Water/Wastewater workers are classified as Lifeline Critical Infrastructure by FEMA.

In order to reduce the demand on county and state emergency management, FEMA has provided re-useable/washable cloth face masks for operations personnel in the Water Sector through the WARN (Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network) in each state - http://www.iowarn.org. The Iowa contact for IOWARN is John Lins - 515-208-1993 - lins@dmww.com

Masks will be available for pickup at specific water/wastewater utilities listed below in each of the six IDNR Regions. Contact the Distribution Point closest to you to arrange mask pickup.

The current allocation is 1 package of masks per operations employee. Eligible operations employees are any water/wastewater employee whose job does not allow them to practice social distance with coworkers or the public. The masks can be washed 15 times and reused for an extended time period.

Water/Wastewater Utility’s in each region have provided the location and instructions on how to request and pick up masks in a minimal contact manner below. NOTE: We encourage you to contact your neighboring communities and pick up masks for them as well. You MUST inform the pickup location which systems you are picking up for if they are Water or Wastewater and how many employees at each.

For a list of pickup locations, and for more information, click here.

The American Public Power Association's Academy is offering a series of two webinars on FEMA's Public Assistance Grant Program. The program provides reimbursement of costs associated with debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair and restoration of damaged facilities. But, this disaster assistance is subject to eligibility rules applicable to the applicant, facility, work, and cost. Through this series, attendees will learn about procurement requirements, how to avoid common mistakes that can lead to disallowance of funding, what to expect if you are targeted for an audit, and about FEMA's appeals process.

• Webinar #1: FEMA Basics for the Municipal Utility (Nov. 14)
  This webinar will explore issues faced by public power utilities when recovering from a major disaster, the process of documenting your damages, and the steps that can be taken before a disaster strikes that will make recovery efforts easier for your utility.
  

• Webinar #2: Avoid Disaster after a Disaster: FEMA/Federal Procurement Guidelines (Nov. 28)
  In this webinar, hear about FEMA and federal procurement guidelines that will help you avoid procurement mistakes that could result in the deobligation of FEMA funding. Learn ways to improve regulatory compliance when designing and executing procurement and contracting processes involved in FEMA disaster grant funding.

Series Speaker

• Bill Riley, Managing Director, Witt O'Brien's, Washington, D.C

Registration

• Individual webinars: $99 for Association members; $199 for nonmembers

• The entire 2-part series: $150 for Association members; $300 for nonmembers

Contact

• Questions contact EducationInfo@PublicPower.org.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reversed an earlier denial of disaster assistance to one municipal utility in northwest Iowa, Sanborn Municipal Utilities and three rural electric cooperatives. Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad said that he appreciated FEMA’s willingness to listen to the appeal led by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD).  He also thanked the Iowa congressional delegation for assisting with the effort.

An April 2013 ice storm caused millions of dollars in damage to electrical utility lines in five Iowa counties: Dickinson, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola and Sioux. The damage was so extensive that a Presidential Disaster Declaration was issued on May 6, 2013. On Aug. 30, 2013, FEMA denied the request for funding in the amount of $19 million to restore downed utility lines in those counties. In issuing the denial, FEMA initially said the utilities did not conduct comprehensive laboratory testing to verify the damage

was a direct result of the disaster.

On Dec. 24, 2013, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) submitted an appeal to FEMA, asking for reconsideration of their denial of funding for the impacted utilities. HSEMD filed the appeal in conjunction with Sanborn Electric and Telecommunications Utility, Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative, Lyon Rural Electric Cooperative, and Osceola Electric Cooperative. That appeal was denied in April 2015 and in August 2015, HSEMD submitted a second appeal. By granting this second appeal, federal Public Assistance funding will be able to be used to replace conductors on the applicants’ electrical distribution systems.

The issue of the denial focused on the utilities not conducting comprehensive laboratory testing to verify the damage was a direct result of the disaster. FEMA officials had suggested that in order to be eligible for federal disaster assistance, the utility would need to have documentation from a certified testing laboratory on the condition of the utility both pre-disaster and post-disaster. The pre-disaster testing would require the utility to remove 20-foot sections of conductor per mile of line for annual testing – a testing standard not required by any federal, state or local regulatory body. Other industry interests, including the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities and a coalition of Iowa-based agricultural and industry groups, consider such testing requirements to be onerous and unreasonable. This comprehensive testing has been an issue that has been brought up with federal officials on previous occasions and now challenged and reversed in the Iowa case.