Arlington Greens Urge Improvements to the Proposed Community Energy Plan at the County Board hearing, April 26, 2011

Good evening. My name is Stephen Davis, and I have lived in Arlington County for 33 years. I’m here tonight on behalf of the Arlington Green Party to address the Community Energy Plan contemplated in Consent Item 26.

The Arlington Green Party has been monitoring the development of the Community Energy Plan with great interest, and we believe that the County government should be commended for initiating this effort,

As a general matter, with the exception of developing a District Energy model, the Task Force report seems to regard the County government’s roles primarily as citizen/business energy education, moral suasion, and serving as a resource for individuals and businesses in implementing the actions recommended in the final Report. We agree with these policies, but we also believe that the County government should more aggressively seek ways to provide direct financial incentives, that the County should place greater emphasis on raising environmental and energy consciousness in Arlington’s public schools, and
that the County should more actively advocate with state and federal officials for those policies which will assist it reaching its Community Energy Plan goals.

In general, we agree in principle with most of the Task Force recommendations, but there are a few exceptions. Specifically I would refer you to the comments we submitted to the draft report and which are found on the County’s website.

Tonight I would like to address one of the larger concerns we have with the proposed Community Energy Plan. This is the District Energy model.

Clearly, the District Energy model provides significant benefits for higher density developed areas, such as greatly improved efficiency, better security and a smaller GHG footprint. In our view, the establishment of District Energy entities is the key to the Community Energy Plan.

Nonetheless, implementation of an Arlington District Energy model remains unclear at best due to the Dillon Rule legal doctrine. Thus, to create a District Energy entity, Arlington would have to seek and obtain authority from the Commonwealth.

The question of the legal sufficiency of the District Energy model was raised several times during the Task Force meetings, but each time the response was that the issue was “being explored.” In our view, until this issue is resolved, the likelihood of successful implementation of the Community Energy Plan is in doubt.

Linked to the establishment of the District Energy model is the recommendation to create a mixed-use, net-zero energy scale project. This recommendation is critical to demonstrate the viability of the District Energy concept, and the District Energy model is critical to the success of the scale project. However, if the District Energy idea itself is not feasible, then this scale project recommendation becomes moot.

As I noted previously, we support most of the proposals outlined in the Report, although we believe that some could have gone further, but until the legal issues inherent in the District Energy model are resolved, we do not believe that the proposed Community Energy Plan can move forward.

Posted at 01:26 PM ET, 04/22/2011
Arlington Greens call for a plastic bag and Styrofoam ban
By Christy Goodman
The Arlington Green Party called on the Arlington County Board to ban plastic bags and Styrofoam products from supermarkets and food retailers Friday morning.

“The need has never been greater since the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) has called for a massive reduction in the waste that flows into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, much of it consisting of plastic bags and Styrofoam debris,” said Audrey Clement, a candidate for Arlington County Board, outside of the county offices.

Audrey Clement, a Green Party candidate for Arlington County Board, calls for a ban on plastic bags and Styrofoam products from county supermarkets and food retailers. (By Christy Goodman/The Washington Post)
The District successfully adopted a five-cent plastic bag tax last year. Montgomery County is considering a similar law. Bills to tax the bags in Maryland were rejected this year by the state’s General Assembly.

Arlington officials have said that under the Dillon Rule, they need permission from the General Assembly to enact such a ban. The county backed state legislation adding a tax on plastic bags for the past three years, but the bills have not been successful.

The county can adopt its own ordinances for the ban, Clement said. Virginia allows localities to adopt solid waste management plans, subject to Virginia Waste Management Board rules, she said.

“The Dillon Rule doesn’t apply,” said Clement, who encouraged the board to adopt the ban and allow people to challenge it in court.

Clement delivered a letter addressed to Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman (D) and copies of 2007 San Francisco ordinances banning plastic bags and Styrofoam to the county clerk’s office.

Board members J. Walter Tejada (D) and Mary Hynes (D) are up for election this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/arlington-greens-call-for-a-plastic-bag-and-styrofoam-ban/2011/04/22/AFKpipPE_blog.html?referrer=emaillink

On Earth Day, April 22, 2011, Arlington Greens asked the County Board to ban the use of carry out plastic bags and Styrofoam food containers at retail stores. Audrey Clements, treasurer of the Arlington Greens, announced the Greens’ petition to the County Board which included two model ordinances drawn from existing laws in the City of San Francisco, California.

The letter to the County Board is below:

Honorable Chris Zimmerman
Chairman, Arlington County Board
2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201 April 22, 2011

Dear Chairman Zimmerman:

The Arlington Green Party calls on Arlington County Board to adopt ordinances banning plastic bags in supermarkets and chain drugs stores and eliminate Styrofoam from food service outlets. The need has never been greater, since the EPA has called for a massive reduction in the waste that flows into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, much of it consisting of plastic bags and Styrofoam debris.

Arlington County has the authority to enact the bans because Section 10.1-1411 of Virginia Code authorizes municipalities to draw up plans to reduce waste, subject only to regulations from the Virginia Waste Management Board. Furthermore in an email to Arlington Greens on January 24, 2011, Cindy Berndt, Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), acknowledged that neither Virginia Code nor the Waste Management Board’s regulations stop a municipal bag ban as a form of waste management reduction.

County Board says it wants a tax on plastic bags like the one adopted by the District of Columbia in 2010 that reduced bag use by 80 percent. However, the Virginia General Assembly took that option off the table by recently defeating in committee two bills to tax plastic bags. As a result the county has no alternative other than a ban to reduce waste dumped into landfills and the Potomac River watershed.

In 2007 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted ordinances banning plastic bags and Styrofoam. The result, according to a 2008 NPR report, was the elimination of 5 million bags per month. The Arlington Green Party does not want to re-invent the wheel. We ask that Arlington County Board adopt the language of the San Francisco ordinances. The bans San Francisco enacted have stood the test of time and reduced waste in that great city. They can work here also. All it takes is a commitment to stop green washing and start greening Arlington County. Copies of the proposed ordinances and the email from DEQ are attached.

Sincerely yours,

John Reeder
Convener
Arlington Green Party
P.O. Box 50473 - Arlington, VA 22205
Email: [email protected]

What: A Panel Discussion on Reducing Plastic Bag and Styrofoam Use in Arlington County
A panel of speakers discussed alternatives to single use plastic grocery bags and styrofoam food containers in Arlington food stores and restaurants on April 3, at the Arlington Central Library. A videotape of the 1 1/2 hour discussion with a question and answer period with audience members will be shown on Arlington Independent Media cable channel 39 in June 2011.

Panel members included

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/going-green-environment/conservation-in-action/norton-bag-env.html

How Arlington is Fulfilling the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Austin Stout, 6th Grade Student at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Arlington VA

Arlington is striving for a goal of a perfectly well-balanced community with different backgrounds where everyone is included. People celebrate the value of culture with all kinds of dazzling fairs, programs, and heritage months all year round! The people and their religions may seem scattered, but, within this variety therelies unity.

Also, there’s an abundance of language learning programs all overArlington. Most are held at community centers, and it’s easy to find out on the informative Arlington county website! Arlington shines the spotlight on a culture every month. This means that we rejoice a different heritage and broaden a new horizon to our eyes.

This includes every culture from Australian to Zimbabwean.People will bring new foods around, dance in different ways, and practically change their lifestyle to open up more to another culture. Not only do we celebrate a whole month in the name of culture but we also have the festival, “The Taste of Arlington,” in which people from the far reaches of our planet join together to taste, eat, and mix different foods! All the while being green and donating proceeds to different charities! There are always new ways to help each other or become friends andmake a stronger and more diverse community.

Ultimately, all events are part of a manifestation that allows us to pervade through the universein our journey through life and mankind. MLK wanted peace andhappiness for all, and Arlington is helping to achieve that goal.