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TOMPKINS COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COUNCIL 121 East Court St, Ithaca, New York 14850 Telephone (607) 274-5560 http://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/emc EMC Minutes 1 November 9, 2017, 4:00 p.m. 2 Tompkins County Old Jail Conference Room, 125 E. Court St, Ithaca, NY 3 4 Attendance 5 Member Seat Member Seat Steve Bissen P Town of Dryden Dooley Kiefer P Legislative Liaison John Dennis P Village of Lansing Susan Allen-Gil E Associate Member Brian Eden P Village of Cayuga Heights Cait Darfler P Associate Member Bill Evans P Town of Danby Karen Edelstein A Associate Member Pegi Ficken E Town of Groton Anna Kelles P Associate Member Michelle Henry P Town of Newfield Dan Klein E Associate Member James Knighton P At-Large Jose Lozano P Associate Member Vladimir Micic P Town of Ithaca Osamu Tsuda p Associate Member Steve Nicholson P Town of Caroline David Weinstein A Associate Member Susan Riley P At-Large Robert Wesley A Associate Member Tom Shelley E Ithaca CAC Roger Yonkin A Associate Member Linda Spielman E Village of Dryden Scott Doyle P EMC Coordinator Ron Syzmanski P Village of Freeville Kristin McCarthy P Administrative Assistant A quorum was present. 6 Guests – Anne Klingensmith (prospective candidate for the Town of Danby seat) 7 Call to Order – Chair Brian Eden called the meeting to order at 4:02 pm. 8 Privilege of the Floor – No one 9 Agenda Review/Changes – None 10 Approval of the Minutes (October 12, 2017) – Action: John Dennis moved to approve the October 11 minutes. Vladimir Micic seconded. The October minutes were approved unanimously by the members 12 present. 13 14 Cayuga Lake Environmental Action Now (CLEAN)’S Investigation of Risks Associated with Mining 15 Beneath Cayuga Lake – John Dennis and Cait Darfler 16 John D. and Cait Darfler gave a presentation on the technical risks associated with salt mining as well as 17 the process by which the Cayuga salt mine was created and has been managed over the years. They also 18 updated the group on CLEAN’s efforts to advocate for a full environmental review of the Shaft #4 19 project. Numerous municipalities in Tompkins County have signed on to an Article 78 proceeding, to be 20 filed by CLEAN, to compel the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to 21 require an Environmental Impact Statement to determine whether northward expansion of the salt 22 mine poses environmental risks to the lake. 23 For more details, please see the slide deck from John D. and Cait’s PowerPoint presentation. It can be 24 found on the EMC website under “Presentations.” 25 26 Committee Reports 27 A. Climate Adaptation – James Knighton 28 • James Knighton reported that the committee continues developing the historical flooding 29 survey, a draft of which had been emailed to EMC members for their comments. 30 • Steve Nicholson suggested rewording a question regarding local zoning changes because some 31 municipalities, like the Town of Caroline, don’t have zoning laws. The same idea could be 32 captured by tweaking the language to something like local zoning laws/regulations or 33 ordinances, etc. 34 • Brian said the Tompkins County Government should be removed as a signatory from the bottom 35 of the first page. 36 B. Environmental Review – Brian Eden 37 • Brian attended the Article 78 proceeding on the Dryden Solar project in Tompkins County 38 Supreme Court a couple of weeks ago. He doesn’t anticipate the judge’s opinion to be released 39 soon as there were a number of complex issues requiring thoughtful legal analysis. 40 • The DEC finalized revisions to the state's Solid Waste Management Regulations for the first time 41 in 20 years. The new regulations went into effect November 4, 2017. 42 • Recently elected, the new Seneca Falls Town Board includes some members in favor of closing 43 the Seneca Meadows landfill by 2025 rather than extending its life to enhance municipal 44 revenues. 45 • September 1, 2017 marked the 25th anniversary of New York statewide adoption of local 46 recycling laws. 47 • Steve N. suggested inviting Barbara Eckstrom, Director of Recycling and Materials Management 48 for the County, to speak to the Council. 49 • NYS Ballot Proposal No. 3 to create an Adirondack Forest Preserve land bank passed on 50 November 7th, albeit by a slim margin. 51 • Steve Bissen reported that the DEC granted the conservation easement needed on Game Farm 52 Road to extend the Dryden Rail Trail. 53 • A report was recently made to the PDEQ Committee on the Tompkins Priority Trails Strategy. 54 • A Poor People’s Campaign will launch in New York State on Mother’s Day 2018 and run for 40 55 days. Eco-justice will be major component of the initiative. 56 C. UNA – Steve Nicholson 57 • The committee didn’t meet so the report was brief. The committee needs to spend down any 58 remaining funds in the 2017 budget by the end of the year. Holding a public outreach event to 59 highlight the UNA directory update is at the top of the ideas pile. 60 • The Invasive Species List, which is not part of the UNA Directory but is also curated by consultant 61 Robert Wesley, needs to be updated. The most recent version is from 2009. 62 63 D. Outreach – Susan Riley 64 • The committee, which right now consists of Susan Riley and Tom Shelley, has not met again. Any 65 members interested in joining should contact Susan. 66 • She reiterated that the committee would like to hold two public events, one in the spring and 67 another in the fall. The spring event would showcase the work of the EMC over the course of the 68 previous year. The fall event would focus on a topical environmental issue that would draw 69 interest from the community. 70 • The committee plans to hold the spring event in March and needs to secure a location. Several 71 people suggested the Tompkins County Public Library as an ideal venue. 72 E. Water Resources Council (WRC) Liaison – Michelle Henry 73 • Hilary Lambert of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network gave an update on hydrilla monitoring in 74 the lake. A meeting of municipalities from around the lake is being planned for some time this 75 winter to develop a more coordinated framework for reporting and responding to hydrilla 76 outbreaks. 77 • New York State Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program, better known by the acronym 78 CSLAP, sampling is finished and the data should be ready for sharing by the end of the year. The 79 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) found water chestnut in the 80 City reservoir this summer, and a treatment plan is being developed for next year. 81 • The Council agreed to write and send a rebuttal letter to Governor Cuomo regarding a letter 82 sent to the governor from Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting on the supposed link between the 83 growth of harmful algal blooms in Cayuga Lake and phosphorous in the lake. The letter, which 84 already has more than 1,200 signatories, argues for the DEC rushing development of the TMDL 85 as a solution for the HABs problem. 86 F. Executive – Steve N. 87 • Steve N. reminded everyone about the 2017 New York State Conference on the 88 Environment, taking place Friday and Saturday, November 17-18, 2017 in Kingston. This 89 year’s conference theme is “Living Local: Linking Local Economies and the 90 Environment.” Scholarships are available for EMC members interested in joining Steve N. at 91 this event. 92 • Susan suggested inviting Ingrid Zabel, curator of the New York Climate Change Science 93 Clearinghouse, to speak at the December EMC meeting. She had recently seen Zabel give a 94 presentation and was impressed. The rest of the members agreed with the idea. Susan said 95 she would reach out to her shortly. 96 • Susan’s comment reminded Scott that officials from several municipalities have expressed 97 interest in receiving updates on the latest news in climate change science. 98 G. Formation of Nominating Committee 99 • Brian asked for volunteers to join the Nominating Committee. Vlad signed up. 100 • Scott said he would speak with Tom Shelley, who was not in attendance, about serving on it 101 again. [Bylaws state there must be at least three members on this committee, and two of the 102 three cannot belong to the Executive Committee.] 103 Municipal Reports 104 • Vlad relayed that the Town of Ithaca had been experiencing major problems with one of its 105 servers so if anyone sent emails to someone there in the past week and didn’t receive a 106 response, it was most likely due to a technical glitch. 107 • Steve N. reported that the Brooktondale Community Center has an electric vehicle charging 108 station. 109 • Brian attended the Village of Cayuga Heights public hearing on its revised zoning laws. He spoke 110 about requiring site plan review for all new construction, shared the EMC’s recommendations 111 for municipalities seeking to install LED street lights, and supported a measure to legalize the 112 keeping of “backyard chickens” in the Village. The County provided GML 239 comments on the 113 proposed zoning changes. 114 Member Items 115 • Brian told everyone to look for an e-mail that went out to members regarding the Finger Lakes 116 Research Conference. Hosted by the Finger Lakes Institute, it will take place November 17th at 117 Hobart and William Smith Colleges. 118 • The Legislature will be reviewing a request by the Planning and Sustainability Department to 119 hire a forestry consultant (two-year contract) to assist with harvesting timber on County-120 managed land. 121 • Bill Evans commented on the passage of Proposal 4 on Election Day, which approved amending 122 the Ithaca City Charter and Municipal Code to reduce the number of advisory bodies from 11 to 123 4. One of the committees eliminated was the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC); it would be 124 folded in to a new commission for parks and natural resources. Steve N. questioned how the 125 City could eliminate the CAC which was created by the City in conformance with NYS legislation. 126 • The only public hearing in the U.S. on reducing the scope of the Clean Power Plan for coal-fired 127 power plants was held in West Virginia a state whose economy relies on the production of coal. 128 • The 2017 UN Conference on Climate Change is taking place November 6-17 in Bonn, Germany. 129 Adjournment 130 Action: Brian adjourned the meeting at 5:30 p.m. 131 132 These draft minutes will be formally considered by the EMC at its next monthly meeting, and corrections 133 or notations will be incorporated at that time. 134 Prepared by Kristin McCarthy, Tompkins County Planning and Sustainability Department 135 Approved by EMC: 12/15/17 136 137