The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) met on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 6:45 p.m. to discuss sustainability strategies for the Town, including the Community Choice Energy and Community Choice Aggregation, the MENV (Masters of the Environment) Capstone, and a presentation by Zac Swank.

Zac Swank from the Boulder County Office of Sustainability, Climate Action & Resilience shared decarbonization strategies developed by the County. Swank highlighted slow progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with a significant gap between 2021 levels and the goals for 2030. Boulder County aims to reduce emissions by 80% through electrification of homes and buildings while allowing for some continued fossil fuel use.

He also discussed new construction and existing building strategies, highlighting the importance of federal regulations in energy efficiency standards. Boulder County municipalities and Broomfield are working together to establish goals for electrification in new construction.

Existing buildings present a more significant challenge, with Swank acknowledging that updating local building codes for solar and electrification is underway, following the guidance of the environmental cohort and Boulder County. When it comes to solutions for different populations, such as owners of manufactured homes, Swank acknowledges that a one-size-fits-all approach will not yield good outcomes. He emphasized the importance of equity and racial justice in the work of electrifying every vehicle and home in the county.

The presentation concluded with possible strategies for transitioning to all-electric buildings, including energy use intensity targets, heat pumps, and electrification of space heating equipment. Homeowners in Boulder County face challenges with electrification due to fixed income and limited proceeds from property sales, so while the County aims to incentivize electrification, it faces capacity constraints and large costs.

Parks manager Nicki Dunn discussed recent updates from her team. She explained that the challenge the department is tackling is the disintegration of compost. The current compost bags that are being used are no longer compostable, so they all need to be replaced. Also, there has been a lot of paper waste across the town, so the team plans to start recycling different types of paper, such as paper towels.

Dunn further explained that there has been a lack of volunteers over the past few years, making it harder for her team to accomplish everything they want to. With this in mind, Dunn hopes to hire some temporary employees to help out with daily tasks such as unlocking the bathrooms, collecting trash, and pulling weeds. This would allow the year-round employees to spend more time on the composting and recycling projects. As for the town as a whole, everyone must dispose of their waste properly. “It is a small task that goes a long way,” she said

Andrew Bliss, Lead Utilities Operator, spoke about the current goals for the department. The utilities department takes care of all things water: drinking water, water distribution systems, treatment facilities, and sewer waste collection. They are constantly trying to reduce energy and chemical use to be environmentally and economically friendly.

The Rural Water Association is working on an energy audit to identify ways to decrease energy usage. Bliss then explained that the Drinking Water Treatment Plant is currently being heated by natural gas. He hopes to move away from that and encourages any suggestions as to how. Bliss did caution the SAB that this conversion would not be easy.

The Utilities department is now working on developing more physical storage for drinking water for the town. In case of wildfires, there needs to be plenty of uncontaminated water sources to contain the damage. The town has a few water wells that can be used for this, as well as a river bank filtration system. This system is already developed, so the only thing needed is for the system to be connected to the pump.

Bliss also informed the group that a study on biosolids has been considered. The goal would ultimately allow for the bacteria grown at the wastewater plant to be used for any type of gardening. However, this process requires a lot of money and staff involvement, so Bliss explained that the team will return to this project in 2025.

Josh Davis, Supervisor of the Street Department, reported on what he had learned at the recent sustainability conference. Davis explained that the team’s main focus is to keep the roads clear in the winter with little impact on the environment. When it comes to de-icing roads, beet juice is the new organic method gaining traction in the cold. Like salt, beet juice lowers the freezing point of water, causing it to melt, but it is much stickier than salt, so it does not need to be applied as often.

Maddie Woods addressed a few other sustainability options for the Street Department. Her first suggestion regarding sidewalks was to research options that lower carbon in concrete without impacting the strength of the concrete. Woods also addressed road smoothness for vehicle efficiency. This would come down to economic sustainability in terms of vehicle costs and user costs for maintaining the quality of the roads.

Town Hall representative Nichole Blank briefly discussed the upcoming plans for the buildings. In addition to the recent remodel of the Town Hall, more research is being done to increase the building’s efficiency. Since the building is so old, it requires many updates.

Leah Haney informed the group about the recent Electric Vehicle Ride and Drive event. Haney explained that despite the low turnout because of Sunday Football, the event went well. Attendees were able to learn about and test-drive electric cars. She described the event as “quality over quantity” because those who attended were able to easily ask questions and receive in-depth answers.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds were recently released to the Colorado Department of Energy. They have since released specific ways to support the transition to clean energy. A plan is being developed for town residents to advise them on what they can do to help.

As for the Community Accelerated and Mobility Project, the fund that the team decided on was for an EV carshare. Haney explained that they are waiting to hear back from Colorado Carshare about whether or not they will lead that application process. If Colorado Carshare and Boulder County are willing to sponsor the grant, then Nederland will agree to participate in the 10 percent match required for the grant with hopes to begin progress soon.

The MENV Capstone project is approaching, so Haney relayed the guidelines recommended at the latest information session. The proposal should have a strong application that includes a multi-disciplinary team. Rather than one singular focus, there should be a mix of targets: urban sustainability, energy, and policy.

The SAB only has the budget to hire one person, so a broad proposal that can be handled by one person is ideal. The team plans to use the liaison to review the ideas and clean up the proposal before submitting it. The proposal is due on October 22, and if approved, the project is hoped to be completed by November 2024.

The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board usually meets on the fourth Thursday of every month, however, there are a few schedule adjustments for the upcoming months. Their next meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 23, at 6:45 p.m. and can be attended online. November’s meeting will be on Thursday, November 30, and December’s meeting will be on Monday, December 18. For more information go to: townofnederland.colorado.gov/sustainability advisory-board.