Purpose and Background
The
Availability
PA-AWWA will post this plan on its Web site www.paawwa.org it
will be linked from the front page and from any page where member information
is collected.
Information Collected by PA-AWWA
PA-AWWA forms collect only the information for which they ask you explicitly
and which you enter in them. PA-AWWA does not collect any information beyond
form information except through log files and discussion forums. PA-AWWA
collects:
1.
Registrant information during online
conference registrations, workshops, teleconferences and requests for and
exhibit space.
2.
Information supplied by registrants for
courses offered in PA-AWWA's Water Training Zone
which is run for PA-AWWA by 360water.
3.
Presenter information submitted in
response to calls-for-papers.
4.
Contact information submitted in job
listings, employer account information, and resumes associated with job
postings.
5.
New or changed member contact
information submitted in a change-of-address form, and contact information
submitted in forms requesting information about PA-AWWA membership, or in
applications to serve on PA-AWWA volunteer groups.
6.
Expressions of interest in the
Partnership for Safe Water.
7.
Internet log files of the IP addresses
and click sequences, and session variables such as browser type, of visitors to
www.paawwa.org
PA-AWWA will modify this section as necessary as new
features are added to www.paawwa.org .
Personal Information from Children and Adults
PA-AWWA does not intentionally or knowingly collect information from children.
PA-AWWA neither identifies information as originating from children nor does
PA-AWWA market its goods and services to children. PA-AWWA restricts its
collection of personal information to demographic characteristics which help it
understand its members/customers and their needs (see below), and to
information used in authorized transactions (for example: address and credit
card number for online purchases).
PA-AWWA's Use of the
Collected Information
PA-AWWA uses the information it collects in two ways: (1) some information is
used internally and for PA-AWWA marketing purposes; (2) some information
remains in computer files which are the basis of statistical reports, with no
member/customer detail extracted. Each of these uses is discussed below.
(1)
Information Used Internally and for PA-AWWA Marketing Purposes: Name, address,
fax, email, affiliation, industry, job title, race, gender, age and other
similar information is used by PA-AWWA to understand its audiences and to offer
member benefits and products to members/customers who are likely to be
interested in them. Information collected in expressions of interest in the
Partnership for Safe Water is used within that program only.
(2)
Information Used for PA-AWWA Statistical Reports: PA-AWWA collects IP addresses
for information about the geographic spread of internet users. PA-AWWA may
record type and version of browser, sequence of pages viewed, and length of
session for use in improving site navigation and usefulness. This information
is for statistical analysis and is not correlated with any specific user.
Opting Out
PA-AWWA recognizes that members/customers may wish to limit PA-AWWA's use of personal information, and that this decision
may occur after information is provided. If desired, PA-AWWA will mark a
member/customer's records in its central database to exclude that address in
rented mailing lists. To accomplish this, members/customers should email
complete contact information to donhershey@paawwa.org or call 717-774-8870
and request that their records be marked "NO OUTSIDE DISTRIBUTION".
PA-AWWA is able to prevent mailings of PA-AWWA promotional material by marking
member/customer's records "NO PA-AWWA PROMOTIONAL MAILINGS," and to
prevent faxing of PA-AWWA promotional material by marking member/customer's
records "NO PA-AWWA FAX BROADCAST DISTRIBUTION." These record marks
may be requested in the same manner described above. This could deprive the
member/customer of some of the many benefits of their association with PA-AWWA.
Protected Zones on PA-AWWA's
Web site
PA-AWWA may soon set up zones on its Web site for specific audiences. These
might include zones for particular member categories, for subscribers to a
certain publication, or for attendees at a specific conference. These will
require PA-AWWA to install web features which ask for user disclosure of name,
member number, or email address, and which may involve placement of persistent
cookies on the user's machine. Members/customers who do not wish to provide
such information, or who do not allow placement of a persistent cookie on their
machine, will not be able to access or use the Web site zone in question
because the Web site will not be able to recognize them.
Data Security
PA-AWWA uses several methods to transmit information submitted by customers.
Increasingly, transactions are protected using SSL encryption software. This
means that your credit card information, name, address, and email cannot be
read as they travel across the Internet. SSL encryption is the standard for
transactional security and it is used by virtually all other e-commerce systems
on the web. PA-AWWA joins the Internet community's concern for data safety.
Some AWWA systems use unencrypted posting, in which your data is sent like
email from your browser to PA-AWWA's server. The
server retransmits this information to PA-AWWA's
Association Service Representatives by email. PA-AWWA's
web servers and its in-house association management systems are protected by
advanced security measures.
PA-AWWA's Guarantee
We have NEVER had a bank confirm fraudulent use of a
customer credit card as a result of ordering from PA-AWWA via the Internet.
Because we are so confident of this record, we offer this guarantee: if you
ever experience unauthorized use of your credit card as a result of ordering
from PA-AWWA via the Internet through our SSL secured servers, we will
reimburse you up to a maximum of $50 if your bank holds you liable for the
charges. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN THIS PARAGRAPH, AWWA HEREBY DISCLAIMS
ANY GUARANTEE AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER.
PA-AWWA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY REGARDING THE OPERATION OR PERFORMANCE
OF ANY SECURITY MEASURE OR DEVICE INSTALLED ON ITS WEB SITE OR USED IN
PROCESSING ONLINE TRANSACTIONS. THE FOREGOING STATES THE ENTIRE LIABILITY OF
PA-AWWA WITH RESPECT TO DATA THEFT OR CORRUPTION.
Your Permission
By using PA-AWWA's Web site,
you consent to the collection and use of the information by PA-AWWA unless you
have OPTED OUT (see above). If we change our privacy or security policies in
the future, those changes will be posted here so you always know what
information we collect, how we use it, and how we protect it.
Further Explanations
We would be happy to explain any of our privacy and
security policies to you in person. Questions regarding information privacy may
be directed to Customer Service at donhershey@paawwa.org. Please include a
phone number so we may respond directly.
In the event a dispute arises between you and PA-AWWA, our
goal is to provide you with a neutral and cost effective means of resolving the
dispute quickly. Accordingly, you and PA-AWWA agree that any claim or
controversy at law or equity that arises out of this Agreement or our services
("Claims") shall be resolved in accordance with one of the
subsections below or as otherwise mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties.
Before resorting to these alternatives, we strongly encourage you to first
contact us directly to seek a resolution and we will consider reasonable
requests to resolve the dispute through alternative dispute resolution
procedures, such as mediation, as an alternative to litigation.
For any Claim (excluding Claims for
injunctive or other equitable relief) where the total amount of the award
sought is less than $10,000, you or PA-AWWA may elect to resolve the dispute
through binding arbitration conducted by telephone, on-line and/or based solely
upon written submissions where no in-person appearance is required. In such
cases, the arbitration shall be administered by the American Arbitration
Association or JAMS in accordance with their applicable rules, or any other
established ADR provider mutually agreed upon by the parties. Any judgment on
the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having
jurisdiction thereof.
Alternatively, any Claim may be adjudicated by a court of
competent jurisdiction located in
Alternatively, PA-AWWA will consider use of other
alternative forms of dispute resolution, such as binding arbitration to be held
in
All Claims (excluding requests for injunctive or equitable relief) between the
parties must be resolved using the dispute resolution mechanism that is
selected in accordance with this Section by the first party to file a Claim.
Should either party file an action contrary to this Section, the other party
may recover attorneys' fees and costs up to $1000, provided that the party
seeking the award has notified the other party in writing of the improperly
filed Claim, and the other party has failed to withdraw the Claim.
If you have questions about this policy please contact donhershey@paawwa.org or call
717-774-8870.