James Holeva
James Holeva has over thirty-six years of experience in the environmental protection field. He has an impressive resume including:
- managing a 38.6 square mile watershed area with a 412 billion gallon drinking water reservoir a primary source of water for the metropolitan Boston area
- overseeing a regional state drinking water program
- chairing the Massachusetts Board of Certification of Operators of Drinking Water Supply Facilities
- drafting drinking water regulations and policies
- developing programs for cross-connection control
James was also responsible for managing the day-to-day operations for a large municipal department of public works, has taught a college environmental science, has served as the treasurer for a national certification association, and was instrumental in redefining the examination process for drinking water operators. We are honored that he is writing backflow prevention and cross-connection/crossflow courses for CEU Plan.
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James Holeva has produced two detailed courses related to inspecting and testing a backflow prevention device and has others planned. James brings many years of experience in his courses to illustrate and inform you of the proper testing procedures utilized in Backflow Prevention Devices. His courses includes:
- Testing a DCVA â Double Check Valve Assembly â 3 valve test kit - one hour streaming video course
- Testing a RPZ â Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Prevention Device â 3 valve test kit - three hour streaming video course
Chicago governor announces first drinking water project out of $1B Clean Water Initiative CHICAGO, IL, Jan. 22, 2013 -- Governor Pat Quinn was joined by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Director John Kim, Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) Executive Director Chris Meister, and labor union leaders on Jan. 16 to announce the award of a low-interest, long-term $15 million loan to the city of Chicago to replace about seven miles of drinking water pipeline. | Florida water management districts seek $122 million for springs restoration Florida's springs are in trouble. Most have lost flow. Some have reversed themselves. Many of them are suffering from rampant pollution that has spurred the growth of toxic algae. There are signs that saltwater is intruding. |
Irrigation in California's Central Valley Intensifies Rainfall, Storms Across the Southwest Agricultural irrigation in California's Central Valley doubles the amount of water vapor pumped into the atmosphere, ratcheting up rainfall and powerful monsoons across the interior Southwest, according to a new study by UC Irvine scientists. | Water utilities to split $105 million settlement Community water systems from Missouri, Illinois and at least four other states will share in a $105 million settlement of a lawsuit against Syngenta over the cost of filtering its weed killer atrazine from drinking water. The suit claimed exposure to atrazine, which was widely used by corn farmers for decades, could lead to health problems including birth defects, the Alton Telegraph reports. Swiss-based Syngenta said it agreed to the settlement "to end the business uncertainty" and avoid further legal costs, and denied any liability or wrongdoing linked to the chemical, which it still sells. |
WaterISAC can help your water/wastewater system stay secure
The mission of WaterISACâthe Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, is to inform water and wastewater managers about possible risks to our country's water infrastructure from contamination, terrorism and cyberthreats, and to help utilities respond to and recover from all threats.
WaterISAC analysts review information that includes both classified intelligence and open documents 24 hours a day to track security incidents. Members are urged to report any security incidents or suspicious incidents for tracking and analysis. Click here for the full article ...
Upcoming Complimentary Webinar: Thursday, February 14th, 2013 - 12:00pm EST
IACET: The Standard for Lifelong Learning
The International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) has a rich history of promoting high quality education beginning as the curator of the CEU.
Using the ANSI/IACET Standard, in-depth research on the learning process and a nationwide network of experts, IACET helps companies, associations, government agencies and other CE/T providers develop a framework for continuous improvement and deliver a superior experience.
Join us for an introduction to IACET's standard for lifelong learning and learn more about the standard's core elements, the rigor of the application process and why so many regulatory boards and licensing groups widely accept IACET CEUs.
We look forward to learning more about your organization, register here.
Click here for registration information ...
Jeff Pugh
Tips & Tricks
» Just a reminder that any course enrollment will be applied to the active license at the time of enrollment. That is, when you log in to your account, you are required to select a license to make active. If you don't select and active license, you will have to, at least, choose your state and license type before proceeding to the course catelog. The courses that populate the course catelog are only those that hve been pre-approved by your state for the license-type selected and the Course ID listed is the one that the state will recognize. CEU Plan sends Completion Roster to the state listing this course ID (and date of completion, Course Title, number of CEUs earned, etc.) and your license information so it can be applied. If you sign up for a course that is not in the catelog for your specific license, the state will reject the credit (their computer won't recognize the number, so it will ignore it).
» I have gotten some questions about the font size of the Course Sections. When you are reading a Course Section, your own computer will select the font size appropriate for your device. If this is not adequate, you can increase the font size by holding down the "Ctrl" key and pressing the "+" key. Pressing the "+" key again will incrementally increase the font size. Too big? Not to worry, holding down the "Ctrl" key and pressing the "-" key incrementally decreases the font size.
When was the last time you looked at your emergency plan?
If you said, "What emergency plan?" or "I think it's here somewhere", or "Five years ago", your emergency plan might be more of a hindrance than a help in the event of a disaster.
The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 required all Community Water Systems with populations over 3,300 to prepare Emergency Response Plans incorporating the results of a Vulnerability Assessment by the end of 2004. And most wastewater systems are required to have emergency response plans by the state or local regulatory agency. But most utilities prepare emergency response plans because it is just good senseâand part of being responsible for protecting the public health and the environment. Click here for the full article ...
We wish you a Happy New Year, from all of us in the Instructor Group and behind the scenes @ CEU Plan.
The New Year is a great time to set new goals and objectives for ourselves. Thank you for your continued support of CEU Plan
Sincerely,
Bill Edgar, Program Administrator
Back in the 70's, when many of us were learning the ropes, our mentors taught us about saving for a rainy day. If you remember back, the ole' plant manager was probably retired military and hoping to stay long enough to obtain a second pension through a state retirement. But in case that was not enough, buy a couple of old homes, spend some time and make them affordable to rent out and build a nice nest egg just in case everything fails. Well, that was the way it was back then. It made a lot of sense, too.
Today, as many of us look around at the opportunities to retire and go to work for the engineering firm or to move to Arizona or Florida and retire as a weekend operator, baby boomers have some great resources to investigate their options online. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau estimates more than 80 percent of Baby Boomers (who are predicted to live to be 83) are planning to keep working after retirement to remain active.
The internet has some great options available, should you be thinking outside the box:
- rebootyou.com
- offers resources and articles to help a person find a new career, after ending their current job
- seniorjobbank.org
- connect employers with older and experienced job seekers
- senior4hire.com
- illustrates other ways of earning, job posting, job alert e-mails, and resources
- monster.com
- careers available for over 50+
- quintcareers.com/mature_jobseekers.html
- great resource for retiring individuals and baby boomers looking for career-change strategies and new jobs
And finally, if you are looking to retire and/or re-locate to another facility in a different state, simply Google the state websites for job listings in those areas. The beautiful of being a licensed operator is the fact that communities anywhere will always need a licensed water and wastewater treatment operator. It cannot be exported. According to some statistics, it has been shown that many employers, nearly 50 percent of US Companies, are willing to negotiate special arrangements for the older workers just to keep them in the workplace.
