PRESENTATION
1. ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE
AWARDS CITY WIDE
Chair McRae and Steve
Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager of City Operations, acting on behalf of the
City Manager, presented the following awards:
2012 Environmental
Excellence Award - Community category was given to city staff responsible for
expanding Ottawa’s Blue Box program
to recycle more types of plastics and divert this material from landfills.
An honourable mention in
the Community category was given to Kevin Cover for the Characterization of
Ottawa’s Watersheds,
2012 Environmental
Excellence Award - Internal category was given to city staff working to
reduce emissions of the City’s fleet through the Electrical Vehicles Introduction
project.
Honourable mentions
in the Internal category were given to two teams:
1. The Environmentally
Friendly Cleaning Products & New Equipment Project that identified environmentally-friendlier
alternatives to the cleaning products regularly used at Transit Services; and,
2. The Cured-in-Place
Pipe Lining Improvement Project that found innovative methods to reduce the
environmental impact of sewer pipe replacement.
RECEIVED
CITY MANAGER
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
2. QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE
REPORT TO COUNCIL, Q1: JANUARY 1 – MARCH 31, 2012
ACS2012-CMR- ENV-0005 City Wide
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Environment Committee receive
this report for further review and discussion of the service areas’ performance
results, as outlined in Document 1.
RECEIVED
This report will be
considered at Council on 11 July, 2012 in the FEDCO Report 22.
CITY OPERATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
3. OTTAWA’S
WASTE PLAN – PHASE 2: ACHIEVING OUR GOALS
ACS2012-COS-ESD-0008 CITY
WIDE
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the
Environment Committee, at its meeting of 19 June 2012, table Ottawa’s 30-Year
Waste Plan Discussion Paper and refer it for public consultation in accordance
with the consultation process outlined in this report.
Dixon Weir, General Manager
of Environmental Services and Marilyn Journeaux, Manager of Solid Waste
Services spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of the presentation is held
on file with the City Clerk. Staff responded to questions from Committee members with respect
to the report.
The report recommendation was then put
to Committee in which it was TABLED and REFERRED.
4. DRINKING WATER TRANSMISSION MAIN CONDITION ASSESSMENT
PROGRAM
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Environment
Committee receive this report for information.
Dixon Weir, General Manager
of Environmental Services and Shelley McDonald, Program Manager of Water
Distribution spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of the presentation is
held on file with the City Clerk. Staff responded to questions from Committee
members with respect to the report.
The report recommendation was then put
to Committee and RECEIVED.
5. 2011 WASTEWATER ANNUAL
COMPLIANCE REPORT
ACS2012-COS-ESD-0011 CITY
WIDE
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Environment
Committee receive this report for information.
Dixon Weir, General Manager
of Environmental Services and Michel Chevalier, Manager of Wastewater Services
spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of the presentation is held on file
with the City Clerk. Staff responded to questions relating to impacts on
waterways from other areas such as Gatineau, the disposal of biosolids and the
enforcement with the companies who have discharge agreements with the City.
The report recommendation was put to
Committee and RECEIVED, as presented with the following direction to staff:
DIRECTION TO STAFF:
Staff to provide, by the
Council meeting on 27 June 2012, a list of the industries, which the City has discharge
agreements with.
This report will be presented to
Council on 27 June 2012.
At this time, the Committee recessed
for 45 minutes. Upon resuming, the Committee proceeded to item 6 on the agenda.
6. ADVANCED METER
INFRASTRUCTURE (AMI) PROJECT
ACS2012-COS-ESD-0009 CITY
WIDE
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Environment
Committee receive this report for information.
Dixon Weir, General Manager
of Environmental Services and Fern Marcuccio, Manager of Environmental
Engineering spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of the presentation is
held on file with the City Clerk. Staff responded to questions from Committee
members with respect to the report.
The report recommendation was then put
to Committee and RECEIVED.
7. 2004 AND 2008 GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORIES, REDUCTION
MEASURES AND APPROACH TO FUTURE TARGETS
ACS2012-CMR-ENV-0004 CITY
WIDE
Previously listed as an
Information Previously Distributed report on 3 May 2012
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Environment
Committee receive this report for information.
Dixon Weir, General Manager
of Environmental Services and Michael Murr, Manager of Environmental
Sustainability spoke to a PowerPoint presentation, a copy of the presentation
is held on file with the City Clerk.
Committee heard from the
following public delegations who spoke in favour of the staff report:
·
*Charles
Hodgson, Ecology Ottawa
·
*Martin
Canning, Vice-Chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee
Committee received a
written submission from the following individuals:
·
*Richard Eveleigh dated 19 June 2012;
·
*Jason Pearman, Chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee
dated 18 June 2012;
·
*Mike Buckthought dated 19 June 2012.
*Copies of the
presentations from the public delegations and the written submissions are held
on file with the City Clerk:
Councillor Holmes submitted
a motion with respect to holding a Round Table. Subsequently, Councillor
Fleury suggested a friendly amendment to include that the Round Table be
chaired by the Chair of the Environment Committee. Councillor Holmes accepted
the amendment as friendly and the motion was revised and approved as follows:
Moved by Councillor Holmes,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the city host a
stakeholders’ Round Table, including members representing business groups such
as the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce Environment Committee, Invest Ottawa, as well
as community groups and organizations, etc. to engage the community on the
matter of GHG reductions by examining the following questions and promoting
solutions:
1) What strategies according
to cost/benefit analysis result in the greatest reduction of GHG;
2) What solutions offer the
fastest payback in terms of GHG reductions;
3) What solutions have the
lowest barriers to success;
4) What utilities and
companies can provide synergies through energy reduction & efficiency
programs;
5) How can efficient
appliances and/or building features be promoted to a greater degree (e.g., low
flush toilets); and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Environment Committee
select 2 Councillors to sponsor the Round Table; and that the roundtable be
chaired by Councillor Maria McRae, Chair of the Environment Committee; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Ottawa maintain
or exceed its current level under the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’
Partners for Climate Protection program.
CARRIED
With
Councillor Hubley dissenting.
DIRECTION TO STAFF:
Staff to provide the cost
to date of identifying and verifying the GHG inventories as well as the
estimated cost to host the oncoming roundtable and to develop the responses
identified in the motion for discussion at the round table. Given
that the motion was interpreted to include all 23 Councillors and Mayor if they
wish to attend, the estimates should be based on full attendance. This
information is to be provided by the Council meeting on 27 June 2012.
This report will be presented to
Council on 27 June 2012.
NOTICES OF MOTION (FOR CONSIDERATION
AT SUBSEQUENT MEETING)
Submitted by Councillor McRae:
WHEREAS the Community
Environmental Projects Grant Program (CEPGP) was established in May, 1995 by
the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (RMOC); and
WHEREAS the CEPGP
supported not-for-profit organizations, including community associations,
service clubs and schools, who undertook initiatives to enhance the RMOC’s
broad-based environmental objectives in the areas of solid waste diversion,
water efficiency, wastewater and the water environment; and
WHEREAS aside from
the inclusion of sustainable development, the project criteria identified by
the environmental objectives has not changed since the program’s inception; and
WHEREAS Ottawa City
Council has adopted Term of Council priorities to focus the work of Council and
budgets on specific achievable goals; and
WHEREAS it is
appropriate to review the City’s Community Environmental Projects Grants
Program in light of each Term of Council’s priorities;
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED THAT staff be directed to ensure that the project criteria for the
Community Environmental Projects Grant Program reflect the current Term of
Council Priorities and include items such as:
·
Increasing
the City’s urban forest cover;
·
Addressing
the Emerald Ash Borer issue;
·
Initiatives
related to the move to bi-weekly residual waste collection.
INQUIRIES
Submitted by Councillor Egli,
There are a
significant number of non-rural communities that are privately serviced across
the City of Ottawa. The City currently provides grants to rural property owners
for privately serviced lots.
In the past these non-rural
communities were eligible, however an evaluation of the program completed in
2009 concluded that the focus of the grant program should be on projects that
benefit the public at large (e.g. buffer strips, grassed waterways, stream bank
stabilization, livestock restrictions etc.) rather than projects that primarily
benefit the private property owner (e.g. private well and septic replacements).
Council approved this to the program in early 2010.
Currently the Ottawa Rural Clean Water
Grants Program is available to both rural farm operators/rural property owners
and farm operators within the urban boundary. Non-rural residents with private
wells are also eligible to apply for well decommissioning only.
1) Why does the City of Ottawa
provide grants to privately serviced rural property owners and excludes
privately serviced non-rural property owners?
2) When do we expect to have a
review of this grant program?
3) How many privately serviced
communities do we have in Ottawa?
4) How many privately serviced
homes are there in non-rural Ottawa that are not covered by the grant program?
Staff to provide a listing of all
grant and contribution programs that fall under this Committee.
Listing should include the amount of
tax dollars associated to each including staff costs to administer.
Staff to provide details of projects
awarded grants under the Community Environmental Grant Program. Details
should include any post project review comments that relate to the value to
taxpayers of these grants.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m.
_____________________________ _____________________________
Committee Coordinator Chair