Stratton "Lefty" Schaeffer is a consulting engineer based in West Fairview, Pennsylvania. He can be reached at 717-732-0776. He is writing here as a representative of the Council of Industrial Boiler Owners.

Gone are the days when operating campus power plants and utility systems was based solely on engineering economics and operating experience. The 1960s' amendments to the Clean Air Act were a powerful wakeup call. Suddenly we were forced to shift the management of Btus on campus from straight conservation and availability to a more balanced approach integrating environmental concerns. Our traditional methods of selecting energy resources and technologies became outmoded with the environmental movement. For instance, operating practices were modified at great expense to minimize three culprits nitrogen oxides, particulate, and sulfur oxides, more commonly referred to by the boiler operators as NOX, ROCKS, and SOCKS.

A decade passed and we were just getting our sea legs when life was further complicated by a handful of oil-producing countries who proceeded to control the price and supply of international oil. Our campus operations were then whiplashed between the environmental movement and the exploding cost of energy. Thus was born a new breed of facilities manager.

Today's manager, in addition to being a good operating engineer, is expected to have knowledge of international marketplace trends, environmental science, energy management, and emerging technologies. He or she must also keep a finger in the air to sense the shifting winds of political correctness on campus and in the halls of government. In short, the modern physical plant director must have the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, and the luck of the Irish. But shucks folks, if it was easy, anybody could do it and we might all be out chasing ambulances or running for public office.

Thanks to the talent of the APPA membership, a good job has been done to keep campus systems reliable, operating economically, and in environmental compliance. However, there is a growing school of thought among the membership that defensive management in reaction to outside forces is not the most effective method of minimizing costs while maximizing reliability. The new sentiment is to more actively monitor pending legislation and policies that negatively impact physical plant operations. The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is applicable. Educating politicians and bureaucrats to the adverse impact of their proposed activities is more effective than changing laws and policies chiseled in stone.

APPA plans to better inform the membership of pending activities that impact the operation of campus systems. To accomplish this, several national associations where APPA members are active in energy/environmental issues will be monitored. One organization is the Council of Industrial Boiler Owners (CIBO). The membership of CIBO includes 75 industrial organizations representing owners, designers, consultants, and suppliers of power plants equipment. In addition, CIBO has an affiliate membership of 25 universities, all APPA members. CIBO's mission is to promote the maximum exchange of information with its membership and between members and government. This information concerns policies, laws, and regulations relating to energy and the environment. CIBO also promotes information exchange that improves reliability and cost-effectiveness of members' power plants, through technical interchange and advocacy.

By monitoring the activities of CIBO and other common cause associations through our APPA members, we can alert our entire APPA membership of pending energy/ environmental activities in Washington and the local level. These activities do not always impact our campuses in a negative fashion. To the contrary, the deregulation of the natural gas and more recently the electric utility industry, will have a positive impact on our method of purchasing or generating energy on campus. The technical exchange among CIBO members has already benefitted university affiliates. Our goal is to expand this benefit to the entire APPA membership.

In future issues of this magazine, we will alert the APPA membership to pending legislation and policies at the national and local level. We will also alert our membership to on- going activities by other professional organizations where information sharing on common cause issues can become an important tool in our daily operations and long range campus strategy.