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2017 RiverSweep

On May 13, 2017, NEOCHMM participated in its 10th Annual RiverSweep event with the West Creek Conservancy. We redeveloped a transition lot on Glencairn Road in Parma, OH. This lot is located the west flank of West Creek. Our work consisted of planting big and small trees to re-establish a tree canopy; planting small oriental plants and re-seeding the lot. A hearty “thank you” to all of our members that participated.

Details: Written by Mark Baumgardner, CHMM; Created: 15 May 2017; Last Updated: 23 May 2017

March NEOCHMM Meeting

On March 23rd Ray Davis CHMM presented a review of the Incident Command System (ICS) that was used in July 2016 for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. ICS is a key feature of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and is a standard management tool for meeting the demands of small or large emergency or nonemergency situations. With an expected 50,000 visitors and over 10,000 protest permits issued for the RNC, this was going to be a large undertaking. This was a National Special Security Event (NSSE), for which the Secret Service assumed its mandated role as the lead agency for the design and implementation of the operational security plan. The Secret Service has a core strategy to carry out its security operations which relies heavily on its established partnerships with law enforcement and public safety officials at the local, state, and federal, and international levels. The ICS was vital in keeping these groups working together.

During Ray’s presentation was notable that out of the $50 million allocated for the RNC budget, a staggering $9.5 million was spent on insurance for the event. This was five times what the insurance was for the convention in Tampa in 2012. This was primarily due to the strained police-community relations nationwide and a number of negative nation-wide incidents involving police and citizens. However, the presence, professionalism, and courtesy exhibited by the police forces during the Cleveland RNC were probably the best deterrent to any problems with the crowds.

In the end, the City of Cleveland and its partners achieved its goal of providing a safe and secure environment for all participants, news media, individuals exercising their First Amendment Rights, service providers, and general public during this event through their security operations, training, and preparation.

Details: Written by Kenneth Doyle, MBA, CHSP, CHEP; Created: 27 March 2017; Last Updated: 27 March 2017

Tour of the Akron Sewer Project

On March 10, several NEOCHMM members attended a tour of the Akron Sewer Enhancement project. Similar to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) program, the Akron program is designed to control sewer overflows in high flow periods. Akron has designed a tunnel that will be placed under downtown Akron and will hold the overflow until it can be processed at the Akron sewage plant.

The tour took us to the three locations that are the drop towers are being installed and the entry point of the tunnel machine. We also went to several other sewer overflow control mechanisms. Akron is also disconnecting storm and sanitary sewers at some up-line locations to help reduce overflow volumes. The boring will begin in the next few months.

It was a very interesting and worthwhile tour. They also suggested taking another tour later in the summer once more activities have begun.

NEOCHMM will also be attending the tour on April 14 – 11:30 am to 2:00 pm – if interested contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Details: Written by Elise Allen, CHMM; Created: 16 March 2017; Last Updated: 16 March 2017