**Illinois**

**Rural Development**

**Engineering News**

**Fall United States Department of Agriculture 2007**

**By: Maynard E. Reedy, P.E.**

**State Engineer**

**[Greetings to All]{.underline}**

Can you believe another year has come and gone already? I had originally
planned to send out a Spring Newsletter but it looks like I'm a little
late for that one. So, let's get on with the Fall version.

As most of you probably know, it has been a very hectic year for Rural
Development. We have funded more projects this past year than ever
before and with a budget level of 2006. The 'Continuing Resolution' did
put us on a different track than we had anticipated. However, along with
all of your help and patience we managed to spend all of our state
allotment plus we received additional funds from the National Office
pooling. All in all, it's been a very good year.

**[Engineering Workshop]{.underline}**

Again the first order of business is to let you know we are planning to
have an Engineering Workshop in April. We are tentatively scheduling
April 10, 2008 (second Thursday) at the Holiday Inn (same location as
last year). If you know of any major conflicts or other events taking
place that might interfere with this date, please let us know at your
earliest convenience.

We do not have an agenda at this time. If you have a topic, project,
regulation, item of concern, or whatever, please let us know and we will
plan accordingly. Details on registration, agenda, and a map will be
sent around the first of the year.

**[Preliminary Engineering Reports (PER)]{.underline}**

We have had several engineering firms doing RD projects who are new to
the EJCDC format and for those firms and individuals I am repeating the
following paragraph from the Fall 2006 Newsletter:

*"Many of you are making very good progress in preparing the PER's
according to RD guidelines. The guidelines may be found at
<http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/regs-bulletins.htm> under B 1780-2, B
1780-3, and 1780-5. In addition to the guidelines, we have added a PER
checklist to our website at*
[*http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/il/eng.htm*](http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/il/eng.htm)*.
This checklist follows the guidelines pretty well and makes it much
easier to verify that all of the sections are covered and the required
information is appropriately listed in the PER. As a reminder, short
lived assets are required for all PER's. This has become one of those
items checked by the National Office on a regular basis. We have been a
little lax of late but are back on track and will be rejecting PER's
that do not address short lived assets."*

For those of you who have had the good fortune to wade through the PER
during the last two years, congratulations! Everyone appears to be
submitting much improved and more complete PER's. Hopefully, we are
reflecting the increased work required through higher allowable
preliminary engineering fees. We do not expect you to do more work for
the same money.

If you have any questions regarding any aspect of a project, your Area
Specialist and I are available at your convenience. Feel free to contact
either one of us.

**[Engineering Documents]{.underline}**

As most of you are aware, we have listed several documents on our
website, <http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/il/eng.htm>, which you will need
sometime during the life of the project (from preliminary through
construction).

Please note that Guide 11A has changed as well as IL Exhibit 'A' & IL
Exhibit 'C'.

Guide 11A changes had to do with removing two of the DCEO documents
relating to preliminary engineering and therefore were not applicable to
construction documents.

IL Exhibits 'A' & 'C' (form fillable only) each will change occasionally
and should be checked prior to completing any new Engineering Services
Agreement (ESA).

**[Engineering Services Agreement (ESA)]{.underline}**

For those of you not yet familiar with the new docs, this is EJCDC E-510
"Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Engineer for Professional
Services Funding Agency Edition".

A few reminders regarding this document:

1\. The first 15 pages are form fillable only. Do not change any wording
in body of the document.

2\. First 15 pages are really only the first 12 or 13 pages. They missed
this prior to approving the final version. If you wish, you can
repaginate or type on the last few blank pages, "Intentionally left
blank".

3\. Replace Exhibits 'A' and 'C' with IL Exhibit 'A' and IL Exhibit 'C'
as noted above under [Engineering Documents]{.underline}.

4\. Attach all exhibits whether used or not. If they are not being used
please type in N/A in the blank space on pages 10 and 11, and type N/A
on the actual exhibit attached to the agreement. This will confirm all
documents have been discussed with the Owner and the decision not to
include the exhibit is unanimous.

5\. If you have not submitted justification for the multiplier, please
submit it along with your first ESA submittal. We will accept current
IDOT multipliers.

6\. When engineering services are invoiced, they should follow the
compensation requirements as outlined in IL Exhibit 'C'.

7\. Please type in the Agency name (USDA -- Rural Development), my name
(Maynard E. Reedy) and my title (State Engineer) on the signature page.

8\. A minimum of four (4) original copies should be submitted for RD
review. RD will retain two (one Area Office copy and one State Office
copy) and return two for distribution (we assume one for the Owner and
one for the engineer).

9\. All ESA's shall include (at a minimum) the following exhibits: "A",
"B","C","D","E","G" & "J".

10\. RUS Bulletin 1780-26 is available and recommended for guidance in
filling out the agreement. If you do not have RUS Bulletin 1780-26
please go to

<http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/regs-bulletins.htm>.

11\. Form AD 1048 is required to be completed (for the engineer) and
submitted with the engineering services agreements. Although similar
wording appears in E-510, the requirement for AD 1048 is still in the
regs and it is not expected that it will be removed any time soon.

If anyone has any questions or requires assistance, give us a call.

**[Resident Project Representation (RPR) Services]{.underline}**

We have recently rejected several resumes of individuals who did not
appear to have sufficient experience to perform RPR services. In two of
the cases additional information was submitted and the individuals were
subsequently approved as RPR personnel. Please provide all relevant
experience for each of the persons submitted for consideration of RPR
services.

In general, if the project involves underground utilities (rural
water/sewer lines), the individuals' resume should address in detail the
experience associated with that type of work. Once an individual is
approved for RD projects, their approval remains valid until such time
they prove themselves no longer qualified to carry out the services as
described in the ESA and the RD regulations. A letter (on subsequent
projects) simply stating the individual has been previously approved by
RD on similar projects will be acceptable in lieu of a resume.

So, how do you know if an individual has enough experience to satisfy
our expectations? Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind:

1.  On rural water lines the individual should have at least fifty (50)
    miles of project experience under the watchful eye of a veteran
    'observer'. Yes, 50 is an arbitrary number but it should give you
    the idea on how much experience the person will need prior to 'going
    it alone'.

2.  Gravity sewer lines are mostly an in-town type of project and one
    whole town project under direct supervision should give enough
    experience to allow the individual the confidence and knowledge to
    do subsequent projects on their own.

3.  Please keep in mind the type of project on which the individual will
    be representing the engineer. Street projects do not necessarily
    qualify an individual to take on a water or sewer project.

4.  We will consider cumulative small projects to qualify for the
    experience clause.

In summary, of all of the documents and regulations covering RPR
services, the following paragraph from Exhibit 'D' of the ESA defines
the depth of knowledge and experience the individual should have to
perform the services as expected by the Owner and Agency:

"D.1.01.C.8.b. Report to Engineer whenever RPR believes that any part of
Contractor's work in progress will not produce a completed Project that
conforms generally to the Contract Documents or will imperil the
integrity of the design concept of the competed Project as a functioning
whole as indicated in the Contract Documents, or has been damaged, or
does not meet the requirements of any inspection, test or approval
required to be made; and advise Engineer of that part of work in
progress that RPR believes should be corrected or rejected or should be
uncovered for observation, or requires special testing, inspection or
approval."

If you feel the individual you are submitting for RPR services
epitomizes the above paragraph, then I'm going to go out on a limb here
and say the individual will most likely get our approval.

**[Stored Material]{.underline}**

I want to take a few minutes here to discuss stored materials and what
should be considered before paying anyone for materials not incorporated
in the project.

We do allow payment for stored materials but require the materials to be
accessible to the owner. Being accessible means the owner should be able
to get the material without going through the contractor or anyone else
to actually take possession of materials already paid for. In addition,
the material should be within the project boundary or at least adjacent
to the project boundary. It is not fair to the owner to have to pay
delivery charges to get the material to the site.

It is not acceptable for the material to be paid for if it is still
being stored on the contractor's property and not accessible to the
owner if the contractor can no longer fulfill the contract.

One more item that needs to be addressed is who has the responsibility
to protect the material until it is incorporated. Who else but the
contractor? This then becomes a decision by the contractor to either get
paid for the material and assure it is stored safely and securely off
his property or not get paid for it and leave it in his yard.

If there is ever a question regarding whether stored material can be
paid for with RD funds, give us a call and we will be glad to assist
you.

**[Predevelopment Planning Grants]{.underline}**

When you have trouble getting planning grants from the Community
Development Assistance Program (CDAP) at the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), please remember that we have
funding for predevelopment planning grants (PPG) through our regular
funding program. These grants can be used to assist in paying costs
associated with developing a complete application for a proposed
project. Examples of eligible costs would be preliminary engineering
reports and environmental reports. For more information, contact your
local USDA Rural Development representative.

**[Fiscal Year 2006 Accomplishments and Updates]{.underline}**

Patrick Lydic, CP Program Director

FY 2007 which ended on September 30 was another great year for the Water
and Waste Programs in Illinois.  During FY 07 we obligated 30 loans and
27 grants for a total of \$39.2 million.  A total of 103 loans and
grants were obligated for \$52.6 million in all of the Community
Programs administered in Illinois.  Currently we are operating under a
continuing resolution until the middle of November, however applications
are currently being processed up to the point of obligation.  As we look
forward to receiving our funding for FY 2008 we are
in **[need]{.underline}** of approximately **[30 million dollars of
additional applications]{.underline}** in the various application stages
to insure we fully utilize available funding and potential Farm Bill
funding.  For the last several months I have invited all eligible
applications and we currently do not have any applications awaiting a
formal invitation to apply.  We currently only have 34 applications in
various stages of the application process with an uncertainty of how
many of those will actually complete the application process for funding
this fiscal year.  As you work with potential systems please keep in
mind that a well-prepared preliminary engineering report is essential on
all RD projects and grant funding is available subject to similar system
cost and median household income.

 

As always feel free to contact me with questions or concerns you may
have.

 

Patrick M. Lydic

Community Programs Director

Phone (217) 403-6209

<patrick.lydic@il.usda.gov>

**[RD Staff Changes]{.underline}**

Don Burns, Area Specialist at USDA, Rural Development in Galesburg,
retired on September 29th, 2007, after 41 years of service. Don began
his career in June 1966 as a Farm Management Supervisor Trainee for
Farmers Home Administration in Galesburg. He was reassigned as an
Assistant County Supervisor in Oregon, IL, in August 1967, where he
worked until he was called to active duty by the Army in January 1968.
Don served in the Military Police at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, Fort Gordon,
GA, and Fort Hood, TX. Upon his return from duty in February 1970, he
was reassigned to the Carthage office and was later reassigned to
Galesburg, Anna, and Monmouth during the next three years. He was
promoted to County Supervisor in Pittsfield in September 1973 where he
worked until December 1978. Don was then promoted to his most recent
position of Area Specialist in the Galesburg Area Office of Rural
Development, where he administered community facility and water and
sewer programs.

Tom Beyers, Area Specialist, Mt. Vernon will be retiring in early
January 2008 after 36 years of USDA service. After working in several of
the South Central Illinois County Offices during the 70's, Tom started
working community programs in 1980, during a time in which EPA was
offering 75% grants to assist with installation of new sanitary sewer
systems and FmHA offering the remainder in low interest loans. Later the
rural water districts and companies become more popular and Delbert
Mundt and Tom were instrumental in the startup of the Water Roundtable.
Many of the Fire Protection Districts, Hospitals, Nursing Homes and
Counseling Centers in the area have worked with Tom on funding projects.
Tom would like to thank all of the community leaders, engineers,
architects and attorneys for all of their participation in the USDA
programs through the years and hopes that this region of Illinois is a
little better place to live and raise their families.

[]{.mark}

Good Luck Don & Tom and enjoy your well earned retirement.

**[Parting Shots]{.underline}**

Again, we want to thank all of you for making this one of the best years
for IL RD. Keep up the good work!

Let us know of any items or concerns you may have.

Hope to see all of you at the Workshop in April. Send in your list of
"I'd like to see or hear about\...." at your earliest convenience.
Certificates awarding 5 PDUs will be handed out at the conclusion of the
Workshop.

**[One last item]{.underline}**

Our IL PE licenses expire in November.

Don't forget to renew!