HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-07-11 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
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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
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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
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Water Resources Council Liaison: Michelle Henry 84
Michelle will email the latest newsletter from the Cayuga Lake HABs Monitoring Program. 85
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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
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Chair Brian Eden adjourned the meeting at 5:15 p.m. 120