ГлавнаяMy WebLinkО нас01-14-16 EMC Final Minutes 1 Draft Minutes of the EMC 2 3 Date: January 14, 2016 4 Time: 4:00pm 5 Location: Old Jail Conference Room, 125 E. Court St. 6 7 Attendees: 8 Name Representation Susan Riley P At-Large Tom Shelley P Ithaca CAC Linda Spielman P Village of Dryden Ron Szymanski A Village of Freeville Roger Yonkin A At-Large Karen Edelstein A Associate Member Dooley Kiefer P Associate Member Dan Klein P Legislature Liaison Jose Lozano P Associate Member Scott Doyle P EMC Coordinator Jennifer Turner P Administrative Assistant 10 Guests in attendance: Caleb Scott, Owner, Scott Land & Yard Farm; Sarah Zemanick, Director 11 of Campus Sustainability, Cornell University; Roy Luft, local citizen; Darby Kiley, Planner, 12 Town of Ulysses 13 14 Call to Order– The meeting was called to order by Brian Eden at 4:04pm. 15 16 Introduction – Brian Eden opened the meeting by introducing Sarah Zemanick, Director of 17 Cornell Sustainability, and Caleb Scott, formerly of Iberdrola USA, and present Owner of Scott 18 Land & Yard Farm. He went on to provide background on the presentation, in particular 19 discussing the EMC’s Environmental Review Committee had in the review of Cornell’s Solar 20 Farm specifically noting concerns over how the site would be managed in close proximity to area 21 wetlands. 22 23 Cornell Solar Farm Vegetation Management Program– Sarah Zemanick opened the 24 presentation, reporting that the Cornell University - Snyder Road 2 mega-watt solar farm opened 25 in September 2014. She indicated that it is one of the first solar projects that started operating in 26 NYSEG’s territory. She went on to report on the favorable rulings from the Public Service 27 Commission that made it possible for interconnectivity with NYSEG and also the savings that 28 the University realized in both energy costs and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. She 29 noted that sheep were found to be a successful way of managing the vegetation on the solar farm, 30 and Cornell University is in the process of implementing a similar solar farm in Geneva with 31 plans to introduce sheep there as well. Two additional solar projects are also being planned for 32 outside of Tompkins County and are expected to be online later this year. 33 34 Discussions centered on the 2 mega-watt limit per project, and concerns over the future of these 35 projects with the changes being made by the Public Service Commission to phase out net-36 metering. 37 Name Representation Steve Bissen P Town of Dryden Kenny Christianson E At-Large John Dennis E Village of Lansing Brian Eden P Village of Cayuga Heights Bill Evans P Town of Danby Pegi Ficken E Town of Groton John Hertzler P Town of Ulysses Jim McGarry P At-Large Vladimir Micic E Town of Ithaca Steve Nicholson E Town of Caroline Carolyn Peterson P At-Large 1 Caleb Scott introduced himself as the owner of Scott Land Yard Farm as well as Scott Land & 2 Yard Landscaping Services. He went on to report that he was hired by the firm managing the 3 solar farm to mow and maintain the site. Caleb noted the range of problems his landscaping firm 4 endured in maintaining the site. He specifically noted the tight turning radiuses and hard to reach 5 spaces under the panels which required special mowing and weed whacking that totaled 147 6 man-hours in maintaining the site. 7 8 Caleb advocated trying a different approach in managing the site. Specifically, Caleb wanted to 9 introduce sheep from Scott Land &Yard Farm to help manage the vegetation on the site. He 10 outlined how he took framed this practice as well as the many benefits using sheep to manage the 11 vegetation on the solar farm including, easier maintenance, reduction to the carbon footprint and 12 maintenance costs, the elimination for the need to mow or weed-whack, and increased health in 13 the sheep herd. For the complete presentation, 14 visit: http://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/emc/documents/presentations 15 16 Approval of Minutes – December meeting minutes were approved by unanimous vote, with 17 corrections. Final minutes are posted on the EMC webpage: www.tompkins-co.org/emc. 18 19 Energy – Brian Eden reported on the efforts of Fossil Free Tompkins related to the need for 20 increased local government actions to mitigate climate change, noting the 80 individuals that 21 went before the Tompkins County Legislature to discuss possible climate change initiatives. He 22 went on to report on the comments submitted on January 6 on behalf of the Energy Committee, 23 to Common Council regarding sustainable building performance, and also the energy rally that 24 he attended in Albany. Brian expressed his concerns with the lack of local action on climate 25 change and suggested a meeting between TCCOG and municipal officials to go over focus areas 26 and the proposed initiatives derived from the efforts of the Energy Roadmap. A massive build-27 out of renewable energy and heavy increase in energy efficiency was discussed as being an 28 essential component in reducing greenhouse gas emissions of 80% by 2050. Challenges with the 29 Black Oak Wind Farm were also discussed, and included issues related to the contracting for the 30 location of the wind turbine and sub-station, as well as opposition from residents in the area. He 31 indicated that health concerns have prompted their group to gather information in order to create 32 a factsheet on the effects of wind turbines. Brian went on to suggest the need for building science 33 advisors at the municipal level for direction in energy efficient building. He went on to report 34 that FERC has approved the Cayuga Power Plant sale pending the PSC approval, and that 35 HeatSmart is hosting Statewide Climate Science Community webinar on February 11. He further 36 noted that Iberdrola has merged and created a new company, Avangrid. Members questioned 37 whether the Public Service Commission will approve the Auburn transmission line upgrades that 38 the Administrative Law Judge has previously recommended. 39 40 Environmental Review – Brian Eden reported that the Planning, Energy, and Environmental 41 Quality Committee invited the Department of Environmental Conservation to the meeting on 42 January 20, to answer questions about the Cayuga Power Plant and coal combustion residuals 43 from the landfill. 44 45 Unique Natural Areas – Scott Doyle reported that approximately 600 UNA landowner 1 notification postcards were mailed in early December which included the link to the interactive 2 website that provided maps and information on the changes, noting the favorable responses 3 received by landowners thus far. Brian then indicated that the Environmental Management 4 Council has funding available to work on further Unique Natural Area updates this year. Roy 5 Luft reported on the presentation he gave on the Indian Creek property, and discussed the 6 possibility developing a senior housing development on his property in exchange for protection 7 of the Indian Creek property.. Discussions centered on the challenges of the high infrastructure 8 costs associated with such a development. 9 10 Staff Report - Scott Doyle reported on the great potential for further solar projects in the area, 11 noting the multiple benefits to the rural economy. He went on to note the phone call that he 12 received from Erie County regarding the previous efforts with banning plastic bags in Tompkins 13 County. He lastly reported on the Housing Needs Assessment survey which will be distributed 14 shortly. 15 16 Member discussed their concerns with the Elmira Savings Bank purchase of 8 parcels on Route 17 13, and State Street, and the evictions of current tenants. 18 19 Nominating Committee - Tom Shelley reported that are 3 candidates for 3 seats open for Vice-20 chair of the Executive Committee. The 4 standing members of the Executive Committee are 21 Steve Nicholson (Chair) and (Vice-Chair’s) Thomas Shelley, Carolyn Peterson and Brian Eden. 22 With Carolyn Peterson’s resignation there will be 1 vacancy on the Executive Committee. The 3 23 interested members are Thomas Shelley, Bill Evans, and Brian Eden. Carolyn Peterson made the 24 motion to move the slate, seconded by Steve Bissen, and approved by unanimous vote of all 25 present members. 26 27 Evaluation of 2015 Activities/ Membership Satisfaction – Brian Eden reported on the 2015 28 efforts of the Council, noting the many presentations, three resolutions in support of the 29 geothermal tax credit, pest insecticide use reduction, and on contamination at the Cayuga Power 30 Plant that were submitted, and the NYS Conference on the Environment that was hosted. 31 Members discussed their satisfaction with the meetings and presentations, and suggested efforts 32 related to increasing attendance of the public and comparing efforts with areas unlike Tompkins 33 County. Discussions centered on alternate locations for meetings; further discussions are set for 34 the February meeting. 35 36 Identification and Prioritization of Environmental Issues – Members discussed committees 37 aimed at banning plastic bags, and microbeads. Media and outreach, or communications 38 committee were suggested as another way to conduct outreach. 39 40 Formation of Core and Special Committees – Brian passed around committee sign-up sheet 41 for the core committees, and discussed the importance of all members committing to at least one 42 committee. Members were also encouraged to list a new committee of interest. 43 44 Adjournment -- The meeting adjourned at 5:52 PM. 45 46 Respectfully submitted, 47 1 Jennifer Turner, Administrative Assistant 2 Tompkins County Planning Department 3 Approved by Council on 4