Member Update (MU03-01)

*To:*	Members & Affiliates
*From:*	National Office
*Date:*	January 15, 2003
*Subject:*	CALL FOR NOMINATIONS C 2002 PEAK PERFORMANCE AWARDS
*Reference:*	MU 03-01
*Attachments:*	- Facilities Eligible for 2002 AMSA Platinum Awards (.pdf ~19 KB) - 2002 Peak Performance Award Application (.pdf ~8 KB, or MS-Excel ~25 KB) - Online Application

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. It has honored growing numbers of AMSA member agency facilities since its inception in 1987 and continues this tradition in 2003 by recognizing member agency achievements for treatment results for the 2002 calendar year.

AMSA's Peak Performance Awards Program consists of three categories — Platinum, Gold and Silver. The criteria for each award 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 1998 through 2002. 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 2002 calendar year. If your agency has a facility that you believe is eligible for a 2002 Platinum Award, but is not included on the enclosed list, please fax a copy of your Gold Award certificates from the past four years (1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001) to Shawnita Dickens at AMSA's National Office, fax: 202/833-4657. AMSA's 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 no NPDES permit violations in 2002.

Silver Awards are presented to facilities with no more than five NPDES violations in 2002.

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.

A facility may complete and submit their application for the Peak Performance Awards in the following ways:

All applications must be accompanied by a copy of the NPDES permit discharge requirements.

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 the 2003 National Environmental Policy Forum & 33rd 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.

The winners of all Peak Performance Awards are recognized at the Awards Luncheon during AMSA's 2003 National Environmental Policy Forum & 33rd Annual Meeting, May 17-21, 2002, 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.

Please contact George Barnes, phone: 440/330-6708, 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 2002 Peak Performance Awards Program are due by March 5, 2003.
Thank you for your interest in AMSA's Peak Performance Awards Program!