April 24, 2009 Issue 13
Legislative Liaison
  2009 ND Legislative Session
ND Rural Water Systems Association
In This Issue
 
 
 
 
 
 
How to Contact Your Legislators
 
Grassroots efforts start at home. They can start today. If a quality supply of water would help your community grow, then pick up the phone, or email your local legislator while the topic is fresh in your mind. Start your participation in this grassroots effort to bring quality water to every community and citizen in our great state!
You may leave a message for any legislator by calling 888-635-3447. This is a toll free call.  Email addresses for legislators are available from the ND Legislative Council by CLICKING HERE.
 
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Addressing Mail Correspondence 
 
To a Senator:
Honorable (full name)
State Senator
600 E Boulevard Ave
Bismarck, ND 58505
 
Dear Senator (last name):
 

To a Representative:
Honorable (full name)
State Representative
600 E Boulevard Ave
Bismarck, ND 58505
 
Dear Representative (last name):
  
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Did You Know?
North Dakota has one of the most open legislatures in the nation? Every bill must have a public hearing before a legislative committee, must be publicly voted upon by the committee, and then must come before the full House or Senate for still another public vote. You have the right, as do all citizens, to testify before the North Dakota Legislative Assembly on ANY bill or resolution. Your opportunity to testify on a bill is at the committee hearing. If you prefer, you may submit written testimony instead of appearing before the committee.
We have a great citizen legislature in North Dakota - that fortunately seems to work quite well. EXERCISE your right to testify before the legislature. Legislators want to hear what you have to saw.

Learn More. . .
..about legislation in North Dakota. Click a topic below:

HOW TO TESTIFY BEFORE A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
 
Water Conservation
"Tip of the Week"
 
Installing low-flow fixtures are easy ways to conserve water.  Other ways of saving water would be to use auto sensing or timer faucets.  Zane Satterfield in the National Environmental Services Center's Tech Brief titled Green Building states, "Auto sensing is when your hands pass under the faucets to turn them on.  They stay on as long as your hands are under the faucet.  Timer faucets are the faucets that have a push down plunger handle or button that slowly comes up to shut the water off."
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Weekly Legislative Liaison

The Legislative Liaison is sent most Fridays during the Legislative Session. It is now available on our Web site as well as via e-mail, fax, or regular mail service. E-mail is the most efficient way to stay up to date due to the time-sensitive nature of the information.
ARCHIVES
North Dakotans Attend Rural Water Rally

Twenty-nine North Dakotans, representing North Dakota Rural Water Systems Association (NDRWSA) as well as their local rural water system, attended the National Rural Water Association's (NRWA) Rural Water Rally in Washington, DC this past week (April 19-21).  Reports from NRWA indicate that this year's attendance was record-breaking, with over 550 people registered from all over the country. 
 
Officials from USDA-RUS and USDA-FSA were featured speakers at the Opening Session on Monday.  Senator Kohl (D-WI), a long-time supporter of rural water spoke at the Tuesday lunch and Senator Byrd (D-WV) was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award in a special ceremony.  The Senator has been instrumental in rural water over the years.  Read more about Senator Byrd.
 
We were able to spend close to an hour with Senator Dorgan and his staff where we thanked him for his past support of rural water and asked for his continued support.  Since Senator Dorgan became Chairman of the Energy and Water Committee he has been instrumental in bringing long-awaited money for water projects to the state.  He also supported the stimulus bill which is going to be very beneficial to numerous water systems in ND. 
 
We weren't able to thank Senator Conrad or Representative Pomeroy in person, but did spend time with their staffs, who are very knowledgeable about water issues in ND as well as nationally.  Senator Conrad had a meeting with OMB that ran longer than expected and Representative Pomeroy ended up staying longer in ND due to the flooding in Valley City.  All in all, our time was well spent in Washington and we are grateful for the support we receive from our Congressional Delegation.
 
 
South Central Regional Water District Places in Top Five in Nation

More than forty rural water associations submitted their state's best tasting water in the Great American Water Taste Test which was held during NRWA's Rural Water Rally and the results are in; North Dakota's entry, water from South Central Regional Water District's new treatment plant is among the very best in the nation, placing in the top five!  The forty entries were narrowed down to five and a panel of distinguished judges then chose the winning water during a luncheon held on Tuesday. 
 
Click HERE to see video and story.  Melanie Rhinehart-Van Tassell, Legislative Assistant from Congressman Earl Pomeroy's office, is the female judge on the panel. 
 
Congratulations to South Central Regional Water District!

 

 
Attention flood-affected water and wastewater systems:  Please contact our office at 800-349-6951 if you require any type of assistance.  We are here to help!
IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

Consumer Confidence Reports
Believe it or not, it is already that time of year again.  Time for you to begin gathering information for your annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).

The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDOH) has already sent CCR packets to all public water systems.

Water systems that supply water to other systems should have provided them with all relevant information by April 1, 2009.

The 2008 CCR must be delivered or made available to customers and a copy forwarded to the NDDOH by July 1, 2009.

Would you like FREE assistance in completing your CCR?  If so, contact ericvolk@ndrw.org or call 800-349-6951 as soon as possible.

Red Flag Rule
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is requiring any entity where there is a risk of identity theft, to develop and implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program. This so-called Red Flag Rule must include reasonable policies and procedures for detecting, preventing, and mitigating identity theft. The rule was issued by the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision. The compliance date is May 1, 2009 and covers all utilities.

NDRWSA, in conjunction with the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), is offering any utility, municipality, or association a FREE and SIMPLE compliance tool to comply with the FTC's Red Flag Rule.

Ed Thomas, Environmental Engineer with NRWA said, "We are excited to offer the compliance tool for no charge to any entity that has to comply with this federal mandate. We estimate that most anyone can complete the compliance process in one hour. We have tried to make compliance as simple and clear as possible. We focused on compliance for water systems, but there is no reason a city, power utility, association, county, etc. could not use this tool for compliance. It is free, simple, and available to anyone."

The Red Flag Rule template can be found at: www.ndrw.org
The federal rule is available at: www.ruralwater.org/redflagrules%20FR.pdf
 
Stage 2 DBPR MRDL Monitoring Began April 1st
Beginning April 1st water systems receiving water from one or more wholesale systems (consecutive systems) were required by the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (DBPR) to monitor disinfectant (chlorine, free or total) residuals and comply with the Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL) requirements.

To meet these rule requirements consecutive systems need to monitor and record chlorine residuals at the same place and time as their monthly Total Coliform Rule (TCR) samples. TCR samples include routine, repeat, replacement and increased monitoring.

The MRDL for chlorine is 4.0 mg/l and compliance is based on a running annual average. Chlorine residual monitoring reports must be sent to the ND Department of Health no later than 10 days after the end of each quarter. If quarterly averages for any consecutive four-quarter period exceed the MRDL, the system is in violation. Failure to monitor will be treated as a monitoring violation.

For more information contact Lydia Fewless, ND Department of Health, at 701-328-5221.
Celebrate Water May 3-9, 2009
National Drinking Water Week is May 3-9, 2009.  Water Week 2009 is part of a national campaign to increase the public's awareness about the vital role water plays in our daily lives and to remind everyone of the importance of the work their local water professionals perform.  We often forget what a valuable commodity water is and how much effort is required in keeping it clean, safe, and accessible.  Water Week is an opportunity for communities to show their appreciation for the hard work and dedication of over 59,000 local water systems who supply America with safe clean water every day.

We invite you to join in celebrating this important event.  To help, we are pleased to provide a list of educational materials for your use.  Please contact our office if you would be interested in obtaining any of the educational materials.  These are FREE of charge, but supplies are limited and available on a first come, first served basis.
 
Please pass this information on to your local elementary schools. National Water Week is a great time to teach kids the value of water. Our professionally trained staff would be more than willing to speak on the importance of water.
 
We encourage your elementary school to contact our office at 800-349-6951 to schedule an appointment. 

Upcoming Events

Small Systems Funding Options Training April 28, 29, 30 & May 5, 6, 7
 
Please note the date change for our Utility EXPO:
Operator, Equipment and Utility EXPO  June 3-4  Jamestown
 
Summer Board Meeting and Leadership Retreat, Minot Holiday Inn  July 27-28
 
H2O-XPO for Water & Wastewater, Louisville, KY  October 6-8 


Training
 
The NDRWSA along with representatives from Rural Develpment, ND Dept. of Health, and the ND Dept. of Commerce will be conducting Small System Funding training sessions as follows:

April 28 - Wilton

April 29 - Bowman

April 30 - Watford City

May 5 - Langdon

May 6 - Casselton

May 7 - Ashley

Click HERE for more information.
 
Book CoverGREAT WATER RATES!
Carl Brown's new book, How to Get Great Rates is now available.  He is selling them for $40 plus shipping and handling.  However, if ordered in bulk there is a substantial savings.  Therefore, if you would like to order them through the association, we can place one order and pass the discount onto you, too.  Some of you may have attended Carl's session during our February EXPO. Click book cover to go to web site.

Please contact our office (melkruck@ndrw.org) by April 30 if you would be interested in ordering How to Get Great Rates. 
Summary and status of select bills that may be of particular interest to the rural water community:
 
HB 1020 State Water Commission appropriations   COMMITTEE HEARING 03/11
HB 1220 Relating to the definition of a meeting   Filed with Secretary of State
HB 1235 Relating to oil extraction tax rates and exemptions; and to provide an effective date   Second reading passed, y 080 n 012 Emergency clause carried
HB 1278 Relating to the removal of the City of Mandan from the Southwest Water Authority   Signed by Governor
HB 1286 Relating to a water permit exemption for small commercial gardens   Signed by President - Senate
HB 1305 Appropriates $2.1 million from the Permanent Oil Tax Fund for  R & T Water Supply Association   Appointed O'Connell to replace Lindaas
HB 1369 Relating to the removal of appointed political subdivision officers    Filed with Secretary of State
HB 1487 Relating to the receipt of federal economic stiumulus or fiscal relief funding not being spent until appropriated by the legislative assembly   Signed by President - Senate
HB 1554 Relating to extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of cities; and to provide for application   Appointed Horne to replace Nelson on conf comm
HCR3014 A concurrent resolution urging Congress not to replace "navigable water" with "waters of the United States" in any Clean Water Act-related legislation considered by Congress   Signed by President - Senate
SB 2027 Relating to extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of cities   Appointed Horne to replace Nelson on conf comm
SB 2051 Relating to elimination of the limits on the amount the oil impact fund and counties may receive under the oil and gas gross production tax; and to provide an effective date   Signed by Speaker
SB 2063 Tobacco Control Advisory Committee appropriation   Second reading, failed to pass, yeas 024 nays 069
SB 2136 Relating to lending and borrowing powers of the public finance authority   Filed with Secretary of State
SB 2193 Relating to the powers and duties and tax levy of the Southwest Water Authority   Filed with Secretary of State
SB 2251 Relating to compensation for water resource district managers   Signed by Speaker
SB 2253 Relating to the appointment of water resource district managers   Filed with Secretary of State
SB 2254 Relating to maintenance of federal water management projects   Filed with Secrtary of State
SB 2255 Relating to exercise of the power of eminent domain by water resource districts   Returned to Senate
SB 2298 Relating to authorizing revenue bonds for the Red River Valley Water Supply Project; relating to the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District   Filed with Secretary of State
SB 2316 A BILL for an Act to provide state cost-sharing for flood control projects.   Second reading, passed, yeas 046 nays 000
SB 2317 Relating to the funding plan for the Red River Valley Water Supply Project   Signed by Governor
SB 2336 Conservancy District; relating to the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District; and to provide an effective date   Signed by Governor
SB 2401 Relating to requirements for plans and specifications and bids for public improvements.   Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 083 nays 009
SB 2427 Relating to allowance of the income tax credit on the form ND-1 income tax return for installation of geothermal energy devices; relating to energy conservation standards in new building construction; to provide borrowing authority; to provide an appropriation; and to provide an effective date   Returned to Senate
SB 2440 Relating to chemigation site permits; and to provide for a legislative council report    Failed to Pass
SCR 4020 Urges Congress to preserve exemption for Hydraulic fracturing from Safe Drinking Water Act   Filed with Secretary of State
SCR 4030 Relating to establishment and use of a legacy fund; and to provide an effective date.   Second reading, failed to pass, yeas 010 nays 082
State and National News
 
See how North Dakota is spending its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Stimulus) funds

As reported in the Bismarck Tribune: Today is the 72nd business day of the North Dakota Legislature. The state constitution limits the Legislature to 80 days of meetings every two years.