ဟံၣ်My WebLinkဘၣ်ဃးဒီး2019-07-11 EMC Final MinutesEMC Final Minutes 1 July 11, 2019 4:00p.m. 2 TCAT, 737 Willow Avenue, Ithaca, NY 3 Attendance 4 Member Seat Member Seat Steve Bissen E Town of Dryden Jonathan Zisk P At-Large Maureen Bolton P Town of Enfield Amanda Champion p Legislative Liaison Cait Darfler P Town of Ulysses Susan Allen-Gil A Associate Member John Dennis P Village of Lansing Karen Edelstein A Associate Member Brian Eden P Village of Cayuga Heights Bill Evans A Associate Member Pegi Ficken E Town of Groton Anna Kelles A Associate Member Michelle Henry P Town of Newfield Dooley Kiefer A Associate Member Anne Klingensmith E Town of Danby Dan Klein A Associate Member Laurel Lynch A At-Large Jose Lozano A Associate Member Vladimir Micic A Town of Ithaca Osamu Tsuda A Associate Member Steve Nicholson P Town of Caroline David Weinstein A Associate Member Susan Riley P At-Large Robert Wesley A Associate Member Tom Shelley P City of Ithaca Roger Yonkin A Associate Member Genny Shipley A At-Large Darby Kiley P Planning Staff Don Smith A At-Large Kristin McCarthy p Planning Staff Regi Teasley P At-Large Guests – Cheyenne Carter, Ava Darfler, Marisa Lansing, Mike Merchant 5 Call to Order – Chair Brian Eden called the meeting to order at 4:07 p.m. 6 Privilege of the Floor –No comments from the floor. 7 Agenda Review/Approval of Minutes – A motion was made by Tom Shelley, and seconded by 8 Maureen Bolton, to approve the June 13, 2019 minutes. Motion carried by members present. 9 10 Presentation: A Program to Mitigate Antibiotic Resistance – Ken Jaffe, Md. 11 Dr. Jaffe spoke about a pilot program designed to support the purchase of beef that is low in or 12 free of antibiotics, and ideally from local farms, for public school lunch programs in four 13 Tompkins County districts (Dryden, Groton, Ithaca, and Trumansburg). The new program 14 requires vendors that bid on beef procurement contracts with the school districts to meet new 15 specifications that reduce on-farm use of antibiotics in livestock while promoting animal welfare. 16 The Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship designed the program, 17 coordinated partners, and established the supply chain. The PowerPoint slides are available on 18 our website. 19 Committee Reports 20 Climate Adaptation: Regi Teasley 21 • In lieu of a meeting, the committee will be taking a field trip to the Cornell Bioswale at the 22 Botanic Gardens on July 15. Committee continues its research on carbon sequestration. 23 • Brian is exploring options for afforestation as a way to combat climate change locally. 24 25 Environmental Review: Brian Eden 26 • Jose Lozano and Susan Allen-Gil conducted a presentation to the Tompkins County 27 Legislature’s PEEQ Committee on their work researching emerging contaminants in the 28 Cayuga Lake watershed. 29 • Roughly 100 people attended a public hearing at Lansing Town Hall on the future of the 30 Cayuga Power Plant. The plant will be “mothballed,” and the new data center will not be 31 located in the existing buildings but likely be sited in new buildings closer to Ridge Road. 32 • HeatSmart Tompkins has secured a NYSERDA grant to launch the Lansing Clean 33 Energy Action Plan program, which will provide residents in the natural gas moratorium 34 area with information on clean heating and cooling technologies and state economic 35 incentives to encourage their installation. 36 • TCAD is contracting with HeatSmart to implement a recently awarded $80,000 grant 37 from NYSERDA to fund the Tompkins County Business Energy Advisors (BEA) Lansing 38 program, a pilot using the current BEA approach with some modifications to promote 39 energy improvements for existing commercial and industrial facilities in the Lansing 40 natural gas moratorium area. BEA funding is administered by the County. 41 • NYSDEC is requiring a draft environmental impact statement be done for a proposal to frack 42 with propane in the Town of Barton in Tioga County. Scoping comments will be accepted 43 through August 2. 44 • In May NYSEG filed a rate case requesting approval from the Public Service Commission 45 for increased gas and electric rates in their territory. If a settlement agreement is achieved 46 among the interested parties, new rates will be effective in May 2020. According to NYSEG 47 representatives, it would allow the company to expand its vegetation management program 48 and install more smart meters. 49 • NYSEG released a new Request for Information for Non-pipe Alternatives for the 50 Lansing/Freeville Reinforcement Gas Pipeline Project. 51 • Two bills introduced to strengthen clean water protections for New York’s wetlands 52 (A3658/S5576) and streams (A4666/S5612) did not pass the State Legislature. 53 54 Unique Natural Areas: Steve Nicholson 55 • A housing development is being proposed for the Mill Creek Preserve area of Dryden. The 56 900-acre property contains two UNAs and many wetlands. The UNA Committee has not 57 reviewed the project yet, but Steve Nicholson shared notes/comments from committee 58 member David Weinstein. The development would include 40 lots varying in size from 3 to 59 90 acres. One of the UNAs (71) would be given to the Town of Dryden, and the developer 60 plans to build around the wetlands. David said the developer has been highly responsive to 61 any requests for information and that short of the land being transformed into a park by the 62 town or New York State this is the best choice for its future. The project is currently tabled 63 with the Town of Dryden Planning Board. 64 • Promising recent studies have indicated that genes in certain ash trees demonstrate some 65 resistance to the emerald ash borer. 66 67 Waste Reduction: Tom Shelley 68 • Committee plans to focus efforts on public outreach and education; however, members are 69 still in a holding pattern until the County’s Department of Recycling and Materials 70 Management releases its communications campaign for the NYS single-use plastic bag ban. 71 • Cait Darfler suggested finding a way to recognize local businesses that are proactively doing 72 their part to reduce waste, such as Gimme Coffee’s switch to no-straw lids. 73 • Members are also taking a broader look at the Green New Deal and how the committee 74 might play a role in advancing the goals of that movement. One idea is to help promote an 75 omni-plastic waste reduction legislation similar to the “Single Use Disposable Foodware and 76 Litter Reduction Ordinance” passed earlier this year by the City Council of Berkeley, Calif. 77 78 Outreach/Community Education: Susan Riley 79 Members are brainstorming topics for the fall public outreach event and are seeking 80 recommendations. Details on scheduling the event (e.g. date/time/location) will be shared as 81 soon as they become available. 82 83 Water Resources Council Liaison: Michelle Henry 84 Michelle will email the latest newsletter from the Cayuga Lake HABs Monitoring Program. 85 86 Executive: Brian Eden 87 • Brian submitted the EMC’s budget proposal for 2020 to the County Planning and 88 Sustainability Department. 89 • The Council is requesting $2,000 on behalf of the Climate Adaptation Committee to support 90 design, production, printing, and other associated costs for one or more educational 91 brochures or web-based materials outlining practical methods for ameliorating and 92 controlling flooding and for adopting carbon-sequestration systems and practices. 93 • There are sufficient funds remaining in the 2019 budget to purchase an EMC branded 94 tablecloth for events. 95 • The Council will not meet in August. The next EMC meeting will take place September 12. 96 97 Staff Report – Darby Kiley 98 • NYSERDA has selected Halco; Snug Planet, LLC; and The Insulation Man, LLC to provide 99 Home Energy Rating Pearl Certification to owners of one- to four-bedroom homes in 100 Tompkins County, as part of the first phase of the Home Energy Ratings Pilot. 101 • Waste Reduction Committee needs to spend remaining 2019 funds by Dec. 31, 2019. 102 103 Municipal Reports and Member Announcements 104 105 • The City of Ithaca continues work on its Green New Deal. Along those lines, Brian is trying 106 to arrange a meeting in August for a NYSERDA representative who will be in town and 107 Mayor Svante Myrick and his chief of staff, Dan Cogan. 108 • There was a lively discussion on infill development at a recent meeting of the City Planning 109 and Development Board. 110 • The City Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission is collaborating with the 111 Town of Ithaca on a deer management program and works on environmental reviews when 112 possible. The commission has also formed a subcommittee on green spaces in the city 113 limits as there are currently no codes or other regulations to preserve them. 114 • Tom wrote an article for Tompkins Weekly on the severe damage lead contamination in the 115 environment inflicts on the welfare of both humans and wildlife. 116 • The Town of Caroline has hired Emily Adams to coordinate the Brighten-up Caroline 117 program. Funding is provided by a NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities grant. 118 119 Chair Brian Eden adjourned the meeting at 5:15 p.m. 120