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Home My WebLink About06-08-17 EMC Final Minutes1 TOMPKINS COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COUNCIL 121 East Court St, Ithaca, New York 14850 Telephone (607) 274-5560 http://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/emc 1 EMC Final Minutes 2 June 8, 4:00 p.m. 3 Tompkins County Old Jail Conference Room, 125 E. Court St, Ithaca, NY 4 5 Attendance 6 Member Seat Member Seat Steve Bissen P Town of Dryden Dooley Kiefer P Legislative Liaison John Dennis P Village of Lansing Susan Allen-Gil P Associate Member Brian Eden P Village of Cayuga Heights Cait Darfler P Associate Member Bill Evans P Town of Danby Karen Edelstein P Associate Member Pegi Ficken A Town of Groton Anna Kelles P Associate Member Michelle Henry P Town of Newfield Dan Klein E Associate Member John Hertzler E Town of Ulysses Jose Lozano A Associate Member James Knighton P At-Large Nidia Trejo A Associate Member Vladimir Micic A Town of Ithaca David Weinstein A Associate Member Steve Nicholson P Town of Caroline Robert Wesley A Associate Member Susan Riley P At-Large Roger Yonkin A Associate Member Tom Shelley P Ithaca CAC Scott Doyle P EMC Coordinator Linda Spielman P Village of Dryden Kristin McCarthy P Administrative Assistant Ron Syzmanski A Village of Freeville 7 A quorum was present. 8 9 Guests – Osamu Tsuda (Cornell University) 10 11 Call to Order – Chair Brian Eden called the meeting to order at 4:05 pm. 12 13 Privilege of the Floor – There were no speakers. 14 15 Agenda Review/Changes – Anna Kelles’ presentation was moved to earlier in the schedule. 16 17 Minutes approval (May 11, 2017) – Action: Tom Shelley moved to approve the May 11th minutes. Linda Spielman 18 seconded. The minutes were approved with no changes. 19 20 2 Committee Reports 21 A. Climate Adaptation – James Knighton 22 • Their committee will meet next Monday (June 12th). 23 • James and Scott Doyle also belong to the flooding task force for the City of Ithaca, which recently had a meeting. 24 The City is looking to hire an engineering consultant to help with flood mitigation. 25 • Cayuga Lake Watershed Network is interested in getting involved in flood mitigation efforts as well. 26 B. Organizational Development and Outreach – Anna Kelles 27 28 • Anna talked to the group about the work so far of the Strategic Planning Committee and its goal of building 29 infrastructure for better communication and information sharing among committees and individual members. 30 Specifically, she distributed copies of the report from the Strategic Planning retreat held earlier this year, which 31 proposes the following: 32 33 • A two-tier organizational system divided into “standing” (Executive, Unique Natural Areas, Environmental 34 Review, and Climate Adaptation) and “special” (Nominating/Membership, Outreach, and Strategic Planning) 35 committees. 36 37 • Standing committees would continue from year to year until they no longer serve a core function of the EMC. 38 The life span of a special committee, on the other hand, would be fluid and depend on the length of time (could 39 be a few months to several years) needed to meet the goals defined when the committee is formed. 40 41 • At the end of each year, committees would present the work they’ve done to meet that year’s objectives and 42 priorities and then set goals and guidelines for the next 12 months. 43 • The Membership and Outreach Committees could very well become standing committees. Members can also 44 form temporary topic-specific special committees, such as one that builds on John’s and Cait’s work regarding 45 the Cargill Mine Shaft #4 proposal. 46 47 • Susan Riley will put together the Outreach Committee. Anna will participate on it initially for support. Brian 48 recommended reaching out to John Hertzler to see if he will consider joining. 49 50 • Per the By-laws, every EMC member should participate on at least one standing committee. Anna passed around 51 a sheet outlining the different committees, complete with definitions for them (taken from the By-laws) and a 52 list of their members. 53 54 • Anna also gave a visual tour of the new EMC Google Drive, pointing out the different folders and the materials 55 that have been uploaded so far. Members should put any relevant documents on the Drive and email Anna if 56 they don’t have access to it. Chairs will manage the folder for their committee. She envisions it being a 57 repository for information that other EMCs in the state could consult as well as a tool for helping new members 58 build their institutional knowledge of the Council. 59 60 • Anna also talked about the Welcome Packet being designed and compiled for new members. It would include a 61 contact list for members, the committee descriptions, relevant sections of the Strategic Planning report, as well 62 as the By-laws, which need revising. Tom Shelley volunteered to serve temporarily on the Strategic Planning 63 Committee and help Anna review the By-laws. However, they still need others to join them. 64 65 3 C. Environmental Review – Brian Eden 66 67 • Cait Darfler announced that June 13th there will be a forum held at the Merrill Sailing Center to discuss salt 68 mining under Cayuga Lake. It will also serve as an introduction to the new group CLEAN (Cayuga Lake 69 Environmental Action Now). 70 • A Town of Ulysses board meeting will take place at the same time (June 13th), during which a support resolution 71 will be presented asking the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to require 72 that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement be done before issuing a permit for Cargill’s Shaft 4 project. 73 • John Dennis added that Cargill, under the recommendation of its consultant, Gary Peterson, is proceeding to 74 mine under the Frontenac Point anomaly, even though the NYSDEC’s consultant Vincent Scovazzo had 75 recommended that Cargill not mine there. 76 • Members should feel free to send Brian questions regarding the “Comments on Proposed SEQR Revisions” 77 memo that was included in the agenda packet. 78 • Under the direction of its director, Scott Pruitt, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed 79 delaying the compliance dates of the 2015 Steam Electric Power Generating Effluent Final Rule. The Final Rule 80 had set new or additional standards for wastewater from the following processes and by products: flue gas 81 desulfurization, fly ash, bottom ash, and flue gas mercury controls. The Rule will be the subject of a public 82 hearing at EPA headquarters on July 31, 2017. The delay of or ultimate reversal of this Rule may have a 83 significant impact on the water quality of Cayuga Lake. 84 • The ERC has written in support of several large-scale solar power projects locally, but are concerned that the 85 Cayuga Solar project in Lansing might interfere with clean-up efforts at the landfill site there, so they’d like to 86 see an environmental review done there. 87 • The key ingredient in the widely used herbicide Roundup is glyphosate. Confidential data was uncovered by the 88 European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency that contradicted the previous scientific 89 studies that justified the use of glyphosate as safe. Dr. Christopher Portier, former director of the U.S. National 90 Center for Environmental Health and also the former director of the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and 91 Disease Registry, identified scientific errors in the evaluation process and had written an open letter to the 92 European Commissioner calling for more transparency. 93 • NYSDEC has proposed that no further action be taken at Ithaca Falls in regards to potential contamination from 94 the one section adjacent to the Ithaca Gun factory. A public meeting will be held June 20th in the Common 95 Council chambers of City Hall, and the NYSDEC will accept public comments through July 17th. 96 • An outbreak of viral hemorrhagic septicemia has been connected to a fish kill involving thousands of round 97 gobies in Cayuga Lake. It is the first time this virus has been found in the Lake. 98 • Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against NYSDEC for its new CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) permit 99 for industrial dairies. The lawsuit argues that CAFOs should be regulated according to federal guidelines and not 100 those of NYS because the latter do not go far enough to protect the environment. 101 • Dry cleaning facilities that use the chemical perchloroethylene can no longer be located in residential areas. 102 103 B. UNA – Steve Nicholson 104 • On May 16th, committee members took a field trip to search for the precise location of the Piper Road Fen, 105 which was not a new UNA but had been mapped incorrectly. 106 • Their consultant, associate member Robert Wesley, identified 20 plant species at the site. 107 • This site features one of the more important fens in Tompkins County. 108 109 D. WRC Liaison – Michelle Henry 110 The following happened at the May 15th meeting of the Water Resources Council: 111 • Angel Hinickle of the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District (TCSWCD) presented the 2016-17 112 Annual Report of the Tompkins County Stormwater Coalition, in accordance with their MS4 SPDES permit. 113 4 • Angel and Mike Hall gave a presentation to the group on a couple of the TCSWCD’s key projects. For example, 114 they used compost (from Cayuga Compost) mixed with wood chips to make compost blankets and compost 115 socks for sediment control. 116 • The Upper Susquehanna Coalition selected Pony Hollow Creek as a TMDL focus area for a stream restoration 117 project. Funding is provided through the Coalition’s Stream Team initiative. 118 • There is a new committee focused on potential pollutants in Cayuga Lake and other waterways. 119 • The Governor approved the 2017–18 NYS Environmental Protection Fund budget, a summary of which J. Negley 120 distributed at the meeting. It’s at $300 million, similar to last year’s budget, with a little more funding earmarked 121 for climate adaptation projects. 122 • Paddling brochures have been printed and are in demand. A second printing is in the works. 123 124 E. Executive – Brian Eden 125 • Council is ready to resume inviting speakers to meetings. A presentation by Andy Zepp of the Finger Lakes Land 126 Trust on watershed protection will be scheduled for the fall. 127 • Steve Nicholson has been asked to serve on the search committee for Ed Marx’s successor. 128 • Steve N. also reported that the New York State Association of Conservation Commissions will hold its annual 129 conference November 3-4 in Kingston. Steve is treasurer of the organization. There is some scholarship money 130 available. 131 132 Staff Report – Scott Doyle 133 134 • Scott will touch base with members who haven’t been attending meetings to ascertain their interest in 135 remaining on the Council. 136 • He will attend the next Climate Adaptation Committee meeting. 137 • He must receive all budget requests for 2018 by the end of this month (June). 138 • He has been doing a lot of work on the Natural Infrastructure Capital Project. 139 • The Old Crispell Garage property, at 1920 Slaterville Road, has been pulled from the County auction. The County 140 attorney was concerned about potential environmental problems. 141 142 2016 EMC Annual Report Approval 143 144 The members discussed approving the 2016 EMC Annual Report. It will next go to PDEQ. Scott will contact Martha 145 Robertson to ask if someone from the EMC should be at the meeting to present it to the committee. 146 Action: Tom Shelley moved, and Bill Evans seconded, to approve the 2016 EMC Annual Report. The motion passed. 147 Resolution: Recommendations for Indoor and Outdoor Lighting – Bill Evans 148 149 Bill presented his draft resolution of recommendations for choosing indoor and outdoor lighting. Some highlights from 150 his talk can be found below: 151 152 • Bill participated in a NYSERDA webinar on LED lights and has a copy of the PowerPoint if anyone is interested. 153 Tompkins County is at an advantage because many communities downstate have already switched over, and we 154 can learn a lot from their experiences. 155 • There are two ways to go: The municipality buys the lights and then contracts out to have the old ones replaced, 156 etc., or the utility company (in our case, NYSEG) takes care of it and the municipality rents out the poles, etc. If 157 the municipality wants control over the lights ─ e.g. to be able to select the color temperature or set dimmers ─ 158 then it needs to go with the first option and buy the system. Our community can do that with NYSEG starting 159 September 1. 160 5 • Bill has been advocating for the use of warmer lights in these systems, and that is the focus of this document. 161 During the day, blue light is preferred for indoor lighting as it simulates sunlight. However, at night, especially for 162 street lighting, the preference is for a warmer orange-yellow light. 163 • The predicament is that right now a lot of municipalities are transitioning to visible short-wavelength LED street 164 lighting, which, besides potentially being deleterious to human health, has also been implicated in a wide host of 165 ecological impacts and increased municipal skyglow at night. If a community wants a street lighting system with 166 warmer, low blue wavelength emissions, it will have to proactively push for one as there is inertia within the 167 industry to install street lights with a significantly higher blue wavelength output. 168 • These recommendations will need to be updated frequently as the technology behind, as well as the research on 169 human health and ecological impacts of, LED lighting is continually updating and changing. 170 171 Action: Brian Eden moved, and Tom Shelley seconded, to approve the resolution outlining recommendations for indoor 172 and outdoor lighting in Tompkins County. The resolution was approved with minor editorial changes. 173 174 Member Items/Municipal Reports 175 176 • Michelle: The Town of Newfield is revising its Site Plan Review Law. 177 • Bill: He goes every few months to the Danby Town Board and gives updates on the EMC. 178 179 Adjournment 180 181 Action: Chair Brian Eden moved to adjourn the meeting. Tom Shelley seconded. The motion was approved 182 unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 5:40 pm. 183 184 These draft minutes will be formally considered by the EMC at its next monthly meeting, and corrections or notations 185 will be incorporated at that time. 186 187 Prepared by Kristin McCarthy, Tompkins County Planning and Sustainability Department 188 Approved by EMC: July 13, 2017 189 190