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Posted By IAMU,
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
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submitted by Roger Morris, Spencer Municipal Utilities Electric Manager and Iowa OneCall Board Member
Excavator Safety Report
2016 IOC awareness meeting locations are in current discussion. New locations will replace some previous locations. A new video production concepts include rural water, communication and a possible segment from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. The most successful programs implemented in 2015 will be carried over for 2016 implementation, and includes; Ag trade show events and applicator training program. IOC will also take part in the 2016 Farm Progress Show. The committee is looking into additional partnership opportunities to further offset ESAP programming costs. A motion was made and carried to have board representatives start discussion with CGI for by year 2017, have a combined event with CGI.
Advertising Report
The committee will continue with the following initiatives; focus on iowaonecall.com with Call 811 secondary, continue statewide dispersion of information, develop program for statewide 811 awareness day, monitor TV spots, movie theatre ads, google AdWords, outdoor ads, e-newsletter, agriculture focus with pipeline association, exhibit booths, developing activities for 2016 and evaluation of contract with Amperage. Upcoming activities include; working with “Top 10” member operations to develop effort to meet with excavators onsite across the state on 811Day, explore opportunities with surrounding states for advertising with border city TV stations, develop electronic survey for homeowners, cover trade shows, such as; Iowa State Fair, Home & Garden Show, etc., and develop an ad program for 2016. Also maybe consider utilizing Iowa Cable Advertising Network (ICAN) for out of Des Moines locations to reach the full state. And looking to see if IOC could provide larger Iowa One Call stickers to place on utility work trucks.
State of the Art Report
The Strategic Action Plan is to obtain 75% electronic ticketing by November 1, 2015. Current tracking showing 60-63%. We developing a derived list from the notification center database that will show which IOC member operators who are not adequately using the Ticket Check System. The committee outlined an outreach/communications plan to deal with operators who have failed to adequately use the system.
The committee directed OCC (One Call Center), and staff to implement communications programming, including eShots to inform excavators about the importance of using the Ticket Check System to verify locating and marking statuses.
Legislative Report
Committee members and IUB staff to meet and discuss the initiative set forth by the PHMSA and explore options for implementing a dispute resolution, and determine who would oversee the process. The committee is also looking into the ticket check data analysis that sorts data to determine operator compliancy and usage trends. Several tracking reports have been developed based on operator usage. The committee has interest in tracking how operators who are statusing their tickets use the system and the status codes.
Tags:
Iowa One Call
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Posted By IAMU,
Monday, July 6, 2015
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Beginning in 2016 PHMSA form 7100.1-1 the distribution annual report, will have some new questions on the form for our gas utilities. The biggest change is the new requirement, to report for this current year, the number of excavation damages by apparent root cause using the basic root cause categories from the Common Ground Alliance’s Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT).
Last year in anticipation to PHMSA’s new form, IAMU’s April 2014 revision of the model Gas Operating and Maintenance Plan (O&M) added the DIRT reporting form to the plan. The form is titled “Dig-In Report” and is in section 11 of the O&M, pages 115 and 116. You should be using this form this year whenever you have a dig-in on your gas pipes. By filling the form out as you have dig-ins will assist you with the information you will need to fill out next year’s annual report.
Tags:
7100.1-1
Dig-In Report
DIRT
Gas
O&M
PHMSA
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Posted By IAMU,
Monday, July 6, 2015
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Save the Date and help Indianola Municipal Utilities celebrate 125 years as a public power provider in Indianola, Iowa. The celebration will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 beginning at 5:30pm at the Kent Center of Simpson College. More details will be available in The Informer as the day approaches.
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Anniversary
Indianola
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Posted By IAMU,
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
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On Monday, August 3, 2015 IAMU is offering a Grants Workshop to provide members with information about grant opportunities available for infrastructure improvements and energy efficiency. If you've never applied for a grant before, this workshop will help you get started.
If you have ideas for a grant, representatives from various state agencies will be on hand to talk about various opportunities and answer your questions.
Workshop Agenda
* 9:00 - 9:30 a.m. Registration
* 9:30 - 10:00 a.m. Grants 101: An introduction to grants and what they may provide for your utility
* 10:00 - 10:45 a.m. Grants and Utilities: The City of Bloomfield has received and
administered several grants successfully, and will speak about their experiences
* 10:45 - 11:00 a.m. Break
* 11:00 - 11:50 a.m. IEDA: The Iowa Economic Development Authority will speak on the grant opportunities they provide for utilities, including Community Development Block Grants
* 11:50 - 12:30 p.m. Lunch (provided)
* 12:30 - 1:20 p.m. SRF: The State Revolving Fund will talk about the funding opportunities they provide for water and wastewater programs
* 1:20 - 2:10 p.m. USDA: The United States Department of Agriculture will talk about the many funding opportunities and assistance they provide for rural development, including energy and utilities
* 2:10 - 3:00 p.m. Wrap-up, questions, and networking
CLICK HERE to register for this informative event!
Tags:
Ankeny
Grant Workshop
IAMU
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Posted By IAMU,
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
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by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Take note. First responders, industries, businesses, cities and livestock producers – in short, anyone who might need to report an environmental emergency – the DNR’s 24/7 environmental hotline changes on July 1.
“If you’ve ever had a spill, a wastewater discharge, a fish kill, problems with drinking water or similar event, change the number now,” said Barb Lynch, chief of the DNR’s field services. “The last thing you want is to look for the number during an emergency caused by a power outage.”
The new number is 515-725-8694. For the next six months, people who call the old number will hear a recorded message with the new number.
While you may never have to report an emergency, updating the new number on emergency management plans, facility bulletin boards and internal documents, plus email and phone contact lists ensures you’ll have it when you need it.
Find more information about who should use the emergency number and when to use it at www.iowadnr.gov/spills/. Look for the Environmental Hotline Reporting Guide in the Forms and Guides table at the bottom of the page.
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IDNR
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