CFE minutes 020915 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 for more participation and they’ve not had to turn down any prospective sources. He noted, however, that the budget for next year will be developed soon. Commissioner Rich said the Solid Waste Advisory Group (SWAG) would be looking into the program beginning this coming Friday’s meeting (February 13). Finally, Gerringer said the University of North Carolina collects 50 tons of food waste each month from three cafeterias on campus. Commissioner Rich noted that the County is discussing a partnership with UNC and the hospital on all recyclables. Williman provided an overview of the Solid Waste department’s education and outreach services, including her efforts to reduce the amounts of solid waste at special events such as Hog Day, Festifall, and Farm to Fork. She described recent progress with the recycling in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School system. Wegman asked if there was anything the CFE could do to help. Gerringer and Rich invited CFE members to attend the SWAG meetings and to participate in the discussion. Hintz added that the CFE could also help by publicizing solid waste recycling programs as part of the CFE’s forthcoming public outreach efforts. CFE members thanked Gerringer and Williman for their presentations. VI. Hydrilla in the Eno River – Davis presented information about hydrilla, an invasive submerged aquatic weed that is infesting portions of the Eno River. Davis described the problems caused by hydrilla and the difficulties with getting rid of it from ponds and waterways. He said it has been a problem at Lake Orange since the early 1990s and was first documented in Eno River State Park in 2005. A 2013 survey found that about 25 miles of the river contained hydrilla—15 miles of which had “heavy infestation.” Davis said he is a member of the Eno River Hydrilla Management Task Force, a group of federal, state, and local government representatives that have been working since 2007 to evaluate and address this situation. The available options include no action, physical removal, biological control, and the use of EPA-approved herbicides. Davis reported the task force is preparing a two-year pilot study to evaluate the use of EPA-approved herbicide to manage hydrilla in a section of the Eno River below Hillsborough’s drinking water intake at Lake Ben Johnston. He has organized a public information open house to be held on April 29 at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough. He asked the CFE to help with the public outreach effort to educate citizens about hydrilla and to invite them to the public information meeting. O’Connor asked what the sources of hydrilla in the Eno are, and would this herbicide treatment have any lasting effect. Davis said the likely sources are residential aquariums, boat paddles, or boat trailers. He said this is a pilot study to determine the effectiveness of the treatments. If it works then it could be one of the options to help manage this aquatic weed. Other CFE members asked questions about the proposed study. Shaw noted that the Water Resources Committee had identified hydrilla as a topic for public outreach, using the information contained in the SOE report. The CFE thanked Davis for his presentation. VII. Public Outreach – CFE members continued their discussion of ways to convey information from State of Environment report to the general public. Sassaman asked each committee to identify its initial topic and who will prepare the draft article.