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Showing posts with label Enviro EAC CC Env Adv Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Enviro EAC CC Env Adv Council. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

20080812 Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council Agenda

20080812 Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council Agenda

Carroll County ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Karen Merkle, Chair

Meeting /Agenda, Tuesday August 12, 2008 @ 3:00 p.m.

Room 003/004, Carroll County
Office Building

Cynthia M. Parr
Chief, Administrative Services
225 N Center Street, Room 300
Westminster, MD 21157-5194
Telephone: 410-386-2232
Fax: 410-386-2485
cparr@ccg.carr.org

All meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month. If an afternoon meeting, it will be from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.; if an evening meeting, it will be from 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M., in Room 003/004 of the County Office Building unless otherwise noted.

Notice of each meeting will be sent to local media prior to each meeting and will also appear on the website ccgov.carr.org under meetings/agendas.

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of June 10, 2008 Minutes

3. Communications

4. Open Forum
An opportunity for County residents to express concerns or propose issues not already before the Council, as future EAC Agenda items; three (3) minutes per
Presentation.

5. Presentations:

a. Doug Howard, Executive Director, Carroll Area Transit System Transportation Services and Environmental Considerations

b. Dawn Eldridge, Community Health Improvement Area Manager, CCHD Resource Conservation Coalition “ Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County.

6. New Business

a. Nominations and selection of Vice Chair

b. Review of Bylaws and Chapter 16

c. Adoption of the 2009 meeting dates

d. Adoption of EAC Environmental Awards Categories

7. Council Members Issues for future consideration

8. Announcements from the Chair

a. The September EAC meeting, will be an afternoon meeting Tuesday,
September 9, 2008, @ 3:00 p.m. in Room 003/004 of the County Office
Building

9. Adjourn


ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the Carroll County Government and its programs, services, activities, and facilities. If you have questions, suggestions, or complaints, please contact Ms. Jolene Sullivan, the Carroll County Government Americans With Disabilities Act Coordinator, at 410-386-3600/1-888-302-8978 or TTY No. 410-848-9747. The mailing address is 225 North Center Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157.

Environmentalism EAC - Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council

Monday, March 10, 2008

20080311 Environmental Advisory Council agenda

Carroll County Maryland ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Karen Merkle, Chair

NOTE: Meeting Agenda, Tuesday,

March 11, 2008 @ 3:00 p.m. –

Room 003/004, Carroll County Office Building

Cynthia M. Parr

Chief, Administrative Services

225 N Center Street, Room 300

Westminster, MD 21157-5194

Telephone: 410-386-2232

Fax: 410-386-2485

cparr@ccg.carr.org

All meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month. If an afternoon meeting, it will be from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.; if an evening meeting, it will be from 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M., in Room 003/004 of the County Office Building unless otherwise noted. Notice of each meeting will be sent to local media prior to each meeting and will also appear on the website (ccgov.carr.org under meetings/agendas).

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of February 19, 2008 Minutes

3. Communications

4. Open Forum – An opportunity for County residents to express concerns or propose issues not already before the Council, as future EAC Agenda items; three (3) minutes per presentation

5. Presentations:

a. J. Michael Evans, Director, DPW – County’s Electronic Recycling

b. Jerry Condon – Auto Recycling

6. Unfinished or Ongoing Business

a. MTBE monthly update – CCHD

b. Bruceville Road update

c. Small Scale Wind Turbine Ordinance update

d. Solid Waste Recommendations update

7. Committee/Work Team Reports/Recommendations

a. County Water Council – Cindy Parr

b. Environmental Awareness Awards update – Kim Petry

c. Cool Counties update – Dan Andrews

8. New Business

a. Election of Vice Chair

b. Vote for Environmental Awareness Awards

9. Council members – Issues for future consideration

a. List of Council Priorities

10. Announcements from the Chair

a. The April EAC meeting, will be an evening meeting Tuesday, April 8, 2008, @ 6:30 p.m. in Room 003/004, County Office Building

11. Adjourn

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the Carroll County Government and its programs, services, activities, and facilities. If you have questions, suggestions, or complaints, please contact Ms. Jolene Sullivan, the Carroll County Government Americans With Disabilities Act Coordinator, at 410-386-3600/1-888-302-8978 or TTY No. 410-848-9747. The mailing address is 225 North Center Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157. Posted 04/06/05

Friday, February 29, 2008

20080219 Carroll County Commissioner Mike Zimmer Press Release: Waste to Energy and solid waste management deliberations

Carroll County Commissioner Mike Zimmer Press Release: Waste to Energy and solid waste management deliberations

PRESS RELEASE

February 20th, 2008

I have become concerned with certain advocacy I’ve observed regarding our Commissioner Board research and discussion of solid waste management. I’ve concluded that some members of our Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) have engaged in agenda based advocacy rather than factually based advocacy.

When the EAC presented their recommendations to the Board last November 15th, 2007, I expressed grave concerns about comments shared by an EAC member to our special assistants in a private briefing prior to the formal presentation. It would appear that my concerns about politicization by certain EAC members have become reality.

I have observed advocacy by individual EAC members that is not factually accurate and contributes negatively to a dialogue based decision making path. This is most unfortunate.

On the 13th day of December, we held a panel discussion meeting that included EAC members, staff and outside experts. The discussion at that time was very strong from all parties. I do not understand why some EAC members have chosen to depart from this sort of factually based interaction in favor of what I consider pure spin.

Based on emails I’ve received from those attending a recent meeting of the Carroll County Democrat Club I have concluded that EAC member Sher Horosko provided information that was not contextually accurate when she made a presentation to this group. EAC member Dan Andrews recently wrote in a letter to the editor of a local paper that a waste-to-energy facility would contribute to higher taxes in Carroll County.

I find absolutely no basis to support the claim that waste-to-energy facilities lead to higher taxes. Our current system of long haul transfer is actually one of the most expensive methods of trash disposal available to us. In a climate of rising fuel prices this is likely to get worse over time. I’m also gravely concerned with pollution associated with trucking our trash hundreds of miles away.

Once landfills in Virginia are occupied we may be forced to truck trash even greater distances with yet greater economic and environmental costs. The time is now for this Board of Commissioners to consider more thoughtful options.

I consider burning trash to create electricity to be a viable option. That doesn’t make it the sole option. There are positives and negatives associated with just about any decision that the Board of Commissioners make. I retain an open mind on the set of solution paths we might wish to take.

We have been working on this problem for many months in an open and transparent process. One of the decision points we may have to make is whether to join in a shared waste-to-energy facility with Frederick County. The current proposal is to build 1,500 tons per day facility to be located in Frederick County. Staff from both counties believes this would be a smart solution for our mutual long terms needs.

Staff and outside experts advise that 600 tons would meet current and future needs for Carroll County. They similarly target Frederick’s need at 900 tons per day. The chief advantage of joining together in a partnership of this kind would be to lower the cost per ton of burning the trash.

As a Carroll County Board of Commissioners we can only go so far with our research and deliberation into waste-to-energy as a joint project. My view is that the Frederick County Board of Commissioners must first invite us to join in this project. If no offer is made then we need to consider our other options which might include a stand alone waste-to-energy facility located in Carroll County. If the offer is made then we as a Board would have to consider the full implications of such a partnership and the particular technology being proposed.

There are perfectly legitimate reasons to either accept or reject the regional waste-to-energy offer should it be put on the table. The fear that it might raise our taxes is not one of them. I’ve included a recent letter dated 14th day of February from an official from Montgomery County regarding various costs associated with their waste disposal system. I believe this letter explains very clearly that waste-to-energy has not led to higher taxes or fees for them.

There are some individuals who in my view have an anti-waste-to-energy agenda. They are taking things out of context with Montgomery County’s figures in order to further this agenda.

Folks need to keep in mind that in Carroll County people (outside of municipalities) hire private contractors to pick up their trash and recycling and deliver it to our county transfer station and landfill. In Montgomery County the government picks the trash up in the most densely populated areas. They charge a system user fee to cover all services. In other words instead of having private citizens pay a private hauler to pick up trash and recyclables the government does it directly. This service still costs money and the workers who pick up the trash still have to be paid.

How’s this for irony? Our towns follow the same billing procedure as Montgomery County.

According to Mr. Locke’s letter, the cost associated with trash disposal has remained constant between pre and post use of waste-to-energy. He relates, “When compared to inflation, they have substantially declined.”

This is a very simple concept. For particular EAC members to attempt to make political hay by spinning these facts is completely inappropriate. Volunteer members of an appointed government body need to be held to a higher standard.

I’ll repeat my advice to our EAC members. Those who want to wage political campaigns should do so in the right context. Such opportunities include political clubs, advocacy groups, central committees of either party or running for office. Folks should not take advantage of a government appointed position with efforts to spin public opinion.

I have now lost faith in some of our EAC members to contribute in a helpful way to our deliberative process on waste-to-energy. That is most unfortunate for them, for the public and for the Board of Commissioners.

Michael D. Zimmer

Commissioner

CC: Commissioner Julia W. Gouge

Commissioner Dean L. Minnich

Steve Powell, Chief of Staff

Cindy Parr, Chief of Administrative Services

Vivian Laxton, Public Information Administrator

Mike Evans, Director of Public Works

Daniel Andrews, EAC

Robyn Gilden, EAC

Sher Horosko, EAC

Jim Johnson, EAC

Karen Merkle, EAC

Kimberly Petry, EAC

David Pyatt, EAC
Brian Rhoten, EAC

Christopher Spaur, EAC

Robin Davidov, Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority

Jan Gardner, Frederick County Commissioner

David Gray, Frederick County Commissioner

Kai John Hagen, Frederick County Commissioner

Charles A. Jenkins, Frederick County Commissioner

John (Lennie) Thompson, Jr., Frederick County Commissioner

Douglas Browning, Frederick County Manager

Michael Marschner, Frederick County Director of Utilities and Solid Waste Management

County Executive David Craig, Harford County

David Bliden, Executive Director, MACo

Daniel Locke, Montgomery County, Chief of the Division of Solid Waste Services

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

20071205 Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council agenda for December 11, 2007

Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council agenda for December 11, 2007

Carroll County ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Karen Merkle, Chair

NOTE: Meeting Agenda, Tuesday, December 11, 2007 @ 3:00 p.m. –

Room 003/004, Carroll County

Office Building

Cynthia M. Parr

Chief, Administrative Services

225 N Center Street, Room 300

Westminster, MD 21157-5194

Telephone: 410-386-2232

Fax: 410-386-2485

cparr AT ccg.carr.org

All meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month. If an afternoon meeting, it will be from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.; if an evening meeting, it will be from 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M., in Room 003/004 of the County Office Building unless otherwise noted.

Notice of each meeting will be sent to local media prior to each meeting and will also appear on the website (ccgov.carr.org under meetings/agendas).

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of November 13, 2007 Minutes

3. Communications

4. Open Forum – An opportunity for County residents to express concerns or propose issues not already before the Council, as future EAC Agenda items; three (3) minutes per presentation

5. Unfinished or Ongoing Business

a. MTBE monthly update – CCHD

b. Review Council “priorities” list developed May 3, 2006

6. Committee/Work Team Reports/Recommendations

a. Environmental Awareness Awards update – Kim Petry

b. Cool Counties update – Dan Andrews

7. New Business

8. Council members – Issues for future consideration

9. Announcements from the Chair

a. The January, 2008 meeting will be held Tuesday, January 8, 2008, @ 3:00 p.m. in Room 003/004, County Office Building

b. Financial Disclosures will be mailed to EAC members in December, 2007. Must be returned to Ethics Commission by 1/31/08

10. Adjourn

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the Carroll County Government and its programs, services, activities, and facilities. If you have questions, suggestions, or complaints, please contact Ms. Jolene Sullivan, the Carroll County Government Americans With Disabilities Act Coordinator, at 410-386-3600/1-888-302-8978 or TTY No. 410-848-9747. The mailing address is 225 North Center Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157.


Friday, September 14, 2007

20070912 Carroll County EAC votes to promote recycling by Carrie Ann Knauer

EAC votes to promote recycling

By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council, charged with the task of reviewing solid waste management strategies, has started drafting a new framework of managing waste and a plan that does not include a waste-to-energy incinerator.

After months of listening to presentations on different solid waste management system alternatives, members of the EAC started discussing concrete recommendations to make to the Carroll County Board of Commissioners at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The six members of the nine-member board who were present voted unanimously to recommend the commissioners adopt a paradigm shift in the county from the old style of “solid waste management” to a new method of “resource management,” which emphasized waste reduction, reuse and recycling at the household and business level, before materials end up in the county’s hands.

A separate motion was passed to make recycling the driving element of the county’s resource management strategy by setting up a system that allows the county to manage the waste stream by increasing funds for public education of recycling efforts and by phasing in mandatory recycling of specific commodities.

Read the rest here: EAC votes to promote recycling

For other recent articles by Carrie Ann Knauer with the Carroll County Times, or click on Knauer watch.

For more information on Waste Management and Waste to Energy issues please click on: Environmentalism Solid Waste Management; Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Waste to Energy; or… Energy Independence or Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Recycling or the label, Environmentalism.

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