Environmental Commission

Madison  Environmental  Commission   Meeting  Minutes—March  29,  2012     Call  to  order  and  Open  Public  Meetings  Statement  at  7:30pm.   PRESENT:    Missy  Durham,  James  Greene,  Donald  Links,  Susan  Niculescu,  Roy  Redmond,  Jeff  Sarrett,   Stephan  Stocker,  Betsy  Uhlman,  Claire  Witcomb.   ABSENT:  Jeff  Gertler,   Minutes:  The  minutes  of  the  meeting  of  January  26,  2012  were  approved  with  changes.   Guests:    Joe  Balwierczak;  Jim  Burnet,  Assistant  Borough  Administrator;  Steve  Eget;  Linda  Faletto,  Boy   Scout  Representative  for  the  Green  Fair;  Bob  Vogel,  Borough  Engineer;  Ben  Wolkowitz.   Mail  received:  see  end  of  meeting.   Discussion:   1. Green  Fair:  L.  Faletto  asked  that  the  MEC  do  more  to  bring  in  interesting  exhibitors  and   presenters  and  spoke  about  some  that  she  was  working  with:  Grow  a  Row  who  moved  1.4M  lbs   of  produce  to  needy  households;  Madison  Robotics,  from  Madison  High  School;  and  Save  the   Chimps.  She  wanted  more  local  groups  and  businesses  brought  in.  She  is  arranging  for  the   Madison  H.S.  Jazz  band  to  play  at  the  Fair.  She  asked  for  MEC  to  do  a  presentation  to  the  Boy   Scouts  about  our  work,  and  she  asked  for  drivers  to  help  Boy  Scouts  deliver  fliers.   2. Solar  Study  Recommendations:  B.  Wolkowitz  and  S.  Eget,  who  with  S.  Stocker  and  B.  Uhlman,   are  the  Working  Committee  on  Solar  Power  in  Madison,  reported  on  their  recent  meeting  with   R.  Codey,  Borough  Administrator,  J.  Burnet  and  Mayor  B.  Conley  regarding  their  findings.  One   key  issue  is  that  13%  of  our  electric  cost  is  based  on  peak  demand.  Peak  demand  for  the  year  is   usually  due  to  air  conditioning  on  hot  summer  days—this  would  be  easy  to  reduce  by  means  of   solar  power.  J.  Burnet  mentioned  that  the  Borough  may  consider  a  change  to  the  Borough  Code   to  encourage  more  residential  solar  by  making  the  payment  for  electricity  generated  by  solar   power  by  individual  householders  equal  to  the  cost  that  they  pay  for  electricity  from  the  grid  or   instituting  “net  metering”.  Currently  the  Borough  pays  a  small  percentage  of  what  is  charged  per   kilowatt  hour.  B.  Uhlman  mentioned  the  advantages  of  installing  solar  panels  on  municipal   buildings.  B.  Wolkowitz  spoke  about  Morris  County  being  a  pioneer  in  setting  up  a  method  of   financing  solar  power  which  makes  it  feasible  for  a  developer  to  put  solar  panels  on  municipal   buildings.  The  Morris  county  initial  venture  was  14,000  panels—about  3.2M  kilowatts.  Now  they   are  starting  on  a  second  phase  which  will  be  9.2M  kilowatts.  Other  counties  in  NJ  are  also  doing   it.  The  County  is  the  lessor,  the  Power  company  is  the  lessee,  and  they  pay  a  monthly  fee  which   pays  for  the  debt.  All  the  legal  arrangements  are  now  in  place  as  a  template  so  it  is  easier  for   1      other  municipalities  to  copy.  The  solar  panels  are  usually  installed  on  roofs  or  in  parking  lots.   Our  current  agreement  with  Constellation  Energy  is  that  we  can  install  up  to  500  KW  of  solar   panels.  We  could  install  them  on  top  of  the  Public  Safety  Building,  and  in  the  parking  lot   between  Hartley  Dodge  and  the  Public  Safety  Building.  Our  aim  is  to  get  started  on  what  we  can   do  now  and  plan  for  a  larger  installation  to  be  started  in  mid-­‐2014  when  we  will  be  negotiating  a   new  electric  contract.  J  Burnet  also  mentioned  that  “smart  meters”  are  going  to  be  installed  on   Madison  houses,  which  will  allow  different  electricity  charges  based  on  peak  and  non-­‐peak   times.  There  is  also  an  issue  of  values  to  be  discussed.  Solar  energy  may  cost  more  than  energy   from  the  grid,  but  since  solar  energy  could  replace  the  “expensive”  peak  demand  electricity   from  the  grid  it  may  pay  back.  But  it  is  not  always  clear.  S.  Eget  pointed  out  that  the  State  of  NJ   requires  that  power  companies  provide  10%  of  their  power  from  renewable  sources.  J.  Burnet   agrees  that  we  must  diversify  our  sources  of  power  but  is  concerned  that  the  payback  is  not   there.  B.  Wolkowitz  believes  that  we  should  start  small  and  learn  more  as  we  go.  The  projects   must  be  cost-­‐effective  for  us  to  make  a  major  investment.  Also  we  should  remember  that  the   100  power  generators  that  are  called  into  use  during  the  peak  period  (“peakers”}  are  old  coal-­‐ fired  equipment  which  need  substantial  upgrading  to  continue  to  operate  and  meet  current   code,  which  will  make  peak  power  even  more  expensive.  To  meet  current  code  they  all  need   “strippers”  (to  clean  the  air)  which  cost  about  $110M  per  plant.  B.  Vogel  mentioned  that  plants   also  need  to  have  “Fukishima”  upgrades—such  as  wind  resistance.  To  install  a  solar  farm  on  the   49  acres,  an  exception  to  Green  Acres  rules  is  necessary,  although  a  wind  farm  is  currently   permitted..  J.  Burnet  summarized:  what  we  are  working  on  is:   • An  ordinance  change  to  encourage  solar  power  with  net  metering   • RFP  for  a  test  drive  small  municipal  solar  system   • Publicity  to  help  the  public  understand  the  need  to  conserve  on  air  conditioning  during   peak  demand  days.   B.  Uhlman  thanked  the  solar  power  committee  for  their  work,  their  presentation,  and  their  lively   discussion  of  the  issues.     3. Executive  Session:  Resolution:  a  resolution  was  made  to  go  into  an  Executive  Session,  the  reason   being  the  need  to  discuss  personnel  issues  with  regard  to  the  proposed  Sustainable  Madison   Ordinance.  The  minutes  will  be  available  in  six  months.  Changes  to  the  proposed  ordinance   were  agreed  to.  There  was  also  an  open  discussion  about  some  legal  issues  regarding  local   polluted  sites.  The  executive  session  was  ended.     4. Local  Polluted  Sites:  A  discussion  of  the  issues  surrounding  the  Bayley  Ellard  and  the  MRC   pollution  followed.  B.  Vogel  stated  that  the  phase  2  study  on  Bayley  Ellard  which  identified  the   probable  pollutants  was  done  after  purchase,  although  the  MEC  has  information  indicating  it   was  done  beforehand.  He  thought  it  might  be  possible  to  negotiate  with  the  Catholic  Church   from  whom  the  site  was  purchased  in  order  to  obtain  some  financial  help  with  the  clean-­‐up  that   2      is  necessary.  It  may  be  $150K,  requiring  a  third  of  the  acreage  to  be  covered  in  either  2  feet  of   clean  soil  or  6  inches  of  pavement.  The  pollution  on  the  49  acres  is  easier  to  remediate  since  it  is   more  concentrated.  It  is  also  polluted  fill  (as  at  Bayley  Ellard)  plus  some  arsenic,  probably  from   an  old  greenhouse  or  barn.     5. Leaf  Composting:  B.  Vogel  was  asked  about  the  progress  of  the  plan  to  compost  our  own  leaves   at  the  John  St.  facility.  He  said  some  of  the  issues  were  to  do  with  how  it  is  processed  and  that   not  all  issues  are  resolved  yet.     6. Effluent  from  MRC  fields:  B.  Uhlman  asked  if  an  initial  test  of  the  effluent  from  the  MRC  fields   could  be  done  in  order  to  ensure  the  public  that  there  was  no  health  impact  of  the  materials   used  in  the  fields.  D.  Links  agreed  to  ask  R.  Codey  for  the  $1,500  necessary  to  test  the  runoff   rainwater,  after  a  big  storm.       7. Stormwater  management  for  households:  At  least  100  houses  in  the  North  Street  sewer  pump   zone  probably  have  sump  pumps  connected  to  the  sewer  system.  The  request  was  made  that   MEC  develop  some  educational  materials  explaining  that  it  is  illegal  to  put  stormwater  into  the   sewer  system.  There  will  be  a  new  ordinance  allowing  inspection  of  sump  pump  connections  in   each  house  to  determine  which  are  compliant  and  which  are  not.  There  will  also  be  some   “carrot  and  stick”  combination—fines  for  non-­‐compliance  and  assistance  to  those  that  can   prove  financial  need  in  order  to  fix  the  problem.       8. Discussed  the  ANJEC  conference  attended  by  four  members  recently.     9. Correspondence.     10. Meeting  adjourned  at  9:58.     3