Messages from ASDWA’s 2012/2011 Incoming and Outgoing Presidents

It’s a new year and Ed Hallock, the Drinking Water Administrator from Delaware, is our new ASDWA President for 2012. Jill Jonas, our 2011 President and Drinking Water Administrator from Wisconsin, will continue to serve on the ASDWA Board for one more year as the Past-President. A heartfelt “thank you” to both Ed and Jill for your leadership!

Message from Ed Hallock, ASDWA’s New President for 2012

Ed has been a member of ASDWA since 1991 and has served on the ASDWA Board of Directors twice. Ed has represented state drinking water programs on several NDWAC Work Groups including: the CCR Work Group; the EPA/State Work Group that revised the Public Notification Rule; and the Lead Education Work Group for the LCR Short-term Revisions. He has also served as the Chair of the ASDWA Regulatory Committee.

“It is certainly a privilege to work with the many drinking water administrators and their staffs from across the country who make up ASDWA, a nationally recognized leader on drinking water issues. Ensuring all people have safe water to drink is a core public health function — critical for our own personal health and an absolute necessity for strong economies and sustainable natural environments. During these times of political uncertainty and economic hardship, it’s a resource that must be protected and prioritized. Providing people safe drinking water and protecting its quality and quantity is an economic necessity.

I look forward to working with all of the state drinking water administrators and the ASDWA staff to accomplish our organizational objectives for 2012. Following is the short version of our objectives for the year.”

• Help ensure active and ongoing involvement of ASDWA members in the Association’s activities.
• Manage expectations during extreme state revenue shortfalls/promote economic recovery.
• Support state efforts to set priorities that maximize public health protection in the face of resource constraints by providing information, tools, and assistance.
• Help ensure the implementability of the new Enforcement Targeting Tool and Enforcement Response Policy in light of state experiences using these tools.
• Communicate the need to make rules as flexible as possible with realistic compliance timeframes so that states can effectively implement the rules and achieve their public health objectives
• Provide early state input into regulatory tool development.
• Preserve the public health protection integrity of the DWSRF.
• Strive to ensure an active state-EPA co-regulator relationship that operates in a manner engendering mutual trust and respect.
• Communicate importance of state drinking water programs to the administration.
• Strengthen existing and forge new partnerships with other water organizations and interest groups that will add diversity and strength to ASDWA and its members.

Lastly Ed says, “I will work with Anthony DeRosa of ASDWA to help him drag me into the 21st century as we develop the use of real-time media in getting our message out to members, other agencies, and the general public.”

Message from Jill Jonas, ASDWA’s President for 2011

“Through the thoughtful and dedicated work of many people, ASDWA is a recognized leader on drinking water issues. Our collective work leads to our success. To all ASDWA members and staff, I thank you for the honor to serve as president.

This past year, the Board effectively guided the Association utilizing our 2011 organizational objectives. State perspectives are “at the national table” in a variety of drinking water program areas such as resource needs and prioritization, rule development and implementation, data management, source water protection, and security.

To anyone considering whether to become more involved at the ASDWA Board, Committee or Workgroup levels, I encourage you and your staffs to take the leap. There are tremendous learning experiences and opportunities — working together on important national drinking water activities and decisions. For those already involved, thank you for your exceptional work — and please stay involved. Providing all people with safe drinking water is our most fundamental goal. To achieve it, States’ voices must be heard in setting any national direction.

Ed has already hit the ground running as your new President. I know he joins me in thanking Denise for her past presidential leadership and guidance. I think her mantra is now engrained: “Be first, be right, be credible.”