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2019-08-01 Citizens Climate Protectioin Committee MiCitizens Committee on U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement Mission: 1. Encourage citizens to be a part of the solution 2. Encourage City staff and citizens to conserve current resources 3. Work with the City Council to implement ideas 4. Effectively address the future impacts of climate change DRAFT Climate Protection Committee (CPC) August 1, 2019 - Meeting Minutes In Attendance: Cynthia Pruitt, Mark Johnson (ESA Consultant), Steve Fisher, Lisa Herb, T.C. Richmond, Dawna Lahti, Vivian Olson, Lisa Conley, David Schaefer, Shane Hope, Jenna Nand, Pamela Randolph (COE WWTP Manager) Bruce Poulin (AMERSCO), Lonn Inman (AMERSCO), Michael Derrick—COE WWTP Program Manager Opening: The regular meeting of the CPC was called to order at 8:45 am on June 6, 2019 in the Fortner Conference Room of City Hall by Cynthia Pruitt. Introductions & Minutes: Committee members signed in and attendees introduced themselves. A motion was made and seconded to approve the June 6th minutes. Cynthia posed a question with respect to TR4 on page z to clarify the percentage of commuters using an alternative work week vs commuting; no one was prepared to comment. So the question was laid aside and the minutes were approved by the committee as they stood. It was also approved to include the minutes in the materials being presented to the City Council on Monday, August 5th. SHANE: Welcome to Pamela Randolph —the City's Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) Manager and also welcome to AMERESCO's Bruce Poulin —Business Development Manager and Lonn Inman —Senior Projects Developer. We are happy to have them here to present our progress on reducing GHG at the WWTP. WASTEWATER TREAT TEAM PRESENTATION PAMELA: We have been tracking our progress on increasing our efficiency while reducing GHG at the WWTP for the last 8 to 9 years. It was in 2012 when the Council adopted RES 1389 to reduce the City's GHG. The PUD then challenged WWTP to save io% of its energy using PUD programs, incentives and grants. We hired AMERESCO to help us with this effort when we joined with the PUD to be part of Bonneville Power Administration Energy Smart Industrial (ESI). We are also part of Energy Savings Performance (ESP) contract through the State Energy Program. ESPs have guaranteed for WWTP efficiency project not -to -exceed pricing, performance of the new systems and measured verified energy savings. Third party incentive funding is available for the most efficient projects. Through this group WWTC shares best practices for continuous improvement. CYNTHIA: Are you using Lean/continuous improvement methods? PAMELA: Continuous improvement comes from teamwork, education and replacing equipment with more efficient models when it makes cost-effective sense. We evaluate our performance using software based on benchmarks and goals. The software allows WWTC to know what it's spending each moment in real time. It helps us operate the plant and keep the power on. It shows us key performance indicators to help us better manage our energy use. Through incentives the BPA ESI program allows us to pay for energy use with the money from our energy savings. We have reduced our energy use by the way we run our plant and buying new energy -efficient equipment when it is time to replace something. Our next big purchase will be our incinerator. It is so old that the manufacturer no longer exists and we are forced to create makeshift repairs when it breaks down which is often due to its' age. T. C.: Where is the incinerator located? And what is its carbon footprint? PAMELA: The incinerator is located at our facility downtown in the tall tower which you can see to the right of the ferry lane. Its Carbon footprint is evaluated in various ways. LONN: Energy Star is part of a National benchmarking tool. Building/Institution/WW Facility 2012 2019 Change Site EUI 221 122.3 Reduced 44.7% WWTPs GHG 3.66 4.9 2.8o 1.1 Reduced 22.5% Reduced 77.6% PAMELA: Our WWTP can process 11.8 million gallons which is oversized for the amount we treat which is around 5.6 million gallons per day. Part of our energy efficiency strategy is to right -size and down size our equipment so we can save. However, bio-solids are increasing and how much water we used is also a driver. MARK: Has the carbon footprint changed? PAMELA: The Carbon footprint number is interesting. It is hard to gage and understand because so many factors are involved. MARK: BTU's look like they have gone down. T. C.: Can we find out the reduction for non -emitting GHG? PAMELA: There are consultants who specialize in compiling those numbers more precisely. It's a balance of many factors. MARK: The regional grid does emit GHG but it is complicated. PAMELA: We also need to replace the incinerator as part of a State regulation that has been implemented. (You can learn more at this City webpage.) A benefit of this project is we will get the best equipment to meet our needs and reduce our carbon footprint in the best possible way. BRUCE: Our consulting work is based on providing the energy saving the City needs. Sewage flow through the plant has not changed much from 2011 to 2o18. However, electricity consumption has changed a lot for a number of reasons including energy consumption by the current old incinerator. However, the energy costs for the plant would be even higher without all the work to conserve energy that AMERESCO and the plant has been doing since 2011. PAMELA: Please note here that the City Council has provided oversight for our work. We had completed this work in a staged approach making updates only when they were most cost effective and efficient. As the State increases its carbon and water treatment regulations the plant's regulatory costs increase. By putting in a new incinerator that creates biochar from the waste the City saves on costs and benefits in a number of other ways. LONN: Creating biochar from our incinerator is new technology. It is exciting because it kills all pathogens, it does not cause any smell, and it can be used locally as a soil amendment. If the City purchases an incinerator of older technology we would need to determine the best way to get all the truck loads of ash that would be created every day to a landfill. So there would be a lot of extra costs both financially and environmentally. DAVE: I am always cautious about being on the leading edge with technology. What other cities are using this new technology to create biochar? PAMELA: Redwood City CA treatment plant had the first installation that produces i00% biochar. Other cities use the digester, but then do not dry it into biochar. This results in 2-3 semi -trucks a day removing the waste created and transporting it to a landfill —for us that would mean transporting it to Eastern Washington. We have no place to store the waste plus it creates a smell as it sits in storage. Tacoma has acres of biosolids waste as a result of not turning the waste into biochar. LONN: Hundreds of facilities are using this technology in other ways as landfills continue to close due to being full and no longer able to accept waste. T. C. When we look at the carbon footprint of trucking biosolids waste to Eastern Washington that alone should encourage us to support this investment. PAMELA: As we look to the future replacement of our equipment, we look at the big picture —is the equipment efficient, the right size for our facility, easy to upgrade and easy to monitor on a daily basis so we are aware of the need to make any changes so we are as efficient as possible. MARK: Your audits from the past showing actual vs predicted outcome. Do you have the numbers that show the energy savings and reduction of GHG that would result from turning the biosolids into biochar? BRUCE: We don't have those numbers yet, but as we finalize the design, we will gain a better understanding of that. We are waiting for information from four manufacturers. PAMELA: It is part of the industry standard for the manufacturers to guarantee that the incinerator will achieve certain energy goals. MARK: What is the timeline for planning this purchaser? BRUCE: Right now, we are looking at the factors we need to balance to make this work for the City, but we should have the numbers by the end of the year. PAMELA: We are evaluating what the right size needs to be for our facility as well as what regulatory hoops we need to clear to move this project forward. MARK: What objectives to you hope to achieve? Are you looking at current consumption or future growth? BRUCE: We have a lot of pieces to consider. PAMELA: One of our biggest drivers is equipment failure —our current incinerator is so old that parts for repair are no longer possible to acquire, so at any time it could fail without the ability to repair it. The new regulations came in quick, so while we are grandfathered at the moment, we will need to make a decision fairly quickly as more regulations come into play. We have to ask ourselves what is the cost if we don't do anything? For example, the current incinerator is very expensive to run, as well as being ready to break so a change is imminent. BRUCE: Any equipment change will bring savings and the future loads are too much in flux to be much of a deciding factor. DAWNA: I think this system is really important to our community given that water quality is such an important issue as well and turning biosolids into biochar will really help us maintain water quality. OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION TO CITY COUNCIL Shane: CPC and ESA will present our progress to the Council on Monday, August 5 at 7:00pm. We will be early on the evening's agenda. We will provide an overview of our progress to date including the steps we've outlined for the City to achieve a GHG target of holding warming to 1.50 Celsius. CYNTHIA: Will we be presenting the Targets Tool? MARK: ESA has not delivered the Targets Tool yet. We have it and are in the process of turning it into a tracking tool so the City will be able to publish results over time. It will be presented at a future Council meeting. SHANE: This will be just a quick illustration to the Council. We did present the Target Tool to the Planning Board and they were impressed. MARK: Right now, we need the committee's help with approaching the community and presenting externally to the public. CYNTHIA: We will need to have a well -planned strategy for presenting this information so that it does not leave too much uncertainty in the public's mind. MARK: The challenge will be presenting "Here's what we recommend" vs "Here's what we've found so far." Jenna: Are there any action items to come out of this? SHANE: Either the Council will move to adopt the goals or they will ask for more information. DONNA: Can we get a copy of the original presentation given to the Council in January? SHANE: It is on our "Climate Action" webpage under "Public Meetings and Materials" located at http://www.edmondswa.gov climate climate-action.html All CPC members are invited to attend the Council meeting on Monday. We will not all be sitting at the presenters table, but all CPC members in attendance will be introduced at the meeting. Public Comments: NONE Announcements: CYNTHIA: T. C. has some great ideas for outreach which can be rolled into our annual planning which usually takes place in January, but I propose we move it up to the September or October meeting. T. C. RICHMOND led a discussion about putting together a CLIMATE ACTION ACTIVITIES starting in the fall throughout Edmonds possible venues could be the Edmonds Theater, Swedish Hospital, Meadowdale Club House to reach different areas of the City. Partners could include: United Methodist Church, Edmonds Lutheran Church, Sno-Isle Library, Local Businesses, etc. FILM & SPEAKERS SERIES could include: 1) Show the documentary "Paris to Pittsburgh" 2) Rick Steve's Documentary/Discussion on his firms' Climate Smart Commitment 3) Snohomish County PUD Program Highlighting Carbon Solutions and Rooftop Solar Programs 4) Show "Blue Carbon —A Story from the Snohomish Estuary" with a discussion about the importance of the Marsh and other carbon sinks. The EDMONDS ARTWALK could highlight student artwork made from up -cycled materials or local artists using up -cycled materials. A BOOK CLUB could be established to read sustainability and climate books such as "The Carbon Calculator" by Mark Lynas and "Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution" by Peter Kalmus Please add to this list and we will discuss it further at a future meeting. Action Item Person Responsible Deadline Brainstorm about possible Climate Action Community All Committee Members Sept 6, 2019 Outreach Activities VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Waste Warriors needed for the Taste of Edmonds next week. Contact Steve Fisher to volunteer to sort garbage or Vivian Olson to work with student volunteers who collect garbage. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 1o:10 am by Steve Fisher. The next general meeting will be on Thursday, September 5, 2019 beginning at 8:45 am in the Fortner Conference Room at City Hall.