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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Natural Resources & Conservation Committee - 07/06/2022 South Burlington Natural Resources & Conservation Committee 180 Market Street, VT 05403 www.southburlingtonvt.gov Natural Resources & Conservation Committee Meeting Wednesday, July 6th, 2022 at 6:00 PM City Hall, 180 Market Street, Room 301 or Virtual meeting To Join Virtually: https://meet.goto.com/SouthBurlingtonVT/natural-resource-07-06-2022 You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (872) 240-3311 Access Code: 393-079-117 AGENDA 1. Additions, Deletions or Changes in order of Agenda Items (6:00) 2. Comments from the Public not related to the agenda (6:05) 3. Adoption of June 1, 2022 meeting minutes (6:10) 4. City updates & review of newly established committee bylaws by Council – Andrew Bolduc (6:15) 5. Ash Tree presentation by Greg Ranallo, Teacher's Tree Service (6:20) 6. Small grant application status for Open Space Plan public input (6:40) 7. Plan for airport acquired land for noise pollution: Canopy, Community Garden. Soil pollution testing: PFAs and other dangerous substance (6:45) 8. Mulch “volcanos” on city trees by private contractors (6:55) 9. Weed warrior program discussion: Community Plant Swap and Consultation event (7:05) 10. South Burlington Herbicide/Pesticide ordinance review and approval (7:20) 11. Best Practice for lawns maintenance (mowing, fertilizing, trees, shrubs and flowers) (7:35) 12. Possible motion on committee recommendation for allocation of ARPA funds (7:40) 13. Members & Staff Reports (7:45) a. Chair- none b. Staff Report c. Work Group/Member Reports: i. Climate change task for report (Bill) ii. South Burlington Land Trust update (John) iii. Open space plan inventory workgroup (Katherine) 14. Discuss Future Agenda Items (7:55) 15. Confirm Next Mtg Date: Currently Scheduled for 0 08/03/2022, 6 PM (1st Wed. of month) 16. Adjourn (8:00 pm) NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION COMMITTEE Meeting minutes June 01, 2022 6:10 pm Attending: Jean Sebastien-Chaulot (Chr), Larry Kupferman (Vice Chr), Lisa Yankowski, Drew Shatzer, Bill Wargo, Katherine Boyk & John Bossange Missing: Andrew Bolduc & David Crawford Virtual meeting set up by Holly Rees- thank you 1) No additions, deletions or changes. 2) No public attendees, no comments from the public. 3) Meeting minutes for May 06, change Sponge moth to Spongy Moth. a. John motioned to adopt the minutes for May. Lisa 2nd. Approved unanimously. 4) Small grant application status. a. Katherine has been checking and has not seen where recipients have been announced. She will check with Andrew to see if he has received anything. Hopefully the notification will go to him and not Ashley. 5) Strategic Work Plan and priorities. a. Committee member submitted their priorities by rank. Jean compiled and reviewed the list. The city actual decides some of what we can work on. There was a question about the budget affecting our work plan. They are separate issues and if we need funding for a project we need to be proactive and go through our city liaison to get an addition into the budget. Re WORK PLAN PRIORITIES.msg 6) Canopy increase and planting fruit trees. a. Jean has mentioned working with the airport to use some of the land where homes were removed to use for community good by planting fruit trees that the local community could harvest or the fruit could go to the food shelf. It would go towards increasing the tree canopy and possible noise control. Larry questioned how much help they could be for noise. Lisa mentioned seeing this area suggested for community gardens. Katherine expressed concern about PFA contamination. Drew mentioned how there is an adjacent piece that the city owns which maybe could be used. b. We have to be careful not to interfere with any other negotiations that may be happening. Diplomacy is the key word. 7) VT Herbicide policy. Drew has expressed concern about spraying along the railroad rights of way and reached out to the state and invited Cary Giguere (State of VT Dept of Agriculture) to join us. Spraying occurs along utility rights-of-way as well. a. Cary works for the pesticide & fertilizer permitting division. There is lots of spraying since the 70’s.There have been impact studies done because many of the rights-of-way are not actually owned by the utilities. Application must be approved by a permit. The Agency offers information and suggestions for product which may have less environmental impact. They take comments from the public and more feedback has increased since the process went online. b. John asked about a city or town establishing its’ own herbicide/pesticide ordinance. The state law takes precedence. A city would have to have a charter change, which has to be approved by the legislature for the change to be legal. John inquired since Burlington has such a policy. If it was challenged in court- it would not be legally enforceable. And what happens on private land…, but if private actions start affecting the public- talk about it. Have the discussion. i. Larry asked about when the state offers suggestions. Cary said most applicants are willing to comply. Of course, if they don’t, their permit may not be granted. The state works with the department of health and they look at the toxicity of chemicals that may be used. Provisions are built into permits to protect Vermont’s waterways. 8) Ash tree borer and Spongy Moth infestation. With Craig Lambert (City Arborist) a. The state had sporadic areas affected by an infestation of Spongy Moth caterpillars, (formerly known as Gypsy Moth). Does South Burlington have a control policy? The caterpillars are starting to hatch. Per Craig, there isn’t much to do. He doesn’t feel we need to be overly concerned. Healthy trees can handle an infestation and survive. Burlap or tape around a tree trunk is not real effective. Drew mentioned that Colchester is using an aerial applicator for BT. Could we partner with them? Cary will email him the name of a contact person. b. There exists a fungi released years ago that affects the caterpillars. Last year and the tear before were drier than normal. This year is wetter and the fungi should start activating. c. More questions regarding the ash tree removal and replanting of other varieties to offset any potential Emerald Ash Borer infestation. Per Craig, “We did a thorough comparison of different control methods. “ He opted to remove and replace as best for the situation. Long range tree treatment can get expensive over time since the tree will need to be treated for the rest of its life. And many of the city’s ash trees are growing in root restrictive conditions- not optimum for healthy growth. When a tree is infested it loses its integrity very fast and treatment will not help. It can be hard to detect if the tree is compromised until it is too late. Having trees voluntarily treated by communities will vary and hard to track. d. Larry would like to pursue possible ARPA funds to be used toward canopy restoration and Craig advised checking with Tom DiPietro at the DPW. We also discussed the knowledge the NRCC is the Tree Board of South Burlington. Craig feels that will change with changing laws from the state. Future disputes will end up in front of the city council. The NRCC could be called upon in an advisory capacity. Larry will check with Andrew Bolduc about the ordinance and find out about the state rules. We would like to invite Tom to join us. 9) Staff and members report. a. Is the work group going to still meet-yes. Katherine will have to miss 6/8, will attend 6/15, and show up if you can- Wednesday 5-6 pm at the library. b. Climate Action Task Force- reference the information Bill sent for the meeting. The CCRPC has tasks for the NRCC. On the spreadsheet- Natural Areas N1.1-N1.5 and Adaptation & Resilience AR.1. Katherine reminded us that we are not charged by the city to oversee some of the tasks the Climate Action group would like us to be involved in. Larry wants to find out who suggested we should handle community gardens- we’d need a budget to help establish any. This may already be covered by the city. We really do not have the capacity to manage or implement or make policy. We can support & advise. John suggested we make a statement for Bill to take back to the task force. Lisa sent this to Bill to use: The NRCC cannot write nor generate policy regarding climate action, community gardens, tree cutting. We can and do support the creation of community gardens that are done in an environmentally friendlier way, the preservation of our natural resources, protecting and increasing the tree canopy protecting our water ways and the work the Climate Action Task Force is working on. c. Land Trust- they are still advocating to not pave the path across Hubbard Park. Involved with organizing for the annual meeting and looking at the SB Comprehensive Plan which is due for an upgrade. The members have split it into sections they are going through evaluating for any recommendations they may want to suggest. Next meeting July 7, 2022 at 6pm -Followup reflection on the herbicide policy & Ash Tree/Spongy Moth discussion -Larry will reach out to Tom DiPietro and invite him to join us. - Work group Wednesday, library, upstairs, 06/8, 06/15 5-6pm Larry moved to adjourn 8:11pm Pesticide/Herbicide Ordinance – City of South Burlington, VT Notification and posting of turf grass and landscape pesticide application. (a) POLICY. It is the policy of the city to take note of and respond to continuing concerns about health effects from toxic chemicals. Toxic chemicals classified as pesticides are designed to kill a variety of plants and animals; relatively little is known about their long- term effects upon humans and the environment. In light of this uncertainty, the city considers all pesticides detrimental to human health unless proven otherwise. In order to prevent unnecessary exposure to such chemicals, the city council, upon recommendation from the board of health, has enacted the following provisions. (b) DEFINITIONS. As used in this section, the following terms are defined below: Application of a pesticide: The placement for effect of any pesticide at or on the site where pest control or other response is desired. Commercial applicator: Any person, certified or not, who uses or applies pesticides in the course of employment. Landscape plants: Any ornamental and flowering shrubs and plants, shade trees, or plants designed and/or considered to add to the aesthetic environment. Pesticide: Any substance produced or distributed for preventing, destroying or repelling any insects, weeds, rodents, fungi, nematodes, mites, spiders or other forms of plant or animal life or viruses (i.e., any herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, acaricide, nematicide or rodenticide) except viruses on or in living humans or other animals. This includes any fertilizer mixture which contains pesticides within it. Resident: Any person who owns or manages the private property on which pesticides are applied. Tributaries of Lake Champlain: Those streams and/or drainage systems that flow during the spring and early summer. Turf grass: A covering of mowed vegetation growing together with an upper soil stratum of intermingled roots and stems. (c) COMMERCIAL APPLICATION CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS. No outdoor application of pesticides to turf grass or landscape plants shall be made on single-or multifamily residential properties, nor on public or private nonresidential properties, including, but not limited to, athletic fields, schoolyards, university greens, corporate lawns, parks and cemeteries, without the following provisions having been met: (1) Prior to initial application by a commercial applicator, the applicator or her/his employer must enter into a written contract with the customer specifying the approximate date(s) of application(s), the number of applications and the posting required by this section. (2) With the written contract, the applicator or her/his employer must provide the customer with the following information, in writing: 1. A list of the pesticide(s) to be applied, including brand and chemical names; 2. Label warnings from all the listed pesticides; 3. Name, address and phone number of the company or non-commercial facility providing service; 4. EPA registration number(s) and if applicable applicator(s) certification number(s); 5. Current fact sheets approved by the South Burlington Board of Health that include relevant information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and/or the Government Accounting Office (GAO) and/or Material Safety Data Sheet(s) (MSDS) that identify potential health and environmental hazards. (d) Posting and notification: (1) Before beginning each application, the applicator(s) shall post signs on the treated property at intervals no greater than one hundred (100) feet along all public and private rights-of-way. All properties, regardless of size, must post a minimum of two (2) signs at conspicuous points of access to the property. The specifications of the sign shall be as follows: 1. Shall be at least four (4) × five (5) inches, of sturdy, weather-resistant material; 2. Shall be with contrasting colors using the indicated point type size; 3. Shall display the following warning on the front of the sign: CAUTION PESTICIDE APPLICATION CAUTION KEEP OFF Both the fluorescent green symbol commonly known as "Mr. Yuk" and the international slash in a circle superimposed upon representational figures of an adult, child and dog as well as instructions that signs must remain posted for at least twenty-four (24) hours; The city health officer's number for complaints, the brand or chemical name and concentration, and the name of the applicator's company needs to be available. . (3) All commercial outdoor pesticide applicators and all private outdoor applicators applying pesticides on an area greater than two hundred (200) square feet per property within the span of one year must give occupants of treated property and occupants of any shall be posted at least twelve (12) inches above the ground and shall contain the date and time of application on the back of the sign; the back of the sign shall contain the emergency numbers for poison control and 911. The notice may be distributed up to ten (10) days but not less than twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the application. The notice shall indicate when the pesticide shall be applied, which shall be within a five- business-day timeframe set forth in the notice. This written notice, approved by the board of health, must include the same information described in subsection (c)(2). The two hundred (200) square foot exemption applies only to ground applications; any application to trees and shrubs requires both prenotification and posting as described. Any property with more than twenty (20) units, or any property required to notify residents of more than twenty (20) adjacent properties, has the option of proposing a notification plan, in lieu of individual notification, to the board of health for approval. Fenced, private nonresidential properties shall post written notices as described below in visitor reception areas and at all employee entrances. a. The written notice shall contain information as well as the specific location where each pesticide is to be applied. b. The notices shall be posted at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to application and shall remain in place for at least twenty-four (24) hours after application. c. Upon request, copies of any or all material listed under subsection (c)(2) shall be made available to any visitor or employee. d. All adjacent property owners must be notified by the grounds superintendent or equivalent at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to pesticide application. Copies of all materials listed under subsection (c)(2) must be provided to all adjacent property owners. Pesticide applications made on golf course turf grass or landscape plants shall require posting of a written notice on the clubhouse bulletin board, in all locker rooms, and on the first and tenth tee. This notice shall be posted by the course superintendent or his/her designee. The written notice shall contain information specified in subsection (c)(2) and shall include the specific location and number of each fairway, green, tee, driving area, etc., where pesticide is to be applied. The notice shall be posted at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to application and must remain posted at all designated places for at least twenty-four (24) hours after application. Copies of the posted material shall be made available to any individual using or employed by the facility. The golf course superintendent shall notify all adjacent property owners of her/his intent to apply pesticides at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to application. The superintendent shall provide all materials listed in subsection to all adjacent property owners. This regulation requires that those responsible for rights-of-way and utility applications of pesticides post described signs or submit an alternative posting plan to the board of health for its approval. No pesticides may be applied outdoors within five hundred (500) feet of Lake Champlain or any of its tributaries without specific approval from the board of health. Criteria for this approval are defined by the board of health's statutory authority to protect public health. No licensed child care center, registered day care home, preschool, primary or secondary school (K--12) may use any turf grass or landscape pesticide on its grounds without specific approval from the board of health. Records. Each applicator shall keep written records of the parties who have been notified pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of this section. Such records shall be made available to the board of health upon request by the board or by the office of the city attorney. Sign requirements and enforcement: The department of public works (DPW) shall have signs available to applicators that meet the notification and posting requirements of this section. DPW may charge a fee for the issuance of the signs to cover its administrative costs. No fee shall be assessed against any city department. The applicator shall be the individual responsible for correctly posting the signs in accordance with the requirements of subsection (d) of this section. First offense. A first offense of any provision of this section during any twenty- four-month period shall be a civil ordinance violation punishable by a penalty of a minimum fine of two hundred dollars ($200.00) to a maximum fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00). The waiver penalty for a first offense shall be a fine of two hundred dollars ($200.00). Second offenses. A second offense during a twenty-four (24) month period shall be a civil offense and shall be punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00). The waiver penalty shall be a fine of three hundred dollars ($300.00). The third and any subsequent offense within a twenty-four (24) month period shall be a criminal offense punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00). d. Any law enforcement or code enforcement officer may issue a municipal complaint ticket or criminal citation for offenses of this section.