Open Meeting Law Exemption
MAP Tower Training
Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 13D.05, 22.9 subdivision
3, regarding public meetings that may be closed, has been
amended to allow meetings to be closed when security
issues are discussed. The language reads:
“Meetings may be closed to receive security briefings and
reports, to discuss issues related to security systems, to
discuss emergency response procedures and to discuss
security deficiencies in or recommendations regarding public
services, infrastructure and facilities, if disclosure of the
information discussed would pose a danger to public safety
or compromise security procedures or responses. Financial
issues related to security matters must be discussed and all
related financial decisions must be made at an open meeting.
Before closing a meeting under this paragraph, the public
body, in describing the subject to be discussed, must refer to
the facilities, systems, procedures, services, or infrastructures
to be considered during the closed meeting. A closed
meeting must be tape recorded at the expense of the
governing body, and the recording must be preserved for at
least eight years.”
In addition, vulnerability assessments conducted by
community water systems are protected as “security
information” and not subject to public release, per
Minnesota Statutes, Section 13.37, General Non-public Data.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recommends
vulnerability assessments be kept in a secure location with
extremely limited access to them.
Upcoming Certification Exam Dates
September 8, Preston
September 30, St. Cloud
October 7, Owatonna
October 13, Redwood Falls
October 19, Apple Valley
October 27, Biwabik
October 27, Collegeville
December 2, Moorhead
See calendar on back page for more details
Fall 2004
Volume Twelve/2
Inside:
Ric Hendrickson of Liquid Engineering Corporation addresses
a group assembled for a day of training on water towers on
Tuesday, June 15. Sponsored by Midwest Assistance Program
and held in New Prague, the training included an on-site visit to
New Prague’s water tower, where a crew from Liquid
Engineering prepares to inspect and clean the tower.
Increase in Service Connection Fee
The MDH Section of Drinking Water Protection plans to
request an increase in the service connection fee during the
next session of the Minnesota Legislature. The $5.21 fee, as
it is known, was established in 1992 to help fund section
activities related to the Safe Drinking Water Act, and it has
been successful in helping systems, particularly smaller ones,
maintain compliance with the Act.
The original fee was established at a level that accounted
for new regulations into the foreseeable future, and it
provided stability for water utility billing systems. As a result,
revenues exceeded expenses in the early years of the
program, which provided a surplus of funds. In 1999, as new
rules were implemented, expenses began exceeding revenues
and the program relied on the early surplus to balance the
budget. Our projections now show that the surplus will be
gone by fiscal year 2007 and we must raise the fee to
balance the budget.
The proposal is to increase the fee to $6.36 effective
July 1, 2006. This increase will meet program expenses
through 2010, with little or no surplus generated.
Training News
Sabin Approved for Demonstration Plant
Fourth Drinking Water Institute Held
Brief Scare in Erie
Sabin to Get Demonstration Plant for Arsenic Reduction
Relief is on the way for Sabin.
Storms estimates the total project cost
This past July, the U. S. Environmenwill be $1.2 million, with $350,000
tal Protection Agency (EPA) approved
covered by the grant. In addition to the
a demonstration plant for arsenic removal
new plant, the city is purchasing meters
for the northwestern Minnesota commuat a cost of $70,000. Storms and
nity (population 461), which is approxicouncil member Bob Dablow say their
mately six miles southeast of Moorhead.
residents can expect a sizable jump in
The plant will enable Sabin to achieve
their water bills, from approximately $20
compliance with the revised arsenic
to $55 a month. The metering will
standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb),
promote conservation, which could
which takes effect in January of 2006,
decrease an individual user’s bill. In
and it will help the city deal with a longaddition, a proposed housing
standing problem with iron in its water. Mayor Gary Storms and councilmember Bob development could significantly increase
The existing plant, built in the 1950s, Dablow in front of the existing water plant. the number of service connections—
contains a pressure filter that is “pretty shot,” according to
from 170 to 225—which will ease the burden on residents.
Gary Storms, who began dealing with the city’s water issues
The city has held an open meeting on the water situation
when he became mayor in January of 2003.
and addressed the issue at several other meetings that have
The city has two wells, the second one being drilled in the
been open to the public. Dablow says the public is “pretty
1980s as an emergency backup. Use of the wells is
understanding” and willing to pay the rate increases to get
alternated, and both draw water with high levels of arsenic.
better water. He added that most of the concerns expressed
Storms says that the water coming into the plant has arsenic
by residents have been over the aesthetic qualities of the
at 44 parts per billion with only a modest reduction in
water rather than the arsenic.
finished-water levels. (The city’s Consumer Confidence
Sabin has been working with Ulteig Engineers, Inc., of
Report for 2003 shows an average level of 27 ppb in the
Fargo, North Dakota, in exploring options for dealing with its
treated water.)
water-quality issues. In addition to new treatment, the city
“The filter is not filtering out anything—iron, manganese,
had considered purchasing water from the city of Moorhead,
arsenic,” Storms adds.
which is approximately nine miles to the northwest. The
Sabin had planned to replace its filter as a result of the red
costs for the installation of a pipeline were comparable with
water caused by the iron. The presence of arsenic actually
the capital costs of a new plant. Storms and Dablow say
delayed them in replacing the equipment. “The council,
their concerns went beyond the rates they might have to pay
knowing that a new standard would be set for arsenic, waited
for purchased water. “By doing it ourselves,” says Dablow,
for the EPA rule to find out what the new standard would
“we control our own destiny.”
be,” explained Storms. “They didn’t want to move forward
Storms echoes Dablow’s adding, “We didn’t want to be at
with a new plant only to find out that they wouldn’t be able to
someone else’s mercy. Now we’re at our own mercy.”
meet the new arsenic standard.”
Storms says he hopes the new plant will be on-line by the
Once it was known that the maximum contaminant level
spring of 2005. (For information on Sabin’s water source,
(MCL) would be lowered from 50 ppb to 10 ppb, the city
the Buffalo aquifer, see the article on the next page.)
applied to become part of an Arsenic Treatment Demonstration Program administered by the EPA. The objective of the
program is to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of
drinking water treatment technologies to meet the revised
arsenic MCL under varying source water quality conditions.
The water systems selected for participation were matched
with a treatment technology and vendor, and the system will
operate the treatment facility for one year, then have the
option to purchase the equipment and continue using it or
return it to the vendor.
MDH engineer Karla Peterson noted that only about 30
water systems throughout the United States were chosen to
participate, including three other Minnesota systems—
Climax, Stewart, and Big Sauk Mobile Home Park. “Our
systems were active in getting involved in the program, which
is why Minnesota is so well represented,” Peterson said.
Through the EPA grant, the equipment will be provided to
Sabin, which has to furnish a building to house the plant. The
city will incur other costs associated with the project,
including the piping to connect to the existing water and sewer
With a new plant on the way, Sabin can abandon its existing
distribution systems.
filter that, according to Storms, “is not filtering out anything.”
2
Protecting Sabin’s Source: The Buffalo Aquifer
Sabin draws its water from the Buffalo Aquifer, a linear
formation that extends to the north and the south. The city
of Moorhead, which uses groundwater to supplement its
supply from the Red River, has its wells in a coarse gravel
trough in the lower part of the aquifer, to the east of
Moorhead. Moorhead Public Service Water Division
Manager Cliff McLain says, “Sabin is off in the side [of the
aquifer] in the sand, on what is considered to be a recharge
area.”
Protecting the aquifer from contamination has been a top
priority and one that McLain has been involved in for several
years. He worked with the Minnesota Department of
Transportation (Mn/DOT) to protect the sensitive areas of
the aquifer in the construction zone during the reconstruction
of Minn. Hwy. 336 between Interstate 94 and U. S. Hwy.
10. The Mn/DOT controlled fueling and storage of
equipment during the project to protect the aquifer and has
lined storm-water ponds with a foot of clay at some of the
ramps to the east of Moorhead. Unconfined and
environmentally sensitive in this area, the Buffalo Aquifer
has been contaminated with petroleum products as the result
of truck stops at these highway interchanges. One of the
truck-stop sites, on the south side of I-94 at Minn. Hwy. 336,
was forfeited to the state for nonpayment of taxes in 1996.
More than $1 million from the Minnesota Petroleum Tank
Release Cleanup Fund, administered by the Minnesota
Department of Commerce, was used to remove
contaminated soil. Wastewater seepage lagoons also caused
contamination at the site.
A fuel spill at a truck stop on the north side of the
interstate prompted an investigation of the site, and gasoline
released from the truck stop was discovered along with an
old diesel spill. Petroleum-contaminated soil was removed
from the site, and the truck stop has since been closed.
Contamination from Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE), a
gasoline additive, is also present at the site.
Clay County has adopted a new zoning regulation to
prohibit the storage and distribution of large quantities of
petroleum products and hazardous materials from being
located in the sensitive areas of the aquifer.
REGISTRATION FORM FOR TELECONFERENCE AND FALL SCHOOLS
You may combine fees on one check if more than one person is attending a school; however, please make a copy of this
form for each person. Questions regarding certification, contact Cindy Cook at 651-215-0751. Questions regarding
registration, contact Jeanette Boothe at 651-215-1321.
AWWA Teleconference: Sustainability, November 4, 2004.
Fee: $65 ($85 after October 28 or at the door) for St. Paul, Brooklyn Park, and Duluth sites; $55 ($75 after October 28
or at the door) for North Mankato (no lunch served at this site); $65 for Grand Forks site until October 28 (no late
registrations accepted for this site).
Check the location you wish to attend:
____ St. Paul
____ Brooklyn Park
____ Grand Forks
____ Duluth
____ North Mankato
Southeast School, October 7, 2004, Holiday Inn, Owatonna (as part of the Minnesota AWWA conference). Fee: $50.
Southwest School, October 13, 2004, Redwood Falls Area Community Center, Redwood Falls. Fee: $20 ($25 after
October 8 or at the door).
Northwest School, November 30-December 2, 2004, Courtyard by Marriott. Fee: $95 ($120 after November 17 or at the
door).
_____ Check here if you would like to receive an exam application. (Applications must be submitted at least 15 days prior
to the exam.)
_____ Check here if you would like to receive an exam study guide.
Name
Address
City
Zip
Day Phone
Employer
Please enclose the appropriate fee. Make check payable to Minnesota AWWA. Mail this form and fee to Public Water
Supply Unit, Minnesota Department of Health, 121 East Seventh Place, Suite 220, P. O. Box 64975, St. Paul, Minnesota
55164-0975.
Registration for the following schools must be directed to the person listed:
October 19, 2004, Suburban Utilities Superintendents School, Redwood Community Center, Apple Valley. Fee: $25. Send
to: Mike Bramwell, City of Champlin, 11955 Champlin, Minnesota 55316-2379 (checks payable to SUSA).
October 27, 2004, Central Water Operators School, St. John’s University, Collegeville. Contact Lyle Stai, 320-212-8590.
3
Training News
See page 3 for registration information
The 2004 Northwest District Water Operators School will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott in Moorhead from
Tuesday, November 30 to Thursday, December 2.
Registration for the school is $95 ($120 after November 17 or at the door). A block of guest rooms is being held until
November 9 at a special rate. Call the Courtyard by Marriott at 218-284-1000 and mention American Water Works
Association. Participants will receive 16 contact hours for their participation. A tentative agenda for the school is below.
(Updated agendas for this and other schools are at http://mnawwa.org/section/districtschools.html.)
Tuesday, November 30
Wednesday, December 1
8:30-noon
• AWWA Web Site Information
• Safety Is an Attitude
• Disinfection By-products Rule
• Project Management: An Operator Perspective
• Lead and Copper/Corrosion Control Update
• Water for People
or
• Exam Prep—Math
1:00-4:00
Small Systems
• Regional Geology and Groundwater Sources
• Well Testing
• Gimmicks and Gadgets
• Distribution Modeling for Small Systems
or
Surface Water Treatment/Emerging Technologies
• Surface Water Treatment Regulations
• Regional Membrane Filtration Applications
• UV Application in Williston, North Dakota
• Ozone Operation in Moorhead
or
• Exam Prep—General Operations
8:30-noon
Operator Breakfast
District Business Meeting—Perry Hart, Chair
Product Exposition
1:00-4:00
Hands-on Sessions at Moorhead Water Plant
• Dosages and Chemical Feed Calibrations
• Troubleshooting Strategies
• Automated Meter Reading
• Chemical Feed System Maintenance
(An optional tour of the plant will be conducted at 4:00)
Thursday, December 2
8:00-noon
• Hydrant Maintenance
• Source Water Protection
• Detroit Lakes Wellhead Protection
• Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater
or
• Certification Exams (at 10:00)
November 4 Teleconference
This fall’s American Water Works Association
teleconference, Sustainability,will be held on Thursday,
November 4 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (with registration
beginning at 10:30). Downlink locations are Hennepin County
Technical College in Brooklyn Park, the Minnesota
Department of Health in St. Paul, Memorial Union Hall at
the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, Lake
Superior College in Duluth, and South Central Technical
College in North Mankato. Participants will receive 4
contact hours.
Minnesota AWWA Conference
The Minnesota Section American Water Works
Association (AWWA) Annual Conference will be held at the
Holiday Inn in Owatonna from Wednesday, October 6 to
Friday, October 8. The Southeast District will hold its fall
school in conjunction with the conference, on Thursday,
October 7 (with a fee of $50 for the day). Other fall schools:
• Southwest Water Operators School, Redwood Falls Area
Community Center, Redwood Falls, Wednesday,
October 13.
PWS Profile: John Chlebeck
John Chlebeck is a
Graduate Engineer I
performing
plan
review (currently on
watermain plans) for
the Drinking Water
Protection Section.
John received a
degree in civil
engineering with an
environmental-engineering emphasis from the University of
California at Berkeley. John has a large extended family in
St. Paul.
• Suburban Superintendents School, Redwood Community
Center, Apple Valley, Tuesday, October 19.
• Central Water Operators School, St. John’s University,
Collegeville, Wednesday, October 27.
2004 Class D Study Guide Available
The new Class D Study Guide covers wells, chemical
addition, math, and other material that is necessary to know
to take the Class D exam. Contact Noel Hansen at 651215-0762 or at [email protected] for a copy.
4
2004 Drinking Water Institute
Held in St. Cloud
Erie Water Works
Gets Brief Security Scare
On the morning of Thursday, May 27, a water works
employee in Erie, Pennsylvania, spotted a man scaling a pair
of fences and running away from the Sigsbee Reservoir.
After investigating and finding a black garbage bag on top of
the 33-million-gallon covered reservoir, the employee notified
authories. Bill Brown, the utility’s public information officer,
said the responders included the city bomb squad, a
hazardous-materials crew, state and city police, and the FBI.
“It took hours,” Brown said. “We isolated the reservoir.”
The investigation revealed the contents of the bag: a pair
of trousers and soiled underwear. Based on the employee’s
description of the intruder, authorities were able to
apprehend an 18-year-old Erie man, Troy Musil, who explained
that he had been drinking the night before when he soiled
himself. He stopped at a friend’s house near the Sigsbee
Reservoir, and his friend lent him a pair of pants. Musil put
the dirty clothes in a bag and hurled it over the fences of the
reservoir. The next morning he discovered that his car keys
were with the clothes he had discarded, so he climbed onto
the reservoir to retrieve them.
In late June, Musil pleaded guilty to trespassing and was
ordered to pay $5,000 to the emergency agencies that
responded to his underwear.
The fourth annual Drinking Water Institute for educators was
held at St. Cloud Technical College in June. Sponsored by the
Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Section
American Water Works Association (AWWA) with the
participation of the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Institute
consists of a three-day workshop in which middle-school
science teachers from around the state learn about water
supply and treatment as well as how to teach the subject in
their classrooms.
The 22 teachers who attended the Institute developed action
plans for incorporating inquiry-based activities on water into
their existing curriculum and will return for a follow-up session
this fall to present their plans. The teachers, who receive two
college credits for their participation in the Institute, will reach
approximately 2,900 students in each of the coming school
years with this education.
The MDH Drinking Water Protection Section and Minnesota
AWWA have been conducting these workshops since 2001.
The following year, the Institute received a national education
award from American Water Works Association.
Below, Lisa Vollbrecht, Water Services Manager for St. Cloud
Public Utilities, accepts a plaque from Institute co-chair Stew
Thornley in appreciation of the utility’s sponsorship of two
teachers from St. Cloud to the Institute.
In 1993, a pair of briefs was discovered on the Alaska Pipeline
near Delta Junction. Could they belong to Troy “Meta” Musil?
Waterline
Published quarterly by the
Drinking Water Protection Section,
Minnesota Department of Health
Editor: Stew Thornley
Dick Clark
Staff:
Jeanette Boothe
Noel Hansen
To request this document in another format, call
651-215-0700; TDD 651-215-0707 or toll-free
through the Minnesota Relay Service,
1-800-627-3529 (ask for 651-215-0700).
Past issues of the Waterline (in PDF format)
are available at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/
newsletters.htm
5
CALENDAR
Water Operator Training
Minnesota Section, American
Water Works Association
October 6-8, Annual Conference,
Holiday Inn, Owatonna. Contact Steve
Schneider, 651-266-6274.
*October 7, Southeast Water
Operators School, Holiday Inn,
Owatonna. Contact Paul Halvorson,
507-292-5193. (This will be part of the
Minnesota AWWA Annual Conference.)
*October 13, Southwest Water
Operators School, Redwood Falls Area
Community Center, Redwood Falls.
Contact John Blomme, 507-537-7308.
*October 27, Central Water
Operators School, St. John’s University,
Collegeville. Contact Lyle Stai, 320-2128590.
*November 30-December 2,
Northwest Water Operators School,
Courtyard by Marriott, Moorhead.
Contact Stew Thornley, 651-215-0771.
Minnesota Rural Water Association, Contact Kyle Kedrowski, 800-367-6792.
November 16, Securing Financing for
*September 8, Operation &
Small Systems, St. Cloud.
Maintenance, Preston.
November 17, Securing Financing for
September 15, Operation &
Small Systems, Owatonna.
Maintenance, Monticello.
November 18, Cross Connections and
*September
28-30,
Water
Backflow Prevention, Site to be
Certification Preparation, St. Cloud.
October 19, Operation & determined.
December 8, Winter Operation &
Maintenance, Montevideo.
*October 27, Operation & Maintenance, Slayton.
Maintenance, Biwabik.
MRWA Training for
November 3, Winterizing Your Water
Non-Municipal
Systems
System, Mankato.
September 21, Mankato
November 4, Winterizing Your Water
October 26, Stillwater
System, St. Cloud.
*Suburban Superintendents School
October 19, Redwood Community
Center, Apple Valley, Contact Jim
Sweeney, 651-450-2565.
Minnesota Municipal
Utilities Association,
October 13-14, Water/Wastewater
Workshop, Marshall, Contact Kevin
Thompson, 763-551-1230.
American Water Works Association Teleconference
November 4, Sustainability, Brooklyn Park, St. Paul, Duluth,
North Mankato, and Grand Forks. Contact Stew Thornley,
651-215-0771.
*Schools/meetings marked with an asterisk include a water certification exam. To be eligible to take a
certification exam, applicants must have hands-on operations experience at a drinking water system.
For an up-to-date list of events, see the training calendar on the MDH web site at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/wateroperator/trng/wat_op_sched.html
MDH Drinking Water Protection web page:http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water
Presort Standard
US Postage
PAID
Permit No. 171
St. Paul, MN
Environmental Health Division
121 E. 7th Place Suite 220
P. O. Box 64975
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED