LGEAN e-Mail Update

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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

LGEAN Update is a biweekly newsletter published by the International City/County Management Association. Its purpose is to keep you up to date on the latest environmental information of interest to local governments.

RULES AND COMPLIANCE

Draft Decision Trees on Solar & Wind Energy Screening Open for Comment
EPA and the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab have developed draft decision trees to screen brownfields, greyfields, rooftops, abandoned parcels, and landfills for solar and wind energy potential. The solar and wind screening decision trees are designed to encourage leadership from local governments and other stakeholders in the development of renewable energy resources at the community level. EPA is accepting comments on the draft decision trees through February 16, 2012, and seeks city and county volunteers to beta test the decision trees.

RESOURCES

EPA Releases New Tool with Information about Water Pollution Across the U.S.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the release of a new tool that provides the public with important information about pollutants that are released into local waterways. Developed under President Obama's transparency initiative, the Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Pollutant Loading Tool brings together millions of records and allows for easy searching and mapping of water pollution by local area, watershed, company, industry sector, and pollutant. Americans can use this new tool to protect their health and the health of their communities.

New APA Resource Offers a Framework for Local Economic Development
A new planning document for Story County, Iowa, is focused on the belief that any economic development strategy should reflect quality of life in addition to jobs, economic activity, and improved tax base. Major issues addressed in the plan include strategic partnerships and investments, as well as trails, recreation, and other quality of life issues.

EPA Announces the Release of the 2010 TRI National Analysis
The TRI National Analysis is an annual report that displays EPA's analysis and interpretation of the most recent Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data. It includes a variety of documents and webpages, available below, that outline national and local trends in toxic chemical disposal or other releases to the environment. It also includes trends in toxic chemicals managed by TRI facilities, and analyses of certain chemicals of interest, industry sectors, parent companies and geographic areas.

EPA Releases Report on Expanding the Nation's Water Supply Through Municipal Wastewater Reuse
The National Research Council recently released a report, co-sponsored by EPA, that highlights the potential that reuse of municipal wastewater can play in augmenting traditional water supplies, particularly in areas that are experiencing or expect to face challenges in meeting demand for water. EPA agrees that advancements in water treatment processes make reuse of municipal wastewater a more viable option when risks are appropriately managed. EPA will review the findings and recommendations to determine how they can inform the Agency's ongoing efforts to promote a more integrated view of the nation's water resources.

FUNDING AND OPPORTUNITIES

RFP Now Available for Local Sustainability Matching Fund
In partnership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, the Funders' Network is pleased to announce the formation of the Local Sustainability Matching Fund. The purpose of the Fund is twofold: to catalyze partnerships between local government sustainability directors and local, place-based foundations, including community foundations, and to advance important community-based sustainability initiatives. The Fund will provide partnership investments between $25,000 and $75,000, with a 1:1 match required by one or more local foundation. The Network anticipates that the Fund will support up to ten partnership projects in the first year in two rounds in the spring and fall of 2012.

Funding Available for Community Wetland, Riparian and Coastal Restoration Projects
The Five Star Restoration Program, the National Association of Counties and the Wildlife Habitat Council, in cooperation with EPA, Southern Company and FedEx, provide competitive grants to support community-based wetland, riparian and coastal habitat restoration projects. Approximately $775,000 will be available in 2012 in grants ranging from $10,000 to $40,000. Applicants must integrate meaningful environmental education into the proposed projects, and demonstrate measurable ecological, educational and community benefits. The deadline for applications is February 15, 2012.

Up to $1.5 Million Available to Western Communities for Water and Energy Efficiency Projects
The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking proposals from local governments, water districts, Indian tribes, and states for its WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants. BuRec's WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant program provides funding to communities in the Western United States to conserve and use water more efficiently, increase the use of renewable energy and improve energy efficiency, benefit endangered and threatened species, facilitate water markets, and carry out activities to address climate-related impacts on water. Applicants may seek up to $300,000 for smaller initiatives or up to $1.5 million for larger, phased projects.

LOCAL NEWS

Carpinteria, California Switches to LED Street Lighting to Cut Costs
To save on energy bills, cities around the nation are setting their sights on high-pressure sodium vapor street lights and replacing them with light-emitting diodes. Because of their daylight-like brightness, LED lighting promotes neighborhood safety at night while trimming the energy use and maintenance costs of local governments converting from traditional lighting. Carpinteria (CA) is already benefitting from a recent street lighting upgrade funded by a block grant from federal stimulus funds. The upgrade will enable Santa Barbara County to cut costs without shedding essential services.

Las Vegas Officials Considering Infill Development Policies
After decades of sprawl and a deteriorating urban core, Las Vegas (NV) officials are now considering infill policies to encourage developing the over 90,000 acres of empty lots within the city boundaries. As of 2010, the valley had about 330,000 acres within the Bureau of Land Management's "disposal boundary," or land available for development, and 200,000 of those acres were built upon.

Campbell County, Virginia, Continues to Remove Chemicals from Polluted Groundwater
A week after the Virginia Supreme Court overturned a $9 million judgment against Campbell County in a contamination lawsuit, officials said they remain committed to removing the leachate that got into the groundwater on Claude and Virginia Royals' Rustburg property. The Royals realized their well water was contaminated in 2002 by the neighboring landfill, and the county has been working to removing the chemicals for the past decade. Several times each year, Campbell County tests water from 51 sites on the landfill and the Royals' property.

La Verne, California, Approves Shutting Down Redevelopment Agency
The La Verne (CA) city council unanimously approved closing down its redevelopment agency. According to La Verne's City Manager, the city would lose roughly $4 million from a court order that dissolves the agency in its first year and about $2 million in following years. The move comes as a result of the California Governor's proposed bills in his 2011-12 budget to eliminate redevelopment agencies unless cities or counties agreed to pay a set fee this year and then a regular amount in subsequent years. The California Supreme Court ruled in December that the state had the authority to abolish redevelopment agencies.

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