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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 - Natural Resources Advisory Board - Work PlanNatural Resources 215 N. Mason PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80521 970.221-6600 970.224-6177 - fax fcgov.com 2012 Work Plan for Natural Resources Advisory Board City of Fort Collins TO: Mayor and Fort Collins City Council FROM: Liz Pruessner on behalf of the Natural Resources Advisory Board SUBJECT: Natural Resources Advisory Board 2012 Work Plan DATE: November 27, 2011 This memorandum presents the Natural Resources Advisory Board’s (NRAB’s) work plan for the year 2012. General actions that we anticipate will be taken by the NRAB in 2012 include the following:  Reviewing City policies and plans for consistency with the community’s environmental goals and values through regular meetings and subcommittee meetings;  Continue providing feedback to Staff by participating in task forces and special committees to address specific policies, plans or regulations, including the Bicycle Advisory Board and the West Nile Virus Advisory Panel;  Developing recommendations to Council through Board discussion and consensus;  Communicating our recommendations to Council through written memoranda and attendance at Council meetings, hearings, and study sessions;  Coordinating activities with other City Boards and Commissions as needed, such as the Air Quality, Electric, Water, Land Conservation and Stewardship and Transportation Advisory Boards, and with Larimer County’s Environmental Advisory Board; The work plan identifies items and issues that are scheduled or that we anticipate will be considered by the NRAB during the year 2012, either by the full Board or by Board committees. The NRAB closely monitors Council’s six-month planning calendar for upcoming topics on which to provide recommendations. Other relevant issues will be addressed by the Board as they are brought before us by Council or Staff. The work plan informs Council of the board’s future agenda items, and will be relied upon throughout the year by the NRAB for our own planning purposes. To the extent practicable, the timing of our consideration of these items will closely parallel Council’s schedule, as many of the items and issues identified in this work plan are also contained in City Council’s Policy Agenda. Our priority action items are outlined on the following page in the categories of Poudre River Health; Water Resources; Community Sustainability; Energy Policy and Renewable Energy; - 2 - Solid Waste; Hazardous Waste; Climate Action Plan; Transportation Planning; NRAB and the reorganization of the Natural Resources Department; and Local Agriculture. We look forward to a productive year of volunteer service to Council, the citizens of Fort Collins, and the environment. As always, please feel free to contact us with any comments or questions regarding our work plan for 2012. Sincerely, Liz Pruessner, Chair Natural Resources Advisory Board cc: Darin Atteberry, City Manager John Stokes, Director, Natural Resources Department Wade Troxell, City Council Liaison to the NRAB - 3 - The NRAB has identified the following issues to be of specific interest over the next year: 1) Monitor Progress on recommendations from NRAB Health of Poudre River White Paper We will continue to review and comment on policies affecting water quality protection with a particular emphasis on the Poudre River as well as the entire river ecosystem. - Scoping options for using agricultural rental water to help satisfy instream flow objectives. In all but the driest years, Fort Collins leases a large portion of its water portfolio to farmers, mostly in the North Poudre Irrigation District upstream of the city. Though there may be several legal and institutional hurdles, the City could choose to lease a portion of this water to downstream agricultural or other interests, supplementing minimum instream flows on the Poudre through our community. The NRAB can assess the trade-offs involved, with their potentially competing goals, and make a recommendation to City Council. - Monitor health of fisheries. - Weed management in the Poudre River corridor. - Biodiversity in the Poudre River corridor - Issues with Wildlife/human conflicts. - Water Quality - Stream and wetland restoration projects 2) Water Resources The NRAB will also focus on other water resources issues including: storm water runoff, impacts of development on runoff quality and raw water supplies, and monitoring and reporting of water quality in Fossil Creek, Spring Creek, and the Poudre River. NRAB will continue to monitor and coordinate with staff and other boards' review of water related projects and issues; e.g., NISP/Glade, City of Fort Collins Water Conservation Plan, Halligan/Seaman Reservoir Expansion/Improvements, Flaming Gorge Reservoir (Wyoming) to Colorado diversions, etc. NRAB also will provide comment and recommendations on the issue of emerging contaminants in our waterways such as: pharmaceuticals, antibiotic resistant genes, hormones and hormone mimicking pollution from waste water. 3) Community Sustainability NRAB will maintain a focus on community sustainability and monitor progress on the sustainability indicators included in Plan Ft. Collins and the progress of the new Office of Sustainability. - 4 - 4) Energy Policy/Renewable Energy NRAB will review and comment on renewable energy issues including: - Local RECs creation/purchase proposal in BFO - Commercial feed-in tariff - FortZed, - Smart Grid implementation - Energy efficient development - Conversion of Rawhide from coal to natural gas - Impacts of hydraulic fracturing on the City 5) Solid Waste - Waste Stream Study - Integrated Recycling Facility - Expansion of multi-family recycling 6) Hazardous Waste Review and comment on: hazardous waste, toxic substances, pollution prevention and remediation programs; and community outreach and education. 7) Climate Action Plan NRAB will continue to urge progress on implementation of the Climate Action Plan 8) Transportation Planning Explore, review and comment on regional and local issues affecting transportation planning. - Monitor progress of Mason Street Corridor - Vehicle miles of travel - Need for safe pedestrian design and function at major intersections 9) NRAB and the reorganization of NRD with the Office of Sustainability Review the impact of the reorganization of the Natural Resources Department on the role of the Natural Resources Advisory Board. 10) Local agriculture Explore issues and ideas in the local agriculture movement