of July 5, 2012 Written Announcements: Staff Updates a) Recent Personnel Advancements Anthony Fernandez has advanced to Plant Operator III in the Plant Operation Division effective June 10, 2012. b) Temporary Hiring Back of Retired Laboratory Superintendant Bhupinder Dhaliwal On January 17, 2012, Bhupinder Dhaliwal retired as Laboratory Superintendant after 33 years of service to the District. Mr. Dhaliwal has specialized expertise in water quality issues in the Bay and this knowledge is particularly helpful in understanding the complex issues being analyzed to determine if and how nutrients impact Suisun Bay. Mr. Dhaliwal will be assisting the District by providing technical review of the ongoing nutrient studies being conducted in Suisun Bay as required in the District's 2012 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Therefore, staff proposes to utilize Mr. Dhaliwal's services on an as- needed, hourly basis. Treatment Plant c) 2012 Plant Cleanup Day All Plant Operations Division (POD) staff participated in the annual plant clean -up day on June 20, 2012. POD personnel from various work groups labored together to clean the entire plant site, including the Plant Operations Building, the Laboratory and various areas within the plant. An appreciation barbeque lunch was cooked and served by the Plant Safety Team. d) Cogeneration Incident Update As reported at the Board meeting on June 7, 2012, work continues to restore the cogeneration unit that was damaged on March 29, 2012. Work on the heat recovery equipment will be finished by the end of July. District staff has completed upgrades to the programmable logic controllers. The District has issued a purchase order to Solar Turbines for the re- commissioning work on the turbine. Solar is currently procuring parts and is expected to begin work on site in early August. Engineering, Design, and Testing, the technical expert for the District's insurance provider, is continuing its investigation into the cause of the explosion. District staff is continuing to work with them to provide the information they need for the investigation. Written Announcements July 5, 2012 Page 2 of 4 e) Facility Plan and Site Characterization Work Plan On Friday, June 29, 2012, staff submitted a work plan to the Regional Water Quality Control Board in accordance with the District's NPDES permit to evaluate alternative treatment technologies to remove ammonia from our discharge. Work plan elements include an evaluation to optimize the existing plant to remove ammonia, a nutrient removal facilities plan that will evaluate various conventional and emerging technologies for removing ammonia and other nutrients, and site characterization study of the area where future treatment facilities may be built to determine if any soil remediation is necessary. The work plan elements must be completed and submitted to the Regional Board by February 28, 2014. . Collection System Operations f) District Partnership in California Alliance for Sewer System Excellence (CASSE) During the 1990's and early 2000's, the District was a member of the California Collection System Collaborative Benchmarking Group along with seven other California sewer agencies. This collaboration has evolved into a larger group of 24 sewer collection agencies from Northern and Southern California. The mission of this collaboration has changed over time to include developing and recommending minimum best sewer maintenance practices, reviewing and commenting on proposed regulations relating to sewer collection systems, developing educational and training programs, helping agencies achieve high compliance levels with the State Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewers, and sharing ideas and experiences about sewer maintenance in addition to sewer system performance benchmarking. In recognition of the group's expanded mission, the name has been changed to the California Alliance for Sewer System Excellence (CASSE). The alliance has written a charter agreement describing the mission, organizational structure, and responsibilities of member agencies. Staff proposes that the District become a signatory to this charter agreement. At this time, there are no annual dues to be a member of CASSE. There will be two to three meetings per year alternating between Northern and Southern California. The District will incur costs related to travel and staff time by being a member of CASSE. Financial Matters g) Federal Reimbursement for Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) Approved As the Board may recall, the Patient and Affordability Care Act provides $5 billion in financial assistance to employers, state, and local governments to help them maintain healthcare coverage for early retirees and their spouses age 55 and older who are not Written Announcements July 5, 2012 Page 3 of 4 eligible for Medicare. In September 2010, Human Resources and Accounting staff submitted an application for reimbursement to the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program Center. On June 22, 2012, the ERRP Center approved the District's reimbursement request in the amount of $149,629.42. This is the first reimbursement the District has received since submittal of the application. The reimbursement will be used to offset increases in the District's healthcare insurance premiums for early retirees (between the ages of 55 to 64) and their families. Summer Student Annual Picnic h) Annual Summer Student Picnic on July 18, 2012 This is a friendly reminder that the Annual Summer Student Safety Picnic will beheld on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the garden /lawn area next to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility. It is a triple staff day for the Plant Operations Department so we are hoping to have a good number of attendees. Staff will be grilling hamburgers, turkey burgers, boca burgers, and hot dogs. The menu includes salads, chips, dessert and drinks. Board Members are cordially invited to attend. Out -of -State Conference Attendance i) Plant Operations Division Manager Ba Than's Attendance at the 2012 National Association of Clean Water Agencies ( NACWA) Summer Conference in Philadelphia and Acceptance of 2011 NACWA Platinum Peak Performance Award As previously reported, the District recently received notification that its Treatment Plant has earned the Platinum Peak Performance Award for the fourteenth consecutive year of 100 percent compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The District will be recognized during the July 16, 2012 Awards Ceremony at the NACWA Summer Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Plant Operations Division Manager Ba Than will attend the conference from July 15 -18, 2012 in Philadelphia. He will accept the Platinum Peak Performance Award on behalf of the District and will attend seminars on water quality and biosolids. j) Human Resources Analyst Selina Zapien's Attendance at the 2012 NeoGov Training Conference in Las Vegas Human Resources Analyst Selina Zapien will be attending the 2012 NeoGov Training Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada from October 17 -19, 2012. NeoGov is the District's applicant tracking system. This conference is held annually by NeoGov to provide Written Announcements July 5, 2012 Page 4 of 4 intensive hands -on training for its users, as well as to provide system development updates. The 2012 conference sessions will feature electronic onboarding for new hires, testing best practices, streamlining the online application process, and roundtable discussions on public sector HR challenges.