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Winter 2014
national drinking water advising council
Washington, DC —
The National Rural
Water Association (NRWA) nominee, Wilmer
Melton was officially seated on the U.S.
National Drinking Water Advisory Council
(NDWAC) on Thurs., Nov. 06, 2014 at the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
headquarters in Washington, DC. Melton is
the Director of Public Works with the City of
Kannapolis, NC, a National Director of NRWA
and Board Member of the North Carolina Rural
Water Association.
The NDWAC panel is the federal advisory
committee that supports and consults with the
U.S. EPA in performing its responsibilities
related to the national drinking water program.
The Council was created on by the Safe
Drinking Water Act in 1974. NDWAC provides
advice, information, and recommendations on
matters related to activities, functions, policies,
and regulations required by the Safe Drinking
Water Act.
Melton said,
“I am honored to represent all
small and rural communities, and all rural
water members on the panel. Water is my life,
and drinking water is the most important public
health service that communities provide to the
public and it’s essential to everyone’s health
and standard of living. I will use my seat on the
NDWAC to advance safe drinking water and the
interests of rural and small communities.”
During the NDWAC meeting, the panel heard
bearings from senior EPA officials on the
following topics: EPA’s new proposal for a
national drinking water standard for Strontium,
EPA’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS)
proposedpolicy,andfederalpoliciesforprotecting
drinking water from lead contamination.
Melton Seated on National
Drinking Water Advisory Panel
at U.S. EPA Headquarters
By Mike Keegan, National Rural Water Association
Left to Right: Peter Grevatt (U.S. EPA Director of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water), Ken
Kopocis (U.S. EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water), and Wilmer Melton (City of Kannapolis, NC).
Dear Mr. Carpenter:
I am writing to thank you for the highly
professional assistance provided to the Town of
Denton by two of your NCRWA staff members,
Executive Director Daniel Wilson and Technical
Assistance Specialist Marty Wilson.
Daniel Wilson served as mediator over a bulk
water contract disagreement between the
Town and Handy Sanitary District. Daniel was
an excellent listener, reminded both parties
of our common commitment to our customers
and helped develop a number of approaches
for resolving our differences. Although we
were unable to reach a resolution of our
differences in this initial mediation effort,
Daniel’s work gave me confidence that there
is a path to a better understanding between
our two water service providers. Daniel
spent the equivalent of a half dozen or more
meetings assisting us.
It had been awhile since the Town had an
independent water & sewer rate analysis
performed and NCRWA couldn’t have provided
a better resource to tackle that study than
Marty Wilson. Marty’s combination of long
experience in the industry and his calm,
professional demeanor in dealing with elected
officials and customers alike over sensitive
matters like utility rate increases could not
be beat. Like Daniel, Marty attended a half
dozen or more meetings to help our staff,
Town Board and customers work through the
increased rates and why they were necessary.
Marty’s recommended new rate structure was
unanimously approved by our Board.
For a small town like Denton, having access
to the kind of expertise & experience made
available to us at no cost by NCRWA by
professionals like Daniel and Marty Wilson is an
outstanding benefit of our NCRWA membership.
Sincerely,
Larry Ward
Mayor - Town of Denton
THE NCRWA MAILBOX
