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Home > Government > Boards and Commissions > Commission on the Environment > Meeting Minutes > 2007 minutes > March 13, 2007 Boards and Commissions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commission on the Environment Meeting Minutes
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:33pm in the Black-Eyed Susan Room at Rockville City Hall. Attending residents introduced themselves: Steve & Debra Cardon live across from Julius West, Steve is interested in the Watersheds & SWM Working Group and has indoor AQ experience and is thus also interested in green buildings; Silvio Baruzzi is a new Rockville resident particularly interested in the working groups – hands-on work; Helen Triolo heard about the Environment Commission at the Mayor & Council public forum on the Refuse Study; David Davis is a student and Rockville resident who has been participating in the working groups. KD makes a motion to approve the February 15, 2007 meeting minutes; SY seconds. Motion passes by unanimous vote. Collen Langan from the Potomac Conservancy presented on the “Growing Native” program – slogan: “Get Nuts for Clean Water!” Collect -> Grow -> Harvest -> Plant The Potomac Conservancy has many partners and works with lots of different groups – scouts, master gardeners, schools, etc. Broad goals of program are to replant native trees to reduce soil erosion, absorb stormwater pollutants, provide shade / regulate temperature, etc. Specifically try to reforest riparian buffers with native species – many benefits for doing so. FK mentioned that this program could be a good candidate to fund for climate protection / carbon offsets – sounds perfect. “Ambassador training” occurs in the early fall – volunteers are trained on proper ID and collection techniques. These ambassadors can then minimally train their group in proper collection techniques and collect the seeds / nuts. These are either brought to state nurseries from planting, or to a local “grow out station”: e.g., Westbrook Elementary school students collect and propagate the seeds themselves. It is often several years before the plants have grown sufficiently to avoid deer browse before plant out in a riparian buffer. SY asked why the seeds weren’t left where they were, to propagate naturally. Colleen Langan explained that the best collection locations were isolated trees such as in parking lots, churches, parks, backyards, cemeteries, etc – where the seeds would not normally be allowed to grow, and where the collection was relatively straightforward. Since these young plants would just get mowed, eaten etc. good to save them for replanting into riparian areas that need them. More information on the program can be found on the Growing Native website at: Discussion on EC participation in the Growing Native program tabled until next month. FK has spoken with Jerry Leighton’s wife – Jerry’s death was somewhat unexpected even though he has been absent the Commission on medical leave for the past few months. Jerry was cremated, and a ceremony is planned for Arlington Cemetery at 2pm on May 23rd, his birthday. Both FK & JL started on the Commission together back when it was the Science, Technology and Environment Commission (STEC) not the EC that it is now. Jerry was involved in the Department of Energy back in the 70s at the beginning of our awareness of energy efficiency issues – truly one of the pioneers in energy policy. FK wanted to recommend that the Commission consider renaming the citizens environmental award in Jerry Leighton’s honor – the Commission can think on this and discuss at a later meeting. FK and KD attended the February 20, 2007 Mayor & Council public hearing on the Refuse and Recycling Program and presented the Commission’s statement on the program. FK mentioned that the forum was very lively and interesting; it was attended by Councilmembers Dorsey, Hoffmann and Robbins and presided over by Councilmember Marcuccio. Unfortunately, FK was not given an opportunity to finish her statement due to a strict adherence to the time limits given to citizens speaking at the forum, so that was a lost opportunity to educate. However, as a result FK has talked with the Mayor and City Clerk, and changes are being made that will allow any relevant Board or Commission to present their recommendations immediately following City Staff, rather than being “lost in the shuffle” of everyone who has signed up to speak. Also, the City Clerk is bringing back the standing agenda item “Boards and Commissions Updates”, where Boards and Commissions can provide information directly to the Mayor & Council (via the City Clerk). These are important changes in City policy; the Environment Commission is not the same as a local neighborhood group: the Mayor & Council has appointed members to this body specifically to advise them on issues such as these, and in the future communication between these advisory bodies and the Mayor & Council will be able to go forward more smoothly. Since there are some new members, FK briefly mentioned that the Commission has two Council Liaisons (Councilmembers Hoffmann and Marcuccio), as well as our Staff Liaison. Sometimes the Council Liaisons may have differing opinions than the Commission on certain issues, so we may want to consider a pre-meeting before taking recommendations to the Mayor & Council to “do it right”. KD wanted to clarify the role of the Council Liaisons. NW explained that Council Liaisons should act as an intermediary between the Commission and the full Mayor & Council, both hearing from the Commission on certain issues as well as bringing matters of interest to the Mayor & Council back to the Commission such that the Commission can prepare timely and relevant issue papers. The City Clerk’s Office is in the process of clarifying roles and responsibilities of all Boards, Commissions, Council and Staff Liaisons for the Mayor & Council. The Commission has already sent comments to NW via email. KD to resend his faxed comments. BK wanted to bring up the issue of underground storage tanks (USTs) for heating oil, and that leaking USTs should be addressed in the ordinance. FK said above-ground tanks should receive some coverage too. NW explained that state regulations and permits are typically required for all manner of storage tanks, but explicitly mentioning them in the ordinance would bring attention to the risk posed by such tanks and allow the City to more easily enforce State regulations. A comment was raised regarding whether there was an established state organization or certifying agency for auto mechanics, where pollution prevention education could be combined with that certification. Possible ASE mechanics – NW will pursue for final version of ordinance. NW questioned the Commission as to whether they would like to be present to support the WQPO at the March 19th Mayor & Council Introduction. SY felt that since the Commission has actually helped to write this ordinance, may not be necessary – not like the Refuse program, where the Commission was reacting. The Commission could definitely endorse it though. KD moves that the Commission endorse the proposed Water Quality Protection, with the caveat that the Commission still has some comments on various aspects that can be incorporated during the public comment period. AL seconds. The EC votes unanimously to support the WQPO. FK underscored the value of the Sustainability Strategy towards to goals fo the working groups, and mentioned that once that process gets rolling, it will likely be involving the working groups and the Commission frequently. GS presented on the High Performance Buildings working group – they have not met in February. Via email, they have been following up on Science Day activities and their other goals, specifically the brochure with energy tips. SY presented information from the Watersheds & SWM working group – they have been working on Science Day materials as well, such as AL’s “Roll Your Bug” game. Also, have been collecting stream monitoring information, most recently from the Izaak Walton League of America’s Save our Streams (SOS) program. AL has been reviewing several different protocols, and a slight hybrid approach with the IWLA’s SOS program as a base and adding in some of the complexity of the Audubon Naturalist Society’s method could be the Commission’s best bet for getting this started in Rockville. The volunteer monitoring program may be a good candidate for the Small Watershed’s Grant NW had mentioned. SY mentioned that at their last meeting, DB had collected comments on the Cabin John Creek watershed study and would be consolidating them into a single plan. Would like to discuss this with Public Works. FK said that she’d like to see some benchmarks, milestones built in to the monitoring effort. AL questioned whether we might be able to do online tracking of results. For the Community Outreach working group, FK said that since the Save the Planet series at the library was slated to have similar information to that in the proposed Energy Fair, the Commission may participate in the Save the Planet series for the first year, and hold an independent Energy Fair each fall thereafter as was discussed. Concerning the Environmental Awards – the Commission doesn’t really have time to get these done by April; the Fall may be a better time to award these as well. Will continue to work on them. NW mentioned that Lise Soukup would be able to attend the April meeting to discuss the Stormwater Management Utility Fee; with the loss of Jerry Leighton, the Commission lost its participating member on that task force. The Commission will want to consider a replacement for the next phase of the study. NW listed the “Save the Planet” events to be carried out at the new Rockville library over the coming months. The City is a co-sponsor of these programs. As mentioned, the Commission will likely be coordinating their “Energy Fair” concept with this event. FK brought up the recommendation from O’Malley’s Transition Reports that a Blue Ribbon Panel be formed to look at Energy and Environment issues – Rockville should have a member on that panel, either from the Mayor & Council or from the Environment Commission. FK mentions the applications that the Commission has received within the past year. Commissioners will think on what skill sets the Commission would like to add with a new member, and will look over the candidates with that in mind for discussion at next month’s meeting. Meeting adjourned at 10:07 pm.
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