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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019.11.18 WRC Final MinutesPage 1 of 3 TOMPKINS COUNTY WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL November 18, 2019 TCAT, 737 Willow Avenue, Ithaca, NY Final Minutes Attendance Member Seat Member Seat Sharon Anderson P Cooperative Extension Brian Rahm P Environment Fay Benson P Agriculture Elizabeth Thomas E At-Large Chris Bordlemay Padilla A Water Purveyor Linda Wagenet P At-Large Cynthia Brock P Municipal Mara Alper E Associate Liz Cameron P Co. Environmental Health Annie Bastoni E Associate Amanda Champion P County Government Roxy Johnston P Associate Barry Goodrich P Watershed Organization Dooley Kiefer A Associate Ed Gottlieb P At-Large Jose Lozano P Associate Michelle Henry P EMC Representative Todd Miller P Associate Marina Howarth P At-Large Niamh O’Leary P Associate Kristen Hychka P Municipal Government Steve Penningroth A Associate Emelia “Mia” Jumbo A At-Large Elaine Quaroni P Associate Darby Kiley P County Planning & Sustain. Marjory Rinaldo-Lee A Associate Lynn Leopold P Municipal Government Joanne Trutko P Associate Jon Negley P Soil & Water Cons. District Tom Vawter A Associate Frank Proto P At-Large Guests: Anthony Arce Call to Order – Chair Cynthia Brock called the meeting to order at 4:17 p.m. Privilege of the Floor – None Agenda Review/Changes – A request for a motion to approve a letter of support for microplastics research funding from the Park Foundation on behalf of Jose Lozano and Susan Allen was added to the agenda after approval of the draft October minutes. Presentation:/Discussion: Draft Regulations for NYS Department of Health Drug Take Back Act and Review of Joint Comments Letter in Response – Ed Gottlieb Ed Gottlieb gave a PowerPoint presentation on the NYS Drug Take Back Act and the Department of Health draft regulations that he and other colleagues view as problematic. His talk covered background information including the missed timeline milestones for drafting the regulations and implementing the Act, a summary of problems with the regulations (identified by Ed and other stakeholders), as well as thoughts for next steps. An ad hoc group of stakeholders, including Ed, drafted a comment letter with nine major issues with the regulations. Ed will submit his own comment letter to cover numerous other, less important, points. The major problems included conflicts between the Act and the draft regulations over who bears the cost of the program. The Act clearly says manufacturers pay all costs. The draft regulations put some of the costs on non-chain pharmacies, law enforcement (including the T.C. Sheriff), and the DOH (i.e. taxpayers). It was asked whether Tompkins County would be held responsible for anything if the WRC signed onto the letter. Ed replied no, the suggested changes would ensure that all program costs are paid by the manufacturers, as the Legislature intended. It is in our interest to see the Drug Take Back Act be as effective as possible, to better protect our water resources from contamination. Page 2 of 3 Liz Cameron expressed some concern over wording in parts of the letter. Ed offered to rewrite the letter, to address these concerns, so the WRC could submit feedback directly to the DOH. Brian Rahm remarked that he didn’t think that was necessary, given that most public comments are batched together by category on the state’s end with no attention paid to individual wording. In his opinion, there were enough good points made in the current version of the letter to sign it as is. Action: Approval of WRC as a co-signatory on letter in response to draft Drug Take Back Act regulations Action: Amanda Champion made a motion to add the Water Resources Council as a co-signatory on the response letter regarding Joint Comments on the Drug Take Back Act Regulations proposed by the NYS Department of Health. Lynn Leopold seconded the motion. Motion carried. Action: Approval of October 21 Draft WRC Meeting Minutes Action: Lynn Leopold moved, and Jon Negley seconded, approval of the draft October 2019 meeting minutes. Motion carried with minor edits to be made to the minutes. Action: Approval of Letter of Support for Microplastics Research Proposal funding to Park Foundation Associate member Jose Lozano requested a letter of support from the WRC for a grant application he and colleague Susan Allen plan to submit to the Park Foundation for their research on microplastics in Cayuga Lake. Members reviewed the draft letter of support, which was distributed in hard copy at the meeting, and contributed suggestions for fine-tuning the text. Action: Frank Proto moved to approve a letter of support for funding of the research proposal “Sources of Microplastics in Cayuga Lake: Baseline Information for Community Outreach and Long-term Action” by Drs. Jose Lozano and Susan Allen, to be submitted to the Park Foundation. Linda Wagenet seconded the motion, which passed. Brian Rahm abstained. Action: Recommendations for 2020 Appointments – Membership & Nominating Committee On behalf of the committee, Jon Negley presented the slate of new and returning members recommended for seats on the Water Resources Council. The Recreation and Business & Industry seats remain vacant. Action: A motion by Frank Proto, which was seconded by Lynn Leopold, was made to recommend Steve Riddle for the Water Purveyor seat on the Water Resources Council and Anthony Arce, Steve Penningroth, Mara Alper, and Elaine Quaroni for associate membership. Motion carried. Christopher Bordlemay Padilla has expressed interest in serving as an associate member but still needs to submit his application. Committee Reports Municipal Training Workshop: Roughly 50 people have signed up for the stream buffer management workshop on November 21 at the Tompkins Center for History and Culture. Jim Blizzard from Tompkins County will likely film the event, with recording available online afterward. Page 3 of 3 Ad hoc Water Resources Manager Job Description: Committee held its first meeting. More details can be found in the written committee report included in the November WRC meeting agenda packet. Watershed Rules & Regulations: There is a kick-off meeting with multiple stakeholders on Thursday, Nov. 21, 1:00-3:00pm, to talk about watershed rules and regulations for Bolton Point. Staff Report – Darby Kiley County Legislature approved the amended Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan. Action items related to water resources cover topics such as developing a HABs strategy for Cayuga and Owasco Lakes in the County, promoting stream corridor protection, and authoring watershed rules and regulations. Environmental Management Council approved the final round of UNA boundary revisions. Next steps include updating UNA maps and mailing landowner notification postcards. Member Announcements Roxy Johnston shared news of an email she received from Patagonia announcing their line of recycled clothing. Michelle Henry reported that just prior to this meeting the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network held a Water Quality Committee meeting. Nathaniel Launer of Community Science Institute will give a talk on harmful algal blooms in Cayuga Lake on November 21 at Lansing Town Hall. Adjournment – The meeting was adjourned at 5:21 pm.