It is with deep sadness that we inform you that our long time member and friend from the Adirondack Lodges Homeowners Association Harry Balz passed away earlier today, November 5, 2014, following a brief hospitalization.  Harry was always present at our Annual Conference and training events with a warm smile, kind words and very supportive of this organization and the industry.  Our deepest sympathies to Harry’s wife Elaine and the other members of their family.

On 11/4/14 NYRWA participated in a webinar on EBOLA.  Here are notes from this event.  The short version is if you can take enough precautions for the aids virus, you are covered for EBOLA.

The CDC (Matt Arduino) says they have little to no research on this for wastewater.

1.      This virus is a “negative sense RNA virus” or an “envelope virus” – so is the aids virus.

2.      Envelope virus is the easiest to kill as compared with others like hep-C

Strategic Fuel Reserves in Rensselaer, Brewerton, Rochester, Marcy, Vestal and Buffalo will Ensure Availability of Gasoline and Diesel Fuels to First Responders if Supply is Disrupted

October 29, 2014

Suffolk County Project is the First to Receive Funding under New York State’s Storm Mitigation Loan Program

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that Suffolk County will receive the first loan from New York State’s Storm Mitigation Loan Program for $13.6 million in wastewater and storm resiliency improvements at the Bergen Point Sewage Treatment Plant in Suffolk County. The loan is made up of a $3.2 million grant and $10.4 million in no-interest financing for Suffolk County, which was approved today by the Environmental Facilities Corporation’s Board of Directors.

NYRWA regrets the need to cancel the scheduled Dunkirk Training Session scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2014, due to weather predictions for additional snow.  Our office staff are calling all registered attendees to inform them of this cancellation and we plan to reschedule this session in the Spring 2015.  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.  All of those paid registrations will be promptly reimbursed.  Thank you for your cooperation and please stay safe out on the roads.

Agency: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Policy and Administration

Due: January 14, 2015

Award Date: June 2015

Eligible Applicants:

·         States

·         Indian Tribes

·         Irrigation Districts

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its “Interim Guidance for Managers and Workers Handling Untreated Sewage from Individuals with Ebola in the United States.” This interim guidance is intended for workers who handle untreated sewage that comes from hospitals, medical facilities, and other facilities with confirmed individuals with Ebola.

itEllen M. Gilmer, E&E reporter

Published: Thursday, November 20, 2014

A federal court battle over a Pennsylvania township’s ban on wastewater injection wells took an unusual turn this week as environmental lawyers filed a motion to intervene on behalf of, well, the environment.

Applications Being Accepted for Adirondack and Catskill Smart Growth Implementation Grants:Adirondack Park and Catskill Park communities and organizations can now apply for $800,000 in Environmental Protection Fund grants for 

Two Ithaca-based scientists are paddling from Cayuga Lake to Albany, testing water for plastics pollution from microbeads.

Christian Shaw and Gordon Middleton, who attended Cornell, have formed Plastic Tides, a not-for-profit aimed at raising awareness of water pollution.  We caught up with them on the Clyde River, just after they’d gone under the Thruway bridge at Montezuma Wildlife Refuge.