Reminder...
FCWC welcomes articles for Westchester Environment from our member organizations. Please submit them to fcwc@fcwc.org, or call co-editors, Carolyn Cunninghman or Warren Ross at the FCWC offices, (914) 422-4053 during regular business hours.

FCWC President’s Message

By Oreon Sandler

Spring. Water quality comes to mind. There is a lot of effort going on in getting our watersheds in better shape. I see a serious effort by Westchester County. Sanitary sewage diversion has been such a dominant effort for the past nine years, but efforts are now shifting to septic maintenance systems and municipal stormwater sewer systems (called MS4s.) Both issues have serious consequences for our streams, wetlands and watersheds. They are also major issues for the restoration of Long Island Sound water quality.

Nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) are the most serious problem in our reservoirs, and come from sewer plants’ effluent, septics’ outflow and stormwater run off. We must attack each to reduce this problem. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection is financing the upgrading of the sewer plants. That leaves us with two problems, namely, phosphorus and nitrogen running into our watersheds that we need to reduce.

The green algae we see in the reservoirs as summer arrives know no bounds. When all that plant growth later dies in the fall, the process sucks the oxygen right out of the water making our watersheds eutrophic. We must reduce these nutrients and silt runoff at the source.

One way to tackle these issues, MS4s and nutrients, is to develop a County Wide Utility District, but it will take a lot of cooperation to get it put together. The southern towns in the County in more urban areas are focusing on MS4s, while the northern towns must focus on septic maintenance as well as MS4s. Can we get these different needs covered in one district? Hard to tell. There is no question that we need to focus on both issues even though they require a different emphasis across this county.

Solving stormwater runoff problems in the north is another challenge. The industry has matured since the technocrats learned that the rain falls “pure as the driven snow,” but gets dirty after hitting the earth. There must be a lot of cooperation between these towns to get the storm water and stream problems analyzed and a strategy developed to fix diverse issues , purchase and share expensive equipment in some priority plan, and achieve coordination among a lot of home rule entities.

The other part of this utility district is really a tougher problem. Getting our county’s 35,000 existing septics in working order will be an enormous task requiring staffing. It will mean developing a way to prove that each home’s decentralized on site waste water treatment is working in a safe and affordable manner.

FCWC has set its 41st Annual Meeting for June 8th to be held at Kensico Dam Plaza. Mark your calendar, and plan to join us, as once again, we will be launching our next year’s program with new officers and new challenges.

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County Enacts Two Healthy Air Laws

By Warren Ross

The County Board of Legislators has enacted two of the laws drafted by the Healthy Air Task Force (HATF) that are designed to improve the air we breathe and thereby reduce the health hazards created by polluted air.

The impetus for both pieces of legislation began with an FCWC air quality conference that led the chair of the Board’s Committee on Environment, Tom Abinanti, to set up the Task Force to make legislative recommendations. FCWC Board member Cesare Manfredi is the chair of the Task Force, which has representatives from a number of environmental organizations.

The first of the new laws requires that all diesel-powered on-road and off-road vehicles owned, leased, or operated by the county or its contractors be powered by ultra low sulfur fuel and utilize the best available technology to reduce the emission of pollutants. Off-road vehicles covered include backhoes, bulldozers, excavation machines, generators, and cranes. The provision for use of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel goes into effect this September 1; the implementation of the requirement for the best available equipment will be phased in over the next three years.

These regulations, the Task Force and the Environment Committee predict, will help to stem the asthma epidemic that now affects an estimated 48,000 county residents.

The second law reduces the idling time of diesel-powered vehicles from the current maximum of five minutes to three. This, too, will help to make the air in Westchester cleaner and healthier.

Warren Ross is an FCWC Board member.

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Air Quality Conference Forges Regional Connections

By Carolyn Cunningham

The Regional Summit on Air Quality: Smart Fuels and Technology”, a conference at Pace Law School on March 29th, drew one hundred participants from throughout the region to learn and exchange information. This conference was co-sponsored by FCWC and other members of the Healthy Air Task Force,* and was one of the HATF’s main educational and outreach activities for the year. It focused on regional legislative action to improve air quality by using ultra low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD), other alternative fuels, and technology .

Two FCWC Board members were among the panelists: Jim Nordgren, former Lewisboro supervisor, related how the Katonah- Lewisboro school district working with FCWC’s WESC students has converted its school busses to ULSD fuel and will retrofit them with particulate filters. Steve Levy of Sprague Energy, a major supplier of ULSD fuel, noted that unlike other alternative fuel options, ULSD requires no infrastructure or fleet changes or modifications. Its use with a diesel particulate filter achieves a total hydrocarbon reduction of 92%, carbon monoxide 94% and of particulate matter 88%.

Mr. Levy concluded, “We applaud the legislators for assembling today and hope they will now tackle the tough issues on a regional basis.”

The conference forged important new regional connections through the participation of members boards of legislators (BOL) of Westchester and surrounding counties, including Nassau and Suffolk, and our Westchester officials and businesses. At the end of the conference several legislators, including Tom Abinanti of Westchester, Vincent Tamagna of Putman and Harriet Cornell, chair of the Rockland BOL, pledged to work together in areas such as, possible regional purchasing, sharing experiences, and in passing clean air legislation.

*American Heritage Rivers Initiative; American Lung Association; American Cancer Society; Citizens Campaign for the Environment; Cornell Cooperative Extension; Environmental Defense; Hudson River Valley Institute; NRC Services of the USDA; Lower Hudson-Long Island Resource Conservation and Development Council; NYSERDA; Genergy; and Pace Law School Environmental Legal Studies.

Carolyn Cunningham is an FCWC Board member

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Watershed Alliance Boosts New Approaches

Staff Report

At their half-day workshop in March at the Garrison Institute, the Hudson River Watershed Alliance focused entirely on newer concepts and approaches to the topic of sustainable water resources management by working with nature. FCWC was one of the non profit co-sponsors of this workshop, which drew many municipal and governmental representatives and staff as well as interested citizens. Speakers described the importance and advantages of better site design in control of stormwater runoff (e.g., Low Impact Design (LID)) and of decentralized wastewater systems for sustainable watershed management. The focus was how to move towards a sustainable strategy for local and regional water resources.

The meeting provided details on the decentralized approach to managing wastewater, in which a combination of individual septic systems and smaller community waste treatment systems replace the one large treatment plant that discharges to a stream. This approach allows homes to be built close to each other, but uses soil and plants to treat sewage. It avoids discharging to a stream and is less expensive than centralized systems. Several speakers emphasized that decentralized systems can help ensure a sustainable water supply by treating water close to its source and using it to recharge groundwater. This in turn protects stream flow. These systems, like most systems, however, require ongoing management and proper design to work efficiently.

The workshop provided attendees with many new and encouraging ideas and contact people in the search for better ways to manage stormwater and wastewater in our watersheds. To read the speakers’ presentations, the agenda, and see photos from the workshop go online to www.clearwater.org/sustainablewatershed.

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Students Push Air Initiative

By Adiel Gavish

Student efforts to improve air quality in their own school environments have been evolving this school year, as students educate their parents, teachers and school administrators to the issue. SNAP! (Students for No Air Pollution) is a student-led initiative, spearheaded by the nine officers of FCWC’s Westchester Environmental Student Council (WESC). The nine WESC student officers represent White Plains, Katonah/Lewisboro, New Castle, Scarsdale and Mamaroneck. To date, all officers, except New Castle students, who are planning meetings scheduled for May, have met with their superintendents to discuss adopting clean air policies.

WESC also held a SNAP! information session in February, which drew an audience of 30 students and parents from Harrison, White Plains, Hastings, New Castle, Mamaroneck and Scarsdale high schools as well as Pace University. WESC student officers presented information through their own power point presentation, and educated attendees to the health implications of diesel pollution, as well as the solutions each parent and student could advocate at their own schools. The info session also served as a learning experience for the officers who are gaining experience in public speaking and answering tough questions.

Additionally, Adiel Gavish, SNAP! Coordinator, and WESC officer Katie Walter of Katonah/Lewisboro spoke in support of the clean air policies at February’s school board meeting, before the board voted and passed policies to use ultra low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSDF), as well as retrofit three school buses. Mamaroneck officers Chiaki Kurihara, Lilly Corenthal and Scott Schnur have also held meetings with the Mamaroneck School District Parent Teacher Council, as well as the Mamaroneck high school PTA. Mamaroneck has already committed to using ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. WESC President, Alex Gertner is currently working with two parents on the Scarsdale Environmental Committee, who are equally as passionate about urging school district administrators to adopt SNAP’S’ five clean air policies. The policies are:

1. Establishing idle-free school zones for all vehicles including school buses, passenger cars, and delivery trucks;
2. Using the cleaner burning ultra low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSDF) that has only 15 parts per million of sulfur, as compared to the dirty diesel which has upwards of 3,500 parts per million;
3. Retrofitting school buses with the best available retrofit technology, including diesel particulate filters (DPF’s);
4. Retiring the oldest buses, years 1995 and older; and
5. Creating incentives for students to ride the bus, as well as to carpool to and from school.

Adiel Gavish is WESC’s co-ordinator

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How to Make Your Meter Run Backwards

By Chris Hall

On a brisk Saturday afternoon in March, members of WESC (FCWC’s Westchester Environmental Student Council) teamed up with the Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation for a first-hand look at conserving home energy. Gathering at our Chappaqua solar-powered home, they observed how solar panels work, what it takes to install them, and watched the electric meter rolling backward as we sold energy back to the grid.

Increased energy costs have shown up this year in all our energy bills. In the NYC area, electricity costs topped $0.20 per kilowatt hour (kWh) earlier this year. Fortunately, however, there is an elegant match between sustainable energy practices and reducing expenditures for the electricity we use in our homes.

Here is how: by installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal energy system. A small two kilowatt PV system that could provide 10-25% of family’s energy usage that cost $12,000 three years ago (after state tax credits and subsidies) now costs approximately $7,700. A new 30% federal tax credit (capped at $2,000), that is part of the Energy Tax Incentives Act, and lower module, inverter and installation costs have increased the affordability of these systems. With net metering laws (which allow the PV system owner to connect to the grid and sell their surplus electricity back to the utility) the solar electricity produced reduces the electricity bill, effectively paying a tax-free dividend on a risk free basis (risk free = the sun comes up every day). Thus a PV system would allow you to lower your electric bill by selling what you don’t need back to the grid.

And a quick note: companies that install solar get substantial additional tax benefits that make installing commercial solar electric systems practically an economic “no-brainer. The contractor who installed our system, Lee Stretfeld-Leitner, consultant for Solar Center, Inc., took part in the WESC tour, explaining the installation process.

While not every home has the proper orientation or exposure for a solar electric system, with the advent of products like GoogleEarth, it is easier than ever before to have a solar professional evaluate your site for solar suitability.

Chris Hall is a resident of Chappaqua, New York

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Rye Nature Center Names New Director

By Lorraine Mignone

Friends of Rye Nature Center Board members believe they have found just the right person to lead Rye Nature Center (RNC) in Russ Johnson. Board president, Mary Julian said, “As Director, Russ brings 25 years of experience to RNC, and will provide sound environmental education and leadership in Rye.”

Mr. Johnson’s most recent position was at the Riverbend Environmental Education Center in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania where he served as Executive Director. He has authored publications on subjects that include greenways and trails, forestry, the Connecticut River, pollution prevention and watershed education. He has a diversified set of management, environmental, and teaching skills and a vision for moving RNC forward. Some of Russ’ ideas include expanding membership and camp programs, offering new programs that appeal to people of various life stages, beginning a new counselor in training program and organizing community-wide events to promote environmental awareness. His first project of this type was an Earth Day Celebration, an event that had been absent in Rye for many years.

Russ stated, “I believe the 47-acre RNC is a jewel and I will take it as a personal challenge to let more people know about the Center.”

For more information on Rye Nature Center, call 914-967-5150 or visit www.ryenaturecenter.org.

Lorraine Mignone is a member of the Friends of Rye Nature Center Board of Directors.

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FCWC Posts Updated Position Statements on its Website

By Staff

When you go to FCWC’s website: www.FCWC.org, you will see that the Board has begun the process of updating FCWC’s positions on Westchester environmental issues and has recently posted five statements. The Board will continue to update and post them as they are approved. The five recently posted are on Long Island Sound, Pesticides, Transportation, Water Quality, and Westchester County Airport. All are long standing positions with updates to the present: for example, FCWC has always encouraged and supported initiatives to clean up Long Island Sound and to resist developments that might add to its pollution. The biggest battle has been to reduce nitrogen levels. Currently we support the effort to upgrade the Westchester treatment plants that are still not in compliance and the expenditure of funds necessary to achieve compliance.

In our Transportation paper we note that we have always supported mass transit as a large part of the answer to our county’s traffic congestion and resultant air pollution. We now believe “mass transit is critical to the future economic and environmental viability of the region” as well.

We encourage you to check out these positions and let us know your thoughts on them. We also urge our member organizations to contact us and to let us know if you have or will adopt these positions as well.

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Tappan Zee Taskforce Endorses Rail Alternative

By Carolyn Cunningham

After months of studying the six final alternatives for the Tappan Zee Bridge and I-287 Corridor, the Westchester/Rockland TZ Futures Taskforce has come out strongly in favor of the alternatives that include mass transit. This means a new, replacement TZ Bridge must be built, as the current bridge is unable to carry added mass transit infrastructure. The group has also expressed a preference for rail mass transit out of the alternatives that propose variations on full corridor heavy, commuter rail or light rail (trolley type rail or monorail) or bus rapid transit, or combinations of these forms.

FCWC also supports the addition of mass transit as being the critical bottom line to the final chosen alternative and is working on a Board consensus regarding the various forms. For more information on the project, visit the website www.tzbsite.com.

Carolyn Cunningham, FCWC board member, is a member of the TZ Taskforce.

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