Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee

Comments on Proposed 2015-2018 Term of Council Priorities Appendix A, Section 5

June 15, 2015
Overview
This document contains feedback from the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee
(ESAC) on the section of the Proposed 2015-2018 Term of Council Priorities (TCP) that falls
under the Environment Committees purview. For each Strategic Objective & Initiative, we
considered whether the Performance Measures were a) appropriate given stated objectives,
and b) sufficiently ambitious for a four-year timeframe. We also provided recommendations
where we assessed that a Strategic Objective or Initiative could be strengthened. In summary,
we identified room for strengthening those Objectives, Initiatives, and Performance Measures
pertaining to forest cover, climate change and air quality, stormwater management, waste
diversion, and renewable energy.
Detail
ES1 - Support an environmentally sustainable Ottawa
Strategic Objective & Initiative

Comments

17 - Combined Sewer Storage

Tunnel (CSST)

Thermal energy (heating, cooling, water heating) can be

transferred from sources of water with sufficient quantity and
flow, for single (PowerPipe) and district (Torontos Deep
Lake Water Cooling) sites. We suggest that the Combined
Sewage Storage Tunnel install heat transfer pipes, and
retrofits to water storage and transmission facilities should
assess the addition when located near ICI load centres (to
minimize transmission). Performance measure could
quantify the level of pipe installed, the thermal contribution,
and the resulting GHG emissions reduction.

18 - Water Environment
Strategy Phase 2

No additional comments

19 - Increase Forest Cover

This initiative mentions the partnership with Ecology Ottawa

in order to have 1 million trees planted; however there are
no specifications as to when tree planting activities initiated
or will initiate. It would be helpful to clarify these targets (e.g.
being explicit that most of the 1-million target will be
delivered by volunteers and conservation authorities) as well
as give indication of start and end dates.
We also suggest that the City consider landowner programs
to encourage tree planting on private property.

20 - Air Quality and Climate

The performance measures listed are insufficient for tracking

Change Management Plan

progress against the AQCCMP. We note that the TCP gave

quantitative measures for the Green Municipal Fleet Plan
and the Green Building Policy, and that data seems to have
been already collected and analyzed for the AQCCMP (p.2).
As such, we suggest including a) measurable targets of
environmental quality (e.g. maximum concentrations of air
pollutants, emissions from landfills, tonnes of CO2 removed
from the atmosphere) and/or b) proxy indicators of success
that reflect the full range of measures available (e.g. number
of vehicles fined for idling, tonnes of waste diverted from
landfill, % of commuters using alternative transportation).
Further, the funding of the Green Municipal Fleet Plan and
the Green Building Policy appears to be lumped together
with that of the AQCCMP under item 20. We recommend
indicating how funding will be split between these plans
(p.87 of TCP).
We also note that certain items appear in the AQCCMP but
not in the TCP:
1. Adoption or implementation of a complete streets policy
2. Implementation of vehicle telematics for Municipal Fleet
3. Investigation of opportunities to use City community centre
parking lots outside of the Greenbelt to serve as Park and
Ride or designated carpooling locations
4. Monitoring of the Idling By-Law
5. Green municipal fleet plan
6. Bike and Ride amenities at designated community facilities
(trial at Bob McQuarrie)
7. Replacement of vehicles at their optimal life cycle
We recognize that the AQCCMP is a 20 year plan with
actions recommended for only the first five years. It would
be helpful however to clarify whether and when initiatives
that are not included in the TCP will be carried out (e.g. after
2018).

21 - Stormwater Management
(SWM) Retrofit Master Plan

We welcome and support the completion of a city-wide

SWM Retrofit Master Plan. As part of this plan we
recommend considering the adoption of stormwater fee
discounts as a type of incentive program for property
owners. Reducing runoff from private property decreases
burdens on the city stormwater system. A reduction in
service demands can be reflected to property owners
through fee discounts. For example, in 2012 the City of
Kitchener approved the stormwater credit policy, which
provides credit to property owners who use Best
Management Practices to reduce the quantity and improve

the quality of stormwater runoff entering the municipal

stormwater system.
(Also see comments on ES1-17)
22 - Renewable Energy
Strategy

We recommend the following for this objective:

1. Amend objective to quantify and predict energy supply and
demand for the three distinct energy sources of electricity,
thermal and transportation
2. Direct staff to liaise with the provinces Integrated Regional
Resource Plan on future supply & demand of electricity
3. Define what is included / excluded under the term
renewable energy
4. Direct staff to identify potential regulatory and fiscal changes
for citizens who adopt green power, green heat or green fuel
technologies
5. Direct staff to consult on a potential to shift towards greater
use of renewable energies (as the Vancouver and G7
motions)
6. Lobby the province to allow feed-in tariff (FIT) systems to be
used as a backup energy supply
7. Establish a task force to examine district heating in
downtown, as per the Musee des civilisations
8. Undertake energy mapping to inform program options
9. Examine the potential for local improvement charges (LIC)
to finance retrofits
10. Examine potential to add cogeneration capacity to municipal
facilities (e.g.: sewage treatment plant)
11. Develop a policy on electric vehicle stations
12. Examine a transition to biofuels for the city fleet
13. Implement green /cooling measures to reduce the heat
island effect
14. Retrofit municipal facilities with LED lighting where
practicable
Relevant performance measures would include:
1. Compile a list of community partners and their potential roles
by Q4 2015
2. Baseline the current level of renewable energy capacity and
output
3. Identify current impediments to adoption of renewable
energy by level of jurisdiction

ES2 - Reduce long-term costs through planned investment and staging of diversion and
conservation strategies
Strategic Objective & Initiative

Comments

24 - Waste Diversion in Parks,

Buildings and Grounds

An opportunity exists to create waste diversion beyond

parks and City buildings (see additional comments).

Services Operations
25 - Energy Management and
Investment Strategy (20152019)

No additional comments. We understand that the City is

seeking to increase the number of rooftop solar installations
on its buildings and welcome the initiative.

26 - Large Diameter
Watermain Program

See comments on ES1-17.

Additional comments on ES2

Consider adding a strategic initiative to renew commitment to reducing waste generated and
improving waste diversion rates by referring to Waste Master Plan.
Specifically, for residential waste collection, we recommend improving access to the green bin
program for high density residential buildings by removing barriers for establishing the
program in existing buildings and making organic separation and storage facilities a
mandatory requirement of new development approvals. We also suggest increased support
of home composting (supplying bins, etc.), particularly in rural areas, to save on the costs of
diverting organics from landfill.
FS1 - Demonstrate sound financial management
59 - Water and Wastewater
Rate Structure Review

No additional comments. We understand that the City is

currently looking into the adoption of stormwater fees
separate from wastewater fees and welcome the initiative.