By Brett Rosenberg
February 2, 2009

Mayors' Environment, Energy Committees Meet in Joint Session

By Brett Rosenberg

Energy Committee Chair Austin Mayor Will Wynn and Environment Committee Chair Long Beach (CA) Mayor Bob Foster presided over a joint session of The Conference of Mayors Energy and Environment Committees during the 77th Winter Meeting of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. The session covered updates on the Conference's National/Metro Agendas on energy, environment and infrastructure; the status of then President-Elect Obama's plans for broad economic recovery, as well as similar plans laid out in the most recent economic recovery bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mayors also heard from a key Senate committee staffer, an Energy Department official, and two experts in energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage.

Wynn recapped the Conference's efforts to bring energy and environmental issues to the forefront of national priorities. He described the results of the three national summits on energy, environment and climate change during the past few years as well as two Action Forums on these issues in 2008. He began the session by noting that, "these are really exciting times; a remarkable awareness has arisen over the last five or six years."

Wynn reported on Conference victories over the past year, including the fact that due to the Conference's influence, the latest International Energy Conservation Code, the model code for residential construction in the U.S., adopted over two-thirds of the Conference's requests for broad energy efficiency improvements. On the climate change front, Wynn highlighted potential emissions reduction targets that reflect Conference goals in legislation that House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (CA) has recently proposed.

Foster spoke of the interrelationships between energy and the environment. He briefly discussed the results of the 2008 Action Forums on energy, environment and infrastructure, and noted that the Conference recently issued a report that highlighted the economic benefits of maintaining and improving water and wastewater infrastructure. With regard to economic recovery, Foster noted that the recent House plan dedicates $8 billion for water and wastewater that would be distributed through existing state revolving loan funds (SRF), rather than direct grants to cities. Foster said that due to specific states' SRF funding requirements, not all cities would be eligible for these funds, in spite of the broad need.

Legislative Update

Joe Goffman, Senior Council for Climate and Air Quality for the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, provided the mayors with a federal legislative update on behalf of Senator Barbara Boxer (CA), Chairwoman. The Senate, Goffman said, is working on its version of an economic recovery bill that will in part "…reflect the excellent work of Conference staff in helping committee staff understand key concerns," including provisions that address the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, a Conference priority.

Goffman also laid out the Committee's 2009 agenda. The major priorities, according to Goffman, will be a climate bill and highway bill reauthorization. Boxer has echoed much of Waxman's climate sentiment, but noted that climate policy will have several "moving parts" due to the jurisdictional concerns of several Senate committees. These moving parts include cap and trade; energy policies; energy efficiency; and economy-wide technology innovations, among others, that fall under the unique jurisdictions of almost every Senate committee. Goffman said the final package will be inclusive, and provide support in some capacity for cities and states. Boxer's focus for now, however, is a "streamlined bill that focuses on emissions reductions, then will draw in other policy pieces," according to Goffman.

With regard to the energy block grant, Wynn asked whether the EPW Committee is considering a competitive application process or if it will be a population-based formula, as in the House economic recovery plan. Goffman responded that it is unclear how the Senate will proceed.

Department of Energy (DOE)

Gil Sperling, Program Manager at the Department of Energy's Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs, spoke on energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. If ultimately approved, Sperling's office will be able to directly hire new energy efficiency experts to implement its programs nationwide, including the EECBG program. Sperling asked rhetorically, "What kind of shovel-ready projects will lay the foundation of a broad energy efficiency economy?"

Assuming the $13.1 billion amount gets approved, Sperling said his office is working to streamline the means of getting the money out the door, possibly within 60 days of passage, to thousands of communities. They are also working on guidance for use of and distributed funds, which may bypass the usual public comment period. Sperling, however, said that he will work with the Conference to speed up the distribution process.

As the economic recovery moves forward, Sperling said that DOE will use new evaluation metrics to identify reporting and monitoring needs among grantees, with the hope of better accounting for carbon dioxide emissions reductions and jobs created. They are also looking at consolidating reporting requirements through state offices.

Transmission Needs and Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy

Chris Miller, President of the Piedmont Environmental Council, spoke of the linkage between transmission needs, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Miller said that existing electricity transmission infrastructure undermines investments in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar because today's transmission corridors do not tie in with these often remotely located facilities. Further, Miller said, many coal-fired electric plants use old, polluting techniques that are grandfathered in due to their pre-Clean Air Act status. Meanwhile, Miller said, while these plants often produce the least expensive electricity, the means of transmitting it to the areas of highest need are lacking because of an overall lack of investment and federal policy.

Miller called for a better federal policy on electricity transmission and distribution and for the mayors to tie transmission investment in to its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.

Carbon Capture Storage

The last presentation by Lionel Kambeitz, CEO of HTC Purenergy, focused on carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a means of reducing the carbon footprint in cities. Kambeitz's thesis stated that by reducing our carbon footprint, we improve our energy security and upgrade our infrastructure investment.

His company, an oil fields service provider, began using CO2 as means of pumping oil out of the ground. Early on, however, Kambeitz realized that depleted oil reservoirs make excellent carbon storage facilities, often with up to a 90 percent retention rate. He noted that installing the pipelines and other infrastructure needed to capture carbon emissions is an excellent economic development opportunity and reduce the overall amount of carbon entering the atmosphere. There is currently a major operation proposed to develop several oil fields throughout Ohio and store carbon in the reservoirs as oil is extracted.

Cans for Cash Award Winners

Foster, along with Brenda Pulley, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communications at Novelis, Inc, announced this year's Cans for Cash Award winners. Winners of the cash prizes included:

Louisville (KY) Mayor Jerry E. Abramson

Lexington (KY) Mayor Jim Newberry

Irvine (CA) Mayor Suhkee Kong

North Miami (FL) Mayor Kevin Burns

Gastonia (NC) Mayor Jennie Stultz

Newport News (VA) Mayor Joseph Frank

Milwaukee (WI) Mayor Tom Barrett

Fontana (CA) Mayor Mark Nuami

Hesperia (CA) Mayor Mike Leonard

University City (MO) Mayor Joseph L. Adams

Troy (OH) Mayor Mike Beamish

La Grange (GA) Mayor Jeff Lukken