La Plata Sustainability Dialogue: Focus on Local Governments, 2010

Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado

• Welcome
• Sustainability Alliance and Policy Committee missions
• Focus: sustainability metrics
• Introductions of speakers

• Sustainability (consideration of seventh generation) is being written into long-term plans.
• Air quality: robust air quality code, more stringent than state or federal; intergovernmental agreement with state for regulation and permitting within tribal boundaries.
• Water quality: monitor every steam and pond, with information going to EPA Region 8 database.
• Recycling: at limit for present personnel.
• Brownfields: EPA grants for cleanup.
• Wildlife management
• Alternative energy: experimental project for algae harvesting CO₂ from natural gas production to yield biofuel.

• Vehicle fleet: 1.5 million miles per year; seeking fuel economy improvements; 4 hybrids saved 1300 gallons in 2009; GPS to track vehicles and reduce excess driving.
• Electricity: 13.9 million kWh in 2009, +15% owing to new jail; other use -5%; 3 kW array on courthouse yielded 2600 kWh.
• Water: 17.8 million gallons (Mg) in 2009, -24%; -2.4 Mg on fairground turf from fixing leak and better management; -0.7 Mg for road and bridge from fixing leak; -1.1 Mg from sheriff’s department, even with new jail.
• Recycling: first full year yielded 59,000 pounds of paper, in addition to other materials; pilot project in 2010 at Fort Lewis Mesa fire station expected to yield 600 cubic yards; initiating recycling at fairgrounds events.
• High level: support for 4CORE and the Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP); household hazardous waste program with City of Durango.

• Limited staff constrains efforts.
• Long-range financial planning: incorporating true cost analysis to improve asset management and free up funds.
• Water: automating sprinklers and limiting losses have saved about 0.1 Mg; working on measuring system.
• Water quality: $7 M on two major improvements, central waste water facility and smaller system at Gem Village; both now exceed standards; also addressing old sewer pipes.
• Recycling: after 2 year hiatus, drop-off center operating 1 day per week with monitor, achieving 99% separation compliance; seeking to extend hours; collaborating with LPC, City of Durango, and Forest Lakes.
• Energy: New Energy Communities grant provided high efficiency lights for baseball fields and solar panels for senior center; seeking additional grant funding.
• Paper: aiming to go paperless, beginning with Town Board, using laptop computers for documents.
• Other: additional efforts, such as reducing common area lights, not yet measured, except in terms of budget savings.

• Internal: existing efforts combined in new department in 2009; focus on promoting and branding programs, durangorecycles.com, dotherightthings.net, getarounddurango.com. 
• Transit: seeking LEED certification for $5.1 M Transit Center; new multi-modal transportation coordinator has completed Phase I plan; Transit Advisory Board has become Multi-modal Advisory Board; transit ridership 436,000 in 2009, +21%; trail system, especially Animas River Trail, expanding with grant support.
• Natural lands: 850 acres purchased in Horse Gulch; 200 acres south of Perrins Peak; 190 acres set aside for open space in Twin Buttes development (including the buttes).
• Recycling: improved efficiency from fewer larger containers (40% fewer trips) & better signage; volunteer intern program; solar trash compactor at Main and College (67% fewer trips).
• Program reorganization yielded additional FTE: greenhouse gas inventory for City operations; multiple grant proposals submitted for recycling/composting facility with green business incubator; converting downtown lights to LED (3-year payback); hybrid vehicles.
• 2010 initiatives: wildlife resistant trash containers; sustainability action plan for City operations; continuing effort to expand recycling facility; measuring everything; challenge from weak commodities market, worse than -50% in 2009 from reselling recycled material.

• Limited staff constrains efforts; general fund just $1.3 M.
• Code: adopted 2003 international building code, 2004 international energy code, Comp Plan includes natural resource protection.
• Energy: endorsed Mayors Climate Protection Agreement; providing free energy audits to residents; participation on 4CORE Board and on CEAP.
• Natural resources: river trail improvement and maintenance, creek remediation, park and green area improvements.
• Planning: staff attended Community Design Academy; replacing water mains & saving pipe for use as conduit; taking over sanitation district.
• Farmers Market: seeking to keep up, even after losing intern who started it.
• Air quality: seeking to collaborate with SUIT to minimize dust from oil and gas traffic.
• Recycling: SUIT has taken over, but need volunteer effort to improve.

• Public-private partnerships: (Caton) City is seeking wide collaboration on recycling/composting facility.
• Governments as models, especially concerning climate protection: (all) there is good communication among the governments and clear intention to provide community models; policies rest on community support and many people are on board.
• Composting: (Caton) City continues to seek funding to include this, which could treat waste-water sludge; including college and schools would add an educational component.
• Local food system: (all) Not all governments do food purchasing, but procurement codes can help local buying and they can otherwise facilitate local food initiatives. (Clifton) Delta County provides data mining effort to identify missing pieces of food system.  
• Water testing (e.g. for pharmaceuticals): (Diethrich, Caton, Clifton) Water extensively tested, with nothing unusual reported, but there are no tests for pharmaceuticals; City/County include pharmaceuticals in household hazardous waste collection.