UF TREEO ~ Gator Bites Monthly Email Newsletter
March 28, 2007	Volume 3, Number 3
Click Here to Learn More About UF TREEO Online Courses	Do You Have Quality Backflow Testers? Les O’Brien, CET UF/TREEO Center How good are your testers? Are they well trained? Do the contractors/testers in your system treat your customers fairly? Water purveyors normally send notification letters to water customers each year to remind them of their required annual field test. The notification is usually accompanied with a list of acceptable backflow testing contractors. Since the private tester is in reality a contractor or representative of the water purveyor, the purveyor should take extra precautions before placing the individual on the acceptable testers list. The water purveyor should require these testers have a business license and proof of insurance. The customers may then assume the contractors listed are individuals acceptable to the water purveyor and have met the water purveyor’s minimum standards. A policy should be established, published, and distributed to each of the private testing contractors. The water purveyor should provide the private testers with copies of the utility’s rules and regulations. It should be clear to the tester how to complete the test and maintenance report forms. It is important to keep your water customers as happy as possible. Upset consumers may slow down or stop your CCC program. Here are a few suggestions to help improve your CCC program. · Make an effort to keep your testers well informed. · Determine if the contractor/tester was well trained. Would you prefer a contractor/tester that has barely passed with a score of seventy percent on their written exam or a tester who scored a ninety-five percent? Both certificates appear the same. · The water purveyor should retest the new contractors/testers before placing them on the approved list. Future annual field test reports should be checked carefully. · The CCC supervisor or inspector should meet with the contractors/testers in the field to monitor the field tests and provide guidance. · Require the contractors/testers sign a Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics form. · Require the contractors/testers tag each assembly when it is tested. · Require the contractors/testers submit any parts replaced during the annual field test. · Request all assemblies removed be submitted to your office for evaluation. Note: Backflow prevention assemblies should not be replaced unless the body is damaged beyond repair. It is less expensive to the repair rather than replace the assembly. Click here to view the schedule for upcoming Backflow Training courses. 3rd EMS Initiative for Public Entities The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), a participant in the 3rd EMS Initiative for Public Entities, recently achieved third-party ISO 14001: 2004 registration through NSF-ISR, Ltd.  The scope of the registration covers Building Services.   The OCCC was supported in their implementation efforts through technical assistance provided by the University of Florida TREEO Center, a PEER Local Resource Center.  As a participant in the national EMS initiative (2003-2005), the OCCC was able to accomplish a number of achievements through initial implementation of an EMS in building services recycling program. Prior to the EMS, the Convention Center recycled less than 1% of its total waste stream. Through the EMS, the OCCC accomplishments included: Streamline communications concerning environmental practices Increase environmental awareness among employees $ 77,500 in tipping fees saved due to recycling efforts, with another $ 31,435 in recycling rebates 9,000 tons of material diverted for remanufacture 40% recovery of all waste in  2006 compared to less than 1% in 2003 871 tons of cardboard recycled  5.8 tons of office paper recycled in 2006 With the recent achievement of ISO 14001 registration, the OCCC has continued to position itself as an environmental leader, becoming the first convention center in the USA to become ISO 14001 registered. Hats off to OCCC! How the First Earth Day Came About By Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day [Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html] What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked. Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day. To continue the article and learn more, click here. 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