JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING - HYBRID MEETING FORMAT June 22nd at 6pm City Hall, Council Chambers 301 West 2nd Street, Austin, Texas 78701 Some members of the Board may be participating by videoconference Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To register: Please email Phoebe Romero (phoebe.romero@austintexas.gov). The information required is the speaker’s name, item number(s) they wish to speak on if applicable, email address and telephone number (must be the same number that will be used to call into the meeting). CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Kaiba White, Chair (Resource Mgmt. Commission) Haris Qureshi (Environmental Commission) Melissa Rothrock (Zero Waste Advisory Commission) Diana Wheeler (Urban Transportation Commission) Fisayo Fadelu (Community Development Commission) Frances Deviney (Austin Travis County Food Policy Board) Christy Williams (Water & Wastewater Commission) Alexis Taylor (Economic Prosperity Commission) Richard DePalma - (Parks & Recreation Board) David Carroll (Design Commission) Alberta Phillips (City Council) Karen Hadden (Electric Utility Commission) Solveij Praxis (Planning Commission) For more information, please visit: www.austintexas.gov/jsc AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2. NEW BUSINESS a) May 25th, 2022, regular meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee a) Rain to River Presentation – Nick Kincaid, Watershed Protection Department (Discussion and/or possible action) b) Zero Waste and Circular Economy Presentation – Ken Snipes, Austin Resource Recovery (Discussion and/or possible action) c) Austin Regional Food Plan – Edwin Marty, Office of Sustainability (Discussion and/or possible action) d) Fayette Power Plant Recommendation (Discussion and/or possible action) e) Commission members report back on any relevant discussions from their respective boards and commissions – (Discussion and/or possible action) FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Ongoing updates on Austin Climate Equity Plan implementation • Ongoing updates on community and climate resilience ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, …
N I T S U A F O Y T I C A Strategic Plan to Protect Austin’s Creeks and Communities Joint Sustainability Committee June 22, 2022 W A T E R S H E D P R O T E C T I O N D E P A R T M E N T Watershed Protection Department 2 MISSION The Watershed Protection Department (WPD) protects lives, property, and the environment of our community by reducing the impact of flooding, erosion, and water pollution. N I T S U A F O Y T I C W A T E R S H E D P R O T E C T I O N D E P A R T M E N T 3 What is the Strategic Plan? N I T S U A F O Y T I C GUIDING BLUEPRINT FOR DEPARTMENT – Sets goals and objectives – Establishes method to prioritize problems – Creates a process for evaluating solutions EVALUATION FRAMEWORK Provides framework for evaluating future programs, projects, and regulations and measuring success of current portfolio COMMUNICATION TOOL Helps explain WPD’s work and priorities to staff, City executives, policymakers, and Austin community W A T E R S H E D P R O T E C T I O N D E P A R T M E N T N I T S U A F O Y T I C 4 Why are we updating the plan? • Watershed Protection Master Plan was originally adopted by City Council in 2001 The previous planning effort did not prioritize gathering input from the full diversity of Austin’s residents • Revisions have been ad-hoc and focused on updates to technical information without public input The plan does not address major challenges like climate change, population growth, and racial inequities The plan does not sufficiently capture the knowledge and experience our staff have gained over the last 20 years The plan does not reflect the findings and recommendations of other City plans The plan does not set time-specific targets or objectives to demonstrate we are making measurable progress • • • • • W A T E R S H E D P R O T E C T I O N D E P A R T M E N T N I T S U A F O Y T I C …
ARR Climate Equity Plan Activities Austin Resource Recovery Goals and Strategies • Goal 1 / Strategy 4: Conduct a food waste root cause analysis • Goal 2 / Strategy 4: Expand the City’s Circular Economy program • Goal 3 / Strategy 1: Promote waste reduction and reuse • Goal 3 / Strategy 2: Create Eco-hubs • Goal 3 / Strategy 5: Retool the bulk pick-up collection program Food & Product Consumption Aggressively pursue waste reduction, organics composting and recycling to achieve a new zero waste goal pending adoption of the new Austin Resource Recovery Zero Waste Plan. • Current study underway to provide update on community wide diversion rate and data to establish per capita disposal and capture rates. • Draft Plan update to be released for review in late summer 2022. Circular Economy Expansion • Circular Cities program education and buy in. • Look at the City of Austin’s internal operations including procurement, useful life and end of life of goods and services. Waste Reduction and Reuse • Work to develop new opportunities and programs • Promote existing programs • Fix it Clinics • Reuse Directory • MoveOutATX • Reverse Pitch • Circular Showcase Bulk Collection Program • Review and modify applicable policies/practices • On-call pilot has been completed • Facilitated better planning, increased efficiency Transportation Transportation - Electrification Goal 1 / Strategy 5: Electrify public sector fleet vehicles Transfer Station ARR Equity Tool Background • Began development early FY21 • Modeled after: • City of Seattle’s Racial Equity Tool • Circular Economy Team’s draft Equity Tool • Useful definitions: • Equity - Racial equity is the condition when race no longer predicts a person’s quality of life outcomes in our community. • Implicit bias – (a.k.a. unconscious or hidden bias) a negative association that people unknowingly hold expressed without conscious awareness. General Feedback • Feedback was provided by SID staff, ARR DMs, non- ARR City peers, and external subject matter experts • Positive feedback overall • Comments focused on: • ARR equity goals • Time needed to complete the tool • Providing a mechanism of accountability to the public • Language clarifications • Editorial recommendations Purpose of the Tool “This ARR Racial Equity Tool provides a process and questions to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of external ARR initiatives to identify and address impacts on racial equity. ” ARR Equity Goals To develop and invest in anti-racist …
A Food Plan for Austin Developing the City’s first-ever Food Plan What is a Food System? The Office of Sustainability defines the food systemas an interconnected networkthat includes everything that happens with food — where and how it is grown, distributed and sold, consumed, and ideally recovered. The food system is shaped by its stakeholders, practices, and the laws that regulate both. Post Consumption & Waste Diversion Processing & Distribution Production Food Justice Consumption & Access Markets & Retail Did you know? ● ● ● ● ● 14.7% food insecurity in Travis County 18 out of 47 zip codes in Travis County don’t have a full service grocery store 16.8 acres of farmland are lost every day in Travis County Less than 1% of food consumed in Travis County is locally produced 1.24 million pounds of food is wasted every day in Austin Disparities in food insecurity in U.S. Source: Feeding America, 2021 When disaster strikes ● Lack of supplies and limited organized means of distribution ● Road conditions can prevent people from getting what they need ● Support services closed ● Long lines and bare shelves ● Emergency supplies lack food that meets culture and dietary needs Disaster Food & Water Appendix ● Working with Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HSEM) and other departments ● Creating a plan to supplement the Emergency Operations Plan ● Will include learnings from Winter Storm Uri, COVID-19, boil water notices, and other possible scenarios Developing Austin’s first ever Food Plan Why do we need a Food Plan? ● The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic & Winter Storm Uri exposed and exacerbated deficiencies in our food system. ● A Food Plan will set clear Goals and Strategies to mitigate the impact of future crises, correct the system’s inequalities, and move toward a more equitable, sustainable & resilient food system that serves everyone. ● This will be Austin’s first ever Food Plan; when completed, it will provide a coordinating structure for all food related initiatives to work towards a shared vision and address key issues Resolution In June 2021, Austin City Council directed the City Manager to initiate a planning process and multilingual engagement strategy for the creation of the Austin Travis County Food System Plan, which shall convene experts and stakeholders to craft a 5-year plan. The Office Of Sustainability is the department in charge of overseeing the achievement of this goal. Source: Austin …
