By Judy Sheahan and Derrick L. Coley
June 23, 2003

Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory chaired the Environment Committee meeting held on June 6. The session provided participants with the opportunity to be briefed on the latest developments in Clean Air, discuss policy resolutions, and share best practices.

McCrory opened the meeting by acknowledging the international and sustainable development components of the conference. "We have with us, mayors from around the world who deal with many of the same issues that we deal with everyday," McCrory said "part of the focus for this conference is to build on the theme of sustainable development, which, as you know, the environment is an integral part."

Barbara Roberts, Senior Advisor from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Air and Radiation, briefed the Mayors on the new Clean Air designations for Ozone and P.M. 2.5 as well as the President's Clear Skies Initiative. Ms. Roberts stated that the complexity of current air designations are due in part to the fact that the Clean Air Act of 1990 was 890 pages long, unlike the National Environmental Protection Act of 1960 which was only a 10 page document.

Roberts told the mayors that President's Clear Skies Initiative would greatly enhance their air quality. Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson asked about a facility in his district that terminated a sizable clean air retrofit. He asked if they would be included in the President's Initiative. Ms. Roberts said that although she wasn't familiar with that exact case and thought that the facility might not have had to conduct the retrofit because of changes in the New Source Review program, she assured the Mayor that they would fall under the President's Initiative and have to improve their facility.

Phuket, Thailand Mayor 1Lt. Phummisak Hongsyok lead a "best practices" discussion detailing his city's efforts on implementing an Integrated Solid Waste and Sewage Management. The Phuket province is the largest island in Thailand, situated at the southern part of Thailand with 266,604 residents with an additional, unregistered population of about 200,000. The Phuket Province receives 3 million tourists per year who generate an additional 320 tons of garbage per day. The City of Phuket is responsible for the disposal of all the solid waste in Phuket province, but outreach and education is focusing on source reduction through community participation using strategy 5R-1S (reduce, reuse, recycle, repair, reject and separation). This strategy includes community garbage banks, composting, and a sorting plant. Phuket also has an incinerator with total carrying capacity of 250 tons per day that produces 2.5 megawatts of electricity daily and a total operating cost of $11 per ton. Phuket's Waste Water Treatment Plant has a total carrying capacity of 36,000 cubic meters per day, cover 12 sqare kilometers using an oxidation ditch technique. Also an ongoing research project is "Sewage Sludge Treatment in Reed Beds", which will allow the city to use natural attenuation for the removal of any biological or chemical contaminates from treated sewage effluent before being returned to local waterways.

All of the mayors contributed to the "best practices" discussion by illustrating the work that has occurred or is in progress in their respective cities. Mayor McCrory discussed Charlotte's transit-oriented development plans that promoted smart growth. Mayor Bob Young discussed using bulrushes to protect Augusta's watershed. Redondo Beach Mayor Gregory Hill talked about his city's cooperative partnership with businesses called "Adopt a Waterway". North Vancouver, Canada Mayor Barbara Sharp highlighted the sustainable development projects in her city. Wauwatosa Mayor Theresa Estness talked about the creation of an Urban Forest Park, which will encompass over sixty acres of land as well as Wauwatosa's successful "Blue Bag" Recycling Program. Fremont Mayor Gus Morrison discusses their Integrated Waste and Recycling Program that will meet California's high recycling diversion rate. Mayor Linda Etheridge discussed the raising of Lake Waco by seven feet and building a 174-foot wetlands to improve water quality and Mayor Marty Blum discussed Santa Barbara's program for cleaning up their beachfront.

For a complete description of these projects or if you would like a copy of submitted "Environmental Best Practices", please see the website at usmayors.org/mwma.

Environmental Resolutions

Twenty-First Century Water Commission Act of 2003 supports, and urges Congress to enact, H.R. 135 "The Twenty-First Century Water Commission Act of 2003" and its goal to develop a comprehensive water strategy designed to ensure a dependable and adequate water supply for the next 50 years and calls upon Congress to include a local elected mayor to serve as a member of the "Commission."

Water Quality Trading supports the Water Quality Trading Policy proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a way to encourage flexible and voluntary cooperative efforts between cities and other land use activities in a watershed to reduce water quality impacts from non-point sources.

Extending and Expanding the Federal Brownfields Tax Incentive urges Congress to enact legislation to extend the expiration date for the brownfields tax deduction so that it will be available for a longer period of time and urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Treasury Department to work with Congress to investigate opportunities to expand the universe of brownfield sites or the types of costs eligible for a federal tax benefit.

Exempting Brownfields Redevelopment Activities from Unrelated Business Income Tax urges Congress to pass legislation that would exempt brownfield investments from incurring Unrelated Business Income Tax and thereby encouraging additional private sector investment for brownfield properties.

Promoting the Preservation and Creation of Urban Forests encourages Mayors to work more closely with the U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to craft comprehensive planning approaches in reversing urban forest tree decline and encourages Federal and State governments to work in cooperation with local Mayors to promote local community action in sustaining urban forests and to include funding for urban forests.

Continued Funding and Expanded Access to the Brownfields Economic Development Initiative encourages Congress to enact legislation, such as H.R. 239, the Brownfields Redevelopment Enhancement Act, that would eliminate the BEDI program's requirement for a Section 108 loan guarantee, thereby giving more communities access to funding for redevelopment of brownfield sites.

Prohibiting Liability Protection for MTBE Manufacturers urges Congress to not include liability protection for MTBE manufacturers, which could potentially shift the burden of cleanup of water supplies, contaminated by MTBE, to local governments.

Urging National Multi-Pollutant Legislation to Enhance Air Quality encourages Congress to set national air emission caps under a multi-pollutant plan at levels strong enough to protect public health and the environment by substantively assisting cities in their efforts to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. It requires power plants to reduce air emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury by an average of 70 percent from 2000 emissions levels by 2020 under a proven market-based cap and trade program.