C Factor—Patrick “Murf” Murphy

C FACTOR Environmental Stewardship: It’s What We Do!

Patrick “Murf” Murphy

President, FWPCOA

One of the topics for this month’s Journal is environmental stewardship. A quick web search for that definition brings very similar results, but let’s look at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Policy definition: “Environmental stewardship is the responsibility for environmental quality shared by all whose actions affect the environment.”

It really is what we do! All of our disciplines have a role in this goal. Every single day, when we go into work and do the best we can do at our jobs, we are being environmental stewards. It’s not just the operators; it’s the engineers in our industry who are doing the same thing, working alongside the operators to give them the best designs and guidance for operating compliantly. It’s also the vendors who give us proven technologies and equipment that are reliable and effective. And it’s the regulators who give us guidance in operating our systems and keep us on the straight and narrow.

What is environmental stewardship? It’s everything to do with “Earth Day.” It’s public outreach, drawing in people to the concept of environmental stewardship, having everyone involved in making informed choices that are good for the environment and sustain our quality of life, and increasing their awareness about how to adopt stewardship practices. It’s about having a cleaner and safer future!

Operators and Environmental Stewardship

As operators, how can we increase our level of environmental stewardship? By studying harder for our state certification exams. The drinking water (DW), wastewater (WW), and distribution system (DS) operator passing rates (A level license for DW and WW and Level I for DS) have run for years between 28 to 63 percent (since 2017). The B licenses and Level II kind of hang around 41 to 75 percent, with the WW B usually having the lower number. The C licenses for DW and WW range between 47 and 63 percent, with the DS Level III ranging between 73 and 80 percent.

There’s a whole lot of finger-pointing going on here: the tests are too hard, there were trick questions, the instructors didn’t cover what was on the tests, etc. I don’t think I can put a number on how many years I’ve heard from the instructors at our short schools that the students show up without a book; some show up and don’t even know what class their boss signed them up for. At the voluntary certification exam courses, they don’t spend any time in their rooms during the weeklong course to crack the book that is provided because the pool table at Charlie’s II was calling their name!

There cannot be enough emphasis put on studying to comprehend, instead of memorizing questions and answers just long enough to pass a test. If you study, and study correctly, you will pass! This is your profession, drive it like you own it; invest in yourself and don’t stop advancing!

That’s just scratching the surface when you only study to pass an exam. Besides studying continually for the knowledge and betterment of your job skills, are you reading your operating permit? Can you place your hand on the emergency response plan (ERP) and spill response

plan? These should be at your fingertips during Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and/or EPA inspections. I’ve had it asked of the operator on duty (as if I wasn’t there), “Can you produce the ERP, and do you know what’s in it?” Do you?

Yes, it can be a little overwhelming as a trainee or new person to the industry putting in your 40-plus hours a week, learning all the things you need to know to perform your job successfully, while also juggling your life, family, and extracurricular activities (that keep us sane).

But let’s add another item: there are rules associated with environmental stewardship. The Florida Administrative Codes (F.A.C.s), Florida Statutes (F.S.), Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs), and more are things that should be read and learned. Hey, we can’t remember everything, but if you’ve read it at least once, a light might go on when it’s dark, and that glow could take you back to the verbiage you need from that once-read document.

As instructors we generally point to the chapters in the F.A.C.s that are predominantly loaded on the exams and have great importance in our everyday duties, such as 62-550, 62-555, 62-600, 62-604, 62-610, 62620, 62-625, and 62-640, but there are rules for everything, and some of them are just as, or possibly more, important, but sit lonely on the shelves.

For example, Chapter 62-761, Underground Storage Tank Systems, and 62-762, Above Ground Storage Tank Systems, will help keep you compliant for inspections, but more importantly, will lead to having a generator that will start and run during that hurricane or power-loss event. The purpose of Chapter 62-780, Contaminated Site Cleanup Criteria, is to prevent adverse effects on human health, public safety, and the environment that may be caused by contaminants that have been released or discharged into the environment and implement the riskbased corrective action provisions of Chapters 376 and 403, F.S. Knowing this chapter can save your company or utility plenty of money, especially if you can react and stay in the “De Minimis discharge” requirements.

There’s more, but I should wrap this up by saying there is a code that is not a law that supports environmental stewardship: our code of ethics!

FWPCOA 2022 Spring State Short School

The FWPCOA 2022 Spring State Short School will be held March 14-18 at the Indian River State College in Fort Pierce. That’s also Spring Break, so hopefully you’ve made lodging reservations well in advance, and you don’t pull a Murphy and end up sleeping in the hospital lobby waiting for a room to open up at the inn. As of the January board of directors meeting, the college has indicated that it presently has no COVID protocols in place.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible and FWPCOA having a wonderful, and successful Spring State Short School!

For event details go to www.fwpcoa.org and view the calendar. For all events contact Shirley Reaves at (321) 383-9690 or fwpcoa@gmail. com, or Darin Bishop at (561) 840-0340 or memfwpcoa@gmail.com.

Florida Water Resources Conference

The Florida Water Resource Conference (FWRC), to be held April 24-27, 2022, in Daytona Beach at the Ocean Center and Hilton, is shaping up nicely. The mostly brand-new executive board of FWRC has taken the bull by the horns, and there are others behind the scenes to thank, but I want to point out the FWRC officers here: S FWRC President – Tim Madhanagopal S FWRC Local Arrangements – Kim Kowalski S FWRC Technical Programs – Nicole McConnell S FWRC Treasurer – Mark Lehigh S FWRC Executive Manager – Michele “Mish” Clark S FWRC Web Editor – Alexander Krämer

The FWPCOA Operators Showcase will be on Sunday, April 24, from 2 to 4 p.m., held in the Ocean Center, Room 102A. It’s more of a workshop with technical-session tones, and predominantly operators, though all are welcome. It’s always a good time!

The FWPCOA awards will be presented at the FWRC awards luncheon and annual meeting on Monday, April 25, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m., in the Ocean Center, Ballroom BC. You must have nominations submitted to Renee Moticker, FWPCOA Awards and Citations Committee chair, by March 12, 2022. This is a great opportunity to acknowledge outstanding individuals in our association.

The awards are: S David B. Lee Award – Based on the operator’s plant operations and activities within the operators association. S Pat Flanagan Award – Given by the state association to an associate member, based on their assistance to operators and contribution to the operators association. S Richard P. Vogh Award – Given to the FWPCOA region judged most progressive during the year.

Please do not fail to attend this joint conference, sponsored by FSAWWA, FWEA, and FWPCOA; it’s a great networking and technicalsession event. Additionally, if you are attending, consider volunteering to help with registration. They have two-hour slots available and one could Continued on page 22