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Home My WebLink About2015-05-27 CAC Minutes FinalJefferson County/City of Port Townsend Climate Action Committee Meeting Minutes May 27, 2015 Cotton Building Port Townsend, WA Members Present: Kathleen Kler, Stanley Willard, Laura Tucker, Cindy Jayne, Barney Burke, Kevin Scott, Brian Goldstein, Scott Walker, Eric Toews Absent: Deborah Stinson, Jack Pokorny, Samantha Thomas, Tammi Rubert Staff: Judy Surber, City of Port Townsend Guests: Matt Ready, Dick Stockman, David Hawkinson Scribe: Brian Goldstein Topic Recommendation/Action Call to order 3:33 p.m. Approval of Agenda & Minutes CAC Chair, Cindy Jayne, started the meeting. Brian Goldstein agreed to take minutes. The meeting agenda was reviewed and approved unanimously. Cindy reviewed minutes from the last meeting (February 25, 2015). Laura moved to approve the minutes. Barney seconded. Approved unanimously. Public Comment The public was greeted and given the opportunity to comment. There were no public comments at this time. Membership Update Val Johnstone has resigned, so there are now 3 open positions. Kathleen will make a request to the Jefferson Healthcare board to appoint a representative to the CAC. Matt Ready, a member of the JH board, was in attendance. Cindy has not been successful in contacting Liz Coker, chair of the Jefferson County Homebuilders, so it is likely best to pursue other options. Other potential organizations for membership; HCCC or StraitERN, NOSC, WSU, L2020 action group leaders, Chamber of Commerce members. The membership application form can be found HERE. Action items:  Cindy to post vacancy in the Local 20/20 event announcements, and to send it out to the L2020 climate action group members. She will also contact HCCC and Strait ERN.  Kathleen to reach out to Jefferson Healthcare Board to recommend they appoint a representative.  Kevin to approach Chamber (Teresa Verraes) for possible members Climate Action Outreach – review draft presentation – Laura Tucker Laura recommends developing various "decks" of slides for different audiences (she has prepared for Jefferson County healthcare professionals, public works, and beach watchers, fourth and eighth graders). She presented one such deck, which included the following highlights:  We are at the highest atmospheric CO2 level in 800,000 years, now over 400 ppm  Rate of change is about 100x any other previous change  Rising ocean temperature and surface temperature are both significant  Carlton wildfire largest in WA state history  PNW about 20-30 years behind on warming vs. rest of nation  But there is hope… o India plans to quadruple renewable energy generation by 2022 o Wind trees in France o Burlington Vermont first US city to be 100% renewable energy o Solar industry growing 20% faster than general economy o Seattle's Bullitt Center, greenest commercial building in the world  Local work o Local PUD buying “green” electric power (hydro and nuclear) o PT Paper Company reducing fossil fuel and water usage through efficiency and technology o Lots of good work with Student's for Sustainability. Reduction in high school waste and new recycling containers for downtown. Judy clarified: if the goal is a "deck" for the CAC webpage, this group should recommend the format and then have Laura come back with winnowed down deck. Deck should have no more than a dozen slides. Other comments made on the slides were:  Add in something related to transportation options for reducing GHG  Tailor it to a rural audience  Talk about what is happening locally, both in terms of existing inventory and ways to reduce, what you ca do Action item: A small group with Eric, Scott and Laura will meet to draft message points to prepare deck to review with CAC. Adaptation Planning Update – Cindy Jayne Cindy sent an update memo to the CAC members ahead of the meeting on Adaptation Planning. Cindy asked what the CAC would like to see the Local 20/20 climate groups tackle. It was noted that there are carbon footprint tools available online to calculate how we, as individuals, can reduce our carbon footprint, and it would be good to point people to those. There is also a new NW Earth Institute course that addresses ways to reduce your carbon footprint There was a recent drought meeting in Sequim, focused on impacts to the Dungeness area: Dept of Ecology, DNR, WDFW, USDA/NRCS, and City of Sequim reps talked about the overall picture of the current situation regarding snowpack levels, precipitation patterns, the Dungeness river, and fish and wildlife. There are also fire issues and possible residential mitigation. WSU and NODC are interested in hosting a Jefferson County session. Is the City of PT, County and PUD interested? The group was interested, including the city, county, port, PUD, PTPC. Kate Dean of NODC is spearheading this. Action item Cindy will let Kate Dean know that the above groups are interested and Kate will contact them. PTPC Update on Greenhouse Gas Reductions and Water – Kevin Scott Kevin Scott, PT Paper Company environmental director, presented information on PTPC environmental footprint reductions over the past decade. Of Jefferson County carbon emission sources, 29% are from Industrial sources, with the paper mill accounting for 99% of Industrial. The mill CO2e production has been reduced from 153,000 metric tons in 2005 to 61,000 in 2014, a 59.4% reduction! The mill has a goal to further reduce to 43,000 in the near future with additional investment. Reduction actions include: 1. Biomass renewable energy production (wood waste, not trees) increased, resulting in a decrease in fossil fuel use 2. Improved operating efficiency reduced steam required to produce paper, resulting in a decrease in fuel use 3. New Federal BMACT (Boiler Maximum Achievable Control Technology) standards have resulted in a $10MM boiler upgrade project at the paper mill that will reduce particulate emissions and improve boiler efficiency, resulting in a 60% reduction in particulate emissions. 4. Water use peaked at 13MM gal/day a decade ago. Through recycling and reuse efforts, water use is now down to 8MM gal/day. Public Comment No public comment. Electric Vehicle Update – Barney Burke Highlights from Barney’s presentation on electric vehicle (EV) progress:  South CA Edison $350MM investment in EV charging infrastructure demonstrates public utility commitments to EVs  EVs could be good for utilities, offsetting reduced electric demand due to efficiency and solar panel installations  A $250k grant is being sought to increase the number of EV charging stations on the Olympic Peninsula. This grant would provide EV charging stations at strategic locales, such as the PT Boat Haven, Blyn, Port Angeles, Clallam transit center, Lake Crescent lodge, etc. o Partner with vendor to install and maintain EV charging stations, they would buy power at market rate, and charge users)  Nissan Leaf charge - $7.50 for fill up, compared to $7.20 gas;  Application due June 1, 2015, evaluating vendors, corporate contributions, met with WA state officials Motion to recommend City/County send letter of support for grant - passed unanimously. Action item Barney to send emissions reductions to Cindy and she will forward CAC’s recommendation on to City Council/BoCC. Other Potential or Existing Projects – All Cindy discussed idea of putting together a road map for meeting the county goals, set of possible strategies that get us there. Interest? Fort Collins CO has done this, likely others as well. - Judy noted it would be good to take the existing CAP list and review and add to it - Some measures can be implemented by L2020, but maybe the CAC can evaluate what it can specifically do moving forward Action Item: Cindy will work on forming a volunteer team in L2020 to review the existing list and add to it, and bring it back to the CAC for review, including looking at opportunities for the CAC to move specific items forward, as well as to brainstorm other ideas. Next Steps & Agenda Planning Next meeting agenda item possibilities:  Drought forum update  Matt Stewart, Jefferson County fleet director, presentation on moving forward with EV’s in County fleet (Kathleen to contact) Action Item: Other suggested topics for next meeting should be emailed to Cindy. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. Next Meeting Next meeting is scheduled for August 26, 2015, 3:30-5:30 pm, at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Fort Worden Park.