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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCFE Agenda 121117 AGENDA Orange County Commission for the Environment December 11, 2017 7:30 p.m. Richard Whitted Building, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough Time Item Title 7:30 I. Call to Order 7:32 II. Additions or Changes to Agenda 7:35 III. Approval of Draft Minutes – November 13th, 2017 The CFE will consider approval of minutes from the last meeting. (Attachment 1) Action needed. 7:40 IV. Annual CFE Election The CFE will elect a Chair and Vice Chair for 2018. Action needed. 8:00 V. Draft DOLT Article The group will discuss the draft article for the CFE Facebook page concerning the environmental impact of the proposed Durham Orange Light Rail Transit system. (Attachment 2) Action needed. 8:15 VI. Orange County Roadside Wildflower Conservation Staff with the NC Botanical Gardens have provided information concerning the protection of native wildflowers along Orange County roadsides. (Attachment 3 and 4) Action needed. 8:35 VII. Planning for 2018 The group will review the list of activities that the CFE expected to pursue in 2017 and included on next page of this agenda and discuss the development of a list for 2018. Action needed. 9:00 VIII. Updates and Information Items Staff and/or CFE members will provide updates on the following items:  Continuing Action Items from previous CFE meetings  North Carolina Clean Path 2025 (Attachment 5)  Any other new information from CFE members and staff 9:15 IX. Adjournment  Next Meeting: January 8th, 2018 location TBD, Chapel Hill CFE Meeting Ground Rules (Adopted 9/12/11) 1. Keep to agenda topic under discussion 2. Share relevant information 3. One person speaks at a time after recognition by the Chair 4. Everyone is invited to participate in discussions / no one person should dominate discussions 5. Strive to reach consensus first before voting Activities the CFE expects to carry out in 2017:  Continue to write news articles on environmental issues of importance to Orange County, including climate change, energy conservation, and other important topics  Continue to explore ways to improve the County’s ability to foster local sustainable energy production and energy efficiency strategies, including making Orange County an even better place for appropriately-sited solar energy generation, including developing incentives for increasing energy efficiency in new construction  Recommend ways to reduce the County’s “carbon footprint” and implement the County’s Environmental Responsibility Goal (BOCC Priority #10)  Continue to help with public outreach and management efforts related to hydrilla in the Eno River  Participate in a County effort to identify and preserve important landscape corridors that connect significant natural areas and open space (BOCC Priority #1)  Co-sponsor the annual DEAPR photography contest (The Nature of Orange)  Help plan for and participate in County’s annual Earth Evening event Concerns or emerging issues the CFE has identified for 2017:  The CFE will continue to advocate for an expansion of the County’s commercial food waste pickup and composting services to reduce food waste in the solid waste stream  The CFE remains interested in developing incentives for increasing energy efficiency in new construction  The CFE will continue to learn more about environmental justice matters and incorporate relevant information and considerations in the next State of the Environment report (2020) and its other activities  The CFE will continue to follow the Solid Waste Advisory Group’s discussions of how to improve the handling and disposal of Orange County’s solid waste, and will advocate for better long-term solutions  The CFE will continue to advocate for increased efforts to gather information related to water resources in Orange County and to increase public awareness and understanding of water supply sources, related concerns, and what steps can be undertaken to maintain or improve the quantity and quality of Orange County water supply resources  The CFE will continue to address, as appropriate, the critical environmental issues for Orange County as enumerated on page 3 of the 2014 State of the Environment report, which include potential adverse effects from a) invasive, non-native, plant and animal species; b) reductions in State-led collection of water resources data; c) potential drilling for natural gas in the Deep River basin; d) urban sprawl; and CFE support for e) the responsible deployment of clean and appropriately-sited renewable energy and reductions in energy use to help fight climate change Attachment 1 Orange County Commission for the Environment DRAFT Meeting Summary November 13, 2017 Animal Services Building, Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill Present: Bill Kaiser (Vice Chair), Bill Newby, Bill Ward, Matt Crook, May Becker, Jeremy Marzoula, Bradley Saul, Will Stanley, Peter Cada Absent: Alan Perry, Shiela Thomas-Ambat, Lynne Gronback (Chair), Marshall Gray Staff: Brennan Bouma, Tom Davis I. Call to Order – Kaiser called the meeting to order at 7:30. II. Additions or Changes to Agenda – Staff requested that the group conduct their annual officer election as required by the Policies and Procedures. Kaiser suggested delaying the election until December, given that the Chair and other members were not present. Marzoula made a motion to delay the election which was seconded by Newby and adopted unanimously. III. Approval of Draft Minutes from October 9, 2017. Crook made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Cada seconded. Approved unanimously. IV. SOE 2019 – Bouma led extended discussion of the purpose and intended audience for the planned State of the Environment (SOE) 2019 report. Brennan asked the CFE to determine two main issues at this meeting: the purpose of the SOE and the intended audience for the report. After consid erable discussion, consensus seemed to be converging on the idea that the primary audience for the SOE should be the Board of Orange County Commissioners, and that the purpose was to make concise and actionable recommendations based on the best information and science available. .Lama BouFajreldin, a Lecturer in the Curriculum in Environment and Ecology at UNC Chapel Hill, was introduced and the CFE discussed working with a group of UNC CH Capstone students (led by Lama) to assist with the examination of the set of environmental indicators used in previous SOE reports, and to consider alternative indicators and formats. The students would work on this project from January until April 2018, at which point they would make recommendations concerning indicators, and then the CFE would have another 12 months or so to complete the 2019 SOE. V. Annual Work Plan – Revisions intended to update the CFE Work Plan and Annual Report were discussed. After a short review of the document, some discussion ensued, with minor changes to one item offered. A motion was made by Saul to approve the work plan as edited. Cada seconded this motion which was then approved unanimously. Attachment 1 VI. Updates and Information Items – information on the following items was provided:  Climate Change Q&A article from the NY Times VII. Adjournment – Marzoula motioned to adjourn, and Newby seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:20. Durham-Orange Light Rail Environmental Impacts The goal of this article is to highlight some key environmental and community is- sues associated with the proposed Durham-Orange Light Rail Project (DOLT). The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was issued in 2015 and is cur- rently available to the public on the project website (http://ourtransitfuture.com/deis/) and in local libraries. This article will concen- trate on the DOLT’s potential impacts on energy usage, green spaces and transport options, as well as touch on potential social implications of the project. Energy Usage Triangle Transit predicts an annual savings of 23 million vehicle miles traveled once the light rail system is built. This equates with an annual energy consump- tion savings of 83 billion British Thermal Units (BTUs). In the DEIS, this is re- ported as a total percentage and hence the savings looks somewhat small com- pared to overall energy consumption. However, that percentage is calculated in terms of energy consumption in the entire metropolitan area including Wake, Durham, Orange and parts of surrounding counties. To put 83 billion BTUs in context, the US Dept. of Energy reports US total consumption in BTUs in 2016 was 97.4 quadrillion BTUs. Assuming there are roughly 325 million people in the US, that is a per capita usage of 300 million BTUs. This means that DOLT is projected to equation to the entire annual energy consumption of roughly 275 people. Truthfully, this projected amount of energy savings does not compen- sate for the initial price tag by replacing current vehicle trips with light rail trips at current energy rates. However, it initiates a more sustainable approach to land use by establishing new development and transportation patterns for the Re- search Triangle that will have long term economic and environmental benefits. Impact on Green Spaces and expanded transport options No new park space will be built specifically for the light rail line itself, though many green spaces appear in the designed communities that will arise around various stations. The DEIS states that roughly 13.4 acres of park space will be affected. Triangle transit is working with residents to take mitigating actions when any park or trail access will be effected. Essentially all local greenways have been built with federal government assistance, meaning that any of them disrupted will be re-built and updated. There are also plans to extend Greenway access to the Downing Creek neighborhood and the planned Woodmont Sta- tion. Pedestrian/bicycle access are being assessed for possible connections as well. For instance, the line is being designed such that existing cross country trails will continue to be connected and accessible. Also, since plans are consid- ered only 30% designed at this point, many aspects of community building and enhancements that will arise around the new stations have yet to be fully real- ized. However, in all designs, the plans are to maximize access to bike and pe- destrian paths. Bus lines will be also extended and made more efficient by the light rail, though right now there are no clear plans for how to change existing routes. However, the Charlotte Mass Transit system is a good example. Bus hours were recycled and connected to neighborhoods that were further from light rail otherwise. Pro- jected ridership for Triangle Transit comes from models taking into account both population and employment, calibrated by current ridership using surveys. Now, there are 15,000 boardings per day in the corridor of the light rail. All told 70,000 boardings occur in Durham/Chapel Hill areas. For the light rail project, ridership is expected to be about 27,000 boardings per day as predicted by current uses with population and employment growth, meaning that almost double the number of people are predicted by the models to commute via public transit with the light rail option. Social implications The Southern Environmental Law Center has issued a public commentary on the DOLT project and in particular notes the following implications of having higher population densities build up around transit stations: “In contrast, compact, planned land use enables developers to use space more efficiently, requiring less new development into rural areas. Moreover, compact, mixed-use communi- ties mean residents can walk, bike, or use public transportation to reach destina- tions. In turn, fewer people rely on cars in their daily lives, which equates to fewer harmful pollutants being emitted into our air and water on a daily basis.” The DOLT line alone within its 18 mile stretch will connect communities to 3 Universities, multiple hospitals, and commercial areas, expanding social, eco- nomic, intellectual and health access throughout the Orange and Durham Coun- ties. Also, our line being built makes connections to further lines being built of Raleigh and Wake County areas more likely, which will only expand access even further. *The authors thank Matthew Clark and Patrick McDonough with Triangle Transit and Kym Hunter at the Southern Environmental Law Center for vital assistance gathering information for this article. Dear Orange County Commission for the Environment: November 1, 2017 I met with your advisory group on June 12, 2017, to discuss the efforts to-date on the identification of Orange County roadsides that have significant native wildflower occurrences. The goal is to provide the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) with data to support the 2012 resolution on the Conservation of Native Wildflowers along Orange County Roadways (attached). The resolution appropriately points out that in addition to aesthetics, native wildflowers are “essential to the fitness of native pollinator species necessary for productive and profitable farms and forests.” The Commission for the Environment (CfE), in 2012, recognized that the use of herbicides in the last decade to control vegetation, rather than by the more traditional mowing method, was harming native wildflowers. Mowing, even done at the “wrong” time of year (i.e., during flowering), is far preferable to the use of herbicides. Mowing can actually benefit sun-loving plants (heliophytes) by reducing woody plant cover. Herbicides, on the other hand, kill wildflowers even when the woody plants are the intended target, which disrupts pollinator habitat and renders roadsides unsightly. A recommendation was subsequently submitted by the CfE to the BOCC, who unanimously adopted the following resolution on June 19, 2012: The Orange County Board of Commissioners does hereby commit and encourage others to commit to the conservation of roadside native wildflowers along the roadways in Orange County, and do hereby authorize the Commission for the Environment and County staff to work with the NC Department of Transportation, utility companies, and property owners to plan and implement roadside management practices that will increase the visibility and enjoyment of North Carolina native wildflowers. North Carolina Botanical Garden Conservation Department staff and University of North Carolina Biology Department faculty created a roadside inventory check sheet (attached) that provides a target list of native wildflowers. A “watch for” list was also prepared for the rare and extirpated plants of Orange County that might be found on roadsides. Percent cover of each species was also collected as a way to evaluate relative abundance. North Carolina Botanical Garden Conservation Department biologists took primary responsibility for collecting these data between 2012 and 2017. Because the detailed roadside inventory was very time consuming, NCBG staff began a more qualitative approach by driving Orange County roads when target wildflowers were in bloom. The inventory groups determined that virtually ALL of the roadsides in Orange County contain significant stretches of native wildflowers. The inventory groups also saw a notable decrease in wildflower occurrence over the 5-year inventory directly attributable to herbicide use. The NC Department of Transportation appears to use mowing as the primary management tool, whereas the power companies tend to use herbicides. Although possibly difficult to coordinate, we recommend that NCDOT partner with the power companies and return to mowing Orange County roadsides. NCBG Conservation Department biologists are happy to assist with the plans that might be developed to maintain and celebrate the natural beauty and ecological importance of Orange County roadsides. Thank you for forwarding this information to the Board of County Commissioners. I am happy to speak with the CfE, Orange County staff, and BOCC members. Sincerely, Johnny Randall, PhD Director of Conservation