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**Postponed**
Revitalizing Our Core - including a Schenectady Walkability Tour
May 27, 2010
Schenectady, NY
This program will include a funding panel with representatives from
USDA, NYSEFC, NYSDOH, NYSDOS and NYSOCR. There will also be a
facilitated networking discussion and a guided tour of the revitalized
downtown Schenectady.
**Postponed**
Smart Management for Small Communities: Practical Resources for Governance
June 2, 2010
Bear Mountain, NY
Hosted at Bear Mountain
Conference Center, this conference will include updates from state
and federal agency representatives on funding updates and opportunities,
and offer sessions including asset management, alternative strategies
in drinking water management, wastewater management, and solid waste
management.
Enhanced Water Utility Management
June 8, Hightstown, NJ; June 9, Brooklawn, NJ; & June 10, Wharton NJ
These one-day courses are designed to provide small and medium-sized water systems with information about water system management and asset and financial planning in order to provide operations and public works managers with the knowledge to ensure long-term viability and system stability. Instruction will be provided by Joe Durocher and Mike Kenney of the NJDEP's Bureau of Safe Drinking Water as well as from Melissa Young of the EFC. Registration for the course is free of charge. Contact Mike Kenney - NJDEP -Bureau of Safe Drinking Water for more details.
Asset Management 101
June 15, 2010 1:30 - 6:30pm
Center for Regional Excellence
4039 Route 219, Salamanca, NYThis event is designed to train municipal water and wastewater systems operators on the short-term and long-term benefits of incorporating asset management planning into their operations as a means to enabling long-term financial and operational sustainability. The program will include information, training and tools appropriate for operators and public officials. Email Melissa Young or call 315-443-8848 for more details. The registration fee is $25. Register here
Asset Management Tools Training
July 15th 8:30am - 1:30pm
Center for Regional Excellence
4039 Route 219, Salamanca, NYThis event will be a continuation of the June 15th Asset Management 101
training. It will provide an in-depth exploration of computer-based
tools including EPA's CUPSS as well as EFC's Financial Dashboard and
others. For more information contact Khris Dodson or call 315-443-8818.The registration fee is $25. Register here
SAVE THE DATE!
The 10th Annual Symposium on Environmental & Energy Systems
Restoring Sustainable, Healthy Communities
September 27-28, 2010, Syracuse, NY
More information to come soon.
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Recent EFC Events
April 20-22, 2010
Blue Mountain Lake, NY
This three-day conference at Minnowbrook Conference Center focused on the needs of municipal leaders by providing technical assistance, funding updates and practical skill-building sessions. Sessions focused on topics such as asset management and meeting facilitation. There was also a co-funding panel including the Environmental Facilities Corporation, USDA RD, NYSERDA and others.
May 1, 2010
Jane's Walk - Syracuse
Jane's Walk is a walking tour
that takes place in more than 60  cities to promote walkable communities. Our route in Syracuse started at the SyracuseCoE headquarters and went to
Hanover Square, Clinton Square, Armory Square, Columbus Circle, Forman Park,
and back, including stops at a number of cultural, historical, and commercial
locations. The event attracted roughly 15
attendees including students, professors, neighborhood representatives and
citizens, all of whom were very engaged in the discussion on walkability. The
attendees' thoughts and comments will be organized and submitted to appropriate
city officials to begin a dialogue between city officials and residents on walkability in Syracuse. _________________________________________
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EFC Announces Agriculture and Water Quality Mini-grant Recipients
Analysis of New York State Agricultural Environmental Management Program Results
NYS Soil & Water Conservation Committee in partnership with Schenectady County SWCD
The Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) process is New York's tool for measuring environmental stewardship opportunities on farms across the State. Support for the AEM Program has grown at a far greater rate than the information technology system used to track and report the information collected. Under this project, the AEM database system will be enhanced, information will be updated and gaps in information collected will be identified. Past and current information will be integrated into a GIS database that will allow the AEM Program accomplishments to be overlaid with impaired watersheds, resulting in the identification of future resource focus areas. Incorporating upgrades to the existing AEM database and integrating them into a GIS database will allow the State to accurately report and prioritize funding needs for agricultural operations on a watershed basis. This information will be used to determine where additional financial and technical resources are needed to meet the water quality goals of New York State. Agricultural Land Use Effects on Water Quality in the Skaneateles Lake Watershed:
A Habitat Assessment Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates
Dr. Russ Briggs, SUNY ESF
The goal of this research is to develop a monitoring protocol to assess impacts of agricultural land use on stream integrity in the Skaneateles Lake watershed. Stream integrity is a function of hydraulic characteristics, water chemistry, and benthic macroinvertebrate populations. Benthic macroinvertebrates serve as ecological indicators of stream water quality. Relative ease of sampling and identification of macroinvertebrates combined with their ubiquitous nature in the streams of Skaneateles Lake serves as an important drinking water supply for the Syracuse metropolitan area. Monitoring water quality is an important component of watershed management, and development of a monitoring protocol will contribute to efficient monitoring.
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Cleaning Toxins From Our Water:
Special Microbes at Work in a Constructed Wetland
Cutting edge technology that will provide a solution to a dangerous
problem developing in America's ground and drinking water is being
tested in a tiny Central New York village with the help of the State
University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
The problem is what to do about pharmaceuticals and carcinogens
leeching into the nation's water after being flushed down the drain.
These dangerous materials have to go somewhere and scientists say they
are affecting the well being of humans and wildlife. Everyday pain
relievers, even birth control pills, are causing mutations in frogs and
are dangerous to other species, they say.
The technology that can solve the problem brought ESF faculty to a meeting with New York State
Environmental Facilities Corporation President and CEO Matt Driscoll and the Village of Minoa. Those
attending toured the village's wastewater treatment plant on Wednesday,
May 19.
ESF Professors Nomura and Johnson unveiled a three-piece
plan they say will ultimately solve the dilemma of toxins in America's
water, and provide energy at the same time. Additionally, they say the solutions
can be accomplished successfully in every municipal wastewater treatment
plant, just as experiments are showing in Minoa.
Nomura explained how special microbes introduced into the treatment
process have already successfully eliminated 32 percent of the ibuprofen
and acetaminophen in Minoa's water. He predicts that a
polymer-capturing device invented at ESF will further reduce
pharmaceuticals and carcinogens to zero.
Add to this, research done by Johnson that will use algae and organic
wastes to provide power for the treatment facilities, making them fully
self-sufficient, or "sustainable." Johnson says leftover food from
schools and other institutions can be used at the plants to make methane
to fuel vehicles and electricity to run the plant. "My preliminary
estimate is that 1500 pounds a day of food will produce 5,000 KwH of
electricity per month," he said, noting the process will recover about
25 percent of electricity; eventually getting to the point of recovering
all expenses for the plant.
The professors say the whole operation uses no power, making it
enticing for any locale that needs a low cost energy source and a method
of ensuring clean water, such as facilities operated by the military or
located in Third World countries. ESF has partnered on this project with a local engineering company,
Antec, as well as the Village of Minoa.
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ESF Outreach Summer Program
During the past two years, Introduction to Green Entrepreneurship has served 55 students from 36 high schools in 12 New York State counties. This year, ESF Outreach offers two sections in order to meet student demand:
Monday, July 26 - Friday, July 30 (Section 1)
Monday, August 9 - Friday, August 13 (Section 2)
Learn more about the course, scholarship opportunities and register: www.esf.edu/outreach/green
Call 315-470-6817 with questions.
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NYSERDA Awards $11.3 million for 25 Innovative Renewable Energy
and Energy Storage Projects
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority recently announced the award of $11.3 million to help develop and commercialize 25 innovative renewable energy and energy storage projects. The NYSERDA funding supports technological advances that could benefit a variety of applications including mass transit, farming, small- and large-scale electric generators, hand-held electric devices, and others. To finance the projects, NYSERDA will use $4 million of funds from proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas cap and trade auctions, and $7 million of Systems Benefit Charge funds. These resources will leverage $11 million of private sector investment to bring total funding for these projects to $22 million. Read more here. _________________________________________ |
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Fiscal Year 2009 National Water Program
Best Practices and End of Year Report
The EPA Office of Water has released the FY 2009 National Water Program Best Practices and End of Year Report. The Report describes the progress made in fiscal year 2009 toward each of the 15 National Water Program subobjectives identified in the FY 2009 National Water Program Guidance and the EPA 2006-2011 Strategic Plan. Four key elements in the Report are: an overview of performance for all FY 2009 National Water Program measures; a description of innovative approaches and best practices in program implementation; performance highlights and management challenges for each subobjective; and an appendix of data for environmental and program-related measures, including national and regional data (where available). The Report and supporting documents can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan/fy09.html
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in Project Funding? Are you signed up for the NYS Environmental Facilities
Corporation listserv?
If not, click here and get
on the list today!
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Serving our Community Through Outreach and Education
EFC Staff
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