DRINKING WATER & WASTEWATER PROFESSIONALS

Bureau of Occupational Licenses

1109 Main Street, Suite 220

Boise, ID 83702-5642 

Conference Call Minutes of April 16, 2008

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:  William A. Thompson - Chair

                                                             Kevin M. Pfenning

                                                             Michael N. Schroeder

                                                             Robert F. Hansen

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:    Richard Louis Dees

                                                            Barry Burnell

                                                            Victor Villegas

BUREAU STAFF:                           Tana Cory, Bureau Chief

                                                            Dawn Hall, Deputy Bureau Chief

                                                            Cherie Simpson, Administrative Assistant

                                                            Dave Hotchkiss, Appeals Hearing Technician

                                                            Mary Miles, Technical Records Specialist I

                                                            Roger Hales, Administrative Attorney

                                                            Mike Gilmore, Deputy Attorney General

OTHERS PRESENT:                     Lynn S. Tominaga, Idaho Water Policy Group, Inc.          

Meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. MST by William A Thompson.

BOARD DETERMINATION

Mr. Gilmore, Deputy Attorney General, presented the final order for Case No. WWP-2008-25.

Motion made by Mr. Schroeder to accept the final order for WWP-2008-25 as written; with the added request to the Bureau to audit licensee in January 2009. Seconded by Mr. Pfenning, motion carried.

Bill Thompson, Board Chair, is authorized to sign the Stipulation and Consent Order.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Ms. Hall gave the financial report.  This report is available on the website.  As of 03/31/2008, the board has $111,711.71 in expenditures with a cash balance of $396,757.72. It was noted that expenditures will increase with online exams. Click on “Board Detail Financials” on the website to access a detailed financial report.

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Mr. Hotchkiss gave the investigative report.  There have been 45 complaints received for FY2008: 43 of those were CE audits. Of these, three have been forwarded for legal review; 41 remain under investigation; and one awaits Board determination. There were 43 complaints received for FY2007: 40 of those are CE audits; 25 complaints have been closed following Board determination; two were closed following disciplinary action; five were forwarded for legal review; and 11 remain under investigation.

 APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion was made by Mr. Hansen to accept the minutes for January 23, 2008 as written.  Seconded by Mr. Pfenning, motion carried.

ONLINE EXAMS

Ms. Hall presented the Board with a summary of information about on-line and written exams possibly being held at Department of Labor offices. The per-day cost is less than what the Board is currently spending, but the Board would be offering the exams more frequently, so the overall cost would be higher. It is impossible to say how much higher without knowing the number of exams the Board would like to give.

The Bureau did an informal poll at the March exam to see how many of the exam takers would prefer on-line exams. This poll is only representative of the people taking that exam. The results are below.

The July written exam will be given at the DOL in Twin Falls due to the other location falling through. This will give a good test-run on the written portion of the exam. Mr. Thompson requested that he take the online exam before it is offered statewide to see if any problems arise.

Motion made by Mr. Hansen to try and set up online exams for the November exam and work out a contract with DOL. Seconded by Mr. Pfenning, motion carried.

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

Mr. Hales, Administrative Attorney, gave the legislative report. The rules were accepted with the exception of the proposed Rule 300.02. Concerns were discussed and the legislative committee members requested that the Drinking Water and Wastewater Board, Idaho Rural Water Association, and Lynn Tominaga work together toward compromise on the issue. The committee was concerned for the small facility operators in reference to the proposed rule. A meeting will be scheduled within the next month and possibly a proposed rule change can be brought to the Board at their next meeting scheduled June 11, 2008. A sub-committee consisting of Mr. Hansen, Mr. Burnell, and Mr. Thompson will work with IRWA and Mr. Tominaga.

CORRESPONDENCE

Mr. Schroeder updated the board regarding the e-mail correspondence he had received from Steven Highbarger. The City of Buhl has hired an operator from Washington which has alleviated their concerns.

RULE REVIEW

Idaho Code 54-2411 states that for a drinking water license that has been canceled for more than two years, the operator must submit an application to the board, pay any applicable fees, and take the exam. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Idaho DEQ regulate the drinking water requirements.

Idaho Code 67-2614 states that licensees have five years to reinstate.  Wastewater licenses have five years to reinstate before an application would need to be submitted to the Board for review, pay applicable fees, and take the exam. This would also include Backflow Assembly Tester licensees.

The Board would like to work with the Department of Environmental Quality to make the definition of who must be licensed clear. This discussion will continue at the June 11, 2008 board meeting.

Mr. Hales will draft a rule clarification for 300.01.b and present it to the Board at their June 11, 2008 meeting.

A motion was made by Mr. Hansen to direct Mr. Hales to clarify the rule on Backflow Assembly Testers to accept the ABPA course and exam or the ABC exam for licensure. Seconded by Mr. Schroeder, motion carried.

EXAMINATION

Discussion was held regarding Rule 300.01.d. An applicant must take and pass the exam within one year of application approval.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Motion made by Mr. Pfenning to add a relevancy column to the Education Addendum application. Seconded by Mr. Schroeder, motion carried.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Motion made by Mr. Schroeder to go into executive session to review applications exempt from public disclosure per Idaho Code 67-2345 (1) (d). Seconded by Mr. Pfenning. Votes were: Mr. Pfenning, aye and Mr. Hansen, aye. Motion carried.

Motion made by Mr. Hansen to come out of executive session.  Seconded by Mr. Schroeder. Votes were Mr. Hansen, aye and Mr. Schroeder, aye.  Motion carried.

APPLICATIONS

Motion made by Mr. Schroeder to approve 40 applications for licensure and 38 applications for exam. Five applications are pending further information, and six applications are denied. Seconded by Mr. Pfenning, motion carried.

Approved for Licensure

                        ANDREW LUCAS AVERY              BAT-16111

                        BALLENTINE JAMES EDWARD   WWT3-16176

                        BALLING JOHN                                DWD1-16137

                        CASEBEER DAVID A                     WWT4-16165

                        CHANDLER ANTHONY J                BAT-16114

                        COCHRAN JEFFREY A                  BAT-16135

                        COFFER ROGER                            BAT-16141

                        CORNELIUS BRAD AARON          BAT-16128

                        CRETAL LEON LOUIS                    WWT1-16163

                        EGGETT RENE ALLEN                  BAT-16108

                        FLOWERS KEIBY R                        BAT-16112

                        FORD GEORGE T                           WWT1-16173

                        FORD GEORGE T                           WWC1-16172

                        FREAND JOHN E                            BAT-16115

                        HAMMOND GAIL R                          WWC1-16110

                        HANSEN KENNETH TODD            WWT1-16167

                        HAWK MARTIN JAMES                  BAT-16105

                        JACOBSON BRIAN L                      DWDVSWS-16166

                        KOEHLER SCOTT VERNON         BAT-16099

                        KOPPANG MARC E                        BAT-16148

                        LACY BRYAN A                                WWT2-16155

                        LOVE LEE                                         DWD1-16151

                        MADDUX BRUCE WILLIAM           BAT-16109

                        MAJOR TOM C.                                BAT-16122

                        MARTINEZ ROB NORMAN             DWD1-16181

                        MIX STEVE T                                    BAT-16127

                        PANIDIS MATTHEW S                    BAT-16107

                        PETRIE JAMES PATRICK              BAT-16154

                        SCHUNK GARY M                           BAT-16100

                        SNYDER CHRISTOPHER A           BAT-16175

                        THOMAS SCOTT LEON                 WWC1-16120

                        THOMAS F DAVID                           WWT1-16180

                        THUESON PATRICK ALAN            BAT-16174

                        TROUDT LAWRENCE GENE        DWD2-16124

                        TROUDT LAWRENCE GENE        WWC1-16123

                        WARNER CHRISTOPHER PAUL  BAT-16149

                        WELCH JEFFEREY A                     BAT-16106

                        WILSON TIMOTHY R                        DWD1-16162

                        WOLFE JOSEPH DANE                 BAT-16116

                        ZANDER MICHAEL A                      BAT-16113

    Approved for Exam

                        ABNEY CURTIS WAYNE

                        BALIS MARVIN COLE

                        BEUSAN ROBERT E

                        BICART REBEKKA J

                        BRUNNER STEVE L

                        CHARLES ANTHONEY E

                        DIBBLE REESE F

                        FISCHER STEVEN PAUL

                        FITZGERALD WILLIAM R

                        FORD GEORGE T

                        FROEHLICH RICHARD W

                        FULTZ JAMES ARTHUR

                        GABEL JOSHUA LEE

                        GABEL JOSHUA LEE

                        GENTRY RICHARD CLAY

                        GORRINGE DORIS J

                        GUNNELL ROVEN

                        HAMM RONALD LEE

                        JAEGER ROBERT JOHN

                        JONES PAUL DRAKE

                        KENDRICK WALTON O

                        KENT ALAN RAY

                        KOSMECKI JEFFREY DEAN

                        MANDAS JOHN

                        MARES LARRY

                        MARES LARRY

                        MARINE KYLE P

                        MCENTARFFER CARL

                        MCNEAL CYNTHIA DIANE

                        MORGAN ROD

                        NAJERA ARTURO CANDELARIO

                        OLDS JAMES L

                        PRIESTLEY KENNETH TROY

                        RICHES JOE

                        ROGERS LAWRENCE DENNIS

                        SMITH LEONARD LEE

                        TAYLOR LEVI L

                        WILSON TIMOTHY R

                        ZANDER MICHAEL A

     Denied

                        BALL LAURELEI ROSE

                        BALLING JOHN

                        BYBEE CHARLES L

                        JACOBSON BRIAN L

                        VAZQUEZ JOSE E

                        WEBSTER CLAY ALAN

     Pending

                        901060076

                        901037336

                        901099962

                        901071616

                        901061520

NEXT MEETING

June 11, 2008, 9:00 a.m.

Motion made by Mr. Schroeder to adjourn at 12:15 p.m.  Seconded by Mr. Hansen, motion carried.