Environmental Advisory Board Meeting

Ogden Dunes Environmental Advisory Board Town Hall July 18, 2023 5:30 p.m. Attendees: Bianca Passo, Vicky Albritton, Tom Davenport, Frank Lani, Susan Adams, Carol Angarola, and Karl Krizmanic. 1. Review and approve agenda – any additions? Frank asked to talk about Save the Dunes' statement made against the rocks placed on Ogden Dunes' beach to protect homes from eroding sand. See 'Other' below. 2. Review and Accept Minutes from previous meeting. Sue moved, Frank seconded. 3. ELPC Air Quality Monitoring Project – The EAB met via Zoom with Pouyan Hatami with the ELPC (Environmental Law and Policy Center), which recently installed two new air quality sensors in Ogden Dunes. Bianca said residents had complained about bad smells in the very early morning that soon dissipated and then slowly grew worse throughout the day. The new sensors may show whether there is a genuine problem and where it might be coming from. Ted asked some tough questions about the accuracy of the sensors and the parameters and objectives of the study. Hatami said the study will last about a year and that sensors will sample the air for particulate matter every 10 minutes. However, wind velocity will not be taken into account and there is no specific study objective. Hatami added, "The sensors are low cost, this is not too scientific a study, and we should not expect too much." It is, however, a start. The data will be publicly available in real time at PurpleAir.com. https://map.purpleair.com/1/a/i/lt/mPM10AQI/a10/p604800/cC0 - 11/41.6213/-87.1965 4. Long Lake Marsh a. Long Lake Restoration Event – July 29th 8:30-10:30AM The event is all planned. Bianca, Susan MiHalo, and Carol will show volunteers how to cut and remove invasive plants and apply herbicide at Long Lake Marsh. Volunteers are encouraged to show up with gloves and large pruners (loppers, Fiskars, or any type of pruning shear). b. Second event to plant natives – Early Fall Another event is planned for the fall when native seeds will be spread. 5. Save the Dunes Pollution Prevention Roundtable Nothing to report 6. Monitoring Nearby Industries https://www.in.gov/idem/resources/lake-michigan-sites-of-interest/ a. Cleveland Cliffs - N/A (Jon was absent) b. U.S. Steel Midwest - Nothing of note. c. PreCoat Metals – Nothing of note 7. Residential lighting task force (Sue Adams) a. Shielding for streetlights Susan Adams said they began to put up shields on the street lights at long last. They are much smaller than those put up at Beverly Shores, but we are glad to have something finally done. Karl wondered why the new flag light was installed such that it shines upward (adding to light pollution in the sky). Bianca explained that if it had been placed at the top of the pole so that it shined down, it would have created too much glare for nearby residents. 8. National Invasive Species Awareness Week a. February 2024 - Nothing to report 9. Bird Town Sub-Committee Frank, Karl, Vicky, and Patricia Perry met just before this meeting to discuss the Bird Town Indiana application, which is due on September 1st. The Town Council has given us a green light. We will designate both Pollywog Pond and Suerenity Park (named after Sue Mechtersheimer, who donated a parcel of land behind Skyline Road to the town) as protected bird sanctuaries. Frank said there are not too many invasives to remove from Pollywog Pond. He will contact the Home Association about their extra parcel of land next to Suerenity Park and will look into a few public access issues (where to park, foot traffic, where to put the two Bird Town signs). Patty will work on the website and Karl will look into ordinances and the language used for general town declarations. Vicky will write up the application so we can review it together on August 1st. 10. Septic Coordination Workgroup Report Vicky attended another workgroup meeting and discussed various issues with the previous workgroup representative for Ogden Dunes, Jim Biancotti. The workgroup continues to confront obstacles faced by municipalities that want or are being required to switch from septic to connected sewer systems. Jim said he would be very surprised if OD were forced to switch because of our hills and layout. We would need many separate transfer systems to cope with pumping water uphill. At any rate, this decision does not fall on the EAB. For now, we are focused on educating residents on how to maintain septic systems for the benefit of the environment and human health and safety. 11. Beach Clean Up a. September 16th, 2023 Nothing to report. 12. Beach water quality monitoring Bianca reported that we have had good water quality tests so far this year. Only one day showed an exceedance of E. coli. Ogden Dunes' track record is good compared to nearby towns, although it should be noted that most towns only test for E. coli so residents cannot be certain the water is free of all serious contaminants. Ted noted again that E. coli often hides in the sand and the sand is never tested. Ted also suggested that we should place an annual water quality report in the water bill each winter. 13. Recycling Nothing to report. 14. Other - Regarding Save the Dunes' public statement of concern about stones that OD placed in front of break walls to protect homes, Karl said the statement is available online [https://savedunes.org/save-the-dunes-challenges-state-approval-for-violating-the-public- trust/]. Bianca said this matter is being handled by the town and the EAB is not involved. Here is the town's official response: https://ogdendunes.in.gov/home/news/ogden-dunes-statement- regarding-save-dunes-appeal?fbclid=IwAR3e4r6s2p8OD1arFRFivJb2QpSp1rM-MKDWxEU9- 4fYgXKY4cSSUv5F3P4. 15. Next Meeting – August Meeting adjourned at 6:33 pm. Minutes taken and submitted by Vicky Albritton