Appalachian Community Technical Assistance and Training {ACT AT) Program Yr 2020-21

Task 1: UK personnel with work with relevant agencies in Kentucky to identify and recruit utility representatives from at least 8 communities of need to attend a Phase I Regional Workshop In A Box (WIB) training that will address ten critical utility management areas, facilitate a utility specific assessment and develop a preliminary workplan for focusing on one priority management area for each utility. Task 2: Based on the priority areas and technical needs identified from this regional workshop and other past Phase I WIB trainings, the project partners will develop customized training modules and/or resources based on their specific expertise. These modules and resources can then be shared across programs and state boundaries as well as shared with the larger national audience. The latter will be facilitated by presentations at regional and national water utility related conferences. Relevant materials will also be posted on the NESC website. Potential modules or resources would include: 1) Financial Viability (e.g. financial auditing, rate study preparation) WVU 2) Infrastructure Stability (e.g. asset management, network modeling) UK 3) Operational Optimization (e.g. water and energy audits) UTK 4) Stakeholder Engagement (e.g. risk management - PFAS concerns) WVU, UK, UTK 5) Employee and Leadership Development (e.g. recruitment training) WVU, UK, UTK It is anticipated that this partnership will not only allow for the development and sharing of resources between states, but also potentially impact emerging state policies that directly related to each of these management areas. For example, it is anticipated that lessons learned from TN related to water loss assessment may be translated to emerging KY policies related to the same area. Task 3: Using the pool of past participants in the Phase I Regional Workshops, UK personnel will recruit a minimum of two additional utilities to follow up with a Phase II utility specific workshop. This workshop will involve a utility specific version of the WIB training (with greater utility personnel participation, including operators, managers, and board members), as tailored to the specific needs of the utility identified in the Phase I workshop and an additional module developed from Task 2 as applicable to the specific management goals identified by the utility. Note: this module may be presented by UK personnel or if appropriate, a module may be presented by one of the other ACTAT partners as dictated by the specific needs of the utility. The end-result of the workshop will be a more specific action plan with refined action items that build on the additional modules. UK personnel will then continue to work with the Phase II participants to identify and provide additional technical resources as for use in supporting the implementation of their action plan. Task 4. In addition to incorporation of the additional modules into the utility specific WIB (Phase II) training in Kentucky, UK will travel to at least one other utility specific (i.e. Phase II) WIB training workshops in both West Virginia and Tennessee. Working with the other ACTAT partners, UK personnel will present a utility specific module (e.g. asset management or network modeling) as part of that partner’s training workshop and provide subsequent support to that partner in implementing the goals associated with that module for that utility. Task 5: Using the pool of past participants in the Phase II Utility Specific Workshops, UK personnel will recruit a minimum of two additional utilities to follow up with a Phase III technical assistance program. This assistance will help the utility to actually implement the specific goals and refined in the Phase II trainings. Task 6: Project Logistics/Monitoring/Reporting/Advisory Committee Meetings UK personnel will provide outreach to Kentucky specific stakeholders to solicit participation by systems in need of training and technical assistance. We will monitor project and Kentucky participant progress throughout project period to ensure milestones are being met and participants are making progress. We will also provide quarterly reports to West Virginia University (WVU) for inclusion in quarterly reports to funding agency. Finally, we will participate in quarterly conference calls with the advisory committee.