Minutes - Water Resources - 3/26/2001 DRAFT
WATER RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD
FINAL MEETING MINUTES
March 26, 2001
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Robert Fiehweg, Jeannette Hillery, Cal Youngberg; Vicki Naber was absent
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT
Ned Williams, Don Vetterling, Floyd Bebler, Randy Crittendon, Robin Madel, secretary
AGENDA ITEM 1
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:09 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM 2
Approval of February 26, 2001 Meeting Minutes
The minutes were approved and signed.
Jeannette Hillery motioned to approve the minutes.
Cal Youngberg seconded.
The motion passed unanimously, 3-0. Gil Barth abstained because he is new to the board.
AGENDA ITEM 3
General Citizen Participation
There was none.
AGENDA ITEM 4
Welcoming and swearing in of new WRAB members (Staff - Ned Williams).
Gil Barth was welcomed as a new member.
Since Robin Madel did not get the packets in time to perform the swearing in for both Gil Barth
and Bob Fiehweg, this item was tabled until the next meeting. Ned reminded everyone about the
New Board Member Orientation meeting on April 3, 2001 in the Council Chambers of the
Municipal Building.
Each of the board and staff members took turns introducing themselves.
AGENDA ITEM 5
Staff presentation and discussion about changes in Operator Certification Requirements
and "Regulation 100" (Staff - Floyd Bebler and Don Vetterling).
Floyd Bebler and Don Vetterling presented the changes to regulations governing operator
certification and facility categorization promulgated by the Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment. The new regulations set specific guidelines for categorizing water and
wastewater treatment facilities and collection and distribution systems based on size, capacity
and system complexity. They also establish clear guidelines for operator certification and testing.
Regulations pertaining to small system certification are in progress.
The regulations contain provisions allowing the state to establish the Colorado Water and
Wastewater Facility Operators Certification Board. Changes to the guidelines will now be made
by the board and not by the legislature. The board will determine classes of certification for
facilities. The board will be redefining the process of operator determination and will ensure
operator examination validation as non-biased and job-related. The board will also approve
programs providing continuing education training units.
The two groups that administered the programs for distribution/collection and operations are now
administered under the single board. Each discipline will still administer their own exams but
there is now one office that handles both groups and provides a single source for information.
"Regulation 100" contains the bulk of the program. Not all operators at a facility have to be
certified to the level of the facility but there has to be someone in responsible charge at a facility
that is certified to the appropriate level. There are grandparent provisions to prevent existing
operators from losing their jobs if they don't qualify at a certain level. The board and staff
discussed how certification levels would affect salaries.
The regulations also now require operators to obtain continuing education units with renewal
every three years. Renewal used to be required every five years. The board has to approve
training and what constitutes a CEU but the process will be as efficient as possible.
The economic impacts of the program were discussed for the city of Boulder and other
communities statewide. The city of Boulder will reimburse its operators for training and
certification. Reimbursement in smaller communities might provide a financial hardship. The
board discussed the possibility of reimbursement by the state.
Regional training programs will be organized and every effort will be made to accommodate the
needs of rural operators. The board and staff talked about the possibility and existence of
mentoring programs between larger and smaller facilities. Several programs mentioned were the
Colorado Rural Water Association and ACTIONOW.
Jeannette Hillery announced that she was appointed by Governor Owens to serve on the
Colorado Water and Wastewater Facility Operators Certification Board created under Regulation
100.
Citizen Participation and WRAB Comment
There was none.
AGENDA ITEM 6
A. Matters from the Board
■ Jeannette Hillery attended the South Boulder Creek Floodplain meeting. She said Alan
Taylor did a great job with the crowd. She said she saw the study as more of a hydrologic
study than a floodplain study. She said she thought that Bill Taggart's presence was
necessary to explain the methodology behind the study. She said Bill Degroot did not
manage the crowd's anger towards CU very well. She recommended that it should be
stressed at the reach meetings that the entire stream should be mitigated and that will take
cooperation between all governmental entities. Ned Williams mentioned the Boulder County
Commissioner's meeting that will be held in April. He said that the county wanted a separate
decision-making process and that is why they did not co-host the meeting with the city of
Boulder. He pointed out that all the entities have dominion over their own stretches of the
creek and the county will not take the lead in making a final decision. Urban Drainage does
not have authority in the process but they do have money. Jeannette asked if the Colorado
Department of Transportation would get involved in the process. Ned said that if they did
they would have only a minor amount of authority. He said that CU would let retention
ponds get developed on-site if they are allowed to develop other sites in the city but some of
the city regulators don't necessarily want that. He said the city and county really need to
develop recommendations that treat the basin in a comprehensive manner.
■ Jeannette Hillery asked about arsenic in the drinking water in Boulder and how arsenic is
removed. Ned Williams pointed out that Boulder doesn't have an arsenic problem because it
is primarily a groundwater problem and is more commonly found in mining communities. He
briefly discussed how arsenic is removed from drinking water.
■ Cal Youngberg asked about what will happen to Windy Gap water shares now that the
Calpine deal has fallen through. Ned Williams said the power plant was approved in Hudson,
Colorado and Aurora got the deal for providing water to the plant. Aurora has some storage
issues with Pueblo Reservoir that they still have to work out. Ned said that a determination
hasn't been made about what to do with the water shares yet.
■ Cal Youngberg commented on the cleaning of Anderson Ditch by Baseline Reservoir and
noted that the Town of Lafayette helped in the process.
B. Matters from the Staff
■ Ned Williams presented the recommendation for the Greenways Program to use the WRAB
as the primary board for public contact. The goal is to have Annie Noble present the program
at WRAB meetings only and provide written updates to the other boards that have an interest
in the Greenways Program. The WRAB supported that recommendation.
■ Ned Williams gave an update on the Lakewood pipeline project. On 3/21/01 the Forest
Service issued a decision that affirmed Boulder County's decision. The project now will go
through a 45-day public appeal process. If no appeals are received, the city will sign and
execute the easement document. The 45 days end on May 7, 2001. Ned said that the city
should be able to bid the project this year and begin construction in spring 2002. It is
currently in design.
AGENDA ITEM 7
Discussion of Future Meeting Dates and Agenda
The discussion of future meeting dates was tabled until the next meeting.
Future agenda topics include:
■ A preliminary discussion on the CIP and operations budgets
■ Election of new officers
■ Meeting times
■ Meeting locations
Gil Barth will not be at the next meeting.
AGENDA ITEM 8
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m.
Date, Time, and Location of Next Meeting:
April 16, 2001, 7:00 p.m., at the West Senior Center, Alpine Room
Minutes approved by
Date