Iowa curriculum advances

Members of the Iowa Onsite Waste Water Association completed their fourth quarter of developing a curriculum for maintaining advanced onsite systems. The association uses the Habitat for Humanity site in Waverly to pull monthly effluent samples from 12 systems and to work with manufacturers videotaping maintenance procedures. Orenco, Bio-Microbics, and Quanics systems were taped in the latest session. Funding is through a $100,000 USDA grant. Once completed, the materials will be available for nationwide operation and maintenance training programs.

 

Canadian counterparts

The Western Canada Onsite Wastewater Management Association worked with the Applied Science, Technologies, and Technicians of British Columbia to discuss training standards, requirements, methods, and sewage system regulation. The Ministry of Health invited the association to comment on the upcoming draft of the Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual. In Saskatchewan, the organization worked with regulators to modify the training program to meet provincial requirements.

The association also worked with Alberta members to address lack of enforcement and inconsistent permitting and inspection practices. It asked them to provide examples of code violations and practices not to industry standards, then forwarded them to regulators.

After meeting with officials, members had a better understanding of the safety codes and enforcement process, and officials gained a stronger appreciation of the association’s desire to see proper industry practices maintained across the province.

 

Protecting customers

The Georgia Onsite Wastewater Association proposed the Onsite Septic System Owners’ Protection Act to prohibit authorities from requiring single-family home or farm owners served by onsite systems to connect to a sewer.

The proposal also would prevent officials from prohibiting system repairs or maintenance needed for systems to remain compliant. Members talked to state senators and representatives to seek support and assess the bill’s chance of passage.

The association reentered the full-state training arena after the University of Georgia stopped providing continuing education courses. The organization’s goal is to provide hands-on seminars with as few classroom hours as possible.

Dart Kendall of Advanced Septic was elected as the association’s new president, John Ford of Infiltrator Systems was named president-elect, and Susan Taylor of Taylor Services of Restrooms 2 Go was nominated to the board.

 

Calendar of Events

March 2-3

Onsite Wastewater Management Association of British Columbia conference, Coast Capri Convention Centre, Kelowna. Call Lesley Desjardins at 877/489-7471 or lesleyd@shaw.ca.

 

March 4-7

Pennsylvania Association of Sewage Enforcement Officers Conference and Trade Show, Holiday Inn, Grantville. 717/761-8648; www.pa-seo.org.

 

March 19-20

Granite State Designers and Installers Association. 25th Annual Spring Septic System Conference & Expo. Radisson Hotel, Manchester, N.H. 603/228-1231; www.gsdia.org

 

March 29-30

Alabama Onsite Wastewater Association Trade Show, Pelham Civic Complex, Pelham. Call Dave Roll at 334/396-3434 or visit www.aowainfo.org.

 

April 2-5

NOWRA Technical Education Conference and Fourth Northeast Onsite Wastewater Short Course, Providence Biltmore Hotel, Providence, R.I. www.nowra.org.

 

April 15-17

Ontario Onsite Wastewater Association Conference and Exhibition, Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville. Contact Denis Orendt at 905/372-2722 or dorendt@yahoo.ca; www.oowa.org.

 

Training & Education

Third-party training format

An item in December’s Onsite Installer said the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection authorized the Pennsylvania Septage Management Association (PSMA) to take over its classroom-based Sewage Enforcement Officer training program. To clarify, the DEP retains oversight of the SEO training program but is no longer offering classroom-based training. They are transitioning that to a third-party training format, and PSMA is one of several organizations approved by the DEP to facilitate.

 

Homeowner education program

The University of Minnesota Onsite Sewage Treatment Program worked with local programs to develop homeowner education campaigns that include brochures, seminars on rebate programs, and distributing the Septic System Owner’s Guide as a part of the permitting process. To begin a homeowner education program, contact the OSTP staff at 800/322-8642 or septic@umn.edu.

 

Alabama

Licensing classes are the joint effort of the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Association and University of West Alabama. Courses are at the UWA Livingston campus:

• May 2-4 – Advanced Installer II Class

• May 23-25 – Basic Installer Class

Call the training center at 205/652-3803 or visit www.aowatc.uwa.edu.

 

Arizona

The University of Arizona Onsite Wastewater Education Program has these classes:

• April 16-17 – Soil and Site Evaluation for Onsite Systems, Tucson

• May 7 – Inspecting Pumps and Using Them in Designs for Arizona Onsite Systems, Payson

• May 8 – Inspecting Subsurface Drip Dispersal Systems and Using Them in Designs for Arizona Onsite Systems, Payson

Call Kitt Farrell-Poe at 520/621-7221, email kittfp@ag.arizona.edu, or visit www.ag.arizona.edu/waterquality/onsite.

 

Florida

The Florida Onsite Wastewater Association Training Center is offering these courses with master credit hours:

• April 18 – Master IV: Low Pressure Distribution System Design Considerations, Port Charlotte

• April 19 – Advanced Treatment Systems II, Hialeah

• May 9 – Advanced Treatment Systems II, Tallahassee

• May 10 – Operations and Maintenance B, Jacksonville

• May 14 – Master I: Onsite Wastewater Concepts, Mats, Regulation and Application Process, Lake Alfred

• May 15-16 – Master II: Intro to Florida Soils and Site Evaluation, Lake Alfred

• May 17-18 – Master III: Onsite Construction Permits and Inspections, Lake Alfred

Contact FOWA at 321/363-1590 or www.fowaonsite.com.

 

Iowa

The Iowa Onsite Waste Water Association has these courses:

• April 27 – Operation and Maintenance Workshop, Emmetsburg

• May 11 – Operation and Maintenance Workshop, Creston

Contact Alice Vinsand at 515/225-1051, execdir@iowwa.com, or visit www.iowwa.com.

 

Kentucky

The Kentucky Onsite Wastewater Association has six hours of continuing education for certified installers of onsite wastewater disposal systems on April 13 and May 11 at the Bluegrass Community Technical College in Lawrenceburg. Call 270/401-2301 or visit www.kentuckyonsite.org.

 

Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Water Resources Center has these classes:

• April 2-4 – Introduction to Onsite Systems, Cloquet

• April 5-6 – Installing Onsite Systems, Cloquet

• April 11-13 – Basic Onsite System Designs, Brainerd

• April 18 – Design Continuing Education, Alexandria

• April 18-19 – Designer/Inspector Continuing Education Combo, Alexandria

• April 19 – Inspector Continuing Education, Alexandria

• April 24-27 – Advanced Design and Inspection of Onsite Systems, Part 2, St. Cloud

• April 30-May 2 – Maintaining Onsite Systems, Mankato

• April 30-May 4 – Maintainer/Service Provider Combo, Mankato

• May 1-4 – Service Provider, Mankato

• May 22-24 – Basic Onsite System Designs, Farmington

• May 30-June 1 – Soils, Grand Rapids

Call Nick Haig at 800/322-8642 or visit www.septic.umn.edu.

 

Missouri

The Missouri Smallflows Organization has these CEU courses:

• April 17 – Selling Systems, Liberty

• April 18 – Drip Irrigation, Liberty

Call Tammy Trantham at 417/739-4100 or visit www.mosmallflows.org.

 

New England

The New England Onsite Wastewater Training Center at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston has these courses:

• April 12 – Bottomless Sand Filter Design and Installation

• April 19 – All About Series: Septic Tanks

• April 26 – Conventional Onsite Wastewater System Inspection

• April 26-27 – Conventional Onsite Wastewater System Inspection and Field Training

• May 3 – Functional Inspections

• May 10 – Innovative and Alternative Technologies

• May 17 – All About Series: Sand Media

• May 31 – Installing Advanced Onsite Treatment Systems

• May 31 – Innovative and Alternative Technology Field Training at Peckham Farm

Call 401/874-5950 or visit www.uri.edu/ce/wq. For soil courses, call Mark Stolt at 401/874-2915 or email mstolt@uri.edu.

 

North Carolina

North Carolina State University has the following courses:

• April 17 – Subsurface Wastewater System Operator Training School, Raleigh

• May 9 – Why We Study Soil, Web-based

• May 16 – Formation of Soil, Web-based

• May 23 – Identification and Classification of Soil, Web-based

• May 30 – Physical Properties of Soil – Texture, Structure, and Density, Web-based

Call Joni Tanner at 919/513-1678 or visit www.soil.ncsu.edu/training.

 

Oregon

The Chemeketa Community College in Salem has these CEU classes:

• May 16 – Installer

• May 23-24 – Maintenance Operator

Call 503/399-5181 or visit www.chemeketa.edu/busprofession/ccbi/customizedtraining/deq/classes.html.

 

Virginia

The Virginia Center for Onsite Wastewater Training is offering “Understand the Septic Tank,” a Web-based class from April 2 to May 31. Contact Lydia Shepherd at 434/292-3101 or lydia.shepherd@southside.edu or visit www.southside.edu.

 

Washington

The Washington On-Site Sewage Association and the state Department of Health, in cooperation with Washington State University, are offering these certification courses at the training center in Puyallup unless stated otherwise:

• April 4 – Maintenance Basics

• April 11 – Design of Subsurface Drip Systems

• April 18 – Pumper, Mt. Vernon

• May 1-2 – O&M Certification for Proprietary Devices

• May 16 – Design of High-Strength Waste Systems

• May 22 – Electrical Control Panels, Bremerton

Call WOSSA at 253/770-6594 or visit www.wossa.org.

 

Wisconsin

Wieser Concrete will offer a series of Onsite Wastewater Training Seminars in March and April. The all-day seminars cover Department of Commerce and local code updates, solvent cement training, system troubleshooting and rejuvenation, confined-space entry, basic first aid, micro-bubble diffusion technology, and aerobic treatment technologies. Sessions will be held:

• Tuesday, March 13, Wieser Concrete Products, Fond du Lac

• Thursday, March 15, Arbor Vitae Town Hall

• Thursday, March 22, Wieser Concrete Products, Maiden Rock

• Tuesday, March 27, Wieser Concrete Products, Portage

• Thursday, March 29 Shell Lake Arts Center

• Tuesday, April 3, A.I. McDermott, Watertown

Call 800/325-8456; www.wieserconcrete.com.