HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET Environmental Sustainability Task Force 2021-08-17August 17, 2021
2:00 p.m.
VIRTUAL
To view or listen to the Study Session by Zoom Meetings
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I.Opening Comments/Announcements.
II.Establish Recordkeeping.
III.Focus Areas and Workgroups.
a.Review of Individual Member Priority Areas.
b.Establish Focus Areas.
c.Establish Working Subgroups.
IV.Public Engagement.
a.Holding Public Listening Sessions (when and how).
b.ESTF Webpage and Email Address.
c.Individual Task Force Member Public Engagement.
V.Interim Reports to Town Board.
VI.Open Discussion.
VII.Adjourn.
AGENDA
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
TASK FORCE
REGULAR MEETING
Environmental Sustainability Task Force
Responses to Questions Posed following the ESTF’s Organizational Meeting
Question #1: When it comes to issues pertaining to environmental sustainability, what are the priority
areas that you think the Town should work to address?
Member Keck:
1.Rapid electrification of the Town's entire vehicle fleet and adding vehicle electrification
deadlines for the Town's vendors and contractors upon contract renewal.
2.Acceleration of the program to update electric meters to support time-of-day usage rates,
net metering and virtual power plants.
3.Removal of the Town ordinance prohibiting residential wind turbines.
4.Establish incentives to promote residential electric vehicle ownership, such as longer free
parking times for local EV owners in the Town's parking lots in parking spaces reserved for
EVs only.
Member Hutchins:
1.Install solar panels on all town buildings, as well as solar canopies over town parking lots and
the top level of the parking garage.
2.Replace all town vehicles with electric vehicles; set up more charging stations in town.
3.Set up a community/group buy of rooftop solar panels and electric vehicles for residents
and businesses, to piggy-back on the town’s purchase and reduce everyone’s cost.
4.Establish a municipal composting system for food and pet waste (honestly, I think the town
should set up curbside garbage disposal, recycling and composting for the entire valley).
5.Set a hefty fee on all single-use plastics (i.e., plastic water bottles, plastic bags, plastic drink
cups and lids, plastic straws, plastic cutlery, foam takeout containers, condiment packets),
which would defray the cost of a municipal waste collection service.
Member Donahue:
1.Increase knowledge of renewable energy alternatives in the public and support use of them
in new building as well as encourage upgrading existing buildings/private homes with
alternative energy choices.
2.Provide more charging stations for electronic vehicles and create more bike lanes in our
roads and more safe bike and pedestrian paths throughout the Valley, as well increase
public transit availability.
3.Ban single use plastic bags. This would enable us to comply with the new Colorado State law
to ban all single use plastic bags by 2024 and set bag fees to start 2023.
4.Research other mountain communities in Colorado to find out what other communities are
doing to address the Climate Change crisis and increase environmental sustainability.
Member Fryer:
I have two separate lines of thought on what the town should work on. First is the big picture related to
climate change, in particular, the PRPA plan for future electrical energy production. The PRPA should be
encouraged (as in, meet the previous commitment) to pursue renewable energy replacement of fossil
fuels. Also in this category is dealing with the increasing wildfire threat. Can the town do anything? My
second line of thought relates to various forms of pollution - air, water, noise, and light. I want to see
the environment preserved as much as possible in its natural state - clean air, clean water, low noise
level, minimal light pollution. The air quality suffers from high levels of automobile exhaust due to the
great volume of tourist traffic. This summer has been noisier than past summers and often the light
pollution, even in mid-night, is such that we can't see the Milky Way clearly.
Member MacAlpine:
Scientists have known for more than 100 years that emissions from burning fossil fuels (e.g., coal, oil,
and natural gas) cause global warming. The world warmed slowly at first, with the process accelerating
rapidly over time as greenhouse gases increased in Earth’s atmosphere, until we now have a
scientifically recognized global climate emergency. Although we can’t stop climate change, recent
research indicates that we have a small window of opportunity (a few years) wherein we can limit the
destruction by dramatically reducing our burning of fossil fuels and making our municipalities more
resilient to climate chaos.
Here in Estes Park, we’re fortunate to have a Comprehensive Plan and groups like the Estes Valley
Watershed Coalition, Wandering Wildlife, League of Women Voters Community Recycling Committee,
Estes Valley Fire Protection District, Sierra Club, EPHS Environmental Club, Rocky Mountain National
Park, Parks Advisory Board, Transportation Advisory Board, Bears Are Us, (and many others) that are
actively working with recycling/plastics and to mitigate the effects of climate change through watershed
management, flood mitigation, forest management, fire mitigation, wildlife advocacy, and cleaner
transportation. My primary reasons for submitting a proposal that led to this task force were to deal
with important issues not covered by other organizations, like addressing causes of climate change
directly and investigating ways to make our energy and economy more resilient to associated chaotic
events.
There are three areas where I believe the task force should make recommendations to the town:
1.To have any hope of controlling climate change, along with preserving our air and water, we must
stop burning fossil fuels as rapidly as possible. The town should consider ways to educate and incentivize
the public regarding best environmental sustainability practices. Simple things like using LED light bulbs,
closing shades or curtains, and sensible use of heating or cooling systems can make big differences and
be beneficial both environmentally and economically.
Our greatest energy resource may be the energy we waste because of inefficiency. It has been
estimated that 15% to 25% of energy use in existing buildings is needlessly wasted. Simple things like
wrapping heating pipes or caulking around windows and doors can make significant improvements.
Perhaps the town could incentivize the use of existing programs like "Efficiency Works" in order to
realize the benefits.
Other states and municipalities are investigating ways to promote or incentivize more sustainable
building practices, like going above existing codes to insulate new buildings and making them more
energy efficient, orienting new homes and roofs to take advantage of passive solar or photovoltaic
opportunities, ensuring new houses are ready for EV charging, aggressively promoting the potential for
heat pumps and inductive stove tops, and possibly making houses work together for maximum benefits
(like a new experimental community in Basalt).
2.As highlighted in our strategic planning documents (estespark.colorado.gov/strategicplan), our town
and region should make the environmental and economic advantages of clean, renewable energy
available to everyone. There is a lot of interest and untapped potential for more residential, business,
and public solar energy generation and storage. A recent report by the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory shows battery costs dropping faster. Also, a revision of the Organic Contract between the
Platte River Power Authority and the municipalities it serves allows more flexibility in energy generation
or storage and has a provision allowing third-party energy providers to site solar generating capacity on
customer property and to sell output to the customer. In that regard, there are highly respected
organizations like Sandbox Solar and Solar United Neighbors that work with municipalities in developing
solar potential.
As examples of how public solar generation could be advantageous, I note that more than 7000 schools
across the country are benefitting from reliability and cost savings by hosting solar facilities; and a
report in https://www.yahoo.com/news/schools-solar-panel-savings-every-125507252.html illustrates
how a school district in Arkansas was able to provide substantial raises to teachers by going solar.
3.Recent power outages, exacerbated by centralized electric grids in California and Texas, have shown
the importance of reliability and resilience associated with distributed energy generation and storage. I
have been encouraged by citizen participation in Fort Collins and Longmont, as they work toward local
energy generation, storage, and efficiency. Also, reports in the Big Pivots e-journal highlight similar
achievements by citizens in the mountain towns of Basalt and Gunnison. Furthermore, webinars
arranged by the Colorado Resiliency Office discuss how Steamboat Springs and Aspen are taking
advantage of opportunities and funding sources to increase solar generation and storage (including local
microgrids which can be controlled by utilities as necessary). Our town should make use of clean,
distributed energy generation and storage for making Estes Park more sustainable and resilient in the
face of climate events like fires and floods.
Regarding storage, citizens' groups in Fort Collins have demonstrated the value of residential solar
storage, especially when time-of-use rates are in effect. Also, as discussed in
https://electrek.co/2021/04/06/tesla-powerwall-power-new-virtual-power-plant-new-york/,
coordinated home storage systems can act together as virtual power plants or microgrids during power
shortages, or as means for shifting excess solar or wind generation to times when it is needed more,
thereby helping both consumers and power providers.
Lake Estes, Mary's Lake, Lake Granby, and Grand Lake, along with existing tunnels and turbines, should
be investigated for providing emergency energy backup if necessary. In a recent Town Board
presentation, a representative for the Western Area Power Administration acknowledged this potential
that we have for emergency hydroelectric energy generation. Electric vehicles are another potential
"microgrid" which can store excess solar or wind energy generation and feed it back into the grid as
needed for emergencies or power shifting.
Lastly, I'll stress the importance of keeping social equity in mind during all of our negotiations and
recommendations. “Demand response" or beneficial consumer electricity usage habits will soon become
the norm, possibly involving non-voluntary "time-of-use" rates for electricity. That is already taking place
in Fort Collins, and the initial stages did not go particularly well because some consumers were not
properly informed or involved in relevant decision making. Involvement of all citizens in our
recommendations will be important.
Member Diggs:
I believe that this question has two categories of answers. First, we can discuss general “priority issues”
or topics. Secondly, we can discuss more specific actions that might be recommended under each of the
topics. Given that: a broad outline of Priority issues and their related more specific topics (bullets) could
be:
I.Climate Susceptibility and Action Plan
·Conduct Greenhouse Gas Inventory (use Larimer County data if possible)
·Set a date for Net Zero greenhouse emissions.
·Assess ground level air pollutants (smog, wildfire, etc.)
·In-depth assessment of Distributed Energy Resources for EP. Especially the
next bullet.
·Develop a much more aggressive Solar energy program within the boundaries
of EP Power. In conjunction with Platte River Power Authority assess solar
production issues specific to Estes Park. These could include load management,
solar power production by the Town, encouraging residents to add solar (with
incentives), and the development of a community solar (buy in) garden.
·Energy and efficiency. Review and make recommendations on how to
increase household energy efficiency. Perhaps, review the Efficiency Works
program and how we can make it work better for EP residents.
II.Transportation
·Review the Towns Transportation Advisory Board actions related to
environmental sustainability issues. Yes, the Town has been pretty active in this,
and thus, any Task Force recommendations will likely build on the Transportation
Board’s regs.
·Related to above. Review Town’s energy and carbon footprint, especially in
terms of vehicle use. Again—I’m aware the Town has already done some of this.
·
III.Water and Wastewater
·Review stormwater Master Plan and updates in relation to environmental
sustainability, pollution, and climate change resiliency. Possibly make
recommendations.
·
IV.Recycling and Waste Reduction
·Review waste reduction efforts by the Town.
·Review recycling efforts. Solicit suggestions from Community Recycling
Committee
V.Education and Outreach
·Have town develop an “Town of Estes Park Environmental Sustainability
Outreach” committee. Made up mostly of volunteers who would provide free
advice to homeowners and attend events/festivals with a Town sponsored tent.
VI.Imbed Environmental Sustainability, at a greater level, into Town decision-
making
·One option would make the Environmental Sustainability Task Force a
permanent Committee/Advisory Board.
·Another option would be to add Environmental Sustainability as a another
“Key Outcome Area” to the Strategic Plan. Yes, environmental sustainability is
addressed in several places in the Town’s Strategic Plan. Adding (or separating out)
the topic as a key outcome, however, would highlight the importance of
environmental sustainability to Town residents.
I’m aware the above is not all-inclusive—but it’s a start. I strongly suggest that one of the first things we
do as a Task Force is to review what other communities have done. Jason—your past abode Takoma
Park has some good stuff; as does Salisbury, MD.
Member Sacarto:
The institutional analysis would involve at least the following activities:
·Review of sustainability programs in other communities, including interviews with their
local officials and advocates, concerning institutional elements of their programs.
·Interviews with administrators/staff of principal institutions in the Estes Valley.
o Institutions will be prioritized according to their size and roles in the community,
based on factors such as size of operating budget and capital budget, number of staff,
and prominence in the community.
o The institutions are not limited to departments of Town and County governments,
but also include other tax-supported organizations, such as the Library and Visit Estes
Park, as well as partner organizations, such as Platte River Power Authority.
·Interviews with local residents who have a history of involvement with sustainability
programs that have sought or engaged significant support or involvement of local institutions;
for example, Estes Recycles.
·In this effort, I would be happy to be part of a two-member team.
In addition to such institutional assessments, the Task Force certainly needs to prioritize specific goals
and programs, which will themselves have institutional components. Interrelated areas of particular
importance for the Estes Valley include:
·Radical Climate Change
o Stop use of fossil fuels
o Reduce other greenhouse gas emissions
·Tourism and its impacts
o Disruption of housing and real estate market
§Dislocation of livable community
§Land neglect by absentee owners
o Displacement of local small business; dominance of external capital investment and
business interests
o Pollution and waste
o Overuse of natural environment
·Solid Waste Management
o Outsized waste streams related to tourism
o Single-use plastics, non-recyclable packaging
o Remoteness from waste processing facilities
Member Werner: For me the most crucial thing for us all to tackle is carbon emissions. Given the legacy
amount of carbon in the atmosphere as well as current CO2 emissions, and the urgency of drawing
down these amounts, which sectors are both critical and feasible for EP to focus on? The energy and
transportation sectors are the top two sources of CO2 emissions (EPA: electricity 25%, transport 29%,
commercial and residential 13%). So top priorities for the Town would be expanding use of renewable
energy to reduce fossil fuel-based electricity, electric vehicle infrastructure (charging stations) and
expanding public transit access for work force, residents and visitors. Incentivize biking and walking
downtown.
Commercial and residential waste disposal here needs a major upgrade and Town attention. We are
sending too much of our food waste to the county landfill releasing harmful, global warming methane
emissions. We need to better manage plastics. Our recycling rate is very low (7% reported by Waste
Management for 2020).
Another priority is hiring a Town sustainability coordinator to address these and related issues.
Question #2: What priority area(s) are you most interested in working on as a Task Force member?
Member Keck: I would like to work in my priority areas of question #2, particularly electrifying the
Town's and contractors’ vehicle fleets and with the utilities department establishing time-of-day
metering rates.
Member Hutchins: 1) Community/group buys on solar panels and electric vehicles; 2) Dealing with food
scraps and waste by residents and businesses (pet waste too, if possible).
Member Donahue: I would like to work on raising awareness on environmental sustainability to fight
Climate Change in our community. Work with our business community to find alternatives to single use
bags and prepare for the ban. Work with the town to increase bike/pedestrian paths and find places to
add charging stations for electric vehicles. And, to contact other communities to find out what they are
doing and invite new ideas and possibilities to our community.
Member Fryer: I am most interested in working on the energy production concern, the air quality
concern, and anything related to water.
Member MacAlpine: I would like to focus on the three areas noted above.
Member Diggs: Probably like a lot of the Task Force members I have a preference for climate and solar
power related issues. However, I’m kind of a Jack-of-all-trades when comes to environmental topics.
I’ve taught several environmental/resource management classes during my career. In addition, I
probably guided several hundred environmentally related GIS projects when I was teaching. Everything
from climate change, to water resource management, to transportation studies, to air pollution studies.
You name it—I have a bit of knowledge on that environmental topic. And, yes, a Jack-of-all-trades can
also mean a “master of none”! Thus, you or the Task Force are welcome to ask me to pursue any topic.
Member Sacarto: As a member of the Sustainability Task Force, my preferred priorities for my own
involvement include: 1) Participate fully in support of the Task Force objectives under the leadership of
its chair, Gordon MacAlpine. 2) Contribute to understanding the role of local institutions in promoting
sustainability through their mission and values, organization, policies, decision-making processes,
programs, and budgeting.
Member Werner: I would like to focus on solutions for our recycling and food waste issues. I can also
look into funding sources for a range of sustainable initiatives.
CONDENSATION OF PREVIOUSLY DISTRIBUTED ESTF INFORMATION
POTENTIAL GROUP FOCUS AREAS
1. TRANSPORTATION (Consultation with Transportation Advisory Board and Vanessa Solesbee)
Electrification of Town and personal vehicles, and increased charging facilities.
Investigate electric vehicles as a potential "microgrid" which can store excess solar or wind.
Improve bike and pedestrian options, as well as public transit.
2.DERs (Distributed Energy Resources)
Solar generation and storage on residential buildings, town buildings, and parking facilities.
Consider generation or storage microgrids for backup or time-shifting; community solar.
Investigate hydropower from Lake Estes, Mary's Lake, Lake Granby, and Grand Lake.
3. BUILDINGS (Existing and New) AND ENERGY USE
Inform the public regarding best energy sustainability practices.
Investigate and improve energy efficiency in existing buildings.
Promote more sustainable new building practices.
4.RECYCLING (Consultation with existing groups and with Town Administration)
Build on existing recycling programs.
Enhance composting programs.
Reduce plastic waste.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS
Smart electric meters and local smart grid system; demand response and time of use rates.
Air, water, noise, and light pollution.
Reducing wildfire and flood threat.
Review of stormwater master plan.
Wind energy.
PRPA
PROPOSED DISCUSSIONS AND COURSES OF ACTION
Learn about resilience and sustainability practices in other communities.
Consult with local residents or organizations.
Create a Climate Action Plan.
Create an Environmental Sustainability Advisory Board or Outreach Committee.
Add Environmental Sustainability as a “Key Outcome Area” to the Town Strategic Plan.
Appoint a Town Sustainability Coordinator.
By Somini Sengupta
Good morning. Human activity has significantly heated
the Earth already. But several climate futures are still
possible.
A burning house in Pefki, Greece. Forest fires have raged as the region suffers a heat wave.Angelos Tzortzinis/Agence
France-Presse — Getty Images
The future of the planet
It’s too late to reverse the damage done to the Earth’s climate. It’s not too late to
change course right away to prevent things from getting far worse.
That’s the scientific consensus presented this morning to world leaders by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It’s the most complete synthesis of
climate science available, based on a review of thousands of research papers
assessing how the combustion of coal, oil and gas has altered the Earth’s climate
and with it, human destiny.
The report doesn’t present one future foretold, though. Its most important
finding is that there are several futures possible.
Heat baked in
The cumulative emissions of greenhouse gases — led by the U.S. and the
countries of Europe since the start of the industrial age, and more recently by
China — have not only heated up the planet, but also placed it on course to get
much worse in the next 20 years, according to the report.
The panel concludes that the average global temperature is very likely to rise 1.5
degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2040,
and to continue to warm for another 10 years. At that threshold, nearly 1 billion
people could face life-threatening heat waves at least once every five years, the
report finds.
We will confront more record-breaking heat (as in the Pacific Northwest in July
and southern Europe last week); more frequent floods (as in India, Germany, and China); more frequent droughts (as in the U.S. West); and rising sea levels that
will threaten coastal cities (as in Miami).
Those changes are baked in, and it’s imperative to prepare.
But it is still possible to limit further warming by midcentury and prevent far
worse consequences, the report says. At 2 degrees Celsius of warming, the
picture gets worse, with more frequent bursts of heat spikes. At 4 degrees, the
world is unrecognizable.
The report’s authors show each scenario as if holding up a set of binoculars to see
the road ahead, and the paths that branch off.
Solar panels near Mojave, Calif.Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Which way to go?
It’s up to the leaders of the world’s most powerful nations and companies to
determine which path to take. Limiting temperature rise requires big structural
changes to the way the world produces electricity, heats buildings, moves around
and produces food.
So the choice before those leaders boils down to this: They could pursue policies
that inject more planet-warming gases into the atmosphere and warm the planet
further. Or they could replace fossil fuels with clean energy and stop mowing
down forests. Technologically that’s all feasible, but it hasn’t happened — not
nearly fast enough — which is why we are in this predicament.
The U.S. has promised to reduce its emissions by around 40 percent by 2030,
compared to 1990 levels. The European Union and Britain have more ambitious
targets for emission reductions. And, unlike the U.S., the European countries
have enshrined those commitments into law.
China, which today accounts for roughly 30 percent of global greenhouse gases,
has said only that its emissions will reach a peak before 2030. India, which
accounts for around 6 percent today, has said it would sharply increase
renewable energy sources but nothing about when its emissions would start
declining.
This report is hardly the first such detailed assessment of climate risks. Scientists
have repeatedly offered these binoculars, and many politicians have repeatedly
ignored them. The question now is whether citizens, having seen the risks close
up, will force their leaders to act. “For far too long, policymakers have placed
their short-term political interests and the greed of corporations ahead of the
needs of their constituents,” Rachel Cleetus, climate policy director at the Union
of Concerned Scientists, said.
You can read more about the report here.
Somini Sengupta is an international climate reporter for The Times.
Town Clerk <townclerk@estes.org>
Suggestions for Environmental Sustainability Task Force
Don Sellers <don.sellers@gmail.com>Sun, Aug 15, 2021 at 3:19 PM
To: Town Clerk <townclerk@estes.org>
Please relay this message to the members of the Environmental Sustainability Task Force.
===================
Dear Environmental Sustainability Task Force
Since your group has only recently been formed, it stands to reason that you are now probably formulating plans and identifying
important areas to consider. Please allow me to input my thoughts.
The world’s most respected group of climate scientists, the IPCC (1), recently declared that it is virtually certain that human burning
of fossil fuels is causing global warming (2). This warming will drastically impact civilization by causing sea level rise, flooding,
increased wildfires (recall many of us were evacuated a year ago), and increased storm intensity among others. Much of the global
warming is caused by burning fossil fuels for electrical power generation and transportation.
The citizens of the Estes Valley can do our part to help slow the warming of the planet. I suggest the following areas for investigation
by your committee.
Continue the push to have PRPA meet its goal of 100% non-carbon electricity by 2030.
Investigate distributed generation of electricity such as solar gardens in the Estes Valley. It may be more efficient, and more
robust to natural disasters, to generate electricity where it is needed than to have to transmit it over long distances.
Large capacity battery storage is being used in several communities and it should be considered for the Estes Valley both for
electricity production in dark, windless periods and in the event of natural disaster disruption of electric transmission from the
valley (ie flash floods, wildfires).
Encourage the Town to replace their gas powered vehicles with electric powered vehicles (suggested by Tom Keck)
Find ways for the Town to encourage roof top solar, both residential and commercial. For example, could we propose a
county property tax reduction for properties with solar electricity generation?
Revisit wind generation. It is often windy here in the mountains and new developments in wind turbines and wind generators
may make this approach more feasible today.
Water in Mary’s Lake flows through electric generation turbines in the Estes power plant. With our current understanding that
the climate is in crisis, could we reconsider using this system as a power storage mechanism by pumping water back up to
Mary’s Lake during periods of low electrical usage?
Most of the houses and buildings in the Valley are heated by burning natural gas. New developments in heat pump technology
make heat pumps a more attractive alternative. Explore ways to encourage heating with electricity.
Some of these ideas may seem expensive but it will be much cheaper for society to do them now than to wait until global warming has
gotten worse.
Regards,
Don Sellers
(1)The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(2)https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/