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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-14 PACKET 07. WASHINGTON COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS JOINT MEETING September 24, 2012 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting was duly held at the Woodbury City Hall, 8301 Valley Creek Road, on the 24th day of September 2012. CALL TO ORDER Ms. Jennifer McLoughlin, Sustainability Specialist, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. INTRODUCTIONS Ms. Jennifer McLaughlin introduced the Environmental Commissions in attendance: Washington County Cottage Grove Mahtomedi Oakdale Woodbury Lake St. Croix Beach – new to the meeting this year All representatives from the various cities introduced themselves and identified their roles. WASHINGTON COUNTY WASTE MANAGEMENT MASTER PLAN & RECYCLING SCORECARD Ms. Nikki Stewart, Environmental Program Coordinator and Danielle Lesmeister, Environmental Specialist, both from Washington County, gave a brief presentation and update on the Washington County Waste Management Master Plan & Recycling Scorecard. Ms. Stewart began the update by explaining that, as required by the State of Minnesota, Washington County developed a Solid Waste Management Master Plan, which was adopted in April 2011. This plan served as the basis for the counties in the metropolitan region to update their plans. Key Themes:  Accountability  Waste as a resource  Solid waste management hierarchy  Generator responsibility  Government as a leader  Product stewardship  Private sector initiative  Greenhouse gas reduction Also, for the first time the Plan includes specific quantifiable objectives to reduce land disposal of waste through 2030 for source reduction, recycling, organics recovery, resource recovery, and landfilling. Ms. Stewart then reviewed the goal percentages of each of these areas. The plan was prepared by the Washington County Department of Public Health and Environment but with direct input from the community through outreach efforts, surveys, and interviews. The process also included the formation of the Ad Hoc Waste Management Planning Committee, consisting of haulers, city, county, and state representatives. Based on feedback received, Washington County will focus on residential/commercial recycling, multi-family unit recycling, additional assistance to local governments and schools, toxicity reduction through the environmental center in Woodbury, and promotion / education. - 1 - WASHINGTON COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS JOINT MEETING September 24, 2012 County role in waste management:  Develop the Waste Management Master Plan based on the Regional Policy Plan  Meet recycling goals set by the State  Protect the environment  Ensure public health and safety  Develop and implement household hazard waste program  Ensure residents have opportunities to recycle  Provide recycling information and promotion City/township role in waste management  Communication / information  Leadership in own operations  Meeting the public entities law in terms of waste management / hierarchy of waste  Primary managers of residential recycling and multi-family  Implementation of waste reduction Ms. Stewart shared a timeline and current status for creating a measurement scorecard that will be utilized by each city/township, and will ultimately report on how the County is meeting its waste management goals. Ms. Lesmeister continued the presentation by describing the work group that will be in charge of assembling the measurement scorecard. The purpose of the work group is to provide input into the process as they go through the development. The Performance Scorecard will be used to evaluate, set standards, and measure progress of municipalities toward achieving recycling goals. COMMISSION Q & A Cottage Grove – GreenStep Cities  Currently a Step One City  Implemented three best practices  Created a comprehensive plan  Efficient city growth  Solid waste reduction  Requested suggestions on recycling efforts and examples of what they have done  Recycling in city parks and sport fields  Eagle Scout project  Lions Club project  Recycling containers in small local parks an ongoing issue  Woodbury asked Cottage Grove what steps or process did they do to enable their Environmental Commission to  do project and permit reviews, is it working, is it a time problem, is it a good thing Started by a proposal from 3M to bring in additional hazardous waste from outside their internal waste  stream as a way to fuel their incinerator and save money Task force was created to review all of the details around permitting at the city, county, and state levels  The task force morphed into the Environmental Commission seen today in Cottage Grove  Is there any kind of grant monies available for recycling bins in neighborhood parks  Not that anyone is aware of  General discussion on compost and food to hogs  - 2 - WASHINGTON COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS JOINT MEETING September 24, 2012 Mahtomedi – GreenStep Cities  Purpose of Environmental Commission is to recommend sustainability goals  Signed up for GreenStep Cities program in July 2011  Created a Sustainability Plan, one of the GreenStep action items  Identified best practices relevant to the community  Took the plan and best practices to the Council  Adopted as part of the city’s comprehensive plan  Shared document outlining goals (ties back to GreenStep), strategies for each goal, assigned point person  for each goal Questions were asked and answered in regards to the Tamarack Swamp Tour, which was sponsored and led by  the Woodbury Environmental Advisory Commission this year. In the past it was sponsored and led by Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District. Most of the Tamarack Swamp is city owned property. Oakdale  Has researched the effects of coal tar-based driveway sealants on water quality and has put forward  language to the city council for approval. City is going to rely on education to prevent use if passed as enforcement on this issue is difficult.  City received help from MN Pollution Control Agency with the draft language, used by 23 other metro  cities as well. Commission has looked into Styrofoam recycling, gave a summary of findings. Study of the issue has  shown that a program offering this service would be more appropriate at a county-wide level. Woodbury’s Energy Conservation Efforts  Used to have a Sustainability Committee that was a sub-group of the Environmental Commission  They had a sub-group that worked on energy efficiency  Sustainability Committee was a temporary committee – ended in 2009  EAC did not have energy conservation included in their strategic plan; however, efforts are still being  accomplished on the staff level Recommissioned all of their buildings  Has geo-thermal in three buildings  Putting a PV system on top of the public-safety building  When next they look at their strategic plan again for 2013, they will decide if they want to recommend  adding energy conservation Have other commissions or cities worked on energy conservation programs or initiatives?  Cottage Grove   Werner Electric came to them with a plan to put a wind generator on their site; neighbors in the area asked the commission to assist with research to address their questions and concerns  Considered putting a geo-thermal system into their Public Safety/City Hall project plans Oakdale   Worked with the Center for Energy and Environment in a pilot program  Had an event that citizens attended where they learned about energy efficiency  Could sign up for a pilot program which included an energy audit – could compare their energy bills with their neighbors  Xcel Energy has consumer design program and energy audits Woodbury, along with Oakdale, are participating in the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Regional Indicator  Initiative The Initiative is an outgrowth of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s GreenStep Cities Program  Developed a pilot to determine what citywide data can be collected annually to effectively measure  progress towards sustainability Lake St. Croix Beach  Approximately 2,000 residents  - 3 - WASHINGTON COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS JOINT MEETING September 24, 2012 Has a salvage yard that has been converted into a recycling facility  Has a gas station, electrical company, local bar and grill, but is mostly residential  85% to 90% recycling participation  Single sort recycling  Recycling incentive  School participation and education – school carnivals  Encourage rain gardens away from the river  Watch impervious pavement percentages  Heritage Day – non-toxic cleaners are available at the event  Great River Greening – have a native prairie area  Part of St. Croix Watershed District  Has a marina on St. Croix  Pollution analysis of St. Croix River - two biggest pollutants are vitamins and Viagra  Monitoring Valley Creek – one of the last wild creeks in the area  ADJOURN Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. - 4 -