Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - January 4, 2002
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January 4, 2002
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The Winter Conference’s Hotel Cut-Off Date Is January 11
With former National Security Adviser Samuel “Sandy” Berger keynoting AMSA’s blockbuster Winter Conference — Managing & Protecting Wastewater Infrastructure Assets, February 5-8, 2002, in Orlando, Fla. — hotel rooms are going fast. Interest in the two conference topics — infrastructure security and asset management — has been very intense. AMSA will preview its risk-based wastewater vulnerability self-assessment software tool, marking a major milestone towards the development of a national tool for wastewater utilities seeking to comprehensively determine their security vulnerabilities and priorities. The software tool will be an indispensable aid in assessing the unique, site-specific security needs of individual POTWs, and the Winter Conference will offer a much-anticipated sneak-peak into the progress AMSA has made towards completing this key tool. With the Jan. 11 cut-off for hotel registration fast-approaching, AMSA strongly urges its members to make their reservations now and to call the Caribe Royale Hotel today at 407/238-8000. AMSA will also be releasing the much-anticipated asset management publication, Managing Public Infrastructure Assets to Minimize Cost and Maximize Performance, at the 2002 Winter Conference. The new publication will be a valuable aid to public water and wastewater utilities navigating impending financial requirements. Additionally, AMSA is offering regional asset management workshops that will complement the new publication. Workshop registration materials were recently mailed, and space is limited to 100 participants per workshop, so early registration is strongly encouraged. Workshop information and registration is also available at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/meetings/02regwork/.
Water Agencies Meet with Senate Staff on Infrastructure Funding
Demonstrating a strong commitment to water infrastructure legislation in 2002, more than ten municipal water and wastewater agency representatives, including AMSA members, met with Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee staff on January 3 in support of the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN). These agencies fulfilled the important purpose of the meeting, briefing key staff members on the urgent need for federal water infrastructure funding, and building momentum for water infrastructure legislation in 2002. AMSA thanks the following members who traveled to D.C. for the meeting so soon after the New Year’s holiday: the Narragansett Bay Commission, Providence, R.I.; Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Cleveland, Ohio; Nashua Wastewater Treatment Facility, Nashua, N.H.; DC Water & Sewer Authority, Washington, DC; Philadelphia Water Department, Philadelphia, Pa; Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, Miami, Fla.; and Alexandria Sanitation Authority, Alexandria, Va.AMSA member agencies and other WIN member organizations explained to Senate staff that many municipalities are in a difficult debt service cycle, raising customer rates could not be seen as a solution to the huge infrastructure funding shortfall, and the WIN recommendation of $57 billion in federal funding over the next five years remains a critical necessity. Senate staff asked many questions about grant funding, seeking methods to ensure that funds will go to “distressed communities.” As the Senate drafts legislation over the coming months, WIN’s and AMSA’s input will be crucial. WIN will be setting up meetings with EPA Administrator, Christine Todd Whitman, and other Bush administration officials, as well as increasing its grassroots outreach with heightened media efforts and advertising. WIN will also send a letter next week to Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and all EPW members, expressing appreciation for the Committee’s efforts and laying out the key water infrastructure principles WIN believes must be included in order for infrastructure legislation to receive its support. AMSA will write a similar letter setting out the key legislative principles of the wastewater community. Members will be kept apprised of new developments as they occur.