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Public Power, Local Control, and Ownership of Our Future <br /> The improvements at ERMU under the leadership of commission chair John Dietz, Troy Adams, <br /> and the new management team were acknowledged in 2010 when ERMU received the System <br /> Innovation Award from the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association. This award recognizes <br /> municipalities that succeed in energy leadership, innovation, and efficiency. ERMU was selected <br /> because of its diverse renewable energy resources,reliability record, and conservation programs. <br /> The award also reflected ERMU's long-term system design planning and ongoing system <br /> maintenance.149 <br /> During the same period, ERMU worked to protect local resources for their customers. In <br /> October 2010, the Elk River City Council passed an ordinance to stop the city's largest water <br /> users from drilling their own wells. Had these high-volume customers stopped buying water <br /> through ERMU, it would have been a major blow to the water department's already tight budget. <br /> A cool and rainy year had decreased revenues, but the water department was able to avoid <br /> raising rates by reducing expenses.150 In addition to the financial issue, there was concern that <br /> commercial customers would increase the risk of contamination to the city's aquifer by drilling <br /> wells. The conflict went beyond the city's boundary. Commissioner Dietz and Troy Adams <br /> testified to a Minnesota Ways and Means Senate Committee in support of the city's right to <br /> protect its water source. <br /> Another aspect of the high quality of the city's water was acknowledged in 2011 when the <br /> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Department of Health <br /> and Human Services presented ERMU with the Water Fluoridation Quality Award. This award <br /> signified consistent and professional <br /> adjustment of the water fluroride ' <br /> content to the optimum level for oral <br /> health for twelve months. <br /> In 2012, ERMU received more <br /> national recognition when honored <br /> for providing reliable and safe <br /> electric service. Of the more than _ <br /> 2,000 public power utilities in the <br /> country, ERMU was one of only 176 <br /> that received the American Public I <br /> Power Association (APPA)Reliable <br /> Public Power Provider(RP30) <br /> designation. There were four Wade Lovelette(C),ERMU Technical Services Superintendent, <br /> evaluation metrics for this receiving the RP3 Award from Brian McKinney(L),Manager <br /> designation: reliability, safety, at City Utilities of Springfield,Missouri, and Mike Hyland(R), <br /> workforce development, and system APPA's Senior Vice President of Engineering and Operations <br /> (American Public Power Association) <br /> improvement. ERMU's reliability <br /> 149"ERMU Receives Award,"Elk River Star News, September 3,2010;"Elk River Municipal Utilities 2010 Year in <br /> Review,"at ERMU archives. <br /> "'Joni Astrup,"Elk River Targets Large Water Users,"Elk River Star News,October 23,2010;"Elk River <br /> Municipal Utilities 2010 Year in Review,"at ERMU archives. <br /> 42 <br />