Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Utilities Department

TO:	Dave Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Jeanette Klamm, Residuals Coordinator
Date:	5/9/07
RE:	Request for Agenda Item

Request for the following item to be placed on the City Commission agenda for consideration at the next available meeting:

Project Description. Expansion of scope for the current Administrative  Policy #101 – Lawrence Wastewater Management System Policy from its current scope which includes only the Wastewater Utility and appropriate service divisions to include the entire Department of Utilities (see attached).

Project Description/History.  The Wastewater Utility management system has received certifications for conformance with ISO14001 Standard (environmental), OHSAS18001 (occupational health and safety), and National Biosolids Partnership EMS for Biosolids (biosolids/environmental). A policy addressing these items is required for conformance with these standards. The Wastewater Utility has experienced many benefits from the implementation of the management system, including decrease and more effective use of meeting time, a standardized method for correcting and preventing problems, and better communications between work groups. Due to reorganization of the department and plans to implement the management system across the entire department, it is necessary to modify the policy. The changes requested to the Policy would include all areas related to the Department of Utilities.

Project Status.  We are currently aligning all areas of the Department of Utilities including water and wastewater operations, maintenance, line maintenance, distribution, quality control and engineering. We anticipate being ready for 3^rd party audit for the entire department by our regularly scheduled audit time this fall (2007).

Project Details. The primary change to the policy is a shift of wording from “wastewater utility” to “Department of Utilities” wherever applicable. An additional commitment of “production of quality products and services” was also added. The previous commitments of prevention of pollution, energy conservation, continual improvement, compliance with regulations, and appropriate health and safety standards were retained from the previous version of the policy. The intent is primarily to expand the existing policy to cover all Department of Utilities activities under the same management system requirements.

Project Funding.  With further implementation of management systems for all functions of the utility, savings can be realized by improving efficiencies and saving overall on resources while also improving the level of products and services provided by the utility.

Action Request.   Staff is recommending that the City Commission approve this modification to the current Administrative Policy #101 and authorize the City Manager to sign the policy.