Meeting notes: May 27, 2008

City of Lawrence                                         
Mayor's Climate Protection Task Force
May 27, 2008 (4:30 PM) Meeting notes

HOUSEKEEPING NOTES:

Task force member(s) requested that staff confirm commitment from Bridgett Chapin to serve on this committee, now that school is finished.  If she is not able to serve, an alternate from Haskell should be identified.  Cynthia Boecker will follow up on this action item.

TASK FORCE STRUCTURE / SUBCOMMITTEES - Chairperson Michael Dever

Workgroups established for the task force:

• Transportation
• Energy efficiency and conservation
• Policy, education, and outreach
• Waste management

Detailed information on each work group:

TRANSPORTATION

    Chairperson:                 Carey Maynard-Moody 
    Task force members:     Charles Gruber
    Focus:                          Reduce the number of vehicle miles travelled

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION

    Chairperson:                 Steve Hughes 
    Task force members:     David Dunfield, John Geist, Chad Luce
    Focus:                          Reduce and sustain energy consumption; development of renewable local energy; consumption per household metrics; energy avoidance

POLICY, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH

    Chairperson:                 Simran Sethi 
    Task force members:     Jeff Severin, Dan Simon 
    Focus:                          Advocate policies that affect appropriate changes; education and outreach to achieve identified goals

WASTE MANAGEMENT

    Chairperson:                 Susan Rodgers 
    Task force members:     Jeff Novorr 
    Focus:                           Source reduction; resource management; product synergy (linkage mechanism, waste stream from one source may be valuable resource to another source)

Workgroup instructions:

• Chairperson will be responsible for recruiting group members with technical expertise or interest.
• Workgroup should define mission statement or charge statement more eloquently than above.
• Workgroups will meet at least once per month.
• First meeting should occur prior to the next task force meeting.
• The next task force meeting will focus on reports from various work groups.
• A calendar of all work groups will be maintained on the web site.  Central point of contact will be Cynthia Boecker.
• Workgroup agendas should be submitted for inclusion on the overall calendar.  Task force members are welcomed and encouraged to attend any or all workgroup sessions.
• Minutes or meeting notes from workgroup meetings should be forwarded to central contact.

CURRENT MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT EFFORTS - Jeanette Klamm, Utilities Program Manager

Jeannette Klamm, Utilities Programs Manager, was invited to speak about some of the environmental efforts currently underway by the Utilities Department. 

The Utilities Department is involved in a significant number of environmental efforts, including:

• Integrated management system for department (including both Water and Wastewater Utilities), which pulls together three energy/environmental standards:  ISO 14001 (an environmental management system), OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety management system), and National Biosolids Partnership EMS for Biosolids (a biosolids specific environmental management system).  The requirements for the environmental management systems include setting goals and target toward improvement, including energy and environmental elements.
• EPA Performance Track:  Department was accepted last year and the performance track requires use of an environmental management system, plus additional commitments.
• Some specific action items mentioned were:
  
  • Transportation alternatives in-plant:  use adult tricycle equipped with baskets and Gator instead of full-size pick up trucks throughout waste water treatment plant.
  • Eliminated take-home city vehicles, to reduce city fuel use and encourage most responsible employee behavior.
  • Reduced size of trucks used in operations to minimum size effective for operational requirements.
  • Installed motion detectors on lights in waste water plant; progress is being made on this initiative at water plants.
  • Replacement of some ballasts with electronic ballasts for energy conservation.
  • Variable speed pumps are installed when feasible to minimize energy use and number of turn-on's per day in water and wastewater plants and lift stations.
  • Methane from the digestion process is used to run the boilers to heat the digestion process at the waste water plant.  Some excess methane is currently burned off.  Department continues to investigate ways to utilize excess methane with the expansion of that process this year.
  • Preliminary discussion of possible use of landfill methane as primary energy source for waste water plant and the Kaw water treatment plant.  Issues will include capture of methane, method and location of conversion, and so on.
  • Implementation of a grease program.
  • Minimizing water content of biosolids product, resulted in a 13 percent decrease in fuel needed for transport and application equipment for land application last year. 

FUTURE MEETINGS: