IAMU will be hosting a solar Conversation on March 15th, 2018 at IAMU.  There is a lot of misinformation about solar and you may have questions.  This will not be a formal presentation, it is more of a conversational discussion to help you determine if solar might be a good fit for your utility. 
There is NO CHARGE for this meeting.  Our presenters and sponsor for the event will be Eric Bleckinger and Steve Steenhoek from Ziegler Power Systems.

Click here to register (IAMU Utility members only).

Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018
Where: IAMU boardroom
Check-in Time: 9:30 - 10:00 – Coffee and donuts, sponsored by Ziegler Power Systems
Meeting Time: 10:00 – Noon. Agenda below.  Lunch at noon, sponsored by Ziegler Power Systems
Cost: Free
Limited to first 20 registrants.

Who should attend? Anyone considering solar - community, or otherwise - could benefit from this discussion.

Why should I attend? Gain a better understanding of the driving factors of Renewable Energy development and finance – and how they might affect your specific municipal group.  We will go beyond CAT specific product, and highlight how we can assist as a true development partner and systems integrator.

What will we talk about?

• Financial decision points for Municipal Utilities considering solar.
• Application strategies
• Solar site selection and development
• Site and layout optimization for LCOE

There is still time to register for the IAMU Legislative Forum & Annual Business Meeting next week.

• Get up-to-date on issues and regulations impacting municipal utilities.
• Let lawmakers know what you think about potential legislation that could affect your utility.
• Help to shape IAMU for the next year.

The Legislative Forum is Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Iowa Hall of Pride in Downtown Des Moines. The forum is immediately followed by a Legislative Reception, and many legislators from around the state plan to attend. If you want to know if your legislators have RSVPed for the event, contact Jen Cronin at [email protected].

Then, on Thursday morning, Feb. 8, don’t miss out on the “Harassment & Discrimination – What Managers Need to Know” training at the IAMU office at 8:30 a.m., followed immediately by the Annual Business Meeting, which goes from 10:45 – 11:30 a.m.

To learn more about the event or to register, click here.

The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities Safety Services is pleased to offer our members a Silica Safety webinar at no cost. We believe that understanding the hazards of silica and safe works practices are vitally important to the well-being of our members. IAMU partners with EMC and Jester Insurance to sponsor the Safety Group Insurance Program and our focus is employee health and safety.

OSHA’s new Silica standard went into effect on June 23, 2017. The standard requires employers to use engineering controls (such as water or ventilation) to limit worker exposure, provide respirators where engineering controls cannot adequately limit exposure, develop a written exposure control plan, train workers on silica hazards and how to limit exposure, and offer medical exams to employees who must wear respirators more than 30 days a year.

Materials include:

• The slide deck from the webinar -- http://members.iamu.org/resource/resmgr/Webinar_Materials/Silica_1_hr_webinar.pdf
• An Exposure Control Plan template – http://members.iamu.org/resource/resmgr/Webinar_Materials/Silica_Exposure_Control_Pla.docx
• Table 1 from the construction standard. The following are the links for the materials --  http://members.iamu.org/resource/resmgr/Webinar_Materials/Silica_tables_1926.pdf

The webinar may be viewed at https://youtu.be/DparrP9UkFA.

Please contact Margret Meade at [email protected] or 515.289.6617 if you have any questions about the Silica standard.

Did you know that active shooter situations are often over within 3 minutes – before First Responders can arrive on scene? Do you know what to do in an active shooter situation? While no one wants to ever be involved in an active shooter situation, it’s critical to know what to do in one. knowing what you should and shouldn’t do if you find yourself in one can mean the difference between life and death for you and others.

The Department of Homeland Security is offering a FREE Active Shooter Preparedness Workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.  The deadline to register is 12 p.m., Feb. 11. Each organization is limited to two registrations. For more information and to register for the event, click here.

The City of Bloomfield's journey to energy independence has taken a big step forward, after years of research, evaluation, and planning by many of the top energy professionals around the Midwest, and beyond. Bloomfield, with a population of less than 3,000 people, has installed a massive 1.86-megawatt solar field to generate their own power.

The solar field completed construction at the end of December, and will produce 10% of Bloomfield’s annual energy. This project is the largest tracking solar array in Iowa to date. A tracking solar array, compared to a traditional fixed array, rotates on an axis to follow the sun as it moves during the day. This gathers significantly more solar power.

Bloomfield’s solar project, is part of what city officials have hailed as, “a community effort to become energy independent by 2030.”

The project was a long time coming, after the Bloomfield City Council decided to pursue energy independence in the Fall of 2014, following a study conducted by the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities. The study revealed that small towns could “save big” with efficiency renewables.
 
To learn more about Bloomfield’s story, be sure to check out the next issue of IAMU Connection magazine, due out in March.  

Keep on top of utility-related news coverage in Iowa. Sign up to subscribe to IAMU’s weekly news digest email. The email will contain news articles from media outlets from across the state, as well as regional and national coverage when Iowa utilities are mentioned. If you’re interested in being added to the news digest email list, email Jen Cronin at [email protected]. You need only put “News Digest” in the subject line of the email, and Jen will get you added to the list.

IAMU Safety Group Insurance participants, be sure to check out the latest Jester Insurance newsletter to learn more about cyber liability insurance coverage. The issue also includes a member spotlight on the City of Pocahontas and an agency spotlight on Powers Insurance Agency, Inc. Click here to read the newsletter.

IAMU has noticed an increased amount of fraudulent emails being sent to our members from outside of our organization. These emails are an attempt to defraud our members by using the IAMU brand as a segue. IAMU assures you that we have not changed our invoicing processes for either membership or training. If something looks wrong, it probably is. If you have any questions about any official correspondence from IAMU, please contact your primary point of contact within our organization.

IAMU members should note that the annual deadline for posting the OSHA 300A injury summary is February 1, 2018. All incidents of work-related injuries and illnesses must also be logged within seven days (Form 300) and detailed injury and illness reports for each entry (Form 301) must also be completed.

If there are more than 10 employees at any time during that calendar year, the employer may come under these requirements. When counting employees, you must include full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers. This exemption is based on the employment of the entire city rather than the establishment. For example, if a city has two establishments like water and public works, one with five employees and one with seven employees, the city must fill out the forms for each establishment because the city employment is greater than 10.

The summary should contain the total numbers of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2017 that were logged on the OSHA 300 form. Employment information regarding the annual average number of employees and total hours worked during the calendar year is needed to calculate incidence rates.

Even if there were no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2017, you are still required to post the form with zeros on the total line. The 300A summary must remain posted until April 30, 2018.

You may download forms 300, 300A, 301 from OSHA’s Injury & Illness Recordkeeping Forms Web page  or contact IAMU at 800-810-4268.

Several reports due within the first quarter. A few of the major reports are listed below. Those reports listed in bold are required reports for all electric utilities. 
 
Should you have any questions or need assistance in completing the reports, please let Krista Wenzel know. Krista can be reached at: [email protected] or by phone at 402.441.1684.
 

• February 15: EIA-923 Power Plant Operations. Required for all electric generators with a capacity equal to or greater than 1MW or if the generator is connected to the grid and has the ability to draw power from or deliver power to the grid. Due to the EIA.
• February 29: EIA-860 Annual Electric Generator Report.  Required for all electric generators with a capacity equal to or greater than 1MW or if the generator is connected to the grid and has the ability to draw power from or deliver power to the grid.  Due to the EIA.
• March 1: Grain Bin Notification. There is no reporting for this, but it is mandated by the IUB to notify customers involved in potential grain bin construction of specific overhead line clearances that must be adhered to when constructing grain bins. We typically remind you of this requirement both in the spring and the fall.
• March 31: Municipal Transfer Replacement Tax Return. This is required for all electric municipal utilities and is due to the City CFO.
• March 31: Statewide Property Tax Return. This is required for all electric municipal utilities that own taxable property. If you need to complete this form, you will receive notification from the Iowa Department of Revenue. Due to the Iowa Department of Revenue.
• March 31: Replacement Tax Form A: Required for all municipal electric utilities that own taxable property. Due to the Iowa Department of Revenue.
• April 1: Annual Electric Report (ME-1). Required for all municipal electric utilities and is due to the Iowa Utilities Board via the Electronic Filing System.
• April 30: EIA-861 Annual Electric Power Industry Report. Required for all electric utilities. If your retail sales are less than 100,000 MWH you can complete the EIA-861S (short form). You must complete a full EIA-861 every five years. EIA will tell you what report you need to complete once you log into the reporting website.

 
To see more information on upcoming reports, please visit IAMU's website at http://members.iamu.org/?page=Electric_Calendar.

Several reports due within the first quarter. A few of the major reports are listed below. Those reports listed in bold are required reports for all electric utilities. 
 
Should you have any questions or need assistance in completing the reports, please let Krista Wenzel know. Krista can be reached at: [email protected] or by phone at 402.441.1684.
 

• March 1: EIA-176 Annual Report for Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply & Disposition. This is required for all municipally owned gas utilities. Due to the EIA.
• March 15: Annual Report for Gas Distribution Systems (Form PHMSA F7100.1-1). This is required for all municipally owned gas utilities. Due to PHMSA and IUB.
• March 15:  Annual Report for Mechanical Fitting Failure Report (Form PHMSA F7100.1-2). This is required for all municipally owned gas utilities. This report may be submitted throughout the year or on an annual basis by March 15th. Due to PHMSA and IUB.
• March 15: Annual Report for Gas Transmission and Gathering Systems (Form PHMSA F7100.2-1). This is required for all municipally owned gas utilities with a gas transmission system. Due to PHMSA and IUB.
• March 15: National Pipeline Mapping System, Online Pipeline Data Update Form (NPMS). This is required for all municipally owned gas utilities with gas transmission pipelines. Due to the National Pipeline Mapping System as required by the office of Pipeline Safety (OPS).
• March 31: Municipal Transfer Replacement Tax Return. This is required for all gas municipal utilities and is due to the City CFO.
• March 31: Statewide Property Tax Return. This is required for all gas municipal utilities that own taxable property. If you need to complete this form, you will receive notification from the Iowa Department of Revenue. Due to the Iowa Department of Revenue.
• March 31: Replacement Tax Form B: Required for all municipal gas utilities that own taxable property. Due to the Iowa Department of Revenue.
• April 1: Annual Gas Report (MG-1). Required for all municipal gas utilities and is due to the Iowa Utilities Board via the Electronic Filing System.

 
To see more information on upcoming reports, please visit IAMU's website at http://members.iamu.org/?page=Gas_Calendar. 

Most medical authorities define trench foot as a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary, and cold conditions. The use of the word trench in the condition name refers to trench warfare, mainly associated with World War I. It is one of many immersion foot syndromes.

Symptoms of trench foot include:

• A tingling and/or itching sensation
• Pain
• Swelling
• Cold and blotchy skin
• Numbness
• A prickly or heavy feeling in the foot.

The foot may be red, dry, and painful after it becomes warm. Blisters may form, followed by skin and tissue dying and falling off. In severe cases, untreated trench foot can involve the toes, heel, or entire foot.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the following steps to prevent trench foot.

• Thoroughly clean and dry your feet.
• Put on clean, dry socks daily.
• When sleeping or resting, do not wear socks.

As with any other cold illness, seek medical treatment as soon as possible if you
notice the symptoms of trench foot or any other immersion foot condition.

Trench foot knows no season! Prolonged exposure to wet sock and boots at any temperature may result in trench foot. Invest in a boot dryer for use year around and always carry an extra pair of socks and footwear with you.