[Environmental Commission on December 13, 2023.]
[00:01:07]
TODAY IS DECEMBER 13TH, AND THE TIME IS NOW 5:40 PM I AM CHAIRWOMAN CATHERINE BAAN, AND I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE DALLAS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO ORDER
WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION IN OUR MEETINGS, IN THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR PREFERENCE.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST TRANSLATION OR OTHER ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE CALL 2 1 4 6 7 1 8 5 2 2 2 DAYS PRIOR TO OUR MEETING, AND OUR NEXT REGULAR MEETING WILL BE ON JANUARY 10TH AT 5:30 PM WE WILL BEGIN WITH OUR ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS EVENING.
UM, THE, UH, US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ANNOUNCED THE RELEASE OF THE DRAFT POLICY THAT OUTLINES HOW THE AGENCY ENGAGES THE PUBLIC AND PROVIDES MEANINGFUL, UH, PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITIES TO ALL OF ITS PROGRAMS. THIS IS THE FIRST REVISION OF THAT PLAN IN 20 YEARS.
SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT COMMUNITY VOICES ARE HEARD AND INCORPORATED INTO THAT PLAN.
UH, THE DRAFT POLICY, UH, WILL IDENTIFY WHICH DECISIONS IN AN EPA ACTION THAT CAN BE INFLUENCED BY PUBLIC INPUT, UM, USING THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SPECTRUM, AND ALSO USING A PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MODEL.
SO THAT PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ENDS ON JANUARY 16TH, AND YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION, UM, BY GOING ON THE EPAS WEBSITE AND SEARCHING MEANINGFUL INVOLVEMENT POLICY.
THIS WEEK, UH, PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN, UM, RELEASED THE REVISED FUTURE PLACE TYPE MAP AND THE NEW DRAFT FORWARD DALLAS PLAN.
UH, THERE ARE TWO UPCOMING VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLE MEETINGS HELD BY PUD ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 9TH, UH, FROM SIX TO 7:00 PM AND FRIDAY, JANUARY 19TH FROM NOON TO 1:00 PM TO FURTHER DISCUSS BOTH THE MAP AND THE PLAN, AND TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, UH, OUR COLLEAGUE, DR.
JACK AND I WILL BE HOSTING A, UH, SOUTH SHORELINE CLEANUP AT WHITE ROCK LAKE THIS SATURDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 16TH FROM NINE 30 TO, UH, NOON.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THIS WEEK, UH, MARKS THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THIS BODY'S WORK.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION BEGAN ITS FIRST MEETING YEAH, IN DECEMBER OF, UH, 2021.
UH, AND SINCE THEN, YOU, OUR COMMISSION MEMBERS, UH, HAVE VOLUNTEERED.
WE ARE NOT PAID
IN DALLAS, YOU GUYS HAVE HELD DOZENS OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH MEETINGS.
YOU'VE ATTENDED OTHER EVENTS ON THE COMMISSION'S BEHALF, AND YOU'VE WORKED IN YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO SOME OF THESE REALLY HARD, REALLY CHALLENGING AND COMPLEX ISSUES THAT HELP FURTHER OUR CITY'S, UH, CLIMATE GOALS.
SO, FOR THAT, YOU ARE ALL TO BE COMMENDED.
UM, I KNOW THAT THANK YOU IS REALLY NOT ENOUGH.
UM, BUT I WANT TO JUST SAY THAT YOUR TIME HERE IS, IS VALUED, AND THAT YOU ARE ALL A VALUED MEMBER OF THIS COMMISSION.
WHETHER YOU'VE BEEN HERE SINCE THE VERY FIRST MEETING, OR WHETHER YOU JUST JOINED THE COMMISSION, UM, WE JUST WANT, UM, EACH OF YOU TO KNOW THAT, THAT, UM, WE APPRECIATE AND WHAT WE, WE APPRECIATE YOU AND WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED TOGETHER IS, IS, UM, SIGNIFICANT.
AND THERE IS STILL CERTAINLY WORK TO BE DONE.
[00:05:01]
THANK OUR PARTNERS IN THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.UM, DIRECTOR EVANS, WHO'S JOINING US ONLINE THIS EVENING.
I THINK IT'S, UH, ALSO INCREDIBLY SPECIAL THAT OUR FORMER COLLEAGUE, SUE ALVAREZ, IS HERE WITH US THIS EVENING.
IT'S SO WONDERFUL THAT YOU COULD JOIN US IN YOUR NEW ROLE AT THE NCT COG, UH, BUT VERY CERTAINLY INSTRUMENTAL IN SETTING UP THIS BODY AND, UM, AND OUR WORK.
SO WE COULD NOT DO ANY OF THIS WITHOUT, UH, OUR COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS AT THE CITY, BUT ESPECIALLY NOT WITHOUT THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE ENTRUSTED US TO, UM, HELP ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES AND TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY, UH, BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITY TO HELP, UH, SOLVE THESE, THESE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE.
SO, THANK YOU, UM, TO EACH OF YOU.
AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO A THIRD YEAR.
WE'RE GONNA START BY SEEING WHO'S HERE THIS EVENING, MEMBERS.
AS A REMINDER, IF YOU'RE PARTICIPATING VIRTUALLY, WE NEED TO SEE THOSE CAMERAS ON FOR THE DURATION OF THE MEETING, ESPECIALLY, UM, WE DON'T QUITE HAVE A QUO, AND WE HAVE A QUORUM IN, IN, IN CHAMBER NOW.
SO, BUT, UM, LET'S START WITH DISTRICT ONE.
YOU'LL HAVE TO USE YOUR MICROPHONE THERE, DEAR C DELGADO, DISTRICT ONE.
DISTRICT TWO, I SEE MARK DISTRICT THREE.
MICHAEL COOK WITH DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT FIVE, DISTRICT SIX, ESTHER RA, DISTRICT SEVEN, IKA DERE, DISTRICT EIGHT WILL NOT BE HERE THIS EVENING.
I'M DISTRICT NINE, DISTRICT 10, DISTRICT 11, PRESENT DISTRICT 12.
UH, BARRY LACKMAN AND I NEED TO SIGN OFF AT, UH, SIX O'CLOCK FOR ANOTHER MEETING.
MOVING ON TO OUR TECHNICAL PANEL.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET HER ON CAMERA.
MR. MARTIN WILL NOT BE HERE THIS EVENING.
MS. BAYOU? I DON'T SEE MS. THOMPSON.
ACCORDING TO OUR SUB SUBCOMMITTEES, MR. DOVE, PRESENT? MS. STEWART PRESENT? THANK YOU.
MS. EVANS? MR. WILKINS, MS. REAGAN PRESENT.
AND MS. THOMAS PRESENT, RIGHT? MS. EKE? PRESENT.
MS. GILL? SHE'S NOT AVAILABLE TONIGHT.
AND MS. POSTON? MS. POSTON? NO.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY REGISTERED SPEAKERS FOR THIS EVENING, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES FROM OUR NOVEMBER 8TH COMMISSION MEETING.
ARE THERE ANY MOTIONS? MOTION TO AMEND? GO AHEAD AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WANNA AMEND.
OH, I'D LIKE TO, UM, ADD IN THE CCAP PROGRESS UPDATE SECTION.
UH, THE ADDITION OF THE NOTE TO PLEASE UPDATE AND ALIGN THE CITY'S GREEN PROCUREMENT POLICY, UH, IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE BOND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA.
RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, MOST SPECIFICALLY THAT THE NO-COST REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE EMBODIED CARBON, ALONG WITH THE PERFORMANCE CRITERIA AND PRICING
[00:10:01]
PRIOR TO PROCUREMENT.FOR THE FOUR HIGHEST EMBODIED CARBON MATERIALS, CONCRETE, ASPHALT, GLASS, AND SEAL.
ALL IN FAVOR OF AMENDING THE MINUTES.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS AMENDED.
ANY OPPOSED? MO? THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED AS AMENDED.
IT'S A BRIEFING MEMORANDUM ON THE 2023 EQUITY INDICATORS REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MEASURES UPDATE WITH DR. WILSON.
DR. WILSON, ARE YOU ONLINE? GOOD EVENING.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION.
UM, OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS AROUND THE 2023 EQUITY INDICATORS REPORT.
JUST FOR A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW.
UM, WE ARE IN THE FINAL STAGES OF THE REPORT.
UM, AND SO WE'RE HOPING THAT IT WILL BE RELEASED, UH, IN JANUARY IN TIME FOR OUR EQUITY INDICATORS SYMPOSIUM.
ALRIGHT, THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
ARE THE, UM, EQUITY INDICATORS BEING INTEGRATED AND OR ADOPTED AS PROPOSED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION? SO WE'RE EXCITED TO SHARE THAT.
UM, AS A RESULT OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE, THAT WE RECEIVED, WE ADDED A COMPLETELY NEW THEME.
UM, THE SIXTH THEME IS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND WE HAVE FOUR INDICATORS, UH, UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, INCLUDING TREE CANOPY COVERAGE, UH, SOLAR ACCESSIBILITY, A FOOD ACCESS MEASURE, AND A ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SCREENING MEASURE.
AND SO IN THE, UM, RECOMMENDATION PROVIDED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, THERE WERE SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF EACH OF THOSE OVER OVERARCHING TOP OVERARCHING TOPICS.
ARE THEY GOING TO BE INCORPORATED AS RECOMMENDED? THEY ARE.
UM, I WILL INVITE OUR EQUITY OFFICER, DR.
I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE INDICATORS, UM, WE ARE STILL WORKING ON, AND THAT IS THE FOOD ACCESS INDICATOR.
AND SO, UH, ORIGINALLY I BELIEVE, UM, WE WERE LOOKING AT FOOD GARDENS.
RAINEY, ARE YOU AVAILABLE TO COME ON AND SPEAK? YES.
AND SO, YES, THAT, UM, ORIGINAL FOOD ONE WAS, UM, AROUND URBAN AG.
UM, BUT IN WORK, IN WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY, AS WELL AS EVERY TEXAN A SELECTED VENDOR, UM, WE ARE STILL MEASURING, UM, FOOD ACCESS, UM, AND FROM THE PERSPECTIVE AND THE DATA SOURCE FROM THE US, UM, DA AND SO AS IT, UM, PERTAINS TO ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD, UM, THAT MEASURE IS NOTED IN THE REPORT AS WELL AS I THINK THE COMMISSION CALLED FOR.
UM, HOW DO WE BETTER, UM, LOOK AT, UM, I THINK IT WAS, UM, ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
AND SO THAT MEASURE IS INCLUDED AS WELL, SOLAR ACCESSIBILITY, UM, USING CITY DATA, AS WELL AS THE OTHER TWO MEASURES THAT THE, UM, COMMISSION CALLED FOR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT UPDATE.
AND THEN YOU SAID THAT IN JANUARY WE CAN ANTICIPATE THE, UH, REPORT BEING FINALIZED AND SHARED WITH THE COMMISSION AND THE PUBLIC.
SO YES, WE ARE, UH, WORKING TO FINALIZE IT IN JANUARY FO FOLLOWING, UH, THE COMPLETION OF THE REPORT.
UM, WE WILL BE THEN WORKING ON MAKING SURE THAT IT IS, UM, READY FOR DISTRIBUTION.
SO THAT'S GONNA TAKE ANOTHER
IT'LL BE MADE AVAILABLE IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES? CORRECT.
SO WE WILL BE WORKING, UM, INITIALLY WITH ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
[00:15:01]
JOINING US THIS EVENING AND FOR THIS UPDATE.UM, I NOTE THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT, UH, HOUSING EQUITY.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT HOUSING AND SAFE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, IN EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN IS SECOND TO FOOD AS A PRIORITY AMONG OUR CITIZENS.
SO WHY ARE, WHY DON'T WE HAVE SOMETHING ABOUT SAFE AND AFFORDABLE AND WE ARE FACING PROBLEMS, UH, RECURRENT PROBLEMS, UH, IN THE BACH, AT LEAST IN THE BACHMAN LAKE AREA AND IN SOUTH DALLAS.
SO WHY DON'T WE HAVE SOMETHING ON HOUSING? THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
THINK THAT THERE'S AN ENTIRE OH, YEAH.
THERE'S AN ENTIRE SECTION OF THE RACIAL EQUITY PLAN DEDICATED TO HOUSING ACCESSIBILITY.
DR. WILSON, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, TO, TO START WITH THE EQUITY INDICATORS REPORT, THE ORIGINAL REPORT WAS RELEASED IN 2019, AND THERE WERE FIVE THEMES INCLUDING HOUSING, UH, HOUSING AND INFRAS, OR EXCUSE ME, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY EDUCATION, PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO HOUSING WAS ORIGINALLY A PART OF THE 2019 REPORT.
WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF INDICATORS THAT YOU WILL SEE IN THIS 2023 REPORT.
UM, AND THEN THE ADDITION TO THE UPDATED REPORT IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NAME.
UH, AND THEN AS YOUR CHAIR MENTIONED, WITHIN THE RACIAL EQUITY PLAN, WHICH THE RACIAL EQUITY PLAN TOUCHES ALL 42 OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, AND REALLY USE THE EQUITY INDICATORS REPORT DATA TO COME UP WITH DEPARTMENT PROGRESS MEASURES, AND THEN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO IDENTIFY THE BIG AUDACIOUS GOALS.
HOUSING IS ONE OF THE BIG AUDACIOUS GOALS.
AND WE HAVE THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, UM, AS WELL AS HOMELESS SOLUTIONS, UH, AND THE RACIAL EQUITY PLAN.
DIRECTOR EVANS, DID YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING? I SEE HE HAS HIS HAND UP, BUT I, WE DON'T HEAR HIM.
MR. EVANS, IF YOU WANNA TRY TO HEAR ME.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, GO AHEAD.
UM, SO JUST A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT ON THE EQUITY INDIC, UH, THE EJ SCREEN EQUITY INDICATOR, UM, THE, THE FOUNDATION OF THAT EQUITY INDICATOR IS DATA, UH, FROM THE EPA EJ SCREEN AND WHAT WILL BE THE DALLAS EJ SCREENING TOOL, UH, FOCUSING ON, AND DR.
RAINY AND DR. WILSON CAN, UH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT BECAUSE THERE WERE MULTIPLE ITERATIONS, BUT I THINK IT'S A, A HEAVY FOCUS ON AIR DATA, UH, IN THE ACCOMPANYING OR ASSOCIATED, UH, SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DATA IN OUR CENSUS BLOCKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ATTEMPTING TO, WE, WE REALLY NEEDED TO FIND A DATA SET THAT COULD, YOU KNOW, REALLY BE USEFUL IN THE EQUITY INDICATOR, EQUITY INDICATOR CONTEXT.
UM, SO WE COULDN'T USE ALL OF THE DATA WITH WITHIN EJ SCREEN, UH, OR OUR ASSOCIATED, UH, YET TO BE LAUNCHED.
UM, BUT WE THOUGHT THAT THAT AIR, UH, AIR POLLUTION WAS A GOOD, GOOD, UH, GOOD PRIORITY TO, TO FOCUS ON WHEN IT COMES TO AN EQUITY INDICATOR EJ SCREENING TOOL.
RAINEY OR DR. WILSON CLARIFY IF I'VE MADE MISTAKES, UH, ON DIRECTOR EVAN.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE THIS EVENING.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR BRIEFING ITEMS. UH, BRIEFING ITEM A IS AN UPDATE FROM THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT, AND THE FIFTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT FROM OUR FRIENDS OF THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, INCLUDING CHRIS KLAUS, OUR SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER, AND SUSAN ALVAREZ, DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT.
WE APPRECIATE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE THIS AFTERNOON, THIS EVENING.
MY NAME IS CHRIS KLAUS, SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER OF AIR, A LOT OF THE AIR QUALITY PROGRAMS AT THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS, UH, WITH ME IS OUR NEW DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, UH, SUSAN ALVAREZ, WHICH I KNOW MOST OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW WHO SHE IS.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE SUPER EXCITED TO HAVE HER ON STAFF.
UM, WITHOUT ANY HESITATION, SUSAN
[00:20:01]
HAS ROLLED UP HER SLEEVES AND HAS TOTALLY DIVED IN AND, UH, CAN'T BE MORE THRILLED TO HAVE HER ON, ON BOARD.AND NOT REALLY A LOT, I MEAN, A LOSS FROM THE CITY STANDPOINT, BUT NOT A LOSS TO THE REGION THAT, UH, IS AGAIN, I THINK, PLAYING DIVIDENDS AT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL SHARE WITH YOU, UH, THIS AFTERNOON, THIS EVENING.
SO, YEAH, AN UPDATE ON A COUPLE ELEMENTS, I'LL GO FIRST COUPLE SLIDES JUST TO, TO BRIEF YOU.
UM, WE'RE CALLING THIS FOR THE KIND OF A FIRST EFFORT IN OUR REGION TO HAVE A AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
YOU KNOW, THE STATE DOES THE, THE TEXAS COMMISSION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY DOES DEVELOP STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLANS SPECIFICALLY FOR AIR QUALITY, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR A PARTICULAR VIOLATION OF A, OF A, UH, EMISSION STANDARD.
AND IT JUST REALLY TRIES TO ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT'S NEEDS TO BE DONE, IF ANY, TO TRY TO REACH ATTAINMENT TO THOSE PARTICULAR STANDARDS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM A STANDPOINT OF MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UH, MULTI POLLUTANT.
AND, AND LET ME JUST EXPLAIN THAT WE ARE IN VIOLATION FOR MULTIPLE STANDARDS OF OZONE.
WE ARE CLOSE POSSIBLY TO BE IN VIOLATION OF PARTICULATE MATTER.
I THINK EPA IS ON THE VERGE OF RELEASING MAYBE NEW STANDARDS, UH, PROBABLY RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, UH, IF NOT, IF NOT BEFORE CHRISTMAS OR NEW YEAR'S, DEFINITELY IN THE SPRING, WHERE POSSIBLY, DEPENDING WHERE THEY SET IT AT, THE CITY OF DALLAS AND CITY OF FORT WORTH, HAVE AT LEAST ONE MONITOR EACH.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE TOPIC OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND GREENHOUSE GASES.
SO WE, AT THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS ARE BEING VERY SENSITIVE TO THE THIRD ASPECT.
UM, AND NOT REALLY, YOU KNOW, SOME FOLKS ARE, ARE TOTALLY SUPPORTIVE AND EMBRACING, SOME DON'T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IT OR WANNA LISTEN TO IT.
SO WE'RE COINING IT TO THE AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
AS I SAID, MULTI POLLUTANT, UH, MULTI, MULTI, UH, VERY COMPREHENSIVE.
SO THE BACKGROUND THAT, THAT I HAVE FOR YOU IS, UM, THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY BY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION ISSUED EARLIER THIS YEAR, WHERE REGIONS, UH, MUNICIPALITIES, YOU KNOW, CAN APPLY TO BE A RECIPIENT OF PLANNING FUNDS FOR WHAT'S CONSIDERED THE CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT.
AND I THINK THERE'S AROUND 4.3 TO $4.6 BILLION AVAILABLE FOR REGIONS TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT, UH, PROJECTS.
UH, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN IN ORDER TO DO SO.
SO WE AT THE COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS READ THE NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
WE FELT THAT IT WAS, UH, AN APPROPRIATE ROLE FOR US AS A REGIONAL ENTITY.
EPA WAS VERY, VERY, UH, ADAMANT ABOUT NOT HAVING TOO MANY APPLICATIONS FROM A PARTICULAR REGION.
SO WITH THE SIZE OF THE, OUR REGION, THAT COULD MEAN A LOT OF APPLICATIONS.
SO ON BEHALF OF THE REGION, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, STICKING FOR, WITH WHAT WE STAND FOR AS A COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, UH, WE WENT TO, WE, WE WORKED WITH THE COUNTIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO GET THEIR BUY-IN, GET THEIR SUPPORT.
WE WENT, GOT THROUGH OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD APPROVAL TO BE, UH, A RE TO ACTUALLY SUBMIT THE PROPOSAL TO BE THE, UH, GRANT RECIPIENT FOR THE PLANNING FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP A, A SERIES OF PLANS, CARRY OUT A SERIES OF DELIVERABLES, UH, ON BEHALF OF THE REGION.
SO, DELIVERABLE ONE, AND IT'S A SUPER, UM, UH, AGGRESSIVE SCHEDULE.
SO, KEEPING IN MIND, THIS JUST CAME OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE JUST FINALIZED A LOT OF OUR CONTRACTS WITH EPA, BUT WE HAD ALREADY ROLLED UP OUR SLEEVES AND, AND REALLY DIVED INTO THIS KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE THINK WE'RE AHEAD OF MOST LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WANT, UH, I'LL SAY IT, I'VE SAID IT LAST NIGHT, I'LL SAY IT IN OTHER MEETINGS.
WE WANNA BE GREEDY AND SELFISH TO TRY TO GET AS MUCH OF THE MONEY THAT IS BEING OFFERED FROM THE EPA TO NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS.
UH, SO DELIVERABLE ONE WOULD BE A PRIORITY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, WHICH IS DUE MARCH 1ST, UH, FOLLOWED BY, UH, A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IN THE SUMMER OF 25.
AND IN SOME, SOME STATUS REPORTS IN 27.
AND THE, THE, THE ARROW HERE IN THE GREEN BOX IS, IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN AFTER YOU, WE HAVE A, UH, PRIORITY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, UH, THEN WE CAN TURN AROUND VERY QUICKLY WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH TO SUBMIT AN IMPLEMENTATION GRANT RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE EPA BY APRIL 1ST.
AND IT'S PROBABLY ELSEWHERE IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT NO, NO PROPOSAL THAT WE CAN SUBMIT FOR IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.
EVERYTHING HAS TO BE IN THE PRIORITY, UH, CLIMATE PLAN.
SO, UH, THAT, THAT'S THE DIRECT CONNECTION THERE, THAT WE'RE WORKING VERY, VERY HARD TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR, UH, PRIORITY ACTION PLAN IS, UH, AS, AS, AS COMPLETE AS IT CAN BE.
SO NEXT WOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR APPROACH IS TO, UM, LEVERAGE THE CPRG OPPORTUNITY THAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO NOT ONLY DEAL WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND GREENHOUSE GASES, BUT ALSO OF COURSE, OZONE AND PARTICULATE MATTER.
UM, YOU KNOW, COST-EFFECTIVE BENEFITS, UH, COMPLEMENT STATE EFFORTS TO, YOU KNOW, REACH OZONE STANDARD.
[00:25:01]
UH, AS A COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS OF OUR, OUR JURISDICTION IS 16 COUNTIES, OUR PLANNING AREA.SO WE'RE, WE'RE INCLUDING ALL THE 16 COUNTIES IN THIS, UH, IN THIS EFFORT.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT ALL HANDS ON DECK WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION.
TRANSPORTATION NOW WITH SUSAN ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT AND OUR WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS BOARD.
'CAUSE THERE IS A VERY DIRECT CONNECT TO DISADVANTAGED AND, UH, LOWER INCOME COMMUNITIES IN THIS EFFORT.
UH, COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE.
THAT'S THE BIG, THE BIG STORY TO TRY TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN GET, UH, AS MUCH IN HERE.
AND IT'S NOT JUST FROM THE COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS, BUT IT'S WHAT IS NEEDED AND WHAT WE HEAR ABOUT THAT IS OF NEED FROM, UH, THOSE ACROSS THE REGION.
AND THEN FINALLY, JUST PURSUE THE GRANTS AND GET THOSE GRANTS HERE INTO THE REGION TO, TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
UH, SO IN, WITH REGARDS TO THE GRANTS, THE, THE BOTTOM LINE IS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, $4.3 BILLION OF A POT.
YOU CAN SEE THE TIERS OF FUNDING THAT ARE, UH, BEEN OUTLINED BY EPA.
THERE'S GONNA BE AROUND FOUR TO 10, UH, AWARDS FOR UP TO 200 OR UP TO 500 MILLION, UH, IN TERMS OF, OF GRANTS.
SO, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE, OUR UPPER MANAGEMENT IS EX IS EXTREMELY NERVOUS, UH, THAT WE MAY BE TRYING TO GO AND GET $500 MILLION WORTH OF, UH, OF, OF, UH, GRANTS TO BE ABLE TO THEN DISPERSE THROUGHOUT THE REGION, UH, AS SUBCONTRACTS OR SOME STUFF MIGHT BE DONE THROUGH OUR OFFICE.
BUT DEFINITELY IN, PROBABLY MOST LIKELY, A LOT OF SUBCONTRACTS AND SUB-GRANTS TO BE ABLE TO GET THIS MONEY THROUGHOUT AND IN, INTO THE REGION.
BUT YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN THERE OF WHAT THE GRANT RANGES WOULD BE AND HOW MANY THAT EPA IS IS, UH, LOOKING TO POTENTIALLY, UH, FUND.
I BELIEVE THAT AFTER APRIL 1ST, WHEN ALL OF THESE ARE, ARE SUBMITTED TO EPA, THEIR GOAL IS IN THE OCTOBER-ISH TIMEFRAME TO MAKE AWARDS OF, OF WHO AND WHAT GETS, UH, FUNDED.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, ADVANCE TRANSITION TOWARDS A DECARBONIZED ECONOMY, IMPROVE AIR QUALITY, UH, INNOVATIVE POLICIES AND PROGRAMS, UM, LOW BENEFIT, LOW INCOME DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.
AS I MENTIONED, HIGH LABOR STANDARDS ARE SOME CRITERIA THAT IS PART OF THE SCORING MECHANISM.
UM, THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE SUPPORT MEASURES FOR WHICH FUNDING IS UNAVAILABLE OR INSUFFICIENT.
EPA REALLY IS NOT ENCOURAGING YOU TO, TO SUBMIT MONEY WHERE THERE'S ALREADY PROGRAMS OR, OR EXISTING MONEY OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE.
THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR THOSE, UH, PROGRAMS OR PROJECTS THAT, THAT, UH, MIGHT, MIGHT NOT FAREWELL OR COMPETE WELL AGAINST OTHERS AND, AND OTHER GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
THEY CAN BE, UM, EE EXISTING, THEY COULD BE EXPANSION.
IT'S ALL, ALL, THERE'S NO LIMITS.
UH, AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE LAST BOLD SENSE STATEMENT THERE, IN ORDER FOR ELIGIBILITY IN THE IMPLEMENTATION GRANT PROPOSAL PROCESS, IT HAS TO BE IN THE, UH, PRIORITY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
UH, I WON'T GET INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL HERE, BUT JUST JUST GIVES YOU SOME OF THE, THE, THE DETAILS OF THE DELIVERABLES THAT HAVE BEEN OUTLINED BY EPA IN TERMS OF WHAT IS REQUIRED IN EACH OF THE, THE, THE PIECES.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO ENSURE THAT ALL THOSE COMPONENTS ARE MET TO BE, HAVE A COMPLETE PLAN THAT'S ACCEPTABLE, UH, TO NOT ONLY THE REGION, BUT ALSO EPA.
SO IN TERMS OF THE ACTION PLAN, OUR LITTLE BIT OF OUR SCHEDULE, WE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY AROUND THE CLOCK WITH LOTS OF MEETINGS, NETWORKING, UH, UH, DISCUSSION OPPORTUNITIES, WORKSHOPS.
AND WE PROPOSE THAT THE, IN JANUARY, NOT TOO FAR FROM NOW, WE'LL HAVE OUR COMPLETED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION INVENTORY FOR THE REGION.
WE HAVE A PARTIAL INVENTORY, I THINK IT'S IN THE NEXT SLIDE OF, OF, UH, 12 COUNTIES.
WE'RE LOOKING, WE'RE WORKING NOW TO EXPAND THAT TO THE, TO THE 16 COUNTY AREA.
AND THEN IN JANUARY AS WELL, IS WE, WERE GONNA NEED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE QUANTIFIABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, EMISSION STRATEGIES THAT WE CAN THEN START WORKING THEIR WAY INTO THIS PLAN.
I BELIEVE IT'S, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S, THERE'S A SUBMITTAL IN, UH, MARCH 1ST, THEN WE, WE WOULD BE PROPOSING TO GO TO OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD AT THE END OF FEBRUARY.
WE'RE PROPOSING IN JANUARY TO BRING A BRIEFING TO OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD, UH, ON THE OVERALL PLAN.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET AS MANY OF THE IDEAS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, IDENTIFIED AND, AND SCORED OR, OR PRIORITIZED IN, IN SOMETHING THAT WE CAN START, UH, SHOWING TO ALL OF OUR, ALL OF OUR PARTNERS AND OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IN, IN JANUARY, NOT TO REALLY, LITERALLY RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.
UM, THIS GIVES YOU A LITTLE SAMPLE OF SOME REGIONAL MISSION INVENTORIES.
ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS OUR NITROGEN OXIDE INVENTORY THAT WE PRODUCE, OR THAT
[00:30:01]
HAS BEEN PRODUCED FOR US WHOLE, OR IN PART, UH, FROM AN OZONE STANDPOINT.YOU KNOW, OZONE IS CREATED WITH, UH, THE BI, THE, THE PRECURSORS OF NI NITROGEN OXIDE AND VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.
TCQ SUGGESTS THAT IT'S NOX THAT WE NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON.
SO I SHOW YOU WHAT THAT, UH, CONTRIBUTION IN THAT, UH, SOURCE OF APPORTIONMENT IS IN 2019.
THIS IS OUR DRAFT 2019, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF OUR GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY.
UH, YOU KNOW, TONS PER DAY IS THE NOX.
YOU GOT METRIC TONS PER YEAR OF THE, UM, GREEN CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT.
UM, BUT YOU CAN AT LEAST SEE IT FROM AN ON-ROAD STANDPOINT, WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT, YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF OUR NOX COMES FROM, OR AT LEAST HALF OF OUR NOX COMES FROM CARS AND TRUCKS.
IN TERMS OF OUR ASSESSMENT OF THE GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY.
NOT TOO MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE OF GOOD PORTION OF THE, UH, CO2 E COMES FROM CARS AND TRUCKS.
AND THEN THE, WHEN WE, WHEN WE DID THE INVENTORY, WE CAN SEE THAT THE ENERGY FROM COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL, INDUSTRIAL, UM, HAS A LARGE COMPONENT, THE LARGEST COMPONENT OF OUR GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORIES.
UM, ALSO IN HERE, DIESEL ENGINES ARE STILL A, A FAIRLY LARGE COMPONENT THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL FROM A ON-ROAD OR REDUCE FROM AN ON-ROAD MOBILE STANDPOINT.
WHEREAS, YOU KNOW, ON THE NOX SIDE, IT'S ABOUT HALF THE EMISSIONS.
UM, IT JUST WORKS OUT TO BE A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN THAT ON THE GREENHOUSE GAS.
BUT THIS GIVES YOU THE, THE IDEA THAT IF WE CAN REDUCE STUFF FROM THE ON-ROAD SIDE ON THE NOX TO CONTROL OUR OZONE, IT'S GONNA HELP US ON THE GREENHOUSE GAS SIDE AND GET US, UH, BENEFITS THERE.
IF I HAD A PM INVENTORY THAT THAT WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, CERTIFIED OR FINALIZED, I COULD PROBABLY SHOW YOU THE SAME THING.
LOTS OF EMISSIONS FROM A PARTICULAR MATTER COMING FROM THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE.
SO IT'S ALL, UM, BENEFICIAL TO HELP ALL THE, UH, THE VARIOUS POLLUTANTS.
SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE COUPLE OF DELIVERABLES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS LIKE ON THE CPRG DELIVERABLE ONE, THIS IS THE PRIORITY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, UM, BENEFITS THE DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES, VOLUNTARY REFLECT STATE REGULATIONS, AND THE REAL THING, AND THAT'S THE KEY ASPECT FROM THE WORD PRIORITY, IS THAT TRYING TO GET THESE THINGS IMPLEMENTED AS, AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TRY TO, AS SOON AS 2025, BUT, BUT NO LATER THAN 2030, I THINK THE LATER A PROJECT MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET OFF THE GROUND AND BE CONSTRUCTED OR PUT INTO PLACE, THEN PROBABLY YOU GET THE LESS BENEFITS OVER THE DURATION BETWEEN NOW AND 2030.
THEN THE BENEFITS WILL BE A LITTLE LESS.
THE, THE, THE SCORING WILL BE A LITTLE BIT LOWER AS WELL TOO.
SO THE PRIORITY IS TRYING TO GET THESE THINGS IN AS QUICKLY AS AS CAN BE.
AND ON THE IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, FUND STRATEGIES WHICH ARE INSUFFICIENT OR UNAVAILABLE, UM, OTHERWISE IS COST EFFECTIVE ADVANCES.
DECARBONATION IS AND IS, IS INNOVATIVE.
UM, THE EPA, SURPRISINGLY HAS PUT TOGETHER QUITE A BIT OF, I, I'D SAY EVALUATION CRITERIA.
UM, NORMALLY, AT LEAST FROM THE COUNCIL GOVERNMENT STANDPOINT, THIS NOT THIS, NOT THIS COMPLICATED OR, OR ROBUST.
BUT NONETHELESS, THE CHALLENGES PUT ON THE TABLE AND WE'RE, WE'RE GOING AFTER IT.
OVERALL APPROACH GETS SOME POINTS IMPACT.
SO SPECIFIC REDUCTIONS FROM THE GREENHOUSE GASES IS THE LARGEST, WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN THERE.
LOW INCOME AND DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES IS, UH, A GOOD PORTION OF THE, UH, SCORING CRITERIA, JOB QUALITY, BUDGET, PROGRAMMATIC CAPABILITY, PAST PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN THINGS.
SO, UM, WE, WE'VE GOT DEFINITIONS FOR ALL THIS.
IT'S PRETTY, IT'S PRETTY CLEAR TO EP THAT EPAS DOCUMENTED WHAT THEY MEAN BY ALL THIS.
AND, UH, THIS IS CERTAINLY IN OUR MINDS AS WE'RE GOING OUT AND LOOKING AT AND COMMUNICATING POTENTIAL STRATEGIES TO BE PUTTING IN OUR, INTO OUR PLANS.
A LOT OF PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT, LIKE I SAID, COORDINATION IS, IS KEY.
SO, UM, UH, I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE OR TWO IS GONNA SHARE WITH YOU A LOT OF THE EFFORTS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, UM, TIRELESSLY, LOTS OF COMMUNICATION MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS, TO BE ABLE TO JUST GET AND, AND ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA MISS ANYTHING, ENSURE THAT ALL VOICES ARE HEARD, UM, SO THAT WE CAN GET INTO THE, THE, THE, THE POOL OF OF PROJECTS AND BE ABLE TO EVALUATE ACCORDINGLY.
UM, SO NEXT SLIDE I THINK GETS INTO SOME OF OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
YOU CAN SEE WE'VE SET UP A SPECIFIC WEBSITE.
UH, OUR GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY IS OUT THERE.
UM, ALL OF OUR MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS, ALL OF THE, THE MINUTES AND THE NOTES, AND WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE LIST.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, FROM THE TIME THAT THE 1990 CLEAN ERA ACT CAME OUT, WE BEGAN IN EARNEST GENER START GENERATING CONTROL STRATEGY CATALOGS.
I MEAN, IT'S HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF, OF IDEAS AND STRATEGIES.
UM, THAT'S NOT REALLY FEASIBLE
[00:35:01]
IN THIS.SO WHAT WE'VE STAFF HAS BEEN DOING, WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, IS TO TRY TO START TAKING THAT, THAT LIST AND, AND CALLING IT DOWN.
I THINK THE LIST IS AROUND 150 OR SO THAT WE FEEL IS REALLY VIABLE.
AND WE'RE SEEKING FEEDBACK AND COMMUNICATION AND SCORING AND RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO WHICH ONES, UH, THE PUBLIC AND, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND, AND THE PRIVATES THAT WE'RE NETWORKING WITH, HAVE OPINIONS ON, AND WHICH ONES THEY FEEL WOULD BE THE BEST, UH, APPROACH TO GO FORWARD.
UM, AND OF COURSE, WE'LL, WE'LL MEET AND HAVE BEEN MEETING.
SO I THINK IT WAS LAST WEEK WE MET SPECIFICALLY ONE-ON-ONE WITH ASHGROVE, THE CEMENT KILN IN, UH, MIDLOTHIAN.
WE'RE, WE'RE SCHEDULING SOME STUFF WITH WHOLESOME AND TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH TXI, PERHAPS THERE'S SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TO CONTINUE THERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ADVANCEMENT OF CLEANER TECHNOLOGIES TO LOWER THEIR FOOTPRINT OF EMISSIONS.
JUST, YOU KNOW, UPWIND OF WHERE THE CITY OF DALLAS IS, FOR EXAMPLE.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS GENERALLY OUR, OUR, UH, COLOR SCHEME AND, AND SOME OF THE BROCHURES THAT, THAT WE'VE BEEN, UH, HANDING OUT AND, AND MAKING AVAILABLE.
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE ANY OF THOSE, JUST LET US KNOW.
WE CAN GET YOU SOME OF THOSE AND PRINT 'EM OUT AND MAIL 'EM TO YOU IF YOU WISH.
BUT THEY'RE, I THINK THERE'S STUFF OUT THERE TO BE DOWNLOADED.
UM, ONE OF OUR FIRST OPEN HOUSE PUBLIC MEETINGS WAS LAST WEEK WITH THE CITY IN THE CITY OF DALLAS, JUST, UH, UH, WEST OF HERE.
HAD SOME GOOD FEEDBACK LAST NIGHT WE WERE IN ALITO AND HAVE SOME MORE COMING UP.
WE'RE, WE INTEND TO TRY TO GET OUT TO ALL THE 16 COUNTIES AS BEST WE CAN IN A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
UM, SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE BEING NEGOTIATED, DISCUSSED, AND, AND COORDINATED NOW.
UM, WE HAVE LISTENING SESSIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING.
WE'VE HAD, UH, THIS MORNING WE JUST HAD OUR SECOND WORKSHOP WITH A LOT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
I KNOW THE CITY OF DALLAS WAS, UH, REPRESENTED THERE TO, TO JUST START TO CONTINUE TO BRAINSTORM AND, AND, AND IDENTIFY POTENTIAL STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE IDENTIFIED INTO OUR PLANS TO BE SUBMITTED.
I THINK THE CITY OF DALLAS IS IN A REALLY GOOD PLACE.
I KNOW I'M TALKING WITH SUSAN, WHO WAS PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE LEAD AUTHORS AND YOUR GUYS' CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
IT'S LIKE, WELL, YOU GUYS ALREADY HAVE THE PLAN.
I JOKE, I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE 97 STRATEGIES IN THERE.
I'M LIKE, YOU COULDN'T COME UP WITH THREE MORE.
I COULDN'T COME UP WITH CLEAN 100, BUT YOU GUYS HAVE A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTING THOSE.
YOU KNOW, WHAT ELSE IS NEEDED? WHAT OTHER FUNDING CAN BE POTENTIALLY AVAILABLE? LET'S GET THOSE INTO THIS PLAN SO THAT THIS PLAN CAN HELP IMPLEMENT YOUR PLAN, UH, AS, AS FAR FORWARD AS IT POSSIBLY CAN.
SO THAT'S GENERALLY WHAT I WANTED TO INDICATE.
I MEAN, THERE'S A, A BUNCH OF IDEAS THAT, THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD.
YOU KNOW, TREE MORE, TREE CANOPIES.
UM, THERE, THERE'S SOME AGRICULTURAL DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING.
WHAT TYPES OF ELEMENTS WOULD BE GOOD PRIORITIES THERE? I MEAN, FROM A CITY OF DALLAS STANDPOINT, I HEAR STORIES GOOD AND BAD ABOUT THE SIGNAL SYSTEM.
SO I'M, I'M ADVOCATING AND I THINK OUR OFFICE IS ADVOCATING FOR A, A FULL SWEEP, A HUNDRED PERCENT SWEEP OF ALL SIGNALS IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, TO JUST GET THEM, GET THEM ALL CONVERTED OR UPGRADED OR UPDATED OR WHATEVER THE TIME RETIME, WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
UM, WE'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING A LOT OF MONEY FROM THE STATE OR EVEN EPA IN THE PAST TO BE ABLE TO MAKE AVAILABLE TO CONVERT AND CHANGE OVER, YOU KNOW, DIESEL VEHICLES INTO ALTERNATIVE FUELS OR ELECTRIC OR SOMETHING CLEANER.
UH, SO WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
THERE IS NO MATCH TO THIS PROGRAM.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK DEPENDING ON WHAT WE SUBMIT AND WHAT WE'RE AWARDED, DEPENDING ON WHAT IS THE, THE INTEREST OF, OF OUR COMMUNITY, PERHAPS THERE IS NO, UH, MATCH AT ALL.
BUT IF THERE'S A SUPPLY AND DEMAND THING, WE MAY HAVE TO MAYBE INVOKE SOME, SOME SORT OF, UH, MATCH.
I KNOW IN CMAC CONGESTION MITIGATION AIR QUALITY OR, UH, SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BLOCK GRANTS THAT THE MPO THE COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS IMPLEMENT, THERE'S AN 80 20 GENERAL MATCH.
AND SOMETIMES WE EVEN, UM, CAN COVER THE LOCAL MATCH WITH TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT CREDITS.
BUT WE'RE PRETTY INNOVATIVE, I THINK, WITH OUR FUNDING.
AND WE, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY, AGAIN, I HOPE WE GET $500 MILLION WORTH OF IDEAS AND, AND PUT THAT PLAN TOGETHER AND SUBMIT THAT AND GIVE, GIVE A HARD TIME, MAKE IT HARD FOR EPA, NOT MAKE IT HARD, BUT, YOU KNOW, MAKE 'EM WORK, WORK HARD AND, AND HAVE A, A, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO GET AS MUCH MONEY AS WE CAN IN THE REGION.
AND, AND WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO, UH, PLAN ACCORDING FOR THAT.
SO I THINK WITH THAT, THAT WAS WHAT MY CONCLUDING COMMENTS ARE.
I KIND OF MENTIONED THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UH, WE HAVE THROUGH OUR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COUNCIL, WHICH WE'LL BE GOING IN FEBRUARY FOR THEIR ACTION ON THE TRANSPORTATION COMPONENT OF IT.
AND THEN WE GO TO OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD IN FEBRUARY FOR THEIR ACTION, SUBMIT THAT BY MARCH 1ST TO EPA, FOLLOWED WITH THE CYCLE ALL OVER AGAIN THE NEXT MONTH, TO BE ABLE TO THEN BE ABLE TO SUBMIT THE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION GRANT PROPOSAL TO EPA TO GET IT AN IN BY OCTOBER.
HOPEFULLY THOUGH WE WILL GET WORD THAT WE'LL WILL BE AWARDED AND WE CAN START GETTING, GETTING THESE, UH, UH, SUB-AWARDS AND, AND PROJECTS
[00:40:01]
ON THE GROUND.SO I THINK NEXT WILL BE SUSAN, UNLESS THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.
I DON'T KNOW MADAM CHAIR, HOW YOU WISH TO, TO HANDLE THAT, BUT LET'S GO AHEAD AND HEAR FROM SUSAN AND THEN, OR SUE, AND THEN WE'LL ANSWER QUESTIONS.
SO I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE, UM, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH CHRIS AND OUR STAFF AT COG ON DEVELOPING A REGIONAL CLIMATE PLAN, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE CALLING IT AN AIR QUALITY AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN, IT'S A REGIONAL CLIMATE PLAN.
IT'S DESIGNED TO BUILD OUR RESILIENCE IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
IT'S DESIGNED TO BUILD EQUITY INTO OUR APPROACH TO THAT RESILIENCE.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY, REALLY CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO THE REGION.
UM, THE LAST THREE YEARS, WHILE I WAS AT THE CITY OF DALLAS, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON THE FIFTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT.
UM, MANY OF YOU IN THIS ROOM WEREN'T AROUND WHEN WE STARTED THE CCAP, BUT CITY COUNCIL SAID, Y'ALL NEED TO DO A, A CLIMATE PLAN YESTERDAY.
UM, GET A CONTRACT AND DO IT AND MAKE IT GOOD.
UM, AND SO WE WERE SCRAMBLING FOR DATA TO SUPPORT THAT PLAN.
WE HAD AN IN-HOUSE, GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY, BUT NOT A LOT OF DATA ON THE WHY.
AND WHEN WE MET WITH FOLKS LIKE THE CHAMBERS, LIKE TREK, LIKE OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY, THEY TOLD US YOU HAVE TO MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN AND A BUSINESS ARGUMENT FOR WHY WE SHOULD DO THIS.
WE USED THE DATA OUT OF THE FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT TO SUPPORT THAT PLAN.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WHEN I GOT A PHONE CALL REAL LATE ONE FRIDAY AFTERNOON, IF I'D BE INTERESTED IN WORKING ON IT, I'M LIKE, YOU BET.
UM, WE CAN ADVANCE THE SLIDES.
UM, IT IS AN EFFORT THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE, AND I INCLUDE THIS SLIDE DELIBERATELY BECAUSE PRESIDENT BUSH WON WAS PRESIDENT THAT SIGNED OFF ON THIS PLAN.
SO IT IS A NON-PARTISAN, APOLITICAL PROCESS DRIVEN BY SCIENCE.
UH, THERE ARE 14 FEDERAL AGENCIES WORKING ON IT, NUMEROUS UNIVERSITIES.
UM, AND THEN SOMEHOW THEY FOUND ME ON GOOGLE.
UM, AND SO, UM, I WAS HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, UH, WHAT IS IT CALLED WHEN YOU DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD BE SOMEPLACE? WHEN I WAS IN, YES, I HAD IMPOSTER SYNDROME WHEN I WAS IN THE, IN THE AUTHORS TEAM MEETING AND WE WERE GOING OUT FOR DINNER AND BEVERAGES AFTER THIS MEETING, AND I SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THAT, AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, NO, WE'RE JUST IVORY TOWER FOLKS.
WE NEED PRACTITIONERS LIKE YOU THAT KNOW THE REAL WORLD AND KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND HOW THIS CAN AFFECT THE REAL WORLD AT THE GROUND AND HOW WE CAN IMPLEMENT ACTIONS IN THE PLAN.
AND SO IT WAS A VERY WORTHWHILE, UM, EFFORT.
UM, HOUSING AND, AND HEALTH SERVICES IS THE NEWEST AGENCY TO JOIN THIS GROUP.
UM, EVERYTHING FROM SPACE SCIENCE TO HOUSING AND EQUITY.
SO THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT IS TO BRING TOGETHER THE BEST SCIENCE AVAILABLE, AND IT IS SCIENCE AND FACTS FROM PEER REVIEWED, UH, JOURNAL ARTICLES, UH, STUDIES.
IT'S NOT SOMEBODY'S BLOG THAT SHOWS UP ON TWITTER.
UM, AND, AND THEY'RE ALL VETTED SOURCES OF DATA.
UM, IT IS DEVELOPED TO SUPPORT POLICY AND DECISION MAKING, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE DIRECT, UM, DIRECT POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
IT JUST SAYS THESE ARE THINGS THAT YOU CAN THINK ABOUT.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT A RANGE OF IMPACTS.
UM, THE EFFORT WE DID PROVIDED MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AND IT HAD AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW PROCESS.
WE WERE TOLD TO PUT PENS DOWN IN APRIL.
UM, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND OTHERS REVIEWED THE EFFORTS, MADE COMMENTS.
UM, IT WASN'T FINALIZED UNTIL THE END OF NOVEMBER.
AND SO IT'S A VERY THOROUGH EFFORT.
SO THIS VERSION REALLY FOCUSED ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.
AND IT'S KIND OF SAD THAT THEY STARTED THIS IN 1990 AND IT TOOK TILL 2020 TO START LOOKING AT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE,
[00:45:01]
BUT IT'S THERE AND IT WAS WELL INCORPORATED.UH, THERE WERE OTHER PRACTITIONERS ON THE TEAMS THAT WERE FROM NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WERE ADVERSELY IMPACTED, AND THEY REALLY HELPED SHAPE, UH, THE VOICE AND HOW WE USE THE DATA TO MAKE A GOOD, UH, COUNTRYWIDE PLAN, IF YOU WILL.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WAS NEW THIS YEAR WAS AN EVALUATION OF ECONOMIC IMPACTS.
UM, THAT IS, AGAIN, LIKE WHEN WE STARTED WITH OUR OWN CCA, IT WAS, UM, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE BUSINESS CASE.
AND SO THAT WAS A NEW ELEMENT OF THE, OF THE, UH, NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT THIS TIME.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT I THINK WILL BE HELPFUL TO MY FRIENDS AT THE CITY OF DALLAS IS THEY DEVELOPED A GIS BASED ATLAS OF ALL THINGS CLIMATE.
IT IS AN AMAZING ONLINE ATLAS, IF YOU WILL, UM, OF FACTS AND FIGURES.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR TEXAS IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS AND THE NEXT 50 YEARS? AND IT'S ALL VISUAL.
I'M A VISUAL PERSON, SO I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE MAPS.
THAT'S SOME INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE HELPFUL TO ANYBODY DOING PLANNING IN NORTH TEXAS, ACTUALLY ACROSS, ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT GLOBAL WARMING LEVELS OVER SEVERAL DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
UM, BUSINESS AS USUAL IS THE 8.5.
UM, THAT'S WHERE SOME OF THE SCIENTISTS ARE TALKING ABOUT A FIFTH EXTINCTION.
UM, WE'VE PASSED THE LOWER LEVEL ALREADY THIS YEAR IS THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD.
SO WE'RE IN ONE OF THE MID RANGES.
AND HOW WE LEVERAGE THIS OPPORTUNITY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO GET LOCAL ACTION REALLY HELPS US MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
SO THE TAKEAWAYS IS US REALLY IS DOING A LOT ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.
THAT SAID, UM, OUR RESIDENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS, WHICH IS TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, AND KANSAS, HAD THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE THE LEAST MEANS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE ARE IMPACTED THE MOST.
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS A AVAIL.
THERE ARE AVAILABLE MITIGATION STRATEGIES THAT ARE EFFECTIVE THAT CAN DELIVER SUBSTANTIAL EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS, BUT WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT THEM.
AND SO AS WE LOOK AT CLIMATE ACTION HERE IN NORTH TEXAS, IT'S A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO CREATE A MORE RESILIENT AND JUST COUNTRY.
SO HERE'S SOME OF THE CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE.
THIS IS EXTREME EVENTS, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENCES THAT DEPEND ON SEASON.
YOU SEE THE DARK ON THE RIGHT.
UM, GO AHEAD AND GO BACK TO THE EXTREME EVENTS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND, AND THERE'S ANOTHER GRAPH THAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, BUT, UH, WITHIN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, WE'VE HAD OVER, OVER $52 BILLION IN MEASURED CLIMATE RELATED DISASTERS.
I WOULD NOTE THAT THAT IS INSURANCE CLAIMS. THAT DOES NOT NECESSARILY INCLUDE THE MONIES EXPENDED BY LOWER INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS THAT MAY NOT BE INSURED.
WE'RE LOOKING AT A CHANGE OF A BILLION DOLLAR EVENT PER MONTH TO LIKE ONE EVERY THREE WEEKS NOW.
AND SO WE'RE GETTING THESE EVENTS MORE OFTEN AND THEY'RE MORE COSTLY BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN CITIES AND IN AREAS THAT ARE ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY CLIMATE.
SO THIS IS THE PROJECTIONS ON, UM, WHAT HAPPENS IN THESE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE IS THE VERY HIGH SCENARIO, WHICH IS BUSINESS AS USUAL.
THE MIDDLE IS PROBABLY WHERE WE'RE LOOKING, UM, WHICH IS, WHICH IS THE GREEN.
AND WE'VE ALREADY PASSED THE MINIMAL.
UM, AND SO AT THIS POINT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO PLAY CATCH UP.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT OKLAHOMA AND KANSAS HAVE OVERALL, UM, HIGHER, UM, CHANGE, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE WE STARTED OUT HIGHER IN TEXAS ALREADY.
SO IT, IT'S NOT A VERY PRETTY PICTURE FOR US.
[00:50:01]
ON, UH, PRECIPITATION OR LACK THEREOF.AND WE'VE SEEN THIS OVER THE LAST YEAR.
WE'LL HAVE A WHOLE MONTH OF NOTHING AND THEN WE'LL GET A MONTH'S WORTH OF RAINFALL IN ABOUT TWO HOURS.
AND OH, WHAT DO YOU KNOW? IT FLOODS.
THAT'S, THAT'S A CLIMATE THING.
UM, WE'RE SEEING A LOT MORE AS DR.
HAO SAYS, A LOT MORE WEIRDNESS.
SO THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE GRAPHS.
YOU CAN SEE A VERY CLEAR, UH, TREND, UH, FROM 1980 TO 2022 IN THOSE BILLION DOLLAR DISASTERS.
UM, MOSTLY HERE IN NORTH TEXAS.
WE SEE STRAIGHT LINE WIND EVENTS AND WE SEE FLOODING, BUT WE'RE IN THE TOP FIVE FOR ALL 10 CATEGORIES OF CLIMATE RELATED IMPACTS THAT THEY TRACK DATA FOR.
SO DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA GET ANOTHER URI.
SO IN EACH SECTION OF THE CLIMATE PLAN, WE LOOKED AT, HERE'S WHAT'S GOING ON.
WE HAVE INCREASED DROUGHT FREQUENCY SEVERITY.
WE LOOKED AT, HERE'S WHAT IT'S CAUSING LOCALLY.
BUT THEN WE ALSO PROVIDED EXAMPLES OF, HERE'S STUFF YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T WANNA JUST HAVE A GLOOM AND DOOM REPORT.
WE WANTED TO INCLUDE IDEAS FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO ADOPT, TO HELP, UM, MAKE THEM MORE RESILIENT, HELP REDUCE EMISSIONS AND HELP ADAPT INTO, INTO AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE.
SO THIS IS A GRAPH THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOKED IS THAT, UH, CLIMATE CHANGE IS CREATING ECONOMIC CHALLENGES LOCALLY AS WELL AS OPPORTUNITIES.
I KIND OF LIKE THIS MAP BECAUSE THE DOTS REFLECT THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF POWER THAT WENT OUT DURING THAT WINTER STORM.
AND THE BIGGER THE DOT, THE BIGGER THE POWER PLANT THAT WENT OUT.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE POWER SECTOR WAS IMPACTED, NOT JUST RENEWABLES.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY, TO ME, THAT'S THE STORY OF THAT WINTER EVENT.
SO ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF OUR CLIMATE AUTHOR TEAM IS A PHD SPORTS PHYSIOLOGIST FROM TEXAS A AND M WHO SPECIALIZES IN HEAT RELATED BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS.
WE HAD A FANTASTIC PICTURE OF A FOOTBALL PLAYER THAT WAS EXPERIENCING HEAT EXHAUSTION AND THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE MADE FUN OF US BECAUSE TEXAS AND FOOTBALL.
BUT, UM, WE ARE SEEING IMPACTS TO HOW WE PLAY, HOW WE RECREATE.
UM, A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T GO OUTSIDE VERY MUCH IN THE SUMMER 'CAUSE IT'S JUST SO HOT.
UM, AND SO IT IS IMPACTING HOW WE AS HUMANS, UH, EXPERIENCE THE ENVIRONMENT.
UH, NEXT SLIDE AND HOW WE HEAL.
UM, THIS GETS INTO DISPROPORTIONATE HEALTH IMPACTS AND THERE'S A WHOLE SECTION, A WHOLE CHAPTER ON HEALTH IN THIS REPORT.
UM, THIS IS PERCENTAGE OF BLACK RESIDENTS IN US CENSUS TRACKS THAT ARE ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY FLOODS.
AND UNFORTUNATELY YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT IS AGAIN, A TREND THAT'S UPWARD.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE KNOW IS THAT, UM, CITIES ARE THE ONES HOLDING THE BAG WHEN THESE EVENTS OCCUR.
AND SO CITIES ARE EXPENDING BUDGET THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO RESPOND, UH, WHEN THESE HAVE THINGS HAPPEN TO HELP THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND SO THERE ARE LOCAL COSTS INCURRED AS WELL.
UM, WE'RE SEEING STRAINED WATER SUPPLIES.
UH, WE'RE STREAM IMPACTS TO TRANSPORTATION IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
SO IT'S, IT'S STRAINING PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE SERVICES AS WELL.
UM, SO NOT SOMETHING THAT WE DO ENVIRONMENTAL JUST 'CAUSE IT'S GOOD, UH, A GOOD THING TO DO.
IT'S BECAUSE IT'S COSTING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS A LOT OF MONEY.
ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS THAT I DIDN'T WEAR, THIS IS THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS REGION.
AND THIS IS THE STATE OF PLANNING ACROSS THAT REGION.
SO MOST OF YOUR MAJOR COMMUNITIES ARE DOING SOME LEVEL OF CLIMATE PLANNING BEFORE THE EPA PROVIDED THEIR FUNDING.
AND SO AGAIN, ACTION IS HAPPENING.
UH, IT'S HAPPENING IN PLACES THAT YOU DON'T EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN, BUT IT'S HAPPENING IN A GOOD WAY.
SO THE TAKEAWAYS FOR THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS IS
[00:55:01]
ACTIONS HAVE BEEN SUPER TOO SLOW.WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH, FAST ENOUGH, UM, DEPENDING ON WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE REALLY NEED.
AND THAT'S WHY THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH CHRIS'S GROUP AT THE COG IS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT HELPS GET SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT'S BEEN MISSING TO FILL THE GAPS TO DO WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO.
UM, WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS FUNDING CAN HELP US TO DO TRANSFORMATIVE ADAPTATION.
UM, AND WE'RE HOPING THAT WE CAN INCREASE LOCAL RESILIENCE, UM, TO REDUCE FUTURE FINANCIAL IMPACTS TO OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
YOU'LL SEE THAT LAURA PATINO, CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS TECH, KANSAS, USDA FOREST SERVICE.
UH, THE, THE, UM, STATE CLIMATOLOGIST WAS IN AND OUT OF OUR COMMITTEE.
HE WAS WORKING NATIONALLY ON IT.
SO IT WAS A, IT WAS A FANTASTIC GROUP TO BE WORKING WITH AND I LEARNED A LOT AND I THINK, I HOPE I'VE CONTRIBUTED.
I HAD A SLIDE WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT CHAPTERS.
THE NATIONAL CLIMATE PLAN IS A DOCUMENT IS OVER 4,000 PAGES LONG.
IT HAS BEEN SPLIT INTO 40 CHAPTERS.
SO THAT, AGAIN, IF YOU NEED SOMETHING TO DO OVER THE HOLIDAYS, YOU CAN DIVE IN A CHAPTER AT A TIME.
THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS HAVE THE OVERARCHING THEMES AND THEN THERE ARE LOCALLY SPECIFIC CHAPTERS FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT I KNOW WILL ASK.
WE ARE TRANSLATING THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT TO SPANISH.
UM, THE MAIN CHAPTERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN TRANSLATED TO SPANISH.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WAS TWO OTHER THINGS THAT WERE KIND OF NEW AND DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR ONE, PARTICULAR THAT HADN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE.
ONE, WAS THAT EACH ONE OF THE LOCAL REGIONAL TEAMS INCLUDED TRIBAL GOVERNMENT MEMBERS.
SO THAT WE HAD, UM, TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE COUPLED WITH THE SCIENTIFIC STUDIES SO THAT YOU HAD A MORE HOLISTIC VIEW OF WHAT WAS GOING ON IN, IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE ALSO, UH, INCORPORATED THE ISLAND NATIONS THAT HERETOFORE HAD BEEN IGNORED.
UM, PLACES LIKE GUAM AND HAWAII AND EVEN, UH, THE US CARIBBEAN ISLANDS.
UM, THOSE ARE PLACES THAT WILL BE ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY SEA, PROBABLY FASTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.
AND SO THEY REALLY DID, I THINK, A GOOD JOB OF TRYING TO REACH OUT AND GET A FULL, A FULL CENSUS OF WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE GROUND AND USING SOME OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCE THAT REALLY HAD NOT BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE REPORT BEFORE THAT.
UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU HAVE A FULL AGENDA AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR I CAN CATCH UP WITH YOU LATER IF YOU'D LIKE.
GREAT, THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH.
YES, I, UH, THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
AND, UH, IT'S VERY EXCITING THE WORK OF THIS, UH, PLAN.
UM, MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE BECAUSE, UM, IF PROJECTS ARE NEEDED AND IDEAS ARE NEEDED TO, UH, PRESENT FOR GETTING A, UH, FUNDING BASIS, UH, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE REGION, UH, IS, AND AND THERE ARE, THERE ARE MULTIPLE TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN APPLIED OR DISCUSSED WITH SOLAR.
AND I KNOW THAT THE COG AND NORTH, UH, THE COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS ALSO, OR IT'S ACTUALLY THE S INVOLVED IN WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM.
I THINK WEATHERIZATION, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO THE EQUITY PORTION OF, OF THE PLAN, UH, CAN INVOLVE SOME SIMPLE THINGS.
UH, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR INSTANCE, JUST IN DALLAS ALONE, WE HAVE 250,000 SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
AND IF, IF THE MAJORITY OF THOSE NEED TO HAVE A RADIANT BARRIER, AND THAT'S A REAL SIMPLE IN TERMS OF CARBON REDUCTION, UH, THAT'S A LOW COST ITEM THAT CAN BE DONE WITHOUT MODIFICATION TO AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS OR ANYTHING TO BRING ATTIC TEMPERATURES DOWN 30 TO 40 DEGREES AND PEAK LOAD AND REDUCING PEAK LOAD IN THE SUMMER MONTHS AS WE EXPERIENCED THIS YEAR IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND IT WOULD ATTACK, IT WOULD ATTACK THE, THE LOAD ON THE GRID BY REDUCING THE DEMAND FOR EACH THE, BY REDUCING ATTIC TEMPERATURES IN EACH ONE OF THOSE HOME.
THAT'S A REAL, THAT'S A PROJECT THAT IS A SMALL NUMBER.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE COULD PUT, WE COULD, OBVIOUSLY I'D LIKE TO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FROM THE PROGRAM TO PUT SOLAR ON EVERY HOMES,
[01:00:01]
BUT THE REALITY IS THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN.UH, IF WE CAN GET A NUMBER AND ASCERTAIN WHAT IS, AND, AND THE GOAL IS TO REDUCE CARBON.
SO IF, WHAT, WHERE ARE WE GONNA GET THE BIGGEST BANK FOR OUR BUCK AND WHERE CAN WE SPREAD THE DOLLARS SO THAT A, UH, IT'S NOT REALLY A NECESSARILY, NOT NOT A COST ITEM FOR, UH, LOWER INCOME AREAS AND WHERE THOSE DOLLARS COULD BE REALLY QUICKLY ADEPTLY SPENT AND EFFECTIVELY REDUCE CARB OF SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW, REDUCING ATTIC TEMPERATURES BY 40 DEGREES IN AUGUST AND A HOME THAT IS, UH, STR WHERE THE AIR CONDITIONING IS STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP OR, OR GETTING THAT AIR CONDITIONING, UH, LOAD REDUCED BY THAT IS SIGNIFICANT.
IN FACT, I'M GONNA, I WANT TO MENTION THAT TO CARLOS EVANS 'CAUSE I WAS GONNA PROPOSE IT TODAY.
AND I'M GONNA ASK THE COMMISSION, I'M NOT A VOTING MEMBER, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE COMMISSIONER MAYBE TO DIRECT OUR, OUR OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TO GO AHEAD AND EXPLORE AND DO AN ANALYSIS ON WHAT THE CARBON REDUCTION WOULD BE EFFECTIVELY TO IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM IN SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING.
AND THAT'S THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT.
OKAY? THAT'S THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
YOU KNOW, I HAVE, I'M A BUILDER.
I CAN'T BUILD UP GREEN HOMES TO OFFSET THE CARBON THAT'S ALREADY BEING GENERATED, BUT WE CAN ADDRESS OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT.
AND I THINK PART OF THAT, THE FUNDING REQUEST WOULD ADDRESS HELPING FOLKS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, ARE LOWER INCOME AREAS.
AND, UH, IT WOULD BE A GREAT WAY TO, A, NOT ONLY WOULD IT REDUCE THE LOAD, IT WOULD REDUCE THEIR ELECTRIC BILL.
SO
BUT THE, UM, WEATHERIZATION IDEA IS DEFINITELY ON THE LIST.
IT IS DEFINITELY SEEMING TO GET A LOT OF INTEREST, A LOT OF, A LOT OF, UM, UH, WELL INTEREST AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HEARING SOME LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE SAYING, WELL, WE, WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES, BUT WE HAVE THE MONEY.
SOME LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SAYING WE HAVE THE RESOURCES, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY.
SO WE'RE LIKE, MAYBE IF YOU CAN HELP US OR TAKE OUR SURVEY, PROVIDE US SOME FEEDBACK, WHAT, WHAT OUT OF THE LIKE $500 MILLION, WHAT, WHAT COULD THAT BUDGET BE? WHETHER IT BE, LIKE YOU SAY, RADIANT BARRIER SOUNDS, YEAH, SUPER SIMPLE.
I MEAN, IN, IN RETROSPECT OR YOU GO TO MULTIFAMILY LOWER INCOME AREAS WHERE MAYBE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, SWAP OUT THE HVAC SYSTEM THAT HAVEN'T NEVER BEEN PROBABLY REPAIRED OR, OR TURNED OVER UNLESS BECAUSE OF THEY'RE JUST OPERATING.
UM, SO YEAH, NOW THAT'S ON THE LIST.
THOSE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, THAT'S I THINK IS, UH, HIGH ON THE LIST.
IT'S JUST A MATTER OF NOW WHAT COULD WE SUGGEST AND HOW DO WE SUMMARIZE IT? AND THEN WHAT COULD WE SUGGEST BE THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WOULD BE, UH, NOT, NOT TOO OVERWHELMING FOR EPA TO, TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES.
I MEAN, IF WE WERE TO ANALYZE AVERAGE SQUARE FOOTAGE, BUT SAY WE'D HAVE, YOU KNOW, A QUARTER OF A MILLION, UH, HOMES THAT ARE AVERAGED FOR A FOOTAGE 1500 SQUARE FEET, THAT'S A NUMBER THAT CAN BE CALCULATED VERY EASILY.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF AIR CONDITIONING, UH, INSTALLATION CONTRACTORS FROM THE CITY CAN ASSIGN A NUMBER TO ACT COST FOR THERE.
AND THE THING IS, THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO DO THIS EXISTS.
YEAH, IT ALREADY EXISTS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
AND THE REALITY IS, UH, UM, I I, THERE'S NOT AN AWARENESS OF IT.
AND THEN SECONDLY, UH, IF WE CAN GIVE EVERYBODY A GENTLE NUDGE
AND I THINK, AND THAT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT COULD HAPPEN QUICKLY.
UH, CHINA, A GRID BASED SOLAR ARRAY ON EVERY HOME, THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN QUICKLY.
REDOING EVERY AIR CONDITIONING UNIT ON ONE OF THOSE HOMES IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN QUICKLY.
SO, AND PLUS THE COST IS, IS, IS TENFOLD, UH, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH RADIATE BARRIER.
SO I THINK IT'S REALLY A, A, I THINK IT'LL PLAY TO THE EPA BECAUSE IT IS A LOW COST, REALLY EFFECTIVE SOLUTION.
UM, SO THERE IS A PILOT PROGRAM RIGHT NOW IN THE CITY OF DALLAS, UH, FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
THE, THE THING THAT IS FRUSTRATING IS THAT THE WAP PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED BY THE COUNTY.
AND LAST I UNDERSTOOD, THE COUNTY HAD ONE CONTRACTOR.
AND SO I THINK THINGS LIKE THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
UM, AND, UM, WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH ALAN.
WE HAVE TO DECIDE THOUGH WHAT ENTITY IS GOING TO, UM, PROVIDE THAT PROGRAM.
[01:05:01]
A HUGE PORTION OF IT, OF COURSE, IS GONNA BE EDUCATION OUTREACH.AND, UM, THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS THROUGH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, QUITE FRANKLY.
UM, WE WILL HAVE A REPORT FROM THE PILOT, IT'S, UM, SIMILAR BUT MORE ROBUST THAN A PILOT THAT WAS DONE IN HOUSTON.
AND, UM, THAT PILOT IN HOUSTON WAS SHOWN TO REDUCE, UH, REALLY ELIMINATE THE ENERGY POVERTY GAP.
AND THAT WAS DONE BY THE TEXAS ENERGY POVERTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE.
ANYWAY, I THINK THAT THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT, UM, TO ALAN'S POINT, YOU KNOW, CAN BE DONE, BUT THE WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM SEEMS, AGAIN, RUN BY OUR COUNTY, NOT OUR CITY.
UM, THERE'S A BACKLOG AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SO IN A WAY THE SYSTEM SEEMS TO BE BROKEN, SO WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT SOME MORE EFFECTIVE SYSTEMS AND, UM, AND THEN THERE WILL BE OTHER THINGS THAT WE DEFINITELY NEED TO DO.
AND, YOU KNOW, RADIANT BARRIER WILL REDUCE, UH, ELECTRICAL COSTS TO FAMILIES WHO ARE BURDENED, WHO ARE LITERALLY CHOOSING BETWEEN EATING AND HEATING OR EATING AND COOLING, SUCH AS THE CASE MAY BE IN TEXAS.
UM, BUT LARGE SCALE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE PROGRAMS THAT COORDINATE WITH CONTRACTORS TO TEACH THEM IF THEY DON'T ALREADY KNOW, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW TO INSTALL A HYBRID ELECTRIC HOT WATER HEATER OR, UM, EVEN KNOW ABOUT AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMPS, THINGS LIKE THAT AT, THAT'S ANOTHER PROCESS OF EDUCATION, BUT COORDINATION WITH THE MANUFACTURERS, THE LOCAL CONTRACTORS, AND THEN SOME PROGRAM WHO IS GOING TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM? WILL IT BE THE CITY? WILL IT BE THE COUNTY? IT'S UNLIKELY TO BE THE STATE.
SO HOW ARE WE, YOU KNOW, GOING TO IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS THAT, UM, I MEAN, WE CERTAINLY HAVE THE EXAMPLES.
PHILADELPHIA ENERGY AUTHORITY FOR ONE, HAS DONE A FABULOUS JOB, AND AT THE SAME TIME, TRAINING UP THE WORKFORCE TO DO THAT.
SO, UM, IT'S GOTTA BE COMPREHENSIVE, AND SUE IS GONNA REMEMBER ME SAYING THIS FOR MANY YEARS, IS THAT WE REALLY NEED TO BE FOCUSED ON A COMPREHENSIVE, VERY INTENTIONAL, UH, SYSTEM, UH, GROWING OUR OWN OUT OF OUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A, MY LITTLE ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN A-D-I-S-D INDUSTRY PARTNER FOR FOUR YEARS, AND WE'RE JUST PUSHING THIS BALL UPHILL BECAUSE IN THE CAREER INSTITUTES IN DISD, SO FAR, WE'RE THE ONLY ORGANIZATION COMING IN AND TEACHING ABOUT ENERGY EFFICIENCY, ABOUT SOLAR, OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THESE STUDENTS TO COME AND BE TRAINED.
WE NEED TO BE IN THESE CLASSROOMS, UM, OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THESE STUDENTS TO LEARN HOW TO NOT ONLY INSTALL EV CHARGING STATIONS, BUT HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT.
AND THOSE ARE JOBS THAT ARE GONNA BE, THEY CAN GO STRAIGHT FROM HIGH SCHOOL INTO THAT JOB.
40% OF THE JOBS THAT WE NEED OUT OF THIS, IRA FUNDING REQUIRE NO TWO OR FOUR YEAR DEGREE.
AND SO WE NEED TO BE OFFERING THIS AND GROWING OUR OWN, UM, TECHNICIANS.
I COULD GO ON AND YOU DON'T WANT ME TO, BUT, UM, THAT'S, UM, IT, IF WE DO THIS VERY INTENTIONALLY, WE HIT A LOT OF THESE AREAS, WHETHER IT'S HEALTH, INCOME, PREVAILING WEIGHT, THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO, YOU TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES, BUT WHAT SPECIFICALLY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR WITHIN, ARE YOU LOOKING TO, TO, WHAT ARE YOU, WHAT SPECIFICALLY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THOSE DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES WITHIN THAT DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES? DO THEY HAVE GOALS THAT YOU NEED TO SET? DO THEY HAVE OUTCOMES THAT THEY WANT TO, UM, REACH? AND ARE THESE ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT AS A WHOLE? ARE THESE THINGS TO HELP
[01:10:01]
MITIGATE DISPARITIES WITHIN THOSE DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.UM, AND IT'S ONE THAT HAS TO BE VERY CAREFULLY ANSWERED.
UM, THE MEETING THAT WE HAD IN WEST DALLAS LAST WEEK DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF RESIDENTS ATTENDING.
I WOULD'VE ABSOLUTELY LOVED TO HEAR FROM THE RESIDENTS WHAT THEY NEEDED TO SEE IN THAT PLAN.
SO WE'RE COMING UP WITH OUR BEST GUESS.
BUT UNTIL WE HEAR DIRECTLY FROM SOME OF THOSE RESIDENTS THAT REALLY COULD USE SOME HELP, IT'S OUR BEST GUESS.
UM, THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, LAST MILE TRANSPORTATION, BETTER TRANSPORTATION, UH, THINGS LIKE SWITCHING OUT GAS GUZZLERS, UH, FOR MORE, UH, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY VEHICLES.
UM, THINGS LIKE, UH, WEATHERIZATION, THINGS LIKE, UM, SOLAR, UH, THINGS LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY, I FEEL LIKE SOLAR SHOULD BE A PART OF EVERY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT.
IT'S NOT THERE YET, BUT IT'S A GOOD IDEA.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE ARE LOOKING AT THE FOOD NEXUS, BECAUSE THAT'S STILL A CHALLENGE.
UM, WE HAVE COMMUNITY GARDENS ON OUR LIST.
IN MY MIND, COMMUNITY GARDENS BUILD COMMUNITIES, BUT THEY DON'T NECESSARILY FILL THE FOOD GAP THAT WE HAVE IN OUR SUPPLY CHAINS.
AND SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE THINGS AS WELL.
SO THAT'S A COUPLE OF SUGGESTIONS OF THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
I ANTICIPATE THAT WE NEED TO COME BACK TO DALLAS AND GET INTO SOME COMMUNITIES AND ASK SOME QUESTIONS AND HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITIES THEMSELVES WHAT THEY REALLY NEED.
THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WE'RE HERE TONIGHT, IS TO ASK YOU TO HELP US GET SOME OF THAT FEEDBACK, BECAUSE THAT REALLY DOES NEED TO BE THE FOCUS OF THE PLAN.
UM, AND WE'RE NOT THERE YET TO BE, YOU KNOW, TO BE BRUTALLY HONEST.
UM, WE ARE SCRUBBING OUR OWN GRANTS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS WHERE WE CAN FILL A GAP IN FUNDING TO KIND OF PROVIDE SOME OF THE FUNDING IN SOME OF THOSE AREAS THAT HAS NOT BEEN EXPENDED.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT THAT WE WANT TO DO.
WHETHER IT'S THE RIGHT THING, WE WON'T KNOW UNTIL WE HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY THEMSELVES.
WELL, I MEAN, IT, IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS, YOU KNOW, THE GOALS OR TARGETS MAY NOT BE IDENTIFIED, BUT IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS UTILIZING THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE.
WE HAVE EJ LIKE, LIKE INDICES AND, AND OTHER TYPES OF MODELS THAT, UH, IF, IF, UH, WE'RE SUCCESSFUL THEN, AND EPA, LIKE, SAY A WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM TO DO RADIANT BARRIER TYPE OF THING, THEN I DON'T KNOW THAT THE COG WOULD ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT THAT.
WE WOULD PROBABLY, FOR ANY LOCAL GOVERNMENT THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, IN ADMINISTERING OR HAVING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THEN WE WOULD SUB-GRANT THAT OUT TO THE LOCAL, TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND THEN WORK WITH YOU GUYS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THOSE METRICS THAT YOU MIGHT APPLY TO BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE GOING INTO THESE TYPES OF COMMUNITIES AS A PRIORITY.
UM, IF THERE'S NO NEED FOR 'EM IN THOSE AREAS, THEN WHERE ELSE WOULD THEY GO? LIKE I MENTIONED THE SIGNALS, FOR EXAMPLE, I'M HOPING IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT SWEEP OF EVERYTHING, BUT THERE'S A PRIORITIZATION THAT WE COULD PROBABLY APPLY.
LET'S GET INTO THESE AREAS THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE NEGLECTED OR MAYBE OFTEN NOT LOOKED AT OR CONSIDERED.
AND LET'S PRIORITIZE THOSE FIRST AND FOREMOST, UH, GET THOSE DONE.
AND THEN EVENTUALLY, WE'LL, WE'LL WORK OUR WAY OUT.
THE, THE FUNDING MAY BE LIMITED.
THAT THAT'S, THAT'S THE APPROACH WE TAKE.
AND THEN WE MAY NEVER GET TOO FAR BEYOND THAT, WHICH ISN'T GONNA BOTHER ME TOO MUCH.
I MEAN, AT LEAST WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSING AND WE'RE GETTING INTO THE COMMUNITIES THAT WOULD DESPERATELY NEED THIS STUFF, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, AGAIN, PRIORITIZE WHAT, WHAT WE'VE BEEN ALLOCATED TO BE ABLE TO, TO USE AND SPEND WORKING WITH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THAT HAVE INTEREST IN THOSE PARTICULAR TYPES OF, UH, AWARDS THAT WE WOULD'VE, UH, BEEN, UH, GRANTED FROM EPA.
AND JUST ALSO POINTING OUT THAT, UH, THE DEFINITION OF DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES IS, UH, IT IS DEFINED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO THERE ARE CERTAIN JUSTICE 40 INITIATIVE OR JUSTICE 40 REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST MET AS WELL.
[01:15:54]
WE'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO, TO GO BACK OUT THERE IF THAT'S, IF WHOEVER WANTS US, WHEREVER, WE'LL, THAT'S WHERE WE'LL GO TO TRY TO PASS A MESSAGE AS, AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN TO TRY TO PUT THIS TOGETHER AND, AND, YEAH.NOT TO ALLOW THE, UH, THE, THE, THE CITIZENS OR THE RESIDENTS TO FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST ANOTHER, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW WHERE, HOW IT'S ALL GONNA WIND UP IN THE END.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA DO WHAT WE CAN TO, TO GET IT ALL.
AND WITH THE HOPE THAT, AGAIN, ESPECIALLY IN THAT COMMUNITY, WORKING WITH THE CITY TO HELP US TO BE ABLE TO, TO PRIORITIZE AND GET THESE THINGS OUT THERE SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE RESULTS THAT, THAT THEY WANT AND THAT WE, WE WANT.
AND WHAT THE, IS, I THINK ASKED FOR FROM EPA IN THIS PARTICULAR GRANT, I AM ACTUALLY A DISTRICT ONE RESIDENT WITH SOLAR ON MY HOME.
UM, I'M HAPPY TO TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT SOLAR.
I'M HAPPY TO ATTEND ANY MEETINGS IN EITHER ANY DISTRICT REALLY.
UM, BUT I, I DO HOLD DISTRICT ONE IN MY HEART.
I'M NOT SEEING ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
HAND JUST RAISED MS. BEVIN, UH, CHRIS ON, ON YOUR CALENDAR.
CAN YOU TURN ON YOUR CAMERA FIRST? SURE.
ON YOUR CALENDAR, I, I SAW THE MENTION OF, UM, THIS SECOND LISTING SESSION, UH, IN JANUARY.
DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY TENTATIVE DATE FOR THAT? WE MAY NOT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH OUR, UH, COMMUNITY OUTREACH, UH, DEPARTMENT AND STAFF TO, TO GET ALL THESE THINGS LINED UP AND SEE WHO WAS AVAILABLE AND, AND WHERE THEY, THEY CAN GO OR, OR ALL THE LOGISTICS.
SO, BUT AS, AS WE HAVE THAT, THEY'LL CERTAINLY BE POSTED, UM, ON OUR, ON OUR WEBSITE THAT, THAT I HAVE IN THE PRESENTATION.
AND THEN A SECOND QUESTION I HAVE IS, ARE THE PLANNING, UH, MEETINGS WITH THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS, ARE, ARE THOSE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO ATTEND, OR WE, WE ARE A PUBLIC ORGANIZATION, SO I WOULD SAY YES.
WE, WE WOULDN'T TURN ANYONE AWAY THAT WOULD LIKE TO SIT IN AND, AND LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATIONS.
THE HOPE WOULD BE THAT MY REQUEST FOR ANYONE THAT JOINS US WOULD BE TO ENGAGE WITH US AND, AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE.
THAT'D BE THE TICKET IN, I GUESS.
WE'RE GONNA WRAP THIS ITEM UP.
THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING.
IF YOU WANT TO, UM, LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS, YOU CAN GO TO THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT'S WEBSITE AND LOOK FOR THE DALLAS FORT WORTH AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
I SEE THAT THERE IS NOT ONLY A LIST OF POTENTIAL STRATEGIES, BUT ALSO A TEMPLATE LETTER OF SUPPORT, UM, THAT CAN BE SUBMITTED, UM, IN SUPPORT OF THAT, THAT GRANT PROPOSAL.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
BACK TO MY AGENDA HERE, BRIEFING ITEM B IS THE CITY OF DALLAS BROWNFIELD'S REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
AND JOINING US THIS EVENING IS NAZI NSU, OUR BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM MANAGER WITH THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
[01:20:06]
I JUST WANNA LET Y'ALL KNOW I DID THE SURVEY WHILE I WAS SITTING HERE, SUE, IT WAS A GOOD SURVEY.IT WA IT IS LIKE QUESTIONS THAT FROM MY COMMUNITY NEED TO ANSWER, SO I DID COMPLETE IT.
CAN YOU CONFIRM THAT YOUR MICROPHONE IS ON? YEP.
SO 1 MILLION OF, UH, THAT, UH, 1.5 WAS FOR A REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANT.
500,000 OF THAT WAS FOR COMMUNITY-WIDE ASSESSMENT GRANT.
THE GRANT IMPLEMENTATION STARTED IN OCTOBER, 2023, AND THE GRANT, UM, IMPLEMENTATION IS BEING DONE BY THE CITY OF DALLAS WITH ASSISTANCE, UH, FROM EPA.
WE HAVE AN EPA PROJECT OFFICER ASSIGNED TO, UH, TO US, UH, FOR EACH GRANT.
MOST OF YOU HAVE PROBABLY BEEN TO THIS BUILDING OR SEEN THIS PICTURE BEFORE, IS A PICTURE OF THE AMERICAN AIRLINE, UH, CENTER OF VICTORY PARK.
UM, SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW THAT THAT USED TO BE, UM, A FORM OF BROWNFIELD SITE.
UM, IT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT A BROWNFIELD IS AND WALKING HAPPEN, UH, WHEN THE CITY TAKES, UH, PROACTIVE MEASURES TO DO SOMETHING, UH, ABOUT A BROWNFIELD.
BROWNFIELD IS A PROPERTY THE EXTENSION, REDEVELOPMENT OR REUSE OF WHICH MAY BE COMPLICATED BY THE PRESENCE OR POTENTIAL PRESENCE OF A HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE POLLUTANT OR CONTAMINANT.
IT IS ESTIMATED AT EPA THAT WE COULD HAVE UP TO 450,000 BROWNFIELDS IN THE US.
WHAT DOES A BROWNFIELD LOOK LIKE? BROWNFIELDS COULD, COULD BE FOUND IN AREAS SUCH AS FORMER RAIL YARDS, OLD WAREHOUSES, OLD SCHOOL BUILDINGS, VACANT LOTS, FORMER GAS STATIONS, INDUSTRIAL SITES, AND FORMER DRY, UH, WHERE YOU'VE HAD, UH, DRY CLEANERS.
WHAT KEY STEPS I INVOLVE IN OUR BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM? USUALLY THE FIRST STEP IN OUR PROGRAM IS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.
IF IT HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN CONDUCTED FOR THE SITE, THAT ASSESSMENT COULD COME IN THE FORM OF PHASE ONE OR PHASE TWO, AND THAT COULD ALSO BE REGULATED BUILDING MATERIAL, UH, SURVEY DONE ON THE ASSESSMENT.
THAT ASSESSMENT IS THEN FOLLOWED BY ANALYSIS ON CLEANUP ALTERNATIVES BASED ON THE RESULTS FROM THE ASSESSMENT.
THAT'S FOLLOWED BY A REMEDIAL ACTION PLAN.
AND THEN CLEAN UP ACTIVITIES WILL START.
AND THEN IF NO FURTHER ACTION IS, UH, DETERMINED NOT TO BE NEEDED, WE THEN GO TO A SITE WITH DEVELOPMENT.
EACH ONE OF THESE STEPS TAKES APPROVAL AND PERMISSION BY THE SITE OWNER BEFORE WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AND ALSO APPROVAL BY EPA FOR FUNDING.
WE ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE THE EPA OFFERING A LOT OF, UH, BROWNFIELD FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
EPA HAS ASSESSMENT GRANTS, MULTIPURPOSE GRANTS, REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANTS,
[01:25:01]
CLEANUP GRANTS, JOB TRAINING GRANTS, MANY MORE.AND WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE THE ASSESSMENT GRANT COMMUNITYWIDE ASSESSMENT GRANT, WHICH PROVIDES FUNDING FOR SITE ASSESSMENTS AND ALSO CLEANUP PLANNING.
AND THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANT, WHICH PROVIDES MONEY FOR SITE CLEANUP IN THE FORM OF LOANS AND SUB GRANTS.
WE DO PLAN ON APPLYING FOR ADDITIONAL GRANTS.
OUR PROGRAM MISSION IS TO ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL OBSTACLES THAT CAN HINDER REVITALIZATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY IN CORE NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE WANNA DRIVE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH TO ENSURE SAFE AND CLEAN ENVIRONMENT AND TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR DALLAS RESIDENTS, ESPECIALLY IN HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO SITE CLEANUP AND ASSESSMENT.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, SUSTAINABILITY, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS VERY CRITICAL.
REVITALIZATION, REDEVELOPMENT, AND WE ARE MAINTAINING A BROWNFIELD, CREATING AND MAINTAINING A BROWNFIELD INVENTORY.
CURRENTLY, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANT AND COMMUNITYWIDE ASSESSMENT GRANT.
THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANT HAS A GRANT TERM OF FIVE YEARS, AND AFTER THAT FIVE YEARS, WE CAN APPLY FOR ADDITIONAL GRANT.
BUT ALSO WITHIN THE FIRST TWO YEARS, IF WE UTILIZE A CERTAIN THRESHOLD OF THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND, WE CAN APPLY FOR WHAT'S CALLED A SUPPLEMENTAL OF FUNDING, WHICH ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO GET AWARDED ALMOST THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY, UH, THAT WE HAVE UNDER THE GRANT.
AND ALSO UNDER THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANT, WE CAN EARN WHAT IS CALLED PROGRAM INCOME, WHICH COMES FROM THE PAYBACK THAT WE GET FROM THE LOANS THAT WE GIVE OUT.
AND THAT PROGRAM INCOME CAN BE UTILIZED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CLEANUP OF SITES.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE REVOLVING LOAN FUND BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR FIVE YEARS TO APPLY FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS.
AND AS SOON AS WE USE UP THE FUNDS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, WE CAN GET MORE.
THE COMMUNITY-WIDE ASSESSMENT GRANT IS SIMILAR TO THE COALITION GRANT THAT WE CURRENTLY CLOSE THAT ON.
WE RECEIVED THAT COALITION GRANT BACK IN 2020, AND WE WERE ABLE TO UTILIZE IT SUCCESSFULLY AND CLOSE IT OUT IN, UM, SEPTEMBER, 2023.
BUT THE COMMUNITYWIDE ASSESSMENT GRANT ALLOWS THE CITY OF DALLAS TO BE ABLE TO ASSESS, UM, THE SITES BY, BY THEMSELF, BUT NOT WITHOUT A, A COALITION.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IN TERMS OF OUR FUNDING, WE HAVE EJ, UH, FUNDING AS INTERNAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF DALLAS.
THAT FUNDING CAN GO FOR SITES FOR SITE CLEANUP AND SITE ASSESSMENT AS DETERMINED BY ELIGIBILITY FOR OUR PROGRAM.
UH, THE PURPOSES OF OUR GRANT PROGRAM, WE HAVE, UH, A TARGET AREA.
AND OUR TARGET AREA, UH, FOR OUR PROGRAM IS, UH, A MILK CORRIDOR FED PARK.
AND WE HAVE AREAS NEXT, OH, SORRY,
SO FOR AREA, WE HAVE AREAS SUCH AS THE JEFFREY MAYAS AREA, UH, FED PARK FOREST FORWARD, THE MALECARE CORRIDOR, SINFIELD LIVES AREA FOR OUR GEOGRAPHIC AREA.
THOSE ARE AREAS THAT ARE, THAT MAY NOT BE IN OUR TARGET AREA, BUT ARE STILL WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS LIMIT.
OUR SITE DOES NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE IN OUR TARGET AREA TO BE COVERED.
HOWEVER, SITES WITHIN OUR TARGET AREA, UH, TAKE PRIORITY AREAS SUCH AS, UH, JA E ARE WITHIN OUR, UH, IT'S WITHIN OUR GEOGRAPHIC, UH, BOUNDARY.
AND THAT'S WHY, UH, WE COVERED, UH, SITES LIKE THAT UNDER OUR PREVIOUS GRANT.
NEXT, OUR PROGRAM LAYOUT, UM, I'M GONNA TRY MY BEST TO, UM, SUMMARIZE IT
[01:30:02]
UNDER THE RLF GRANT, FOR THE PROGRAM LAYOUT, WE HAVE LOANS AND, AND THEN WE HAVE SUB-GRANTS.USUALLY, ONCE LOANS ARE APPROVED, THEY DO HAVE TO GO UNDER UNDERWRITING BEFORE THE PROJECT CAN COME COMMENCE.
UH, SUB GRANTS DO NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH UNDERWRITING SERVICES.
OUR FUNDING SOURCES FOR BOTH THE RLF AND THE KOREAN WATER ASSESSMENT AND THE CITY EGF FUND INCLUDE MOSTLY EPA FUNDING.
AND THEN THE CITY OF DALLAS PROVIDES US WITH FUNDING, UH, FROM THE EGF FUND.
IT, IT CAN GO, GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS GRANT ON PREVIOUS PAGE.
IN TERMS OF WHO CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE GRANTS, THESE GRANTS CAN BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, UH, OR WHO CAN APPLY FOR THESE GRANTS? DEVELOPERS CAN APPLY FOR IT.
NON-PROFITS CAN APPLY FOR IT, AND MUNICIPALITIES CAN APPLY FOR IT.
AND FOR THE PURPOSES OF OUR, OUR GRANT, I WOULD BE CITY OF DALLAS.
IN TERMS OF MUNICIPALITIES UNDER COMMUNITY-WIDE ASSESSMENT GRANT PROGRAM, WE DO HAVE A BROWNFIELD ADVISORY COUNCIL, AND THE BROWNFIELD BROWNFIELD ADVISORY COUNCIL PROVIDES FEEDBACK FOR US ON SITE COMBINATIONS AND SITE PRIORITIZATION.
BEFORE WE SET SITES UNDER THE EEG FUND, WE CONSIDER ELIGIBLE SITES AND RECOMMEND THEM FOR ASSESSMENT OR CLEANUP.
ALL THE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION IS STORED UNDER THE EPA ACRES, UH, DATABASE OR REPORTING.
WHEN IT COMES TO ELIGIBILITY PROCESS FOR THE RLF GRANT, WE START OFF WITH A PRE-APPLICATION WITH A SITE NOMINATION.
ONCE THE SITE IS NOMINATED DURING THE PRE-APPLICATION, WE WILL RESEARCH THE SITE ED AND THEN SEND IT, UH, TO THE EPA AFTER IT'S PRIORITIZED TO SEE IF IT COULD BE APPROVED.
IF THE EPA THE SITE COULD BE APPROVED UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THE GRANT, THEN WE WILL CONSIDER AVAILABLE FUNDING BASED ON THE SITE NEEDS.
AFTER THAT, THE SITE WILL BE SENT FOR UNDERWRITING.
IF THE APPLICATION IS FOR A LOAN, YOU WILL GO THROUGH UNDERWRITING AND AFTER IT PASSES THE UNDERWRITING PROCESS, THAT WILL BE A LOAN AGREEMENT.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, THE APPLICANT WILL ALSO AGREE UNDER THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE CITY, AND THEN THE PROJECT WILL COMMENCE.
IF IT IS A SUB-GRANT, IT DOES NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH, UH, THE UNDERWRITING PROCESS.
ALRIGHT, UNDER SITE NOMINATION AND ELIGIBILITY PROCESS.
FOR THE ASSESSMENT GRANT, THE PROCESS IS A LITTLE BIT MUCH MORE SIMPLER.
WE START OUT WITH A SITE NOMINATION, AND THE SITE IS PRIORITIZED.
AFTER SITE PRIORITIZATION, THERE'S GONNA BE AN ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION.
ONCE EPA APPROVES THAT ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION, THEN AN ACCESS AGREEMENT WILL BE PROVIDED, WHICH IS ISSUED SIGNED BY THE PROPERTY OWNER.
ONCE THE ACCESS AGREEMENT IS SIGNED, THEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, SAG ASSESSMENT, UM, WILL START NEXT.
AND AMANI IS GONNA, UM, GO, UH, DISCUSS THE NEXT SLIDES ON OUTREACH.
UM, FOR OUR OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, OUR SOFT GOAL IS TO KIND OF MEET WITH POTENTIAL, UM, RECIPIENTS EVERY TWO WEEKS.
ONE PERSON EVERY TWO WEEKS, JUST TO LAY EYES ON THE SITE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING ON, TO GET A FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE THAT WE'LL BE WORKING WITH.
UM, WE'VE BEEN TO JEFFERIES MEYERS, UM, THE SOUTH DALLAS FAIR PARK, MLK CORRIDOR, ST.
AND WE HAVE A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH A LOT OF THESE, UM, INDIVIDUALS.
AS FAR AS GROUNDWORK, USA GOES, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING
[01:35:01]
WITH THEM TO HELP US OUT ON OUTREACH.WE'VE ALL DISCUSSED HOW BROWNFIELDS CAN SOMETIME HAVE LIKE A NEGATIVE CONNOTATION ASSOCIATED WITH IT, SO WE WANT TO PUT OUT EDUCATION, ET CETERA, TO KIND OF MAKE THAT STIGMA GO AWAY.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO HELPING US ON A DATABASE, UH, A GIS DATABASE OF EXISTING GROUND, UH, BROWNFIELDS, UM, IN THE DALLAS AREA, AND THE STATUS ON THOSE BROWNFIELDS, WHICH HAS BEEN REALLY HELPFUL.
AND THAT'LL BE, UM, ACCESSIBLE THROUGH OUR WEBSITE ONCE THAT KIND OF GETS PUT TOGETHER.
AND, UM, FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS, WE JUST PARTNERED WITH THEM TO CREATE AN INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE FOR THEM.
SO WE'RE, WE JUST RECEIVED THEIR SYLLABUS, WE'RE OUTLINING WORK FOR THEM TO DO ON CREATING DIFFERENT POLICIES, HELPING US OUT WITH THE BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM.
SO THAT KIND OF PARTNERSHIP WILL BE REALLY EXCITING AND IT'LL HELP A STUDENT FULFILL THEIR CAPSTONE.
UM, AS FOR OUR PROPOSED EDUCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS, UM, I STARTED A COUPLE OF, LIKE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, SO I KNOW THAT A LOT OF THIS AND A LOT OF THE TERMINOLOGY CAN BE VERY CONFUSING.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP TRAINING, UH, TARGETED FOR JUST EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS, DEVELOPERS, MINORITY WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, UH, VARIOUS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROGRAM AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE PROBABLY HAVEN'T ANSWERED YET.
UM, THOSE TRAININGS INCLUDE DUE DILIGENCE, REAL ESTATE, SITE LIABILITY, AND SITE IDENTIFICATION.
AS FOR OUR PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM 2020 WITH THE COALITION ASSESSMENT GRANT, UM, THIS IS THE COMMUNITY PARK AT FAIR PARK.
WE JUST WENT OVER THERE LIKE TWO OR THREE WEEKS AGO.
WE SAW THE PARKING LOT AND THEIR PROPOSED PARK FOR THAT AREA.
AND WE COMPLETED A PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO PSA.
THIS IS, UM, MELISSA PIERCE PROJECT FOR SOME HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.
THE PROPERTY IS AN OLD SCHOOL BUILDING THAT WAS DON THAT WAS BUILT ON LAND DONATED BY A FREE SLAVE.
AND THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION WANTS TO TURN IT INTO A MULTI-PURPOSE CENTER.
UM, WE COMPLETED THE PHASE ONE ESA AND RBM SURVEY.
THIS IS THE JEFFRIES MYERS NEIGHBORHOOD.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCREENINGS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.
FOREST THEATER NEIGHBORHOOD PHASE TWO ESA WAS COMPLETED.
PHILIPS COMMUNITY SCHOOL PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO ESA IS COMPLETED.
MILL CITY NEIGHBORHOODS, PHASE TWO ESA COMPLETED AND MATTHEWS SOUTHWEST PHASE ONE ESA COMPLETED.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THE MONEY CAN GO A LONG WAY.
UM, AS FOR THE PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS, SO FAR, FAR, WE'VE COMPLETED 11 PROJECT SITE NOMINATIONS OR, OR THEY WERE RECEIVED SITE NOMINATIONS WERE RECEIVED.
UM, WE COMPLETED ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES AT EIGHT EPA APPROVED SITES.
WE COMPLETED 40 EPA PROPERTY ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION REQUESTS, 46 ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENTS, ONE REGULATED BUILDING MATERIAL SURVEY, AND ONE ANALYSIS OF BROWNFIELD CLEANUP ALTERNATIVES.
UM, WE ALSO FORMED A BROWNFIELD ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS BASICALLY COMPOSED OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND EX EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS TO GIVE US JUST SOME FEEDBACK ON HOW THE PROGRAM IS GOING, HOW IT'S BEING RECEIVED, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE.
AND, UM, WE WERE AWARDED $1.5 MILLION IN 2023 FOR ASSESSMENT AND CLEANUP.
AS FOR THE PROGRAM'S NEXT STEPS, WE ARE RECEIVING SITE NOMINATIONS.
UH, OUR APPLICATION JUST WENT UP ON OUR WEBSITE NOT THAT LONG AGO, SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE HAVE THE SITE PRIORITIZATION AND APPROVAL.
WE HAVE COMMUNITY TARGET ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS.
WE'RE DEVELOPING TARGETED EDUCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS. WE'RE PROPOSING A PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FUNDS THAT WERE PROVIDED TO US BY THE CITY, AND JUST GENERAL PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION.
SO HOW Y'ALL CAN GET INVOLVED IS YOU CAN CONSIDER PROSPECTIVE SITES FOR ELIGIBILITY BASED ON, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL FACTORS WE DISCUSSED IN THIS PRESENTATION.
BUT NAMELY, LIKE THE OWNERSHIP STATUS, ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION, ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY, UM, THEIR PROJECT TIMELINE, REDEVELOPMENT AND REVITALIZATION PLANS, AND THE COMMUNITY INTERESTS AND BENEFIT.
AND YOU COULD VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND FEEDBACK FOR US IS ALWAYS WELCOMED AS FAR AS HOW THE PROGRAM IS PROGRESSING.
UH, FOR ANY QUESTIONS, UH, THERE ARE CONTACT INFORMATION.
FEEL FREE FOR ANY SORT OF INPUT QUESTIONS, ET CETERA.
QUESTIONS? SORRY, WHAT'S THAT COMMISSIONER? GO AHEAD.
[01:40:01]
HI.THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE SLIDE WHERE IT SAY TARGET, UH, THE TARGET, TARGET AND GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARY? YES.
SO MOST OF THESE BROWNSFIELD IS IN THE DISTRICT THAT I REPRESENT DISTRICT SEVEN, ALL OF 'EM IN DISTRICT SEVEN.
BUT I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I HEARD.
SO, UM, ON THE LOAN APPLICATION, THE CITY APPLIED FOR THE LOAN FOR THE, UH, PROPERTY OWNER OF THE BROWNSVILLE.
I, I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING THE REPORT, THE LOAN, MY NOSE KIND OF STOPPED THOUGH.
SO I
UHHUH
DO THE SITE OWNER HAVE TO PAY ANY MONEY BACK TOWARDS THE CLEANUP OR ANYTHING? ONLY IF THE BORROWER LOAN.
UM, IF THEY NEED ASSESSMENT, THAT'S ALL COVERED BY THE CITY.
HOWEVER, IT'S A VERY, VERY LOW INTEREST LOAN.
PROBABLY THE LOWEST INTEREST YOU CAN GET, YOU KNOW, BETTER THAN ANY BANK BECAUSE IT IS DESIGNED TO REALLY MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THESE PROPERTIES TO BE REDEVELOPED.
SO, UH, WE ARE ALLOWED AS THE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT RECIPIENT TO MAKE THAT LOAN AS FAVORABLE AS POSSIBLE, UH, FOR THE APPLICANT BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS, OF COURSE, OUTLINED BY THE EPA.
SO HAVE ANY OF THESE, UH, TARGET SITES HAD TO APPLY FOR THE LOAN? WE JUST, UH, RELEASED THE APPLICATION.
SO MOVING FORWARD, BECAUSE ALL THESE, UH, UH, BROWNSVILLE, UH, ISSUES, UH, IN MY DISTRICT, I WOULD LIKE TO BE LIKE CONNECTED INTO THIS OR ON THE PROCESS OF THE, WHICH, UH, SITE IS BEING APPROVED.
WHAT THE STEPS OF WHAT THEY CLEANING UP, WHAT YOU FOUND? I DON'T KNOW.
UH, I DO KNOW ABOUT DROP 'CAUSE I LIVE IN DROP, UH, BUT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT, I KNOW ABOUT JEFFREY MARS, BUT, UH, FOREST FORD WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING, ST.
AND I DIDN'T SEE PARK STAFF YMCA ON HER.
AIN'T THAT PART OF THE APPLICATION TOO? ARE Y'ALL WORKING WITH, UM, I, I ACTUALLY SENT HER AN APPLICATION 'CAUSE WE ACTUALLY VISITED THAT SITE.
AND, UH, SHE, SHE SAID, UH, FOR THEIR ASSESSMENT, UM, THEY HAD JUST FOUND SOME FUNDING FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR AS ASBESTOS, UM, SURVEY.
UH, BUT I DID, UH, TELL HER THAT SHE'S WELCOME TO COME BACK TO US ANY FUTURE NEEDS.
SO JUST MOVING FORWARD, Y'ALL CAN LIKE, UH, CONNECT.
CAN ME AND YOU CONNECT ON A, UH, O OFF THE, AND, AND WE CAN DISCUSS SOME OF THESE.
UH, I JUST WANNA KNOW, 'CAUSE ALL OF ME IN MY DISTRICT AND, YOU KNOW, I SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU AND FOUND, I SHOULD KNOW THE PROCESS.
WHO IS IMPLYING WHAT THE GRANTS, THE LOANS? I, I SHOULD KNOW THIS.
SO I JUST WANNA BE UPDATED JUST BY MY DISTRICT NOW FOR, FOR CLARIFICATION.
AND FOR LEGAL REASONS, IT'S NOT EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT SITE THAT WE COULD JUST PUBLICLY SHARE WITH ANYONE.
THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE CAN SHARE, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD, UH, SHARE WITH ANYONE THAT'S NOT THE OWNER.
BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE CAN SHARE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE DO PLAN ON DOING ON OUR WEBSITE, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE OUR WEBSITE, IS TO ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE A LIST OF SITES THAT, UH, WE'VE ASSESSED MM-HMM.
SO THAT'S ONE WAY THAT WE CAN, UM, PROVIDE UPDATES.
UM, BUT FEEDBACK FROM COMMUNITY, UH, LEADERS, WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE.
AND WE'RE GONNA FIND, UM, A WAY TO TRY OUR BEST TO KEEP, KEEP, UH, EVERYONE UPDATED.
BECAUSE I HAVE A COMMUNITY MEETING WITH JEFFREY MARS ABOUT THIS, BUT I HAVEN'T, I HAVEN'T HAD NO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN MY COMMUNITY OR ANY OTHER, UH, ENGAGEMENT HEARD ABOUT ANY OTHER ENGAGEMENTS.
AND, AND ONE, ONE THING, WE CAN ALSO COME TO YOUR COMMUNITY MEETING.
WELL, THE SITE OWNER HAVE TO REQUEST THAT, RIGHT? NO.
UH, THE SITE OWNER IS ONLY ONE.
THE SITE OWNER OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVE IS THE, UH, CAN SUBMIT THE APPLICATION, BOTH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ANYONE IN THE COMMUNITY CAN REQUEST IT AND WILL BE THERE.
[01:45:01]
ALLOWABLE AND, UH, APPROVED BY THE, UM, OWNER OF THE SITE BEING REDEVELOPED IS QUARTERLY COMMISSIONER DUR QUARTERLY UPDATES, COULD WE GET QUARTERLY UPDATES ON THE STATUS OF THESE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, JUST AS THEY PROGRESS THROUGH THE BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM? WHETHER THEY'RE BE MEDIATED OR WHETHER THEY'RE IN THE, AN ASSESSMENT PHASE OR WHETHER THEY'RE, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PHASE.BECAUSE WHAT WE DO AND WHAT OUR GOAL IS, IS TO ENHANCE YOUR WORK.
AND SO IF WE'RE, IF THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH THAT WE CAN DO, IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL, UM, YOU KNOW, MESSAGING ABOUT, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS SITE'S BEING REDEVELOPED AND HERE'S WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED, AND WE NEED YOUR COMMUNITY INPUT TO, YOU KNOW, BEST UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS, IT WANTS FOR IT TO BE REDEVELOPED, I THINK QUARTERLY.
SO THAT WOULD BE SINCE DECEMBER, MAYBE APRIL, IF WE COULD GET A, JUST A CHECK BACK ON THESE FIVE SITES.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT.
AND THEN, WAS IT COMMISSIONER WALLACE? YEAH, CHAIR WALLACE.
MY QUESTION IS, IT SEEMS LIKE Y'ALL HAVE BEEN PROACTIVE ABOUT REACHING OUT TO OWNERS.
UM, HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS IN THESE AREAS AS WELL? WE'VE, UH, OUR OUTREACH, IN FACT, OUR BRO, UH, WE HAVE DEVELOPERS, UH, WE HAVE OWNERS, WE HAVE, UH, A COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES.
UM, SO, UM, WE, WE ARE OPEN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TRY TO REACH OUT TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
WE HAVE, UH, WE WORK WITH HOUSING DEPARTMENT INTERNALLY, HOW OUR HOUSING DEPARTMENT, UM, UH, PUBLIC, UM, I MEAN, PLANNING ON URBAN DESIGN, UH, THE LAND BANK.
AND, UM, ONE OF OUR, UM, BAC OR C COMMUNITY MEMBERS IS ACTUALLY, UH, TREK.
UM, AND I KNOW THEY'RE VERY INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY, AND WE ALSO STRONGLY ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK OF ADDITIONAL MEMBERS SO THAT WE CAN, OR DEVELOPERS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN ADD.
SO JUST PLEASE, UH, WE WELCOME, UM, MORE, UH, OUTREACH.
YOU KNOW, WE CANNOT DO, DO TOO MUCH.
JACK, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? ACTUALLY, I DIDN'T.
I I WAS JUST MOVING, BUT I AM GONNA ASK A QUESTION SINCE YOU CALLED ON ME.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I HAVE WHAT I THINK IS MAYBE AN UN IT'S, IT IS AN UNEDUCATED QUESTION, BUT I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IF YOU COULD JUST BRIEFLY SHARE SOMETHING ABOUT THE BACKGROUND THAT LANDED THIS TARGET AREA FOR CONTEXT THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME.
THAT, THAT'S ACTUALLY, UH, A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, WHEN THE GRANT FIRST, UM, WHEN OEQS, UH, FIRST APPLIED FOR THE GRANT IN, IN, UH, 2020, UM, WE, THERE WAS A SURVEY THAT WAS DONE.
UM, IT'S KIND OF SIMILAR TO AN EQUITY, UH, SURVEY.
IT'S A SURVEY THAT TOOK INTO CONSIDERATION, UM, THE EQUITY, UM, UM, RATING EQUITY INDEX, UH, BOTH, UH, THE CITY OF DALLAS, UM, AND ALSO EPA, UH, EJ INFORMATION.
SO THEY LOOKED AT HOUSING ISSUES, UH, IN THE AREA, HEALTH, HEALTH DATA IN THE AREA, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, HISTORY OF THE AREA.
SO IT KIND OF TAKES, UH, THINGS LIKE HOUSING, UH, POSSIBILITY OF THE AREA, UH, RECEIVING FUNDING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
SO ALL WAS ALL THAT WAS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION IN FOCUSING ON THE TARGET AREA.
UM, WHAT IS THE LIKELIHOOD OF, UH, THESE AREAS, UM, EITHER RECEIVING FUNDS, YOU KNOW, BUT REALLY, UM, EJ DATA AND EQUITY DATA WERE HEAVILY, UH, UH, PRIORITIZED IN DECIDING THAT.
AND I JUST WANNA ADD ONE NOTE.
UM, THE TARGET AREAS, UH, WE PRIORITIZE THOSE AREAS, BUT IF AN AREA OUTSIDE OF THAT AREA, TARGET AREA THAT'S IN THE GEOGRAPHIC, UH, BOUNDARY ALSO NEEDS, UM, UM, ASSISTANCE, WE'LL ALSO LOOK AT IT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE BACKGROUND.
UM, COULD YOU GO INTO SOME SPECIFICS ABOUT HOW THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE TQS VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PLAN? UM, I'M NOT AN EXPERT, UH, VOLUNTEER CLEANUP, BUT I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THE BROWNFIELD PREP.
THE VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PLAN IS, FOR INSTANCE, IT'S NOT A GRANT PROGRAM.
SO LIKE IF YOU HAVE A BROWNFIELD THAT YOU HAVE, UH, SOME CONTAMINATION ISSUES ON THE SITE, UM, THEN YOU MIGHT GO THROUGH THE, THE TCQ VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAM SO THAT THEY WILL GIVE YOU DIRECTIVES OF HOW TO ASSESS THAT SITE.
AND SO THOSE THAT YOU'LL ALSO HAVE SOME CERTIFICATION OR PAPERWORK
[01:50:01]
FOR THE DEEDED ON THE PROPERTY, RIGHT.FOR BACKGROUNDS ON THE PROPERTY.
THAT WAY YOU HAVE SPOKEN WITH TCQ AND THEY HAVE GIVEN YOU A CERTIFICATION ON THAT PROPERTY THAT IT HAS BEING CLEANED, AND IT'S GONE THROUGH THE VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM THE BROWNFIELD PROGRAM WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY ASSESSING SITES.
THAT'S THE CLEANUP PIECE OF THE BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM.
COULD YOU DO BOTH THROUGH TCQ? I'M SORRY,
OH, ONE PROPERTY, YES, WE HAVE PROPERTIES WHERE WE WOULD DO BOTH, BUT WE'LL GO THROUGH THE BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM, UH, FOR ASSESSMENTS.
AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO THE CLEANUP PIECE, THEN WE'LL USE, UH, THE TCQ VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAM FOR THAT.
AND THEN JUST A QUICK COMMENT ABOUT DATA.
I KNOW MY COUNCILMAN ASKED ME HOW MANY BROWNFIELD ARE IN OUR DISTRICT.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A-G-A-I-S MAP OF, UH, ONES THAT USED TO BE BROWNFIELD THAT ARE NOW CLEANED AND COMPLETELY REDEVELOPED.
THAT WOULD BE COOL TO TOOT YOUR HORN AND SAY, LOOK WHAT WE HAVE DONE.
UM, IT WOULD ALSO BE COOL TO HAVE A DASHBOARD OPERATING WEBSITE WITH UPDATES CHANGING EVERY DAY ABOUT WHAT IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
I UNDERSTAND LEGALITY AND NEEDING TO KEEP INFORMATION PRIVATE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, THINK NEIGHBORS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT USED TO BE A BROWNFIELD, UM, AND WHAT IS IN THE WORKS TO GET BROWNFIELD FUNDING.
SO IF YOU COULD SHARE WHEN THAT GIS DATA MAPPING TOOL'S GONNA BE READY, WE'D LOVE TO SEE THAT WEBSITE.
DO YOU ANTICIPATE LIKE THE NEXT YEAR, UM, SOONER? YEAH.
YEAH, BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY, THE ORGANIZATION JUST HELPING US WITH IT.
SHE WOULD A AND, UH, THEY'VE BEEN REALLY GENEROUS BECAUSE IT'S NOT COSTING US COSTING THE CITY A DIME EXCEPT FOR OUR TIME.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY WORKING REALLY CLOSE WITH THEM.
WE ALREADY HAVE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH.
AND, UM, ONCE WE, UM, HAVE IT COMPLETED, THERE'S GONNA BE A LINK TO IT, UH, FROM OUR WEBSITE.
AND, UH, THE MEANTIME, WHAT WE HAVE, WHAT WE'RE DOING ON OUR WEBSITE IS ACTUALLY, UM, UM, SHARING THE LINKS TO EPA DATABASE INFORMATION, TCEQ, UH, DATABASE INFORMATION, UM, THAT COULD HELP YOU, UH, SEE SITES THAT HAVE BEEN ASSESSED UNDER EPA PROGRAM OR SITES THAT'S BEEN ASSESSED UNDER, UH, UH, T-C-T-C-E-Q.
SO, BUT DEFINITELY WE, WE CAN'T WAIT, YOU KNOW, UH, TO GET THAT UP, BUT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, OR, YOU KNOW,
AND PART OF THE COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION ON THE RACIAL EQUITY PLAN, UH, ONE OF THE EQUITY INDICATORS WAS DISTANCE TO A BROWNFIELD'S SUPERFUND, VCP OR OTHERWISE CONTAMINATED PROPERTY.
SO THAT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO THAT ASPECT.
COMMISSIONER WHITTEN, GO AHEAD.
UH, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE FAIR PARK ASPECT OF THIS.
COULD, COULD WE BRING THAT SLIDE UP AGAIN? FAIR PARK PARK.
UM, LET'S SEE WHERE WE'RE GETTING THERE.
THIS COMMUNITY PARK, UH, IS THIS IN THE FAIR PARK GROUNDS? IS THIS NOT WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN 2018 WITH SPECTRA AND FAIR PARK FIRST FAIR, UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH FAIR, THIS IS A SITE THAT WAS NOMINATED BY FAIR PARK FIRST.
UH, THEY DID PROMISE TO PAY FOR THAT, RIGHT? WITH THE BRIER FILL FUNDS.
I, I WOULDN'T ARE WE NOT PAYING FOR I'M HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
IS THE CITY PAYING FOR THIS RATHER THAN FAIR PARK FIRST AND THEIR PPP WITH THE BRIMER BELL FUNDS FOR THE ASSESSMENT WE CONDUCTED, IT WAS, UH, PAID FOR BY EPA ASSESSMENT FUNDS.
BUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARK, WOULD THAT BE PAID FOR BY THE CITY OR BY FAIR PARK? FIRST WITH THEIR PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP THAT THEY PROMISED US IN 2018? YEAH, THAT'S NOT A QUESTION THAT, UH, WE'D BE SUITED
[01:55:01]
TO ANSWER.IT'D PROBABLY BE BETTER FOR MAYBE THE PARK DEPARTMENT TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
I'M JUST, WE CAN FOLLOW UP AND GET YOUR ANSWER.
IF, WE'LL STOP SHARING THAT PRESENTATION SO I CAN SEE WHO ELSE'S DIRECTOR EVANS, IF YOU'LL COME ON CAMERA OR IS THAT HIS HAND UP FROM EARLIER? OKAY, WE'LL MOVE ON.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OH, THERE, HE'S, THERE YOU GO.
UM, SO JUST TO, JUST TO CLARIFY GOING, UH, 'CAUSE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, DISTANCE FROM BROWNFIELD SITES IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE, THE, THE EQUITY INDICATOR, UH, UH, EQUITY INDICATOR.
UM, SO, SO JUST TO CLARIFY, SO THE, THE FIRST EQUITY INDICATOR, UM, IS GOING TO EVALUATE AIR EMISSIONS DATA COUPLED WITH SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DATA.
UM, I THINK OUR RECOMMENDATION IS OVER TIME IT'S DIFFICULT TO, UH, TRACK MULTIPLE DATA SETS, UH, AS AN EQUITY INDICATOR.
AND WE CAN GET INTO THAT LATER AS WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, BUT, AND, AND RIGHT NOW I THINK THAT ONE OF THE PRIORITY AREAS IN THE CITY IS AREA EMISSIONS.
SO I THINK RIGHT NOW WE'RE RECOMMENDING TRACKING AREA EMISSIONS AND TRACKING THAT OVER TIME AS AN EQUITY INDICATOR, UM, USING DATA FROM EJ SCREEN IN OUR DALLAS BASED EJ MAPPING TOOL.
UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT POINT, UM, JUST IN CASE THERE WAS ANY CONFUSION ABOUT THAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
THE MEMO THAT WE RECEIVED WAS NOT QUITE CLEAR, UM, ON WHICH OF THE EQUITY INDICATORS THAT THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDED WERE GONNA BE ADOPTED AND IN WHAT, UM, TO WHAT EXTENT.
AND SO THAT'S SORT OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR IN THE UPDATE TODAY.
I DIDN'T SEE THAT IN THE MEMO.
UM, GETTING SOME ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION ON WHAT THOSE EQUITY INDICATORS ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE BASED ON OUR RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
UM, JUST AS A FOLLOW UP TO THIS.
UM, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NOT SEEING ANY THIS EVENING.
UH, MY QUESTION IS, OKAY, JUST LIKE THE BROWNSVILLE SITE AND JOB AT THE MELISSA, THEY FOUND, UH, STUFF ON THERE.
DO Y'ALL TELL THE HOME OF THE OWNERS OF THE PROPERTY TO INFORM THE COMMUNITIES ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE, WHAT HAS BEEN FOUND ON THE PROPERTIES LIKE PESTICIDES WAS FOUND ON THE MELISSA PR PROPERTY? SO IS THAT OWNER OF THEIR PROPERTY TELLING THE COMMUNITY, DO NOT TOUCH THIS, DO NOT COME ON THIS PROPERTY BECAUSE WE FOUND THIS OR THESE PROPERTIES INFORMING THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN FOUND ON THE PROPERTIES TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY.
BECAUSE THE SCHOOL IN MY COMMUNITY, THE MELISSA PIERCE DOESN'T HAVE A FENCE ON IT, IS IT HAS BEEN BURGLARIZED OVER EVERY MONTH OR SO.
SO WHATEVER'S IN THAT BUILDING, THE PEOPLE WHO'S BREAKING INTO IT IS BEING EXPOSED.
SO IS THE PROPERTY OWNER OF THESE BROWNSFIELD INFORMING THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE, WHAT HAS BEEN FOUND TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY TO NOT GET AFFECTED? THAT'S WHAT I'M KIND OF SAYING.
IS THE SITE CURRENTLY IN USED, UH, UH, BEING USED BY THE COMMUNITY? WELL, MOST OF THE SITES THAT Y'ALL SHOWED IS NOT IN CURRENTLY USED, BUT THEY STILL A ACCESSIBLE TO COM PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T HAVE NO GATES, THEY DON'T HAVE NO SIGNS OF SEEING, WE FOUND THIS ON THIS PROPERTY, DON'T TOUCH THIS, DON'T DIG IN THE DIRT, YOU KNOW, STUFF LIKE THAT.
IT IS, NONE OF 'EM IS, UH, ACCESSIBLE.
ALL THE PROPERTIES Y'ALL SHOWED, I KNOW WHERE THEY AT IS NOT BEING USED, BUT PEOPLE STILL VANDALIZE BREAKING THE BUILDINGS.
THEY WALK ON THE PROPERTY, ESPECIALLY THE MELISSA PIERCE PROPERTY.
IT'S GRASS ALL THE WAY AROUND IT.
SO I'M JUST SAYING, IS Y'ALL INFORMING THESE OWNERS TO TELL THE COMMUNITY WHAT HAS BEEN FOUND FOR WE COULD PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE COMMUNITY? THAT'S MY QUESTION.
WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, A PRIVATE, UH, PROPERTY, UH, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO PRIVATE PROPERTY, WHICH THAT IS, UH, THE EPA AND THE STATE HAVE THEIR OWN, UH, REGULATIONS ON, UM, IN TERMS OF, UM, RELEASING INFORMATION, AND THEY'LL BE THE ONES TO DETERMINE THAT WE, WE DON'T HAVE ANY AUTHORITY, UH, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, REGULATE OR TELL THEM THAT.
BUT I'M SURE THE EPA OR THE STATE, UH, PROBABLY, UH, WOULD HAVE SOME CLARIFIED INFORMATION ON THAT.
[02:00:01]
HAVE THAT AUTHORITY TO TELL 'EM WHAT TO TELL.SO THAT'S VERY CONCERNING BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAY, IT'S PRIVATE PROPERTY, BUT THE, THEY ARE PRIME FOR THIS.
THE CITY IS WORKING WITH THEM TO TEST IT, ASSESS IT AND ALL THIS, BUT NO ONE IS TELLING THE COMMUNITY WHAT IS BEING EXCESSIVE, WHAT THEY FOUND OR NOTHING.
NOW YOU SAYING IT IS ON THE EPA A TO HAVE THE REGULATIONS OF COM TELLING THE COMMUNITIES WHAT THEY HAVE FOUND.
SO THAT'S JUST VERY ALARMING TO ME.
YOU KNOW, LEAVE THAT ON THE PROPERTY OWNER, AND LIKE YOU SAID, THE PROPERTIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE EXCLUSIVE AND DON'T HAVE TO TELL COMMUNITY WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S VERY CONCERNING.
'CAUSE I KNOW THEY BROWNSFIELD BECAUSE THEY GOT TOXIC DIRT SOMETHING ON THEM.
SO THAT'S, IT'S VERY CONCERNING TO ME.
AND I, I, UM, THINK A REALLY RELEVANT EXAMPLE TO THAT IS THE LAME PLATING WORKS SUPERFUND SITE, UM, AT LAME PLATTING WORKS, UH, WHICH IS CONTAMINATED WITH HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM.
THERE WERE, UH, UNHOUSED PEOPLE BREAKING IN AND EXPOSING THEMSELVES TO THAT.
UM, AND SO I THINK EVENTUALLY SOME SIGNAGE WAS POSTED, UM, A FENCE WAS INSTALLED, UM, BY THE OWNER AND THEN I THINK CHECKED BY EPA.
SO THAT JUST MAY BE SOMETHING THAT, UH, AT THE POINT THAT IT BECOMES PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE OR PUBLIC INFORMATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WHEN THE GRANT FUNDS ARE AWARDED.
UM, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS A CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE MADE ABOUT, UH, MAKING THE COMMUNITY AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF ACCESSING THAT SITE, WHETHER LEGALLY OR LEGALLY.
UM, UH, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD CONSIDERATION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, MR. DOUG, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE A LONGER, UH, A MORE FULL LIST OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU'RE REACHING OUT TO OR WORKING WITH IN ORDER TO ENGAGE, JUST ASKING SO THAT WE CAN AVOID, UH, DUPLICATED EFFORTS? YES.
WE, WE HAVE, UH, ALL OUR
WE DO HAVE A LIST, UH, IF YOU DON'T MIND CIRCULATING THAT, I THINK THAT'D BE HELPFUL.
I'M, I'M GONNA FIND OUT, YEAH, I'M GONNA FIND OUT IF WE NEED TO, UH, DO OPEN RECORDS BEFORE WE CAN CIRCULATE THAT AND HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
I, I, I'LL DEFINITELY GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT.
AND IF YOU'LL JUST SHARE IT WITH THE BOARD COORDINATOR, SHE'LL SEND IT OUT.
I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND SPENDING YOUR EVENING WITH US.
UM, WE KNOW IT MAKES FOR A VERY LONG WORK DAY.
UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU INFORMING US ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND KEEPING US UP TO DATE.
UM, AND WELCOME TO THE TEAM AMANI.
WE'RE REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF, OF THE COMMUNITY OUTREACHES ASPECT, UM, ESPECIALLY, SO THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH.
LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEM ITEM A'S IMPLEMENTATION SUBCOMMITTEE, RECOMMENDATION ON THE ADOPTION, UH, ADOPTION OF SOLAR APP, UH, COMMISSION OR, UH, CHAIR WALLACE.
UM, Y'ALL HAVE PROBABLY ALL READ THROUGH THIS, BUT SOLAR WRAP WAS DEVELOPED BY THE NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LAB, AND, UM, I HAD POSTED A LINK TO AN ARTICLE.
HOUSTON'S ALREADY BEEN THROUGH A PILOT PROGRAM.
THEY'RE GETTING READY TO LAUNCH, UM, AND OF COURSE, USED IN OTHER CITIES THROUGHOUT THE NATION.
UM, IT IS NO COST TO THE CITY.
THERE'S FREE TRAINING FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
UM, THIS GREATLY REDUCES THE BURDEN ON, WELL, I, I MEAN, HERE IN THE MEMO IT SAYS THE IT DEPARTMENT, BUT I'M GONNA TELL YOU, THE SOLAR INSTALLERS ARE GONNA BE HAPPY AND IT WILL MAKE SOLAR GO UP FASTER.
SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES IT'S A, YOU KNOW, A PRO BUSINESS, PRO CONSUMER, UM, PUSH THE EASY BUTTON KIND OF THING.
UM, SO IT REALLY STREAMLINES THE PROCESS FOR CITY STAFF, HOMEOWNERS, AND BUSINESSES.
AND, UM, AGAIN, THE SELLER INSTALLATION CONTRACTORS WILL BE, UM, VERY PLEASED.
UM, IT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES SOFT COST FOR THE SELLER INSTALLATION CONTRACTOR, INCLUDING PERMITTING, INSPECTIONS AND INTERCONNECTION.
UH, AND THE GOOD THING FOR THE CONSUMER IS THAT THEY PROPOSED AN ANNUAL LICENSE REQUIRING INSTALLERS TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION EACH YEAR.
UM, TEXAS SOLAR ENERGY SOCIETY, UH, IS, HAS ALL OF THEIR, UM, MEMBERS SIGN A CODE OF ETHICS.
AND, UM, ANYWAY, SO THERE ARE A LOT
[02:05:01]
OF GREAT THINGS AND WIDESPREAD ADOPTION AND THE IMPLEMENTATION SUBCOMMITTEE WOULD LIKE, UM, THIS BODY TO RECOMMEND THIS FOR, UH, TO BE SENT TO RIGHT THE E UH, OKAY.TO THE, UH, COUNCIL COMMITTEE.
HELP ME REMEMBER THE NEW NAME, PARKS, TRAILS AND ENVIRONMENT.
UM, I DID CONVERSE WITH OUR RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNICAL ADVISOR, UM, MR. MICHAEL MARTIN, HE SAID, UH, AND I QUOTE THAT THERE IS ZERO REASON OUR CITY SHOULD NOT, UH, IMPLEMENT SOLAR APP.
THERE IS NO COST TO USE FREE TRAINING, FOSTER PERMITTING AND INSPECTING.
UM, SO ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS? GO AHEAD, CHAIR.
I THINK IT'S REALLY CLEARLY LAID OUT.
CHAIR WALLACE, AND I APPRECIATE MR. MARTIN'S ENDORSEMENT TOO.
UM, IS THERE REALLY NO RISK FROM UNQUALIFIED PEOPLE DOING THE WORK? OR IS THAT ADEQUATELY TO YOUR OPINION, ADDRESSED THROUGH THEIR VETTING AND ANNUAL CERTIFICATION PROCESS OF THE VENDORS? SO IF THEY ARE MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS SOLAR ENERGY SOCIETY, YES, THEY'VE BEEN VETTED.
AND I THINK WHAT IS RECOMMENDED HERE IS THAT ALSO, IF I'M READING THIS RIGHT, WITH THEM HAVING TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR A NEW LICENSE EACH YEAR, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO, UM, HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT TO BE DENIED.
SO THERE'S SOME SORT OF PROFESSIONAL DUE DILIGENCE INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS AS OPPOSED TO JUST PAYING A MEMBERSHIP FEE TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ORGANIZATION.
ANY QUESTIONS? I WAS, AGAIN, JUST SCRATCHING MY NECK, BUT I COULD SEE MY BRAIN.
UM, BUT I, I FEEL LIKE MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE GOT GOTTEN THIS FROM THE MEMO, BUT I WANT YOU TO CLARIFY MORE SLOWLY.
WHO'S CONDUCTING THESE INSPECTIONS VERSUS NORMALLY, LIKE, IS IT THE SAME INSPECTOR OR IT'S A DIFFERENT GROUP OF, IT'S THE VENDOR OR WHO'S, IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE PROCESS OF INSPECTION.
IT CHANGES THE PROCESS OF PERMITTING.
AND SO ONE OF THE PROBLEMS FOR SOLAR INSTALLATION CONTRACTORS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE A DIFFERENT PERMITTING PROCESS IN EVERY MUNICIPALITY.
AND ON, ON TOP OF THAT, THEY MAY HAVE TO SEND THEIR HIGHEST PAID TRADES PERSON TO GO STAND IN LINE AT THE PERMITTING OFFICE JUST TO GET THE PERMIT.
AND THIS WILL ALLOW THE PERMITTING PROCESS TO HAPPEN ONLINE.
NOW, YOU, I MEAN, DON'T GET ME WRONG, IT'S LIKE, HEY, I WANT A PERMIT.
NO, IT'S, THERE HAVE TO BE ENGINEERING DRAWINGS THAT ARE SIGNED OFF ON MY PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS.
IT'S ALL OF THE SAME DOCUMENTATION SUBMITTED AND IT STILL GOES THROUGH THE CITY.
BUT THE PERSON DOESN'T HAVE TO SHOW UP NOW, ALSO DO, SORRY, FOLLOW UP QUESTION.
DO YOU REMEMBER A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THE COG, AND WE STILL HAVE CHRIS CARL, SUE ALVAREZ, THE COG WAS PARTICIPATING IN A BIG, UH, NORTH AMERICA SOLAR EFFORT WHERE THEY WERE, THEY PULLED IN A GRANT, AND I'M GETTING A LITTLE BOTCHED PROBABLY, BUT THERE WAS AN EFFORT TO STREAMLINE PERMITTING ACROSS ALL OF THE 16 COUNTIES.
UM, AND IT WAS PERMITTING SPECIFICALLY, AND I WONDERED IF THIS WAS ALSO A RECOMMENDATION OR IF THERE WAS, WE COULD DIG THAT EFFORT UP AND SEE, BUT THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT YOU COULD GET SUPPORT FOR THIS ALSO FROM, FROM AN ALPHA, FROM THAT PROCESS.
UM, IT WAS LIKE A YEAR LONG PROCESS WHERE THEY BROUGHT IN FOLKS LOOKING AT REDUCING SOFT COSTS, AND THERE WAS JUST A NUMBER OF SUGGESTIONS THAT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE WAS SUCCESS ACHIEVED YET.
BUT NOT ONLY COULD THIS BE WONDERFUL HERE, BUT MAYBE COULD BE A RECOMMENDATION OUTWARD.
AND THERE ARE OTHER, OTHER CITIES IN OUR COUNTY, NEARBY CITIES THAT ARE ALREADY LOOKING TO ADOPT AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS MR. HOFFMAN.
JUST AS AN ADDED LAYER OF PROTECTION HERE, ANY CONTRACTOR DOING BUSINESS, UH, ON A RETAIL BASIS IN THE CITY HAS TO REGISTER WITH THE BUILDING SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
SO IF THEY'RE PULLING A PERMIT FOR THE SOLAR ARRAY, THEY HAVE TO ALSO BE REGISTERED AND PAY AND BE VETTED AND BRING CREDENTIALS TO THE CITY OF DALLAS' BUILDING SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
WOULD YOU STOP SHARING OUR MEMO FOR JUST A MOMENT SO I CAN SEE WHO'S ONLINE? ANYBODY
[02:10:01]
HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.OKAY, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR MOMENT.
DO WE VOTE TO, UM, HAVE THAT RECOMMENDED TO PTE OR DO WE NOT NEED TO VOTE? YEAH, I WAS JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAD OUR QUO.
LET ME JUMP TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
THIS IS CONSIDERATION OF THE APPROVAL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION SUBCOMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION ON THE ADOPTION AND RECOMMENDATION FOR SOLAR APP.
YOU WANNA MAKE A MOTION? I MOVE.
IT HAS BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BRINGING THAT FORWARD.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUBCOMMITTEE, UM, FOR THE WORK ON THIS.
LET'S GO DOWN TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. ITEM A IS APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TWO, THOSE SUB COMMITTEES.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE TWO NEW COMMISSION MEMBERS, UH, IN DISTRICTS, ONE IN DISTRICTS THREE, AND YOU'VE NOT YET HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN ONE OF OUR SUBCOMMITTEES WITH, UH, FIVE SUBCOMMITTEES.
ONE IS NOT, UM, ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS.
UH, BUT THE OTHERS ARE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE, OUR, UH, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH WORKS INWARDLY WITH THE CITY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR CITY'S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AND OTHER PLANS.
UM, AND THEN OUR OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
UM, AND SO AT THE POINT THAT YOU ARE READY TO BE APPOINTED TO THOSE COMMITTEES, IF THAT'S THIS EVENING, I'LL GLADLY TAKE, UM, YOUR INPUT ON THOSE.
NOT TO PUT YOU ON THIS SPOT, BUT, UH, OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE IS VERY, VERY WELL, UM, VERY WELL STAFFED.
WE COULD USE SOME HELP ON OUR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, OUR IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE, AND OUR, UM, OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
SO IF ANY, EITHER OF YOU FEEL READY TO JUMP INTO SOME COMMITTEE WORK THIS EVENING, UM, WE CAN DO THAT TONIGHT.
COMMISSIONER DELGADO IS YOUR MICROPHONE.
SO, UM, THE GIST IS YOU SHOULD PICK ONE OF THESE.
SO THE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU ON OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
WELCOME, UH, COMMISSIONER ALVO TO THE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
UH, AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP NEXT MONTH.
UH, SO YOU HAVE ABOUT A MONTH TO FIGURE OUT, UM, WHERE YOU WANNA BE.
AND THOSE COMMITTEES MEET SOMETIMES MONTHLY, MOST FREQUENTLY EVERY OTHER MONTH.
UM, AND SO, UH, WHEN WE DISCUSS OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, WE'LL HAVE A STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION AND THOSE COMMITTEES WILL RECEIVE FURTHER GUIDANCE FROM THE BODY AS A WHOLE.
SO WHAT THEIR GOALS WILL BE FOR 2024 ALL.
UH, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR MONTHLY SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES.
WE'RE GONNA START WITH ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND CHAIR ROBERSON IS OUT THIS EVENING, SO DR.
SO WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR QUORUMS. UM, SOME PEOPLE WERE OUT FOR OUR, UM, MEETING THIS MONTH, BUT WE HAD GONE TO THE PT COMMITTEE IN NOVEMBER AND THEY WANTED US TO TALK WITH, UM, THE RESTAURANT GROUP.
WE'VE TALKED WITH THE RESTAURANT GROUP.
WE'RE WAITING TO GET FEEDBACK FROM THEM, UM, REGARDING THE VAPING BAN AND, UM, OR EXTENDING THE SMOKING, UM, ORDINANCE AS IT STANDS NOW.
AND THEN WE MET WITH CITY ORDINANCE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEY LIKE THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE RESTAURANT, UM, UH, GROUP AS WELL.
AND SO WE'RE WAITING FOR THAT.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, WE'LL PROBABLY GO BACK TO THE PTE COMMITTEE IN FEBRUARY.
AND I KNOW THAT COUNCILMAN WEST WANTS MORE INFORMATION REGARDING SECONDHAND DATING EXPOSURE.
AND THEN I BELIEVE NEXT STEPS FOR OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS AT OUR NEXT MEETING, UM, ARE THE, UM, THE, UH, WHAT, WHAT DO WE DO NOW ABOUT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GAS, UM, POWERED, UM, LAWN EQUIPMENT.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO, UH, DISCUSS NEXT STEPS WITH BATCH PLANTS.
SO IF, UM, YEAH, UH, THAT'S OUR, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.
ANY UPDATE? WE WORKED VIRTUALLY TOGETHER
[02:15:01]
TO PROVIDE, UM, FEEDBACK REGARDING FORWARD DIALYSIS UPDATE TO THE COMMISSION LAST MONTH, AND LOOK FORWARD TO JANUARY'S REVEAL OF THE NEW RACIAL EQUITY PLAN.MM-HMM,
UM, WE MEANT TO, UM, CRAFT THAT RECOMMENDATION FOR SOLAR APP AND, UH, WE HAVE RECEIVED FEEDBACK ON THE URBAN FORESTRY PLAN UPDATE, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO MOVE ON THAT.
NO UPDATE FROM OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT THIS MONTH.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION SHARE.
MOVING ON TO DISCUSSION ITEM C.
OUR MONTHLY DISTRICT UPDATES FROM COMMISSIONER, WE'RE GONNA START OVER HERE WITH DISTRICT ONE.
UH, DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE? RUSS, JOE? SORRY.
I WAS LOOKING AT DISTRICT THREE AND HE WAS LIKE, WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME RIGHT NOW?
UH,
UM, WE MET WITH A GROUP FROM, UH, SOUTH DALLAS WHERE THEY DO THEIR OWN, UH, PLANTS AND, AND GROWING PRODUCE AND HAVE A MONTHLY MARKET, WHICH HAS JUST BEEN INCREDIBLE.
THEY STARTED WITH THIS SMALL HOUSE AND NOW THEY'RE IN A WAREHOUSE AND THEY'VE OPENED, UM, A SETTING RIGHT OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN DALLAS TO SELL THEIR PRODUCE AND HAVE A, UM, A, UH, AC UNIT FOR PRODUCE THAT DOESN'T SOUND THEY CAN MOVE IT SAFELY FOR, FOR PEOPLE.
I ALSO WAS INVOLVED WITH PASSING OUT 350 TURKEYS FOR APPROXIMATELY 1200 PEOPLE.
AND AT, AS I HANDED THE LAST 1, 350 PERSON, I SAID, THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND I'M LEAVING.
THE FOURTH CROWD REALIZES THAT THEY HAD A LOT OF OTHER THINGS, UH, FOR THE, THE MEAL, SO PEOPLE WEREN'T TOO UPSET.
DISTRICT TWO, NO UPDATE AT THIS TIME.
ALL RIGHT, NOW WE'RE TO DISTRICT THREE.
ANY UPDATE? I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING.
UM, NO PARTICULAR UPDATE EXCEPT THAT I'M STILL TRYING TO FIND OUT WHEN A TREE PLANTING CANNOT BE FUNDED BY THE TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION, CAN THAT FUNDING FROM, UH, WHATEVER THAT FUND IS THAT BUILDERS HAVE TO PUT INTO WHEN THEY CHOP DOWN A TREE, IF THAT CAN BE USED? SO I'M STILL WAITING ON THAT ANSWER.
I TALKED TO TEXAS TRACE FOUNDATION AND THEY THINK THAT THEY HAVE FUNDING FOR YOUR PLANTING.
UM, IN UPCOMING JANUARY, UM, MYSELF AND COMMISSIONER RE WILL BE PRESENTING TO THE NORTH TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST CHAPTER ON IMPLEMENTATION OF C CCAP.
THANK YOU TO MS. POSTON FOR, UM, INVITING US AND MAKING IT HAPPEN.
DISTRICT SEVEN, WELL, UH, ONLY UPDATE.
UH, ON TWO WEEKS OF DECEMBER, THE SECOND WEEK OF DECEMBER DROPPING MY INFORMED RECEIVED A $75,000 GRANT FROM THE USBA TO IMPROVE MORE, UH, OUTREACH AT THE GARDEN IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I WAS ABLE TO BE A PART OF THAT.
WE HAD, UH, A 5K RUN, UH, WEEKS AFTER THAT.
AND, UH, MISS REBECCA WAS THERE AND SOME OF OUR COMMISSIONS WAS CAME OUT.
SO THAT'S HAPPEN, UH, IN DECEMBER.
UH, LIKE, UH, CHAIR, UH, BURRELL SAID WE'RE ON A, UH, THING NEXT MONTH AND I'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED.
I DID GET A, UH, UPDATE FROM TEXAS READY STAR.
UM, THEY WAS FINED $30,000 BY TCEQ.
THEY WENT TO TCEQ, TOLD TCEQ, WE CAN'T AFFORD $30,000, SO TCEQ CREDIT, 26,000 OF IT.
UH, SO TEXAS READY STORE HAD TO PAY 3,500.
AND THEN WHAT'S THE BIGGIE ON IT? THEY PUT IT ON A PAYMENT PLAN FOR PAYING A HUNDRED DOLLARS A A MONTH.
[02:20:01]
SO RIGHT NOW THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT.THE CASE IS STILL IN REVIEW, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SHARE HOW TCEQ, JUST LIKE LET THEM COME AND SAY WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY.
AND MY QUESTION THAT I, UH, THE OP THE COMMENTS ARE OPEN AS OF NEXT, UH, JANUARY THE SIXTH, THEN NOBODY WANNA PUT, UH, THEY OPEN IN THE PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, SECTION OF THE, UH, CASE OP BACK OPEN IN JANUARY.
BUT MY QUESTION WAS TO TCEQ, IF THEY CANNOT PAY THEIR FINE, HOW ARE THEY ABLE TO HAVE FUNDING TO COME UP IN COMPLIANCE TO WHAT Y'ALL NEED THEM TO DO? THAT'S THE BIGGEST QUESTION.
NOW THAT'S WHERE IT AT, AT TC UH, TCEQ LEVEL.
UH, WAIT, RIGHT NOW WE ARE JUST WAITING ON, UM, THEY, THEY STILL SAYING THIS IN REVIEW, SO THAT'S WHERE, WHERE WE AT.
I JUST HAVE TO SHARE THE FINE THAT, THAT'S JUST CRAZY TO ME.
AND SO PART OF THE PENALTY WAS WAIVED, UM, AS PART OF AN ORDERING PROVISION, UM, THAT THEY REMAIN IN COMPLIANCE, WHICH IS THAT THEY DON'T OPERATE.
AND SO IF THEY'RE FOUND TO BE OPERATING BY THE CITY OR BY THE TCEQ, UM, THEN THAT FULL PENALTY WOULD BE BACK ON THE TABLE, UM, AND BE ASSESSED AGAINST THEM.
SO WE'RE ENCOURAGING RESIDENTS IF THEY DO FIND TEXAS STAR READY MIX, UM, ON 4,500, UM, TRINITY FOREST WAY OPERATING, UM, THAT THEY REPORT IT USING OUR 3 1 1 SYSTEM.
ALRIGHT, DISTRICT EIGHT IS NOT PRESENT THIS EVENING.
UM, I, UH, ATTENDED A TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION PLANTING AT, UH, UM, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, UM, IN DISTRICT NINE.
UM, THAT WAS A SUCCESSFUL EVENT.
THEY ALSO GAVE AWAY FREE TREES TO RESIDENTS, UH, ATTENDED THE WEST ELLIS ONE MEETING, UH, WHERE WE WORKED WITH THE EPA WAS AT THIS MONTH, EPA ANNOUNCED THEIR PILOT PROJECT, UH, THAT WILL BE HAPPENING IN WEST DALLAS.
UH, THE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ASSESSMENT.
SO THAT IS AN ASSESSMENT OF AIR QUALITY
UH, THEY'RE ASSESSING WATER QUALITY.
THEY'RE ASSESSING SOME FISH TISSUE SAMPLING TO UNDERSTAND THE TOTALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION THAT IS EXPERIENCED BY WEST ALICE RESIDENTS.
AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE CONDUCTING A SIMILAR, UH, PILOT ASSESSMENT IN PY.
THIS IS THE SECOND OF THIS TYPE OF STUDY THAT THE EPA IS CONDUCTING IN THE NATION.
UM, AND SO THEY SHARED WITH RESIDENTS THE PLANS FOR THAT STUDY AND THEY ANSWERED QUESTIONS, UM, ON THAT.
AND THEN, UH, AS, UH, USUAL, MY, MY NORMAL MONTHLY PLUG FOR FIRST SUNDAY AT FOR DOWN, UH, IT'S A FOOD RESCUE PROGRAM.
THEY GO TO ALL OF THE LOCAL WHOLE FOODS MARKETS.
THEY GET FRESH, HEALTHY PRODUCE, UH, FOR FAMILIES THAT ARE IN NEED.
UM, VOLUNTEERS WORK TO UNPACK IT.
THEY COMPOST WHAT IS NOT, UH, UH, SUITABLE FOR REDISTRIBUTION.
AND THEN THEY, UM, PACKAGE THOSE BOXES FOR FAMILIES AND THEY SEND THEM OUT SO FAMILIES CAN GO BUY AND PICK THAT UP.
AND I JUST FOUND OUT TODAY THAT THEY'RE EXTENDING THAT SERVICE TO ALSO WEDNESDAYS.
THERE ARE A LOT OF FAMILIES IN NEED, UM, IN OUR CITY, UH, OF FOOD AND FOOD ACCESS AND FOOD SECURITY.
UM, BUT AROUND THIS TYPE OF YEAR OR AROUND THIS TIME OF YEAR ESPECIALLY.
UM, AND SO IF YOU HAVE SOME FREE TIME TO GO AND VOLUNTEER AT, UH, FOUR DOWN, I KNOW THAT THEY WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO HAVE YOU AND IT'S A WONDERFUL PLACE TO SPEND YOUR TIME.
SO CONSIDER THAT IT IS ON OUR, UH, COMMISSION, OUTREACH CALENDAR IF YOU WANT DETAILS ON HOW TO PLUG IN.
AND THEN, UH, AS I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, I'M GONNA GIVE IT A SECOND PLUG.
JACK AND I WILL BE HOSTING A CLEANUP ON, UH, SATURDAY MORNING ON THE SOUTH SHORE OF WHITE ROCK LAKE.
WE'RE GONNA MEET IN THE SPILLWAY PARKING LOT.
UM, I'VE GIVEN A COUPLE OF PRESENTATIONS.
ONE TO THE SIERRA CLUB, ONE TO THE ROTARY CLUB.
I ATTENDED THE OPENING OF THE PEOPLE'S GARDEN AT TEMPLE SHALOM, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
DISTRICT 12, DISTRICT 13, DISTRICT 14.
SO I'VE CONTINUED, UH, WORKING WITH MEMBERS OF THE TURTLE CREEK ASSOCIATION WHO ARE LOOKING FOR RESOURCES FOR THEIR, UM, TRASH ISSUES AND ALSO, UM, BANK EROSION PROBLEMS. DISTRICT 15, UH, MANY OF Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE
[02:25:01]
READ IN THE NEWS THIS MORNING THAT THE ANNUAL UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CONFERENCE COP 28 ENDED LAST NIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.UM, IT 'CAUSE IT WAS IN ABU DHABI OR IN DUBAI.
UM, AND, UH, THE, THE CHAIR, THE COP PRESIDENT SULTAN AL JABAR, WHO'S ALSO THE ABU DHABI NATIONAL OIL EXECUTIVE, UM, TRIUMPHANTLY CONCLUDED THE SESSION BY SAYING THAT, UH, ANNOUNCING A TRANSITION AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS AND ENERGY SYSTEMS IN A JUST ORDERLY AND EQUITABLE MANNER.
I THINK THIS IS A GOOD POSITIVE STEP FORWARD.
WE GET INTO A VERY LONG CONVERSATION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S ENOUGH AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE MISSING FROM THE AGREEMENT, BUT IT'S LATE.
UH, I BRING IT UP BECAUSE I WANT TO SHARE THAT.
LAST MONTH, I THINK I MENTIONED ARCHITECTURE 2030 INVITED ME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONFERENCE AS A VIRTUAL DELEGATE.
AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE HAD SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES TO HIGHLIGHT THE GOOD WORK THAT WAS BEING DONE HERE IN DALLAS AND HIGHLIGHT AND RECOGNIZE THE DALLAS COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
UH, I PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE ON THE ARCHITECTURE 2030 WEBSITE THAT TALKS ABOUT THIS.
AARON HAS THE LINK, UH, AND UM, ALSO HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A VIRTUAL PRESENTATION AS A GUEST OF THE EUROPEAN MEDITERRANEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION, EMEA, UH, WITH, UH, THE CITY RESILIENCE GLOBAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR FROM UN HABITAT WITH THE SHELTER AND SETTLEMENT AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE ADVISOR FROM THE UN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ON MIGRATION.
UH, AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER COLLEAGUES FROM HKS AND ALSO HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRAG ON THE GREAT WORK THAT THIS TEAM HERE IN DALLAS IS DOING.
UH, AND THEN ALSO IN MID-NOVEMBER, UH, CHRIS, THIS IS FOR YOU.
CAN'T SEE BEHIND ALL THE SIGNS.
UM, IN MID-NOVEMBER, I WAS ALSO IN VENICE, ITALY FOR THE WHOLESOME AWARDS, THE WHOLESOME FOUNDATION AWARDS PROGRAM.
MET A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM THEIR RESEARCH ARM THAT'S BASED IN LEON, FRANCE.
UH, AND IF YOU'RE PLANNING ANYTHING WITH WHOLESOME LOCALLY, I WOULD LOVE TO LOOP THEM IN, ESPECIALLY IN CONSIDERATION TO LOWER EMBODIED CARBON, AIR QUALITY, CIRCULARITY.
THEY'RE INTERESTED IN ALL THOSE THINGS.
UH, AND SO I HOPE WE CAN NOT WORK JUST WITH THE TEAM LOCALLY, BUT BRING THEIR INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE TO BEAR ON SOME OF THE PILOTS AND THE PROGRAMS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SET UP.
THANK YOU FOR REPRESENTING US SO WELL NATIONALLY, INTERNATIONALLY.
OTHERWISE, WE APPRECIATE YOU, JULIE.
DO ANY OF OUR TECHNICAL PANEL MEMBERS HAVE ANYTHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THIS EVENING? MR. MARQUIS? THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR.
I'D LIKE TO THANK, UH, ONE OF OUR COMMISSIONERS TONIGHT, MARK WOOTEN, DISTRICT TWO, UM, OWNER OF THE WONDERFUL GARDEN CAFE AND IS OFFERED TO, UH, HAVE A READING DONE BY MYSELF AND AMY MARTIN.
AMY'S A WONDERFUL NATURALIST HERE IN THE CITY, GREAT WRITER.
AND IF YOU KNOW HER, UH, HAS A BOOK CALLED WILD DFW, WHICH IS A GUIDE TO TRAILS AND NATURE, UH, SPOTS ALL OVER NORTH SECTIONS.
SO WE'VE DONE ONE OF THESE READINGS BEFORE.
UM, I'LL BE READING FROM THE WINDS AND MY NEW BOOK, RIVER OF GOODNESS, WHICH WILL BE OUT NEXT YEAR.
SO WE WORK WITH MARK AND TRYING TO FIND A DATE.
SO WE HAVE A GREEN COMMUNITY GATHER AND HAVE A READING FOR BOTH OF US.
ALL OF YOU'LL BE INVITED AND ALL THE FOLKS YOU'D LIKE TO INVITE, WE'LL BE INVITED.
SO WE'LL LOOK FOR THAT IN THE NEW YEAR.
SO I THANK COMMISSIONER WOOTEN FOR HIS OPENING HIS RESTAURANT TO US SO WE CAN DO A READING AND GET THE GREEN COMMUNITY TOGETHER, GET INSPIRED FOR THE NEW YEAR TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND I HEARD THAT THE FIRST ROUND OF DRINKS IS ON MARK, IS THAT RIGHT? IS THAT RIGHT? WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT.
I'VE BEEN WORKING, UH, WITH THE, THE ENERGY STAR, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY STARS, UH, COMMITTEE THAT'S UPDATING THE ENERGY STAR PROGRAM AND BRINGING NEW IMPROVEMENTS AND, AND, UH, THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE ABOUT TO, UH, UH, BRING OUT SOME UPGRADES TO THE PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S, AND THAT'S BEEN A, UH, ONLINE ZOOM CONFERENCE, SO IT'S BEEN VERY INTERESTING.
DO ANY OF OUR SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE ANYTHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD? NO.
Y'ALL ARE READY TO GO THIS EVENING.
SO Y'ALL ARE READY TO GO? YEAH, GO AHEAD, MR. GO.
I, UH, PUBLISHED A PIECE IN THE BUSH INSTITUTE'S CATALYST QUARTERLY MAGAZINE ABOUT, UH, UNHOUSED POPULATIONS AND PROGRAMS FOR THEM.
[02:30:01]
WHILE WRITING.I ATTENDED A, UH, A MEETING IN THE
THE COMMUNITY WAS ENGAGED AND YEAH, I FELT IT WAS A PRODUCTIVE ROLE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REPRESENTING US THERE.
I HEARD THAT YOU DID A, A GREAT JOB THERE.
UM, AND IF YOU'LL SHARE YOUR PIECE WITH ERIN, SHE'LL SEND IT OUT TO US.
ALRIGHT, FRIENDS, NOT SEEING ANYTHING ELSE.
OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS, THE PARKS TRAIL AND ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL COMMITTEE WILL MEET ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 9TH, NOT THEIR REGULAR MONDAY MEETING.
UM, 9:00 AM AND THEN OUR NEXT MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WILL BE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2024.
SO I WILL TAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU, UH, WISHING YOU LOTS OF JOY IN THE NEW YEAR, AND WE WILL SEE YOU IN JANUARY.