[All] FW: lunch in Brantford today?

Wed Jan 20 23:13:23 EST 2010

Hi All, 

As I won't be able to attend tomorrow night I send my deep regrets . So much happening here.. but I plan to be at the pipeline meeting Fri Afternoon if you tell me where John lives.

Right now, I want to pass on the information from the coffee meeting I had today with Marguerite Ceschi-Smith. 12 yr councillor in Brantford. I met her in Dec at the GRCA Source water Protection meeting and wanted to pursue talking about quality in the Grand River due to impact from development in the upper watershed. She had some concerns last month about the amount of ammonia being put into the water in Waterloo... 

My desire to talk with her stemmed from the fact that our CAO in Guelph was on the Brantford City Staff for some years.. and has such a stranglehold on us that the whole council have caved to his direction and laud him at every turn . Yet his role is the right hand of our mayor .. and he is not elected. He stands between the citizens and city staff and is unquestioning and adamant about the HCBP group... no contact and no respect. He is behind the SLAPP suit I am sure of the young occupiers. 

It was a most interesting meeting. Marguerite started out in the 80's in much the same situation as Louisette... she moved into an area and a road was coming through it... development was awful.. and she got together with others and decided to run.. a maverick.. She has given me some names of others in the Brantford area. She worked with others in a group called SNAP ( Six Nations Against Pollution) , they invited someone from the Love Canal to come and they had lots of public interest from then on.

There is a local development issue and a meeting last week had 200 people at it so she sees a revival in protection of natural areas. Can't remember exactly what the issue was.. maybe the waterfront?

 A new person running for council this year Mary Ellen Kay.. running on enviro issues. Would be good for us to meet her I think.

Chuck Beach and Art Meens also are names of local grassroot leaders who are actively working on Earth Week activities. They are starting an Enviro Policy Advisory Committee. 

This is disjointed.. like our coffee break but the names are important for a connection. I will see her tomorrow.. at the January meeting of the Source Water Protection at GRCA and see if we can get contact details for these people. 

Joanne Lewis exec director of Brantford Community Foundation and on the Environment Committee.  The city is very proud of its waterfront master plan and there is a Waterfront Workshop April 14th and 15th.   Also an Enviro forum on April 20th  and 22nd and they would love a speaker... I mentioned someone with knowledge of L Erie and the Great Lakes and John Jackson and she is very interested. 

She is interested in GREN  coming to Brantford. Wants to connect with us. I am missing my little diary.. have left it somewhere.. can you tell me where the Feb, March, Apri and May meetings are and dates. I think the May one is in Brantford???. 

When I get these dates etc I will be able to further the link with Brantford. 

thanks all.... Norah

Interesting info on Marguerite below.. re the pipeline? She wants to keep the river clean! but realizes that the pipeline will be needed in Brantford if humans screw up. ! 

Marguerite is also very active on brownfield development inBrantford and at the FCM.  Norah

									Program

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									2009 Speaker Presentations

									2008 Speaker Presentations

									2007 Speaker Presentations

									2006 Speaker Presentations

									2005 speaker presentations

									2004 review

									2003 review

									2002 review

									Peter Krause

									Elizabeth Witmer

									Lorrie Minshall

									Thomas Schmidt

									Mary Jane Conboy

									Theresa McClenaghan

									James Etienne

									Marguerite Ceschi-Smith

									Eric Hodgins

									Arnold Silver

									Alex Labelle

									Tony Smith

									Gordon Miller

									Exhibitors, sponsors and organizers

Grand River Watershed Water Forum 2002

Case Study: Innovative
Planning Approaches to Protect Water

Marguerite Ceschi-Smith
Councillor
City of Brantford

(Slide 1)
In 1999 an article in the Brantford Expositor referred
to the land around Oak Park Road as a "moonscape." Much of this land
consisted of active and worked out gravel pits. This area was slated to
become the City of Brantford's newest Industrial Park.

(Slide 3)
Unlike the real moon the area below the proposed
industrial park was home to a surprisingly rich ecosystem, particularly
along the south and west edges.

A staff person of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said
this: "I wish to draw attention to the perched fen on the bluffs
overlooking the Grand River southwest of Oak Park. I believe this fen
to be the rarest vegetation community in Ontario."

Marguerite Ceschi-Smith was first elected as a Brantford city
councillor in November 1994 and has been involved with many
environmental issues ranging from water and brownfields issues to
ensuring the Official Plan includes environmental protections.

She is the Chair of Brantford's Northwest Gateway Committee, an
environmental advisory committee for the industrial and residential
development taking place in the extremely environmentally sensitive
northwest corner of Brantford. 

She holds a Masters of Science degree from the University of Guelph and has lived in Brantford for the last 15 years.

More recently the MNR is considering designating this area as an area of natural and scientific interest (ANSI).

For several years concerns were raised by local environmental groups and Six Nations about this significant environmental area.

Council realized that the development of the 440 acres that the city
had assembled for industrial development had to be completed in a
sustainable manner.

(Slide 4)
Sustainable Development refers to the balancing of 3 goals

1. the economic well being of a community,
2. the social needs of that community and
3. the environmental protection of its' ecosystem.

(Slide 5)
While the first two are obvious from a development
perspective, it is the latter - environmental issues - which will be
the focus of this presentation. While "the environment" refers to the
entire ecosystem including vegetation, wildlife, and water resources,
we will tend to concentrate on the water resources issue in this
presentation.

(Slide 6)
Water cycle: This slide is a graphical representation
of the water cycle. A portion of any rainfall evaporates, another
portion will find its way downstream via ditches, streams etc. and a
portion will seep into the ground, feeding the groundwater table.

The percentages change, obviously, when development occurs. A much
smaller portion can be expected to infiltrate the ground, as a larger
part of the development has been covered by roads, parking lots and
buildings. This interrelationship between surface and groundwater
became the most important element in the design considerations of the
North West Industrial Area (NWIA).

(Slide 7)
Watershed: This slide shows the extent of the major watershed boundary, which drains the majority of the industrial park.

(Slide 8)
Watershed cross section: Here we show, in crossection,
how this aquifer flows underneath the industrial park, outletting along
the slopes or bluffs adjacent to the south and west. This is the area
we referred to earlier as a perched fen community.

(Slide 9)
Perched fen: This is one of the rarest vegetation
communities in Ontario. It is called a "perched" fen since it does not
occur in a wetland basin, but on a hillside. It is totally sustained by
seepage from the underground watershed (aquifer). It's origin was
probably 12,500 years ago along the shores of what was then a glacial
lake (Lake Warren) and has survived to this day. It contains many rare
vegetation species, which would be at risk if the aquifer discharge was
altered in any way.

While there were many other issues that were reviewed when we
developed the sustainable environmental protection plan, it is the
perched fen community which best illustrated the possible negative
impact of development on the environment (in particular on the
watershed). That is why Brantford had to find a balance between their
need for economic growth and the recognition of the importance of the
ecosystem in the NWIA.

(Slide 10)
So how did Brantford deal with this balancing act? How were these two seemingly opposite goals integrated?

The first step was to recognize the problem. The second step was to
make sure we knew as much as possible about the various issues and
their interrelationship with each other. While the recognition factor
was obvious in 1999, the process since that time has been intensive and
was managed by staff and a steering committee which consisted of
government agencies, council, staff, community members, and
consultants. It was a very inclusive approach to ensure no issues were
overlooked.

(Slide 11)
The third step involved the development of an
environmental plan which provided the framework for the development to
go ahead. The development of a the draft plan was an intensive process
involving the public, all government agencies including the GRCA,
various consultants and staff. The draft plan established the various
road patterns, land uses, and conditions of development.

The time allotted today does not permit a thorough review of all the
details of the planning process (the second step), so I will
concentrate further on the necessary steps, rules regulations and
design concepts that went into the preparation of the environmental
protection plan.

(Slide 12)
The lands were rezoned to separate the industrial, residential and environmental areas identified as open space.

(Slide 13)
An additional control used to protect the watershed
was the establishment of an eco-corridor to protect wildlife and the
needs of the receiving watershed.

Additional buffer zones were established to provide the necessary
"space" between the proposed development and the no-build/development
areas.

(Slide 14)
The use of buffers, eco-corridors, zoning, and
setbacks were planning tools used to protect lands that receive runoff
from the development areas. While these may be intangible, they are
none-the-less very important by limiting the extent of development.

In addition to these planning methods, certain physical steps were
taken to ensure that the runoff from the business park is treated
before it outlets to the Grand River, and in this case even before it
reaches sensitive environmental areas. This is referred to as "source"
controls. A number of methods of treating runoff were mandated before
any runoff could leave a development site. This "treatment train"
included:

(Slide 15)
Lot controls and site plan control manual

(Slide 16)
Oil Grit separators are installed to protect against
sedimentation or pollution runoff (quality runoff). Additional steps
include storage of runoff on site, whether it be on the roof tops, or
in parking lots. This flow is throttled on site and treated before it
leaves the site and enters the sewers located on the roads. Additional
landscaping and grading ensures that the water is treated on site.
These requirements are outlined in a site plan control manual.

(Slide 17)
Spill controls:Throughout the industrial park, water
treatment boxes are located strategically to ensure runoff from the
roads is treated before being outletted. Additional modified
catchbasins are provided with deep sumps to protect against the risk of
pollution from spills and runoff.

(Slide 18)
Exfilltration trench: One of the more innovative
technologies implemented in the business park, was the use of of an
exfilltration trench design. It is a method of splitting the storm
water runoff. The first, lower pipe, is designed to infiltrate the
water back into the ground. In so doing, the water table (aquifer) is
ensured of being fed the same amount of water as it had before
development. While this may not be workable in all developments, the
sandy/gravel type of soils is ideally suited for this type of design.
The balance of the water is captured in the second, higher pipe,
directed toward another treatment system- the stormwater management
pond.

(Slide 19)
Storm water management pond: The pond you see on this
slide- acted as a sediment pond during construction, and also as a
storm water management pond after construction. Even though the water
has been treated on specific development sites, the pond ensures that
both quantity and quality are controlled and monitored before outleting
to the Grand River.

(Slide 20)
Additional methods of environmental protection
provided during the design and construction included methods to
revegetate disturbed area, provide physical barriers such as fences or
vegetation to separate the construction and environmental areas.

(Slide 21)
Landscaping: Finally, developed areas were landscaped
, using locally suitable plants to protect against erosion, and to
direct runoff to treatment areas.

(Slide 22)
Operations and Monitoring: While best efforts can be
made to treat the runoff on site, the question always remains- are the
methods used working? The City has embarked on a program of monitoring
the water- this has been going on for a couple of years now, and will
continue until the area is fully developed.

To date the monitoring has shown that in spite of all the
construction- no changes have taken place in the quantity and quality
of the water in the watershed.

(Slide 23)
Lastly, what happens after the various industries move
in. The city is developing a land owners manual to make sure that the
owners are aware of the sensitive nature of the area, that they can
help- through simple housekeeping rules (garbage, sweeping, storage).
Protecting the watershed is everyone's responsibility.

(Slide 24)
Conclusion:To date phase one has been developed. The
monitoring of the drainage systems from a quantity and quality
standpoint has confirmed the desired results; indeed a 30% safety
factor has been built in. Cutting edge technology has been used to plan
for and construct a project which protects water at the source.

The province is rumored to be considering source water protection
amendments in the EPA. We are proud to be ahead of the game- We believe
that sustainable development is achievable.

A few newspaper headings shown here summarize the northwest industrial park as our gateway to success.

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