Environmental Advisory Board

MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD MARCH 8, 2024 MEMBERS PRESENT: Katherine Arnett, Grace Dietsch (virtual), Scott Eardley, Sarah McKnight, Sarah Richard, Ellenmarie Wahlrab, Brian Williams MEMBERS ABSENT: Niani Brown, Hillery Spearman STAFF PRESENT: Mary Faulkner, Julie Height, Chris Lipson, Meg Maloney, Carolyn Moore, Katie Norris, Alissa Schriner, Michele Simmons, Mike Squire (virtual), Matthew Worsham OTHERS PRESENT: Kathleen Turner (virtual) – Citizen Leslie King – MVRPC Sarah Holod – Public Health Spencer Thomas – Public Health Walt Hibner (virtual) – CenterPoint Energy Chairperson Katherine Arnett called the meeting to order at 12:06 p.m. and Introductions were made. Chairperson Arnett welcomed the three new board members. Approval of the December 2023 and February 2024 Minutes: Chairperson Katherine Arnett called for a motion to approve the December 2023 Minutes. Brian Williams suggested a word change in the Economic Development section from “company” to “community”. Sarah Richard made a motion to accept the minutes with the proposed change, Brian Williams seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the minutes were accepted with the change. Chairperson Arnett called for a motion to approve the February 2024 minutes. Brian Williams made a motion to approve, and Sarah Richard seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the minutes were accepted. Sarah McKnight and Ellenmarie Wahlrab abstained from both votes. Staff Items: Katie Norris shared that Paul Fleischman is meeting with Ohio EPA concerning Carco and will share information in the future. The required annual report was submitted to Ohio EPA for our discharge elimination system. The report is posted on the website. There will be an Earth Day event at Sunwatch. The Water Department had a presence at the Valley Pike event and was able to answer questions. Chairperson Arnett requested a Source Water Protection Area update soon. The Children’s Water Festival will be May 8th. Sustainability: Michele Simmons mentioned that the Junior Achievers will be hosting an “Inspire to Hire” event at the Dayton Convention Center on March 19th. Sustainability will have a booth and invite other departments to supply information to hand out. Meg Maloney shared that an RFP has been released for solar at the former Kittyhawk golf course. A vendor has been selected and hoping to have a final award by the end of the year. On Tuesday there will be a press release pertaining to the funding received from a national philanthropic organization for three additional staff in the Sustainability office. Sustainability is collaborating with MVRPC and SOPEC on a grant for solar at the Valleycrest Landfill, leading the energy into the electric aggregation program. A model is being created where there will be community solar, the revenue from this energy will be put into a green revolving fund that will be used for household weatherization and energy efficiency. The amount being applied for is over $100 million and the deadline is April 1st. AES recently filed a rate case, and the City is planning to intervene. AES is upgrading/modernizing their grid, to make it more secure and flexible. The City will advocate for equitable rate increases, especially for low-income residents. Waste Free Dayton, a local nonprofit group, will be hosting a Happy Hour event called “Eco Sips” on March 12th at Gather, a coffee shop. This will be a networking event for environmental professionals. Economic Development: No Update ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD -2- March 8, 2023 Water Committee: It has been reformulated to include Chairperson Arnett, Niani Brown, and Scott Eardley. A meeting is being coordinated with a staff member to go over the rules. Public Health, Dayton and Montgomery County: Spencer Thomas shared that they attended an open house and were able to talk with residents. They responded to a semi-truck wreck on I-75. Approximately 200 gallons of fuel and antifreeze were discharged. It was all contained at the scene, and none was in the outfalls or storm sewers. Solid Waste District: No Update Five Rivers MetroParks: Grace Dietsch introduced herself and that she is excited to be a member of the EAB. The prescribed fire season will start next week with one at Possum Creek. The next one will be at Sunwatch in two of their small prairies. This will promote the regrowth of their big bluestem patches that are used for thatch for their rooftops. Special guests form the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma are coming for a tour of the village during the event. They are in the final stages of analyzing the raw data gathered a part of the soil carbon study. They will use the outcome information to prioritize the current Land Management strategies, invasive species management, research, monitoring, and Land Protection strategies. University of Dayton: Sarah Richard shared that the waste audit of UD Arena was completed. She was able to tour the Environmental Learning Center at the Solid Waste District, which is an awesome resource in our community. Sarah encouraged everyone to register for the Midwest Regional Sustainability Conference on May 2nd. MVRPC: Leslie King stated that the EPA notified them today that their PCAP was approved with all the required elements. They are published on the EPA’s website. They are moving forward with a new quality assurance plan for the data for the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which the next step in this federal grant. This will be a more comprehensive take on the greenhouse gas inventory, not using existing EPA data. The consultant, Sustainable Solutions Group, will be working to develop their own data in more detail across the broader region. MVRPC is assisting the City with applying for implementation dollars with SOPEC. MVRPC has been convening monthly with climate planning managers from the State of Ohio, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Cleveland. There will be a Climate Change seminar here in Dayton on May 3rd. Details on the website. Grace Dietsch and Leslie attended last night a watershed planning meeting on Upper Wolf Creek, North Branch Wolf Creek, Nine Points NIPSIS. The Active Transportation Infrastructure Improvement Program will be applied to for advanced planning and design work on the Wolf Creek Phase Two, to develop that part of the trail. Once done, it will allow them to be more competitive for grants to do the construction. Community Outreach: Brian Williams attended two neighborhood meetings last month. He went to the Belmont Hearthstone and Eastmont meetings. He also attended his own neighborhood association meeting, Linden Heights. He did not hear any environmental concerns. Niani Brown and Scott Eardley are working on verbiage to say when attending neighborhood meetings as members of the EAB. Chairperson Arnett stated that any information or verbiage shared during neighborhood meetings must be approved by the EAB. The Dayton Delivers app is a good place to report environmental concerns currently. It was suggested to the Board that a proposal to the Community Engagement to include environmental inquiries and how they can be received by the Board be made. A suggestion was made to put an environmental comment section on the website, either on the Water Department or Sustainability pages. There was discussion on how to have a presence in the community without inviting only complaints or general inquiries. Old Business: Brian asked Alissa Schriner about the PFAS lawsuit. She said she will provide an update on Dupont PFAS lawsuit for distribution. New Business: None With no other board business to discuss, Sarah Richard made a motion to adjourn, and Brian Williams seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 1:16 p.m.