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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 03/17/2021 NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR March 17, 2021 6:00 – 8:00 pm, Via Zoom 3/17/21– MINUTES Page 1  1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 6 p.m. a. List of board Members Present  Samantha Williams  Hillary Mizia  Drew Derderian  Dawson Metcalf  Elizabeth Hudetz  John Skogman  Kevin Krause b. List of Board Members Absent – Excused or Unexcused, if no contact with Chair has been made  Danielle Buttke - excused  Barry Noon c. List of Staff Members Present  Michelle Finchum, Staff Liaison  Jennifer Shanahan, Natural Areas Senior Watershed Planner  Kelly Smith, Sr. Environmental Planner  Kendra Boot, City Forester d. List of Guests  Rob Graves, citizen 2. AGENDA REVIEW a. No changes 3. COMMUNITY MEMBER PARTICIPATION a. Rob Graves joined the meeting to learn about NISP 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - FEBRUARY a. Because the February NRAB meeting Zoom recording was lost, the minutes were NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 3/17/21 – MINUTES Page 2  reconstructed from board member memories. The board decided to wait until April to vote on the minutes when Danielle would be present because she had asked many questions and was not present at this meeting. 5. NEW BUSINESS a. NISP Update - Jennifer Shanahan, Natural Areas Senior Watershed Planner  City engagement and purpose  The City has been engaged in the development of this water storage project for the last 15 years. NISP will affect Poudre River resources that Fort Collins benefits from such as a reliable and clean water supply, recreation, health and wellness, river ecology, and stormwater conveyance and attenuation. All City's efforts regarding NISP are integrated across all City departments.  The City's goals are to protect City assets and interests, reduce risk and cost to the City, ensure long-term resilience and sustainability, and maintain and build regional relationships.  Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) project overview  The project was proposed by Northern Water in 2004 to provide water to 13 northern Colorado communities. Two new reservoirs (Glade and Galeton) would be created, and water would be pumped from them to these 13 communities.  To date, the NISP project has obtained a series of federal, state, county, and city permits, Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), and water quality and fish and wildlife analyses. The next steps are to obtain a 404 Record of Decision (SPAR) report, easements and construction permits.  Part of the NISP project will divert water and pipe it through four City natural areas and some private properties within the City adjacent to Mulberry St.  Three permits expected in 2021  Federal - Record of Decision (ROD) recommending the Glade Reservoir option. Publish date is to be determined.  City - Site Plan Advisory Review (SPAR) will only review infrastructure (pipes and diversion) that goes through the City. It will be managed by the Planning and Zoning Board for recommendation in the spring.  Private Property - NAD easement request by Northern Water for pipes that would run through the City's natural areas to be approved by Council. NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 3/17/21 – MINUTES Page 3   Opportunities for public engagement - Federal - There will most likely not be a public comment opportunity for this report. - City - Public comment can be made at a neighborhood meeting and at a Planning and Zoning Board, approximately at the end of April - Private Property - NRAB can make recommendation to Council.  Discussion  Hillary - Q Wanted staff to clarify where the public can go to make their voices heard. A The public can attend the neighborhood meeting for the SPAR process and at the Planning and Zoning Board hearing where they make a decision in late April. Unfortunately, the City does not have authority over the NISP project. It only has an advisory role on what part of the NISP project is within the City.  Dawson - Q - Can you explain why this is a utilities project and not a development project? A Because Northern Water is a utility they are going through the SPAR process. The City has limited ability to regulate a utility. We can advise what we would like to see to reduce impacts, but they could still approve the Northern Water proposal if we don't approve of it.  Jennifer - If the board is interested, she could come back to the board another time to discuss the details of the operation and mitigation of the project.  Elizabeth - Even though the City does not have much power to stop this project, our comments and input have delayed it for several years and she would like to see the City continue to delay the project if it can.  Michelle - The public can also go to this website for project updates and to subscribe to their newsletter - https://www.fcgov.com/nispreview/  Kelly Smith will inform the NRAB about details of the upcoming neighborhood meeting so they can attend.  Kelly Smith also wanted to thank the NRAB for their previous letter of support to Council regarding the lighting code. b. Emerald Ash Borer Update - Kendra Boot - City Forester  The City's urban tree canopy provides environmental, economic and social benefits to Fort Collins and actually appreciates in value as it ages.  The emerald ash borer (EAB) is a highly destructive, non-native insect that infests and kills all North American true ash species. It was first detected in the U.S. in Michigan in 2002. It was first detected locally in Boulder in 2013, and in NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 3/17/21 – MINUTES Page 4  north Fort Collins in May, 2020. Signs and symptoms include serpentine boring under the tree bark, woodpeckers pecking holes in the bark to get the larvae, die back at top of the trees, and D-shaped holes in the bark. It has never been eradicated anywhere, once found,  There are 7,633 City ash trees, and approximately 70,000 on public and private properties combined. Ash trees comprise 33% of the City's canopy cover.  The City has been preparing for EAB by not planting ash trees on public property since the early 2000s, by assessing the City's tree canopy and beginning an EAB management response and outreach plan in 2016.  Ash tree die-off has trended to spike six years after detection. Fort Collins is using this trend to prepare an integrated pest management approach plan that includes tree health evaluation and replacement, using chemical treatment applications of 25% of public ash trees on a 3-year rotation, and biological control by introducing non-stinging parasitic wasps to destroy the EAB. The primary goals are to keep the community safe from brittle, infected trees, flatten tree mortality curve, and maintain the urban tree canopy and significant trees.  Wood from affected public ash trees will be diverted from the landfill and set aside for milling. They are also exploring other diversion opportunities.  Additional budget funding has been necessary for EAB preparations. The City is also exploring other sources of financial resources, including grants for implementation and management of the program. The long-term impact of EAB is estimated to be $3.6 million for tree removal, replacement and recycling, pesticide applications and additional staff to implement the EAB plan.  Additional considerations include ramping up a community canopy program for private property owners including assistance to property owners and discounted purchasing.  More information about the city's EAB program can be found at https://www.fcgov.com/forestry/emerald-ash-borer  Discussion  Elizabeth Q Wouldn't introducing the parasitic wasps cause some unintended consequences? Please do not use them. A There is much research on using wasps since 2000 and there has been much feedback about their use. The Forestry Department is still considering it.  Dawson Q Is there a way to estimate the cost per tree for pesticide application? A Larger diameter trees cost more so the costs are projected to be about $6 per diameter inch. Pesticide application is good for approximately 2 years. NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 3/17/21 – MINUTES Page 5   Drew Q Is the City doing anything to prevent transport of infected wood? A A federally mandated emerald ash borer quarantine that was managed by the state several years ago has recently been lifted, due to lack of funding. The best way to contain the EAB is educating people to not transport the wood to other communities.  Michelle Q What needs to happen for more wood workers to use this wood locally? A Storage locations of the downed wood is currently small. The City has been working with CSU and other cities to understand options to deal with this amount of material. Another option could be biomass burners or biochar for the mulch.  Kevin - Q The wood utilization of drying, milling etc. takes a lot of energy and is a tough problem to solve. A There is a lot of opportunity, but a lot of work if the infrastructure is not there. However, we are discovering milling resources through outreach and some nonprofits that are interested in a circular economy. Another possibility is to get students to get interested in apprenticing in this industry and using it in wood shop at school. 6. STAFF AND BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a. Drew - Q - Does the board want to make a formal comment to the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) board regarding NISP? Elizabeth - I think the NRAB should submit comments. A - Because the pipeline will be going through Fort Collins Land, the Planning and Zoning board will be ruling on that section of the NISP program, not the whole NISP program. There is open public comment opportunity during that P&Z board meeting.  Staff follow-up: Michelle will check with Jen Shanahan to confirm when the NRAB can make a formal recommendation.  Drew moved, and Elizabeth seconded, that the NRAB write a memo of disapproval of the Site Plan Advisory Review (SPAR) regarding the NISP infrastructure that goes through City property and, upon approval that they can do so, will submit their memo to the to the Planning and Zoning Board. Michelle will check about this motion to another board. Motion passed unanimously 7-0-0. Drew agreed to draft the memo for board approval. b. Elizabeth - reported she has been active with a medical symposium that educates people on the health impacts of oil and gas. They have made 2 infomercials that will be aired on the local public media channels and on ROKU. c. Kevin - There will be a Larimer County public meeting March 22 to discuss regulations for oil and gas. d. Kevin - In February he attended a joint Bicycle Advisory/Transportation Board meeting. He asked that the Bicycle Advisory Committee be informed of City funding NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 3/17/21 – MINUTES Page 6  around multi-modal transportation, specifically what is spent on bikes vs. single- occupancy vehicles. He also announced the bicycle master plan will be updated since 2014. e. Kevin asked if the NRAB wants to give input in the current BFO process for the 2022 budget. Michelle informed the board they can write a letter to the BFO teams to support various programs. Individual board members can also give input as a citizen to the BFO process. f. Michelle announced that Lindsay Ex will be returning to the Environmental Services Department and will resume her previous role as NRAB liaison. g. Michelle announced that City Council passed Our Climate Future. 7. OTHER BUSINESS a. 6-month Calendar review b. Agenda planning  April - Jason Graham - Waste Water Treatment Plant  Kevin would like to invite the NRAB's Council liaison Julie Pignataro 8. ADJOURNMENT 8:09 pm