The Mid-America Regulatory Conference (MARC) is being held in Des Moines this year. MARC is an association composed of both regional utility organizations and regulatory agencies from 14 states, including Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

This year, as the host, the Iowa Utilities Board and representatives from Iowa’s utility organizations, including IAMU, have been planning the conference. The conference embraces electric, water, gas, and telecom issues. The event is a great opportunity for professional development and networking.

Please check out the agenda and consider attending. There is both an early bird rate and a governmental rate. http://www.marc-conference.org/

MARC 2019 Annual Meeting
Des Moines, Iowa August 11-14, 2019
Hilton Des Moines Downtown
Registration is open!  https://reg.eventray.com/r/naruc/MARC2019
Agenda:  http://www.marc-conference.org/MARC%202019%20Agenda.html

The City of Pleasantville, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, is holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Shadle Park on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at 1 p.m. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will celebrate the completion of Pleasantville’s State Revolving Fund Water Resource Restoration Sponsored Project, in conjunction with Soil and Water Conservation Week.  

Speakers for the event include Joe Mrstik, Pleasantville City Administrator, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Ed Tormey, Acting Division Administrator of Environmental Services Division of the Iowa DNR, and Nate Carhoff and Jordan Stoermer from Snyder & Associates.

Students from the Pleasantville School District will be installing native prairie plants in the bioretention cells as an educational component of the project. The student activity will take place before the ribbon cutting.

“This project is just one example of many projects across the state that allows cities to address and improve water quality measures in their communities,” said Acting DNR Environmental Services Division Administrator Ed Tormey. “The City of Pleasantville has implemented some cutting-edge efforts through this project. This is a great example of how important the SRF program is to our state and the communities.”

“Urban water quality projects allow partners and local stakeholders to work together and take actionable steps that support the Nutrient Reduction Strategy,” said Naig. “I commend Pleasantville for their commitment to improving Shadle Park.”

Through the Sponsored Project Program, Pleasantville developed a project to address a water quality concern in its community. The project includes permeable pavers, bioretention cells, and soil quality restoration at Shadle Park. These practices collectively capture and treat stormwater from the park before it runs into Shadle Park Pond to prevent nutrients and sediment from entering the water.

The Sponsored Project Program enables communities like Pleasantville to fund a locally-directed, watershed-based, non-point source water quality improvement project. The Sponsored Project Program is implemented through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), a loan program for construction of wastewater improvement projects.

On a typical CWSRF loan, principal is borrowed for the wastewater project and the borrower repays the principal plus interest and fees. On a CWSRF loan with a sponsored project, principal is borrowed for both the wastewater project and the sponsored project. In return the interest rate of the CWSRF loan is reduced so the borrower does not pay any more than they would have for just the wastewater project. Effectively, two water quality projects can be completed for the cost of one.

The Shadle Park project was made possible through partnerships with multiple groups and agencies, including the City of Pleasantville, Snyder & Associates, and the State Revolving Fund, which is jointly administered by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa Finance Authority with technical assistance provided by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.