Mark J. Becker & Associates (MJBA), which provides the IAMU Benefit Program, is offering an educational webinar next week to help IAMU members understand Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA), and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA).
 
All IAMU members should have received an invitation from MJBA and are welcome to participate in the webinar.
 
The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 8 from 1 to 2 p.m.
 
To register for the webinar, go to:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pAefiIomQYqu0JamDg8j6A
 
To learn more about the IAMU Benefit Program, go to:
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/ada35f0ada337fa3cdfd63f24/files/2c3e776a-3768-47bf-87d5-0c5cf05401fb/IAMU_Flyer_Affiliated.pdf

The American Public Power Association (APPA)wanted to make municipal electric utilities aware of an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal last week entitled “Russia Hacks Its Way Into U.S. Utilities” and provide you with basic information in case you receive any inquiries.
 
This story, which may be the first in a series, was prompted by a briefing by DHS a week ago providing more details on an issue that was first raised in 2017, when our federal government partners informed grid operators of a threat to the energy and manufacturing sectors. This incident did NOT have any operational impacts. The APPA continues to work across the sector and with our government partners to protect the grid from this threat as well as other cyber and physical threats.
 
In March 2018 when the U.S. government announced sanctions against Russian cyber actors, the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) provided detailed indicators of compromise to ensure electric utilities are prepared to protect their networks. Information sharing is a critical component of the strong industry/government partnership that exists through the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, and vital to protecting the grid.
 
The APPA and the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities encourage electric members to consider having someone from your utility participate in on one of the upcoming DHS Russian government cyber activity briefings detailed here:
https://www.us-cert.gov/ccubedvp/events.
 
Any questions may be directed to Russell Saffell, Director of Member Security & Critical Infrastructure Protection – [email protected], 515.289.1999 (office) or 515.988.8686 (cell).

IAMU will be hosting the 2018 Water Distribution Training and Water Leak Detection/Line Locating Workshops, September 5th & 6th.

0.6 CEUs will be available each day for Water Distribution.

For more information, and to register, click here.

Hope to see you there!

The Iowa Department of Revenue has issued its proposed rules for the state’s new Water Service Excise Tax (WET). You may review the rules at  https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/aco/arc/3896C.pdf.
 
Any interested person may submit written or oral comments concerning this proposed rule making. Written or oral comments in response to this rule making must be received by the Department no later than 4:30 p.m. on August 7, 2018.
 
Comments should be directed to:
Joe Fraioli
Department of Revenue Hoover State Office Building P.O. Box 10457
Des Moines, Iowa 50306
Phone: 515.725.4057
Email: [email protected]

The 2018-2019 IAMU Membership Directories have been mailed. All utility, affiliate, and associate members receive one as part of your memberships. If your office does not receive your copy by the end of the week (Friday, July 27th), please contact Jen Cronin at [email protected].
 
Remember that you can also always look up contact information for utility, affiliate, and associate members online by going to www.iamu.org, signing in as a member, and then going to Resources, Directory Search.

IAMU has updated the IAMU Mutual Aid Program book (Revision June 2018). Please print it and/or save it electronically for your use during a Mutual Aid (MA) event. Note that several regions have new Primary and/or Secondary Coordinators. We will be offering hard copies of the MA booklet at face-to-face meeting throughout the year. 

We have this MA booklet on our IAMU website. Click: 
https://cdn.ymaws.com/…/resource/resmgr/…/iamu_ma_binder.pdf
 
We have several MA regions with new Primary or Secondary Coordinators, so please print off booklets now so you have the correct phone numbers to call during a MA event.
 
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Change to our IAMU Connect (our website mutual aid search tool) on the IAMU website. Unfortunately, the IAMU Connect MA tool is discontinuing. The service provider for this tool was recently purchased and has decided mutual aid will not be part of their business model. IAMU will receive all the data from the old company, and we are trying to figure out our next move forward -- create our own system or another solution. 
 
If you have any questions, please reach out to Dave Hraha, Director of Member Services, 515.289.1999, [email protected].

Utility knives, otherwise known as box knives, are a commonly used tool at home and in the workplace. If not used properly, these tools can inflict serious injuries.

Basic safety precautions
When using the knife, cut away from your body. Keep your free hand, forearm and the rest of your body clear of the cutting path. Even though this seems like an obvious precaution, improper cutting is a common cause of most lacerations. Watch out for others in your work area so that they also stay out of the cutting path.

Make sure the blade is sharp. A dull blade means that the user must exert more force to cut the material, and this means that the user does not have complete control of the cut. Forcing the knife may also result in severe accidents that include ligament and tendon damage. The pressure needed to cut with a dull knife may also result in hand and arm fatigue, which can lead to an ergonomic injury.
Don’t use the knife as a screwdriver or pry tool. Due to the brittle nature of the blade, this may result in the tip breaking off and becoming airborne. Knives with breakaway blades or X-Acto knives are not meant to be used in the workplace.

Clean the handle if it is oily or dirty so you have a good grip on the knife.

Check to see that the blade is properly seated in the knife. Blades that are not correctly seated or are not the proper size will not completely retract into the handle when closed. This means the blade tip will be exposed, even when the knife is closed. Dispose of used blades in a puncture-proof, closable container.

As with all tool use, use the proper PPE. Cut-resistant gloves and eye protection are a must use!

We're looking for nominations for someone to throw out the first pitch at the I-Cubs game on Saturday, Aug. 4. If you're planning to attend the Utility Workers Appreciation Night at Principal Park and would like to be considered or know of someone else who would (can be a municipal utility worker or a child of a municipal utility worker), email [email protected]. We will put all names into a hat and do a live Facebook drawing Friday, July 27.

IAMU is once again offering the Electric Utility System Operation Short Course (EUSO) presented by Skip Collier of Professional Training Systems, Inc.
 
Skip is highly regarded and has an extensive background in electric utility design, construction, maintenance and operation.

EUSO Short Course:  July 31 – August 2
The EUSO Short Course is designed for any employee whose job performance will benefit from a basic understanding of the operations side of the business.  This includes those from legal, rates, engineering, purchasing, computer application, marketing, customer service, inventory control, finance, accounting, safety, risk analysis as well as those from generating plants.  One goal for this class is to have students leave with the ability to easily identify all of the electrical equipment they see in a substation as they walk by, along with all the equipment found on the poles in a residential area.  Non-electrical engineers are often at a disadvantage in the electric utility environment due to a lack of familiarity with technical issues.  The better you understand the utility’s product – electrical energy – and how it is created and distributed, the better you can serve the utility and your customers.  This course assumes no electrical background, and builds on the basics to provide a comprehensive understanding of the equipment and operations.
 
*Line Maintainer apprentices will receive 21 Basic OJT hours for taking the EUSO Course.*
 
Registration is open.
Registration fees for the course are below.
 
(*If you are planning on sending more than one participant from your organization, please make sure to share this with multiple departments so that you qualify for the reduced cost with the initial registration.)

• EUSO Course - $950 for a single registrant OR $850 each for two or more participants from the same utility/organization

For additional information, brochure, and registration, please click HERE.  The registration deadline for the workshop is Tuesday, July 24, 2018.

Mark your calendars for this year’s IAMU Natural Gas Operator Qualification Workshop taking place August 29 – 30, 2017 at the IAMU Office and Training Complex.  This year’s workshop will cover a multitude of topics and offer many qualification opportunities.

Who Should Attend?

This workshop provides public gas employees the chance to learn more about the gas industry, while also gaining proficiency in skills that can be used in servicing their hometown gas customers.  It is designed for employees who administer, supervise, and work in public natural gas systems.  New operators, or operators needing a refresher on skills, should plan to attend this workshop.

The annual exhibit show and dinner will also take place at IAMU, giving participants a chance to check out the latest offerings from product reps.

For more information and to register here.

Beginning July 12, Iowa groups looking for help implementing innovative, regional and locally led Clean Water Awareness and Education Campaigns can apply for funding from the Iowa DNR Watershed Improvement Section.

Through a grant program, the DNR looks for proposals that clearly demonstrate an ability to put in place innovative, targeted, impactful and sustainable Clean Water Awareness and Education Campaigns.

The DNR seeks to award grants to eligible local entities to develop and implement locally led Clean Water Awareness and Education programs. Educational campaigns will improve public knowledge of and promote actions to reduce nonpoint source pollution and improve water quality. The DNR seeks projects that will use innovative methods for reaching diverse audiences and stakeholder groups.

Campaigns must be achievable in the grant's 18-month timeframe and within the funding amount requested.

Applications are due by close of business Aug. 31. Successful applicants will be awarded contracts likely beginning Nov.  20, 2018, and ending May 15, 2020 (18 months).

These grants were developed after the DNR contracted with the University of Northern Iowa to survey Iowa’s residents in 2015 to measure their knowledge of water quality and identify potential behavior changes. This is the next step in the Nonpoint Source Management Plan. (For more details, see Objective 2.5 of Goal 2 of Iowa’s Nonpoint Source Management Plan and the results of the survey). The survey will be repeated when grant-based educational campaigns are completed to track progress.

For more information and grant application materials, visit iowadnr.gov/watershed. Contact Steve Konrady, DNR, at 515-725-8388 or [email protected] with your questions.

Under the 1996 reauthorized Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the State of Iowa is required to publish an annual report of the status of its public drinking water program.  The 2017 report is available electronically here.

The report was compiled by the staff of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' Water Supply Engineering and Operations Sections, using data collected in 2017 from all active public water supplies in the state.  The report contains a summary of the program, a description of the requirements that systems must meet, the year’s violation statistics, and the list of the systems with each health-based standard or major monitoring or reporting violation incurred during the year.
 
The photographs in the report are from Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund projects, primarily those that were completed during the year.  The maps depict the public water supply system universe in Iowa and the locations of the systems that incurred the health-based standards and major monitoring and reporting violations.  The maps are also separately listed on the website.

Iowa had 1,841 active public water supply systems in 2017. Of those systems, 95.8% were in compliance with all health-based drinking water standards, and 80.8% were in compliance with all major monitoring and reporting requirements. There were no waterborne disease outbreaks or deaths attributed to the drinking water at any active public water supply in Iowa during the year.

If you have any questions about the report, please contact Diane Moles.  It is anticipated that the report will be presented to the Environmental Protection Commission at their August or September meeting.

This course will explain OSHA’s role in worker safety and health, jobsite hazard recognition, correction and prevention methods and how to read the OSHA standards. Participants will receive a completion card from the U.S. Department of Labor OSHA certifying successful completion of this OSHA 10-Hour course. 29 CFR 1926 CFR Book & course material furnished.

*A Certificate of Completion will be provided to attendees.

Who Should Attend:
This basic safety course is recommended for workers and supervisors, or those who have been given the task of developing and managing their employer’s safety program.
 
*If you hire Contractors: Many cities also require their contractors to maintain a safety program to be eligible to work for them. The OSHA 10-Hour course will help those owners, managers, and employees develop a solid safety foundation at their company to hopefully avoid incidents while working for the city or utility. Hiring a contractor to perform work for the city/utility does not eliminate all liabilities to the city.
 
Location:
IAMU Training and Office Complex
1735 NE 70th Avenue
Ankeny, IA  50021

Cost:
$200 per IAMU Member participant
$240 per Non-Member participant
 
Questions?
Contact Larry Banwart at (800) 810-4268 or [email protected].
 
Click HERE for registration and additional information.

The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU) wants to let members know that some wireless providers may be asking city officials to “sign on” to a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). IAMU and the National League of Cities, strongly urge city officials not to sign on to the letter.
 
According to the National League of Cities, at least two wireless providers have been reaching out to local leaders asking that they sign on to/send a letter to the FCC urging federal rulemaking on small cell wireless facilities siting. The letter is being pitched to city officials as a way to show support for the growth and potential of 5G technology. However, the wireless industry is using the letter to demonstrate city support for FCC rulemaking that would harm cities. The FCC can and likely may use the letters to justify preemption. Initially, the rulemaking may sound reasonable, particularly to those unfamiliar with small cell preemption issues, but the rulemaking likely would be used to undercut local authority.
 
“IAMU strongly urges you or your local leaders to decline any requests to sign any letter from a wireless provider regarding FCC federal rulemaking on small cell wireless facilities siting,” said Tim Whipple, IAMU General Counsel. “If you have any questions, please reach out to us. IAMU is here to support your community’s best interests.”
 
See below for an example of the language in this sample letter. Several cities across the country have already filed versions of these letters with the FCC. Again, IAMU strongly urges you to decline any requests to sign this letter. If you or your city is interested in filing something with the FCC in support of local authority, please contact IAMU.
 
An excerpt from the misleading letter:
 
“As mayor of (city), I know that technology fosters ingenuity and economic growth in our cities and towns. That is why it’s critical we work together to bring small cells and, ultimately, 5G to cities across the nation. Your efforts to create model infrastructure rules that expedite small cell deployment while retaining reasonable protections for city rights-of-way should be applauded.
 
Expediting small wireless facility deployment is critical to delivering wireless access to advanced technology, broadband, and 911 services to residences, businesses, and schools. At the same time, cities should establish a fair and predictable process that retains protections for rights-of-way. A smart small cell policy should include:

• Comprehensive but transparent guidelines;
• Reasonable compensation; and
• Expedited yet thorough review timeline.

 
Through a thoughtful approach to small cells, some cities are working diligently to pave the way for the future while protecting the needs of the city. While some cities have moved quickly, others may benefit form a model policy that accelerates small cell deployments while retaining fair and reasonable protections for cities.
 
Working together we can provide a smart policy that fosters the technology needs of tomorrow and protecting the rights of cities throughout the country.
 
Thank you for your efforts to help ensure our cities remain competitive and encourage ongoing investment in our future.”
 
Questions about the letter or what you should do? Contact Tim Whipple, IAMU General Counsel, at 515.289.1999 or [email protected].

IAMU members can save $10 on regular admission tickets to Adventureland (ages 10 and older) and $5 on children’s tickets (ages 4 - 9) for the rest of this season.

• Go to: www.adventurelandresort.com/corp/iowastatebank
• Create an Adventureland account with your email address.
• You will be routed into an online discounted ticketing website to complete your purchase.

Questions? Email [email protected]