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Upcoming EFC Events
Building Networks For Sustainability A Technical Assistance Partnership Forum
September 28, 2010
Oncenter
Syracuse, NY
This Technical Assistance Partnership Forum (TAPF) will be part of the 10th Annual Syracuse Center of Excellence Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems. The theme of the 2010 SyracuseCoE Symposium is "Restoring Sustainable, Healthy Communities." Plenaries, seminars, and panel discussions will explore ways in which professionals working in three sectors-research, industry, and the community-are creating scalable innovations to address human and environmental well-being. TAPF registrants will receive 40% off the Symposium registration. Visit our website for program details, to receive the discount registration code, and to see the EFC-sponsored community session details. Register for TAPF here. Smart Management for Small Communities:Practical Resources for GovernanceOctober 6-7, 2010
Ellicottville, NY
This conference will address
the needs of municipal leaders and provide technical assistance, funding
updates and practical skill-building sessions. Attendees will hear from
state and federal agency representatives on funding opportunities, discuss infrastructure project development
and participate in concurrent break-out sessions including asset
management, drinking water and wastewater management, and sustainable
community planning.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Mayors, supervisors, clerks,
board members, superintendents; public works, planning and zoning
officials; wastewater and drinking water operators; engineers and
consultants. Program details are available at our website. Register here today!
Green Infrastructure:
Growing GI in New York State
November 17-18, 2010
Crowne Plaza Hotel (former Renaissance Hotel)
Syracuse, NY
Together with SUNY ESF, we are hosting this two-day conference with presentations from the EPA, researchers, county, state and community leaders to discuss green infrastructure at the federal, state and local levels.
Click here for Conference details.
Farms, Folks, and Funding: Cultivating Leadership Through Research and Practice December 2, 2010
Inn on the Lake
Canandaigua, NY This one-day conference will be focused on local agricultural best management practices, looking closely at water quality as it pertains to agriculture and municipal systems. Ranging from everyday human actions to long-term infrastructure issues, workshops and research sessions will discuss how changing behavior and technology aids local agricultural processes; in particular addressing water quality for food sources, drinking water sources, waste management, and the water cycle. Workshop and presentation topics will include:
- Municipal water system implications
- On-site wastewater management
- Composting
- Organic farming
- Agricultural BMPs
- Nutrient management
- Innovative farm practices/technologies (methane digesters, etc.)
- Local food distribution
- Software supporting agriculture/water quality
- Organizing around waterbodies
- Biomass crops
- Downstream innovations
- Agricultural water reuse
To view the Call for Abstracts, or to suggest workshops, please visit our website or contact Khris Dodson at 315-443-8818. Register here. |
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Other Upcoming Events
Tour of Rochester's Green Infrastructure Practices
September 22, 2010
4:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Park Point Drive, Rochester, NY 14623 (Next to the Bus)
$20 includes refreshments and a boxed sandwich.
The tour, geared toward municipal officials, staff, board members, design engineers and other stormwater professionals, is limited and will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis, so please register early. Contact Kelly Emerick for more information at (585) 473-2120 or kelly.emerick@ny.nacdnet.net
Energy Management & Funding Sources for Water Infrastructure Facilities in New York
October 6, 2010
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY
Free Conference
This free all-day conference is designed for local officials, wastewater and water system decision-makers, managers and operators, to learn more about how to evaluate energy management at water and wastewater facilities and the funding that is available for these projects. The conference will feature an overview of energy use of water infrastructure systems and presentations by NYSERDA, NYSEFC, and NYPA on funding programs. Case studies will be presented by municipalities who have successfully upgraded their facilities using more energy efficient technologies. Space is limited. To register please visit www.esf.edu/outreach/pd/water/
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New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual / GI Updates Released
The updated New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual with new Technical Standards for green infrastructure was released earlier this month.
Download the manual here.
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EPA Releases Draft Strategy for Clean Water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites the public to comment on the agency's draft strategy to protect and restore our nation's lakes, streams and coastal waters. The strategy, " Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA's Strategy for Achieving Clean Water," is designed to chart EPA's path in furthering EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson's key priority of protecting America's waters. The strategy was developed by considering the input and ideas generated at the April " Coming Together for Clean Water" meeting as well as comments received through the online discussion forum. Participants shared their perspectives on how to advance the EPA's clean water agenda focusing on the agency's two priority areas: healthy watersheds and sustainable communities. EPA is now inviting the public to consider and provide their comments on the approaches outlined in the strategy. Public comments on the draft strategy should be submitted by September 17. For more information on the draft strategy and to comment, click here. |
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Treating Contaminants of Emerging Concern: A Literature Review
The EPA has published the results of an extensive review of the recent literature on wastewater treatment technologies and their ability to remove a number of chemical contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). EPA has also made available a computer-searchable format of the data from this literature review. The new tools provide an accessible and comprehensive body of historical information about current CEC treatment technologies. The report discusses 16 of the more than 200 CECs present in the database, and the average percent removals achieved by full-scale treatment systems that employ six of the more than 20 reported treatment technologies.
Wastewater treatment plant operators, designers, and others may find this information useful in their studies of ways to remove CECs from wastewater. The report is not designed to promote any one technology nor is it intended to set agency policy or priorities in terms of risk. The literature review report and the searchable file have been peer-reviewed for completeness and usability.
More information can be found here.
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GreeningUSA Launches 12 Traits© Community Rating System
Beta Test and Public Comment Period
The 12 Traits© is a comprehensive system to determine the overall sustainability of an existing city, town, village or county. It is a rating system developed for communities to measure their successes, and to make sense of how to prioritize future initiatives in their move to become truly sustainable. The City of Syracuse has signed on as the first beta test city, and the organization is currently seeking other communities, organizations and individuals to become involved in one of three ways:
1. Public Comment Period is open until September 30, 2010. Read and review the 12 Traits© Self-Assessment manual and give GreeningUSA your constructive feedback.
2. Community Beta Testers are being sought to complete the self-assessment by the end of this year.
3. Expert Virtual Committees are being formed by those with specific expertise in any of the 12 Traits.
To download a copy of the 12 Traits© Self-Assessment Manual, please visit the GreeningUSA web site.
To become a Community Beta Tester or to volunteer to serve on an Expert Virtual Committee, please email the 12 Traits© Program Manager, Peter Arsenault.
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EPA Seeks Public Comment on Draft of Proposed Revised Total Coliform Rule Assessments and Corrective Actions Guidance Manual
EPA has released a draft of the Proposed Revised Total Coliform Rule Assessments and Corrective Actions Guidance Manual for public review and comment. The draft guidance manual provides public water systems and primacy agencies with guidance on complying with, and implementing, the assessment and corrective action requirements of the proposed Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR).
Under the proposed RTCR, public water systems that are vulnerable to microbial contamination in the distribution system (as indicated by their monitoring results for total coliforms and E. coli) are required to assess the problem and take corrective action. The proposed corrective action requirement may reduce cases of illness and deaths due to potential fecal contamination and waterborne pathogen exposure.
The draft guidance manual provides information on the common causes of total coliform and E. coli occurrence in the distribution system, how to conduct assessments to identify possible causes of contamination ("sanitary defects"), and corresponding corrective actions that systems can take to correct the problem.
The draft guidance manual is currently available online here. Please submit your comments and suggestions here by November 30, 2010. |
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NYS Climate Action Plan
Enters Public Input Phase
The New York State Climate Action Council outlined the process for the development of the State Climate Action Plan at meetings this month at the NYS Public Service Commission. Governor David A. Paterson signed an Executive Order setting a goal of reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent of their 1990 levels by 2050. The executive order created the Climate Action Council and directed it to prepare a draft climate action plan that will assess how all economic sectors can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, and identify the extent to which such actions support New York's goals for meeting energy demands. The draft climate action plan is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 1. Release of the draft plan will be followed by a three-month public comment period. More information is available at The NYS Climate Action Council webpage which includes a climate action plan listserv where one can be notified of future meetings and other events. |
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 Sara PesekDirector Khristopher DodsonCommunications and Program Manager Carissa MatthewsOutreach Program Manager Evan NewellProgram Manager Melissa YoungProgram Manager Kathy ForrestAdministrative Assistant Interns: Jon Davis Chris Duncombe Jes Eckerlin Paul Goldner Joe Palumbo Lisa Ruggero Mandy Westerdahl Please visit our website: efc.syracusecoe.org or contact us at efc@syracusecoe.org |
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