AMSA Member Update (MU05-01)

To: Members & Affiliates
From: National Office
Date: January 7, 2005
Subject: CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - 2004 PEAK PERFORMANCE AWARDS
Reference: MU 05-01
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Action Please By:
March 4, 2005

AMSA’s Peak Performance Awards Program recognizes member agency facilities for excellence in wastewater treatment as measured by their compliance with their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements. This program has honored growing numbers of AMSA member agency facilities since its inception in 1987 and continues this tradition in 2005 by recognizing excellence in treatment results for the 2004 calendar year.

Three Peak Performance Award Categories Recognize Facility Achievement
AMSA's Peak Performance Awards Program consists of three categories — Platinum, Gold and Silver. The criteria for each category is as follows:

Platinum Awards recognize 100% compliance with NPDES permits over a consecutive five-year period. Platinum Awards will be given to facilities with a consistent record of full NPDES compliance for the calendar years of 2000 through 2004. Attached is a list of facilities that, based on AMSA's records, are eligible for a Platinum Award this year if they once again attain full compliance for the entire 2004 calendar year. If your agency has a facility that you believe is eligible for a 2004 Platinum Award, but is not included on the enclosed list, please fax a copy of your Gold Award certificates from the past four years (2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003) to Shawnita Dickens at AMSA's National Office, fax: 202/833-4657. [Please Note: Platinum Awards are not rolling, upon receipt of a Platinum Award, member agency facilities must receive four consecutive Gold Awards to again be eligible for another Platinum Award.]

Gold Awards are presented to facilities with zero NPDES permit violations in 2004.

Silver Awards are presented to facilities with no more than five NPDES violations in 2004.

All eligible member agency facilities must provide at least secondary treatment, or advanced primary treatment with a 301h waiver. Additionally, there are no facility capacity minimums for Peak Performance Award eligibility.

How to Apply for 2004 Peak Performance Recognition. . .
The attached Peak Performance Award Application Packet provides you with complete details and information to apply for recognition. AMSA has made applying for Peak Performance recognition even easier — now facilities may complete and submit their applications in the following ways:

  1. Online Applications Available on CleanWater Central! – Visit http://cleanwatercentral.org to complete and submit an online application form for the 2004 Peak Performance Award Program. AMSA is pleased to offer an online application for your convenience in submitting your application for the 2004 Peak Performance Award Program. (Please see page 4 of the application packet for detailed instructions.)
     
  2. Download Application Materials and Fax or E-mail — Visit AMSA's Clean Water on the Web site, http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org, and download the application form. Complete and submit the application form to Mark Hoeke via fax: 202/318-1472 or e-mail: mhoeke@bluewin.ch.
     
  3. Via Regular Mail — If your utility is submitting a significant number of pages and/or several applications, please submit the application(s) regular mail to Shawnita Dickens, at AMSA’s National Office, 1816 Jefferson Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

Applicants must provide a copy of the applicable federal or state-issued NPDES permit requirements. Please review the “What to Submit” section, which can be found on page 3 of the application packet carefully to determine what your facility must include with the facility’s application packet.

If the survey form is not adequate to show all permit requirements and discharge results, it may be modified or a separate table may be submitted by e-mail. Please use an Excel spreadsheet where possible and include monthly flow data even if flow is not a permit limit. The flow data is needed to prepare statistical information for AMSA’s 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting in May. For example, if the permit has daily, or other, limits the table should list these and indicate the number of violations. Please provide the requested plant performance and permit limits information even if you choose to also provide a summary of the number of violations for each facility.

In addition to your agency’s Peak Performance Award, AMSA requests that you complete and submit the Cleanwater Central Wastewater Treatment Facility Description Form, which is included in the application packet. This information will be used to add or update your facility information in Cleanwater Central database, www.cleanwatercentral.org.

2004 Peak Performance Award Recognition
The 2004 Peak Performance Award honorees are recognized at the Awards Luncheon during AMSA's 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting, May 2, 2005, in Washington, DC. Recipients of Platinum Awards are invited to accept their award in person and Gold and Silver Award winners will receive their certificates by mail. All award winning facilities will be showcased in the June edition of AMSA's monthly newsletter, the Clean Water News.

Questions?
Please contact Mark Hoeke via email: mhoeke@bluewin.ch, or phone: 202/361-7446, with any questions you may have regarding completion of the Peak Performance application form. General questions about the Peak Performance Award Program and awards presentation should be directed to Shawnita Dickens, at AMSA's National Office, phone: 202/833-1449 or e-mail: sdickens@amsa-cleanwater.org.

Remember - applications for the 2004 Peak Performance Awards Program are due by March 4, 2005.



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