The 2011 session calendar can be viewed online at http://www.lrc.ky.gov/sch_vist/11RS_calendar.pdf

Sourcewater issues are similar plus a discussion of progress in the “Substantial Implementation” of protection activities in Kentucky.

This year the workshop will take place at the Muhlenberg County Career Advancement Center near Central City, Kentucky.  The Center is located at 50 Career Way (off Hwy. 189) in the Powderly community.  

The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, 2010 immediately following the Administrative Training for Office Personnel which will be from 9:00 a.m. until noon.

A lunch will be provided prior to the workshop.  Please notify KRWA by Wednesday, September 15th if you plan to attend the lunch or the workshop.

Utility personnel and decision makers are invited to attend the workshop which will be designed to encourage a free interchange of ideas.  In the event that you will not be able to attend the workshop but would like to submit comments you can forward your ideas for critical training needs by written statement to KRWA or by e-mail to Clem Wethington (c.wethington@krwa.org) or Jack Stickney (j.stickney@krwa.org). Your comments will be presented at the workshop for consideration.

Monday’s activities began with the KRWA Golf Scramble at the beautiful Nevel Meade Golf Course, while training sessions were held at the Galt House for water and wastewater personnel.  The day concluded with the opening of the Exhibit Hall and the President’s Reception.  A packed exhibit hall, with a record number of 114 booths, displayed the latest in industry technology, products and services.  The Best Display award this year went to YSI, Inc., a manufacturer of water quality monitoring and testing equipment.

Tuesday morning’s Member Appreciation Breakfast featured Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate, Jack Conway, Kentucky’s Attorney General, who shared his views and vision for Kentucky with our membership. Also, ten drinking water and wastewater utilities were recognized as Wooden Bucket finalists and honored for their outstanding service during the past year. They received plaques of appreciation from Tom Fern, State Director, USDA-Rural Development.  This year’s honorees were Barkley Lake Water District; Beattyville Waterworks; East Daviess County Water Association; East Logan Water District; Eubank Water System; City of Hardinsburg; Knott County Water & Sewer District; Lake Village Water Association; City of Pikeville; and Western Mason County Water District.

The KRWA Annual Business Meeting was held following the breakfast.  William Ballard, East Clark County Water District; Randell O’Bryan, Crittenden-Livingston County Water District; and David Peterson, Caveland Environmental Authority, Inc., were re-elected to serve two-year terms on the KRWA Board of Directors.  The following board members will serve as officers in 2010/2011: President – Larry Herald, Paintsville City Utilities; Vice President – Jim Smith, Carroll County Water District #1; Secretary – William Ballard, East Clark County Water District; and Treasurer – David Peterson, Caveland Environmental Authority, Inc.

The General Session began in the afternoon by Shining a Light on Water & Wastewater Issues in Kentucky.  Featured presenters included Fred Sheldon, President, National Rural Water Association; Greg Heitzman, President/CEO, Louisville Water Company; Rick Rand, Kentucky State Representative and Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; Charlie Borders, Commissioner, Public Service Commission; Hank List, Deputy Secretary, Energy and Environment Cabinet; and Colonel Keith Landry, Commander, Louisville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The afternoon concluded with a special recognition of several utilities for their outstanding contributions in customer and public relations through outreach, education and leadership.  Those utilities were East Logan Water District, Louisville Water Company, and Warren, Butler and Simpson County Water Districts.

The Rural Water Extravaganza Reception and Banquet highlighted Tuesday evening’s festivities.  Professional Humorist and Motivational Speaker, Charles Marshall, delivered a funny, clever, and relatable presentation, with a healthy dose of southern charm.

Three concurrent sessions continued on Wednesday morning and included Paulette McKinney and Teresa Faulkner, Insurors of Kentucky, Shedding Light on Insurance for Utilities; Darren Honious, YSI, Inc., Dissolved Oxygen Measurement Technology; and Steve Gott, S & K Equipment Company, on Variable Speed Controllers.  Jay Hoffman, Wet or Dry Inspection, addressing Storage Tank Maintenance Issues; Jeremy McComas, C. I. Thornburg Company, on Water Meter Technologies; and Josh Cravins, Wascon, Inc. discussed Water Booster Stations – Prepackaged vs Built in Place.  Andy Lange, KRWA, provided an overview of the new Utility Management Certification Program;  and Damon Talley, KRWA General Council, and Jerry Wuetcher, Kentucky Public Service Commission, wrapped up the morning with From a Legal Point of View.

The 31st KRWA Conference concluded with the annual Awards Luncheon.  Dr. Rand Paul, U.S. Senate Candidate for the Republican Party, discussed his thoughts for the future of Kentucky and included a brief question and answer period with our membership.

The City of Hardinsburg, operated by Veolia Water North America received the 2010 Wooden Bucket Award.  This award is presented to a water and/or wastewater utility that has made substantial and lasting improvements in providing high levels of customer service and high quality drinking water and wastewater services in its community.  Congratulations to the City of Hardinsburg and Veolia Water!

Distinguished Service Awards were presented to two of KRWA utility member representatives.  The first award was presented to Joe Elliott, Southeast Daviess County Water District, for his leadership in fostering a cooperative relationship among utilities in Daviess County and throughout Kentucky.  Sandra Gary, Muhlenberg County Water District #3, was also recognized for her leadership in providing a forum for professional development of utility administrative personnel in Kentucky.

KRWA wishes to give special thanks to all of the sponsors who made this year’s event such a success!  We especially note our Platinum Sponsors, HD Supply Waterworks and Badger Meter; Wascon; American Development Company; our Gold Sponsors, Morgan Keegan; Rubin and Hays; and C.I. Thornburg; and our Bronze Sponsors: Bell Engineering; GSC – Water Division; Insurors of Kentucky; Kentucky Glass Lined Tank Systems; Mueller Company; Neptune Equipment Company; S & K Equipment Company; Straeffer Pump & Supply; and The Crom Corporation.

Mark your calendars for next year’s conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky, August 29-31, 2011!

The TMDL program has a high potential to materially alter wastewater discharge permits and require capital outlays to meet the new discharge parameters. For example of the systems contacted, capital outlays directly attributable to changes dictated by the TMDL program ranged from $50,000 to $15,000,000.

Currently there are 36,000+ developed TMDLs and reportedly up to 55,000 are expected to be developed.  The likelihood that rural systems will be impacted is high yet there is little understanding or recognition of the regulatory “train” bearing down on small rural systems.

To improve the knowledge base of the NRWA members relative to the TMDL program, a one hour webinar training program will be offered that will describe basic elements of the TMDL program, how it relates to other parts of the Clean Water Act specifically designated uses, water quality criteria and NPDES permits, modeling problems/limitations, some recent and relevant court cases, and potential economic impacts to small and rural communities.

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Concerns with 1979 House Bill 44, which generally limits taxing districts to a year-over-year increase in property tax revenue of 4 percent or less without being subject to recall by voters, were raised before the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government by Boone County Property Valuation Administrator Cindy Rich and her attorney, Rick Brueggemann. Rich and Brueggermann presented examples showing that taxing districts can levy a tax rate that generates more than a 4 percent increase in revenues, without being subject to recall, because of a secondary calculation that allows personal property to be included in the rate calculation.

Rich said the situation occurs in districts that have a higher rate on personal property than on real estate. The initial calculation in establishing the property tax rate is the “compensating rate”, which is the rate that will generate the same amount of money from real property as was generated in the prior year. The purpose of the rate is to allow for adjustment as the assessment base changes. If the personal property rate is higher than the real property rate, a district will almost always be able to levy a higher rate against real property than taxpayers would expect without being subject to recall because the higher personal property rate isn’t taken into account when the initial real property rate was established.

“Taxpayers are being led to believe revenue is only going up 4 percent…or they’re being led to believe that it’s not going up at all—it’s a compensating rate, so it’s about the same as last year,” said Rich. The discrepancy shows up when citizens get their tax bill, she explained.

“The way it is being calculated, it results in a higher tax,” Brueggemann said.

A Kentucky Attorney General’s opinion requested by Rich indicates that the calculation is legal, according to committee testimony.

Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort, said time is needed for the Attorney General’s Office and others to look into the claim. But he also said it is his understanding that HB 44’s purpose is to limit collective increases in revenue—not just revenue from real property—to 4 percent without the possibility of a voter recall. Without a compensating rate, he said, the law would just deal with real property.

Department of Local Government staff attorney Andrew Hartley said his agency believes it is following the “literal wording” of the law when calculating the compensating tax rate for local tax districts.

Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, asked if citizens are expected to pay the same amount of tax as the prior year even if their property value has decreased significantly. Rich said the expectation under the compensating rate is for the same amount of revenue to be collected by the taxing district overall.

“It occurs to me…that HB 44, in a deflationary time, has a very different affect on citizens,” Schickel said.

Presiding co-chair of the committee, Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said the committee has a few months to determine if a legislative fix is needed for HB 44.

This year’s conference is shaping up to one of the our best ever!  If you have not registered for this year’s conference please do so byvisiting our conference registration page.

• Drinking adequate amounts of water regularly throughout the day can protect health and contribute to well-being.
• Drinking adequate amounts of water can help prevent a range of short and long-term health problems from headaches, bladder, kidney and bowel problems to cancer.
• Water has none of the health problems associated with drinks containing sugar, additives, sweeteners, acids or caffeine.

How does drinking water improve learning?

• The key to boosting the capacity to learn is to keep well hydrated throughout the day.
• When we are thirsty mental performance including memory, attention and concentration can decrease by about 10 per cent
• Pupils concentrate better because they are not distracted by the effects of dehydration such as thirst, tiredness and irritability
• Can aid behavior management by helping to settle pupils in the classroom.

Children will achieve more when both their health and learning needs are met. Ensuring free access to water and promoting a regular water intake throughout the school day is a vital role for schools in promoting health and providing a healthy learning environment

KIA will have approximately $43,103,322 available for low-interest loans for construction of drinking water projects in Kentucky.

The funds are part of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), a low-interest loan program created by the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 to provide a perpetual low-cost source of funding for a wide range of efforts to protect or improve water quality and to protect public health. Construction loans carry a 20-year repayment period while loans for planning and design carry shorter repayment periods. Thirty-year repayment terms are available to disadvantaged communities.

To be considered eligible to receive a DWSRF loan, a project must demonstrate technical, managerial and financial capacity, and be identified and ranked high on the project priority list, which is attached to the Intended Use Plan (IUP). Comments from the public are required in finalizing the plan.

The Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA) and the Division of Water of the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet will hold a public meeting to present the draft 2011 DWSRF-IUP to the public and solicit their comments. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 7, 2010, at 1:30 p.m. in the KIA Board Room located at 1024 Capital Center Drive, Suite 340, Frankfort, Kentucky.

The IUP identifies the goals of the DWSRF and describes how the money will be used to achieve those goals. The IUP was prepared jointly by DOW and the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, an agency in the Governor’s Office.

Kentucky’s draft Intended Use Plan for the 2011 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, including the project priority list, may be viewed online at www.water.ky.gov or www.kia.ky.gov.   Copies of the plan and the priority list may also be viewed at the following locations:

Division of Water 
200 Fair Oaks Lane, 4th Floor 
Frankfort, KY 40601

Kentucky Infrastructure Authority
1024 Capital Center Drive, Suite 340
Frankfort, KY 40601

or at any Division of Water field office or Area Development District office.

Comments should be provided in writing to Sandy Williams, Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, by September 7, 2010, at the address given above.  For questions, please contact Sandy Williams at (502) 573-0260.