Orange County NC Website
<br /> <br /> 1 <br />Orange County <br />Commission for the Environment <br /> <br />Meeting Summary <br /> <br />June 8, 2015 <br />Orange County Solid Waste Administration, Chapel Hill <br />________________________________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />PRESENT: Jan Sassaman (Chair), May Becker, Tom Eisenhart, Loren Hintz, Rebecca Ray, <br />Gary Saunders, Lydia Wegman, David Welch <br /> <br />ABSENT: Peter Cada, Lynne Gronback, David Neal, Bill Newby, Jeanette O’Connor, Sheila <br />Thomas-Ambat <br /> <br />STAFF: Brennan Bouma, Tom Davis, Rich Shaw <br /> <br />GUESTS: Terri Buckner, Ed Kerwin (Orange Water and Sewer Authority) <br />_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />I. Call to Order – Sassaman called the meeting to order at 7:37 pm. <br /> <br />II. Ad ditions or Changes to Agenda – Shaw asked to present information about <br />Blackwood Farm Park. Sassaman said he could add that to the updates. <br /> <br />III. Minutes – Hintz asked for a correction on page 2; noting that he withdrew his motion <br />pertaining to the proposed rule change for impervious surfaces. Wegman motioned to <br />approve the May 11 minutes as amended; seconded by Welch. Approved unanimously. <br /> <br />IV. OWASA’s Energy Management Plan – Terri Buckner, a member of the Orange Water <br />and Sewer Authority (OWASA) board of directors, reported that OWASA is developing <br />an energy management plan for its water, wastewater, and reclaimed water utility <br />operations. She was accompanied by Ed Kerwin, OWASA Executive Director. <br /> <br />Buckner asked if the CFE might be interested in collaborating with OWASA, the schools, <br />and the towns in a forum discussion of energy management. <br /> <br />CFE members asked questions and responded to the proposal. The following issues <br />were among those discussed: <br /> <br /> Greenhouse gas emissions inventory and methane production <br /> An inventory of energy use by OWASA, County government, and other entities <br /> Town of Carrboro recently completed an update of its greenhouse gas emissions <br /> The CFE’s previous collaboration with the Chapel Hill Sustainability Committee <br />on a community forum about solid waste in Orange County <br /> EPA’s BENmap database contains air quality data for Orange County <br /> Local sources of energy include electric (Duke), natural gas (PSNC), and solar <br /> <br />Hintz said a community forum on energy management would be opportunity to share <br />information, to evaluate our collective approach toward managing and conserving <br />energy consumption, and to chart a course for the future. <br /> <br />CFE members asked Buckner how such a forum might be structured. Buckner said each <br />entity would be asked to discuss its approach for managing energy use and present its <br />outcomes and future objectives. She would like the CFE and other entities to decide