Speaking of Risk . . .   Water Engineering & Management May 2003   John P. Bachner
Contracts are business promises that are enforceable by law. A number of lawyers urge a client to accept their business guidance (i.e., suggestions for terms and conditions that purportedly can be applied to significantly increase the clients' protection at no additional cost). Undeterred by the fact that lawyers are not known for their business acumen, all too many clients abandon their own good business sense and apply their lawyers'.

Court Upholds U.S. EPA's Radionuclide Rules   Water Engineering & Management April 2003   Dan Kucera
A federal Court of Appeals has upheld U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulations establishing standards for radionuclides in public water systems. City of Waukesha v. Environmental Protection Agency, Case No. 01-1028, et al. (D.C. Cir. 2003). This decision may put to rest the long-standing debate over whether water utilities must spend substantial monies to install treatment facilities to remove radionuclides or to obtain alternative water supplies; and it demonstrates the difficulty in challenging regulations, particularly MCLs, issued by EPA.
PDF Version

Feeling Lucky? The Truth About 1099 Contractors   Water Quality Products March 2003   Carl Davidson
I am surprised at seminars when people tell me they hire their salespeople as 1099 independent contractors. We do not recommend this for business and tax reasons. This article discusses why we believe you are at a disadvantage using this method of remuneration.
PDF Version

Mold Coverage   Water Quality Products February 2003   Arizona Water Quality Association
The following are program notes of the insurance panel presented at the Arizona Water Quality Association October 2002 program, reprinted with permission from the AZWQA. As stated at the Arizona Water Quality Association meeting in October 2002 by Sean Gillespie, claims manager at Allied Insurance, mold is becoming the "new asbestos" to insurance companies. More and more, mold is resulting in damage claims.
PDF Version

Adequate Water Rates Are Essential   Water Engineering & Management February 2003   Dan Kucera
Insufficient rates can cause misallocation of water as a resource; create a misconception that water is plentiful and cheap and may be wasted without significant consequences; prematurely deplete sources of supply; cause discriminatory cross-subsidies; frustrate replacement and addition of infrastructure; impede compliance with drinking water standards and efficient operations; and limit implementation of enhanced security measures. Most important, insufficient rates can preclude financings necessary to enable water utilities to satisfy the pressures that they face. However, the public will need to be educated as to the growing costs of water. The true price of water may give the public a rude awakening.
PDF Version

Keeping Your Security Measures Secure   Water Engineering & Management October 2002   Dan Kucera
Enhancement of security measures by water and wastewater utilities is a given in today's environment. The requirement for preparing and filing vulnerability assessments and response plans under the new federal Bioterrorism Act make such steps essentially mandatory. One issue that can be overlooked inadvertently is how to maintain security over the security measures taken. In other words, what steps can a utility take to protect its security plans from disclosure?
PDF Version

August, 2002 Legal Stream   Water Engineering & Management August 2002   Dan Kucera
For years, many municipal-owned water and wastewater systems have maintained rate differentials between customers within their boundaries and customers outside their boundaries. Commonly, the outside rate is one hundred fifty percent of the inside rate. Generally, inside/outside differentials are supportable if based on differences in costs of service. The issue becomes who has the burden to establish that higher outside rates are justified or not justified by differences in cost of service.
PDF Version

Workplace Injury Causes and Costs   Water Quality Products June 2002   Liberty Mutual Group
The 10 leading causes of disabling workplace injuries account for 86 percent of the estimated $40 billion in wage and medical payments made to workers injured on the job in 1999, the last year for which data are available, according to the second annual Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index by Liberty Mutual Group.
PDF Version

Letters of Intent: What Are They?   Water Engineering & Management April 2002   By Dan Kucera
So-called letters of intent are commonly used by public utility systems and other parties in a contract negotiation process. The problem is that some people may think that their “letters of intent” or “letters of understanding” are not contracts; others may think that they, in fact, are letter agreements; and courts may fool everyone by holding one way or the other. However, the end result arises from the manner in which these letters are drafted. Simply stated, the language used or not used will give rise to the consequences, even if not intended by one or both of the parties.
PDF Version

Drafting Your Contracts: You or a Court?   Water Engineering & Management February 2002   Dan Kucera
A recent Illinois court decision again brings attention to the seemingly perpetual debate over the adequacy of written contracts. Any public utility system lives by its contracts, whether with customers, developers, employees, suppliers, contractors, regulators, governments or other utilities. The very last thing any party to a contract should want is a court determining what the parties to the contract intended because the agreement is asserted to be incomplete or ambiguous.
PDF Version

Judicial Equities Override Filtration Requirement   Water Engineering & Management October 2001   Dan Kucera
A recent federal court decision may have created an opportunity for relief from United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that impose costs that substantially exceed benefits.
PDF Version

Water Tests Protect Customers from Guilty Parties   Water Quality Products September 2001   Wendi Hope King, WQP Staff
Despite the regulations set for treatment plants, the general public will find itself focusing on the negative and seeking additional treatment from our industry. This spells opportunity for water treatment dealers to illustrate how their services can benefit the public.
PDF Version

August 2001 Legal Stream   Water Engineering & Management August 2001   Dan Kucera
Many people are predicting that the biggest battle over resources, both in the United States and worldwide, in the next 25 to 50 years will be over water, not oil or energy.
PDF Version

Allocating Capital Risk   Water Engineering & Management May 2001   Dan Elias, Esq.
Shifting municipal responsibilities from the public to private sector may sound like a good idea in today’s competitive market, but without a fair and balanced relationship, privatized utilities are destined to fail.

Old Easements May Never Die, Or Even Fade Away   Water Engineering & Management April 2001   Dan Kucera
Easements are important to most public utility systems.
PDF Version

Do SDWA Public Notice and CCR Rules Preempt State Common Law Claims?   Water Engineering & Management February 2001   Dan Kucera
The federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that public water systems give public notice of any failure to comply with maximum contaminant levels or treatment technique requirements of a national primary drinking water regulation.
PDF Version

December 2000 Legal Stream   Water Engineering & Management December 2000   Dan Kucera

Are Mains Real Property or Personal Property?   Water Engineering & Management August 2000   Dan Kucera
Water and wastewater utilities should be careful in the manner by which they acquire mains and facilities from developers or other utilities.

Legionella: Minimizing Risks   Water Engineering & Management August 2000   W. Craig Meyer
Legionellosis, the disease caused by Legionella spc., is common, though most people would guess it is extremely rare. Outbreaks of Legionellosis, defined as a cluster of three or more cases in a single locale, occur regularly in the United States and much of the developed world.

Export Controls: It Pays to Know the Rules   Water Quality Products June 2000   Eric Aparnieks
After nearly two years of tireless engineering and product development, we at Advisors International were now ready to begin our marketing campaign.

Court Overrules U.S. EPA's Standard Setting Procedure   Water Engineering & Management June 2000   Dan Kucera
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, there are Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLG) and Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL). An MCLG for a particular contaminant is a non-enforceable, health-based goal.

EPA's Rule On TMDLs Comes Under Fire   Water Engineering & Management May 2000   Robert Gray
Senator Bob Smith, R-N.H., new chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, has expressed "great concern" about the potential impact and legal ramifications of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed new rule on total maximum daily loads (TMDLs).

Water and Wastewater Utilities: Risky Business   Water Engineering & Management April 2000   Dan Kucera
The frenzied deregulation of the electric, telecommunications and gas industries has created a perception that these companies formerly known as public utilities have become the riskiest of enterprises.

Is Compliance a Defense to Contamination Claims?   Water Engineering & Management February 2000   Dan Kucera