1. Upper Agua Fria Watershed Partnership Meeting, Tuesday, May 7, 2019 10:00 am at Black Canyon City Heritage Park.
Thanks to Dave Moore with Black Canyon City Water Improvement District (BCCWID) for hosting and Anne Hutchison for arranging
Draft Agenda
Introductions and Announcements
- BCCWID
- AZ Water/Ways http://azhumanities.org/water-ways/. Update, April 26 Meeting
Research what Canon School in BCC is doing; explore possibilities for Mayer area
grammar and high schools, Spring Ridge Academy, Orme School, any possibilities to
involve HS students in Wet/Dry? - Friends of the Agua Fria – Agua Fria Days in Cordes to seek more local participation
now scheduled for May 18 at Cordes Visitor Center/High Desert Museum - Conservation easements: Central Arizona Land Trust – Cold Water Farm, Spring Fling , May 16 at
Mortimer’s, Orme updates. - Solar Farm on State Land proposal: Update if available. share letter from UAFWP
- 2019 Meeting Schedule – June 4 at Mingus Springs; Mayer Water District (Frank Soto)
possibly July - Other Business
2019 Goals
Livestock for Landscape- Kathy Voth Cordes Junction Projects – Love’s to start in June Points of Pride Outreach for new members Debra Toseline Project Cave Creek
2. Come Party At CALT’s SPRING FLING. The Central Arizona Land Trust’s (CALT’s) Spring Fling.
This Spring Fling will benefit the conservation of Coldwater Farm, a bird oasis on the Agua Fria River. We have almost reached our fundraising goal: only $6,000 are still needed to establish the conservation easement and make sure Coldwater Farm will be stewarded and protected in perpetuity.
Join us kickin’ up dust at Mortimer Farms! Hay rides & live music, birds & appetizers – don’t miss this eclectic mix. Thursday, May 16, 5-8 pm. Get your tickets now by clicking here (https://centralazlandtrust.us14.listmanage.com/track/click?u=a5d773f8020a2fd3be6 609875&id=f61742447a&e=ae46d64eb3)
Event highlights:
- Eric Moore’s (Jay’s Bird Barn) presentation on migratory birds.
- Locally produced and delicious drinks served by Stoic Cider and the Painted Lady Vineyard
- Live music by Just for MAMA.
Mortimer Farms’ tasty appetizers – all included in ticket prices.
CALT wants to give a shout-out to our sponsors for making this event possible: APS, Mortimer Farms, Jay’s Bird Barn, and True Value. Thank you!
3. Supermarket Decoder: How to Interpret Major Food Labels. Your handy grocery guide to stamps, seals, and more.
Products vying for attention at the supermarket tout their environmental and moral superiority via food labels. Such stamps and seals can make it tricky to determine which producers’ claims are overseen by government agencies or confirmed by third-party certifiers and which are more subjective.
LABELS YOU CAN GENERALLY TRUST
Organic
Any product labeled organic (which stipulates outdoor access and organic feed for animals as well as production without GMOs and most synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides) must be legally certified by a USDA-accredited agency. Experts say that USDA standards are trustworthy; however, some in the organic community seek more stringent rules. For example, the Real Organic Project wants standards that exclude hydroponic growing and CAFOs, and the Regenerative Organic Alliance would like to apply its own certified label to food from farmers using systems that build healthy, biodiverse soil.
Demeter Biodynamic
USDA organic is the baseline for this independent certification, which is named for the Greek goddess of agriculture and serves to ensure maximal biodiversity and ecosystem preservation, soil fertility, and ethical animal husbandry, and to reward farms that operate as “holistic organisms.”
Hormone- and Antibiotic-Free
USDA standards prohibit any use of artificial growth hormones in organic milk or meat. For conventional meat, poultry, and eggs, only claims of “raised without antibiotics,” “no antibiotics ever,” and “no added antibiotics” are permitted; “no added hormones” is allowed for milk and some meat (since artificial hormones are prohibited in the raising of hogs and poultry, that claim doesn’t apply to their products).
American Humane Certified/Certified Humane/Animal Welfare Approved
Overseen by the American Humane Association, the first of these livestock labels doesn’t guarantee that animals were pastured or fed nutrient-rich grass, but the certification does prohibit willful acts of abuse. Certified humane standards include outdoor access for most animals as well as shelter, welfare-oriented slaughter practices, and per-animal space requirements (though experts say that meat chickens might still experience crowded conditions). The animal-welfare-approved certification is the highest rated for meat, meat chickens, and laying hens, ensuring pasturage, sufficient space, and the capacity for animals to engage in natural behaviors. Experts advise caution around other “welfare” claims.
Fair Trade
Showing up on bananas, coffee, and tea, seals for fair trade certification–which aims to foster better working conditions in industries notorious for labor abuse–vary depending on the issuing certifier. Fair Trade USA allows its products to originate on large plantations. Fair for Life focuses on smaller producers and stakeholders.
CAGE FREE
Chickens are allowed to enter and leave a the roost at will. Eggs are about the same nutritionally and size as a caged chicken produces. Cage free is usually certified
LABELS TO READ VERY CAREFULLY
Pasture Raised
Unless used in conjunction with an animal-welfare-approved seal, this label doesn’t guarantee that there was outdoor access or dietary mandates for any of the meat or poultry bearing it.
Free Range
As a stand-alone seal on a package of chicken or a carton of eggs, this claim could mean a chicken had but a tiny covered porch to explore. But combined with an animal-welfare-approved seal, it typically guarantees some amount of legitimate pasturing.
100% Natural
You can find this label on pretty much everything from produce to meat to vitamins. But according to experts, it doesn’t mean anything.
Local
This buzzy word can turn up on almost any product, and it carries all sorts of positive associations for consumers who imagine farmers toiling just over the hill. A few states, including New York, have initiatives that boost in-state products. Otherwise, “local” and traveling parameters are hazily defined by the store selling the product. The label could mean food from 100 miles away or 250, from in-state or across a border.
Certified “B” Corporation
A “B” Corp seal, which can appear on anything from beverages to energy bars to eyeglasses, indicates a company that has decided profit isn’t its only objective. But did it commit to treating workers fairly, to improving cropland, or to volunteering in its community? The specifics, as they pertain to each company, require research on the part of the consumer. This article appeared in the May/June 2019 edition with the headline “What’s in a Label?”
4. This draft document is solely for the purpose of public comment. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency determination or policy until it is finalized.
USEPA Draft Interim Recommendations to Address Groundwater Contaminated with Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS).
PURPOSE
This guidance provides interim recommendations for addressing groundwater contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/or perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) at sites being evaluated and addressed under federal cleanup programs, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) and corrective action under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). In addressing PFOA and PFOS contamination, EPA’s statutory and regulatory authorities provide the Agency with flexibility in how it ensures protectiveness of human health and the environment. Depending on site-specific circumstances, a CERCLA response action may be appropriate (including an interim action, interim measure, or an early action to abate releases and limit exposure, as discussed in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) (e.g., 40 CFR 300.430 (e) and (f), 40 C.F.R. 300.415(b)(2)(ii) and associated provisions), and existing EPA guidance. The information and recommendations in this guidance may also be useful for state, tribal, or other regulatory authorities (e.g., federal facility cleanup programs, approved state RCRA corrective action programs). Red the entire report at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/04/23/2019-08150/proposed-data-collection-submitted-forpublic-comment-and-recommendations.
5. Climate Changed D.C. Is First to Plan to Remove, Retrofit Flood-Prone Buildings.
April 29, 2019. Washington is announcing a goal of retrofitting or removing all of its flood-prone buildings by 2050, the first major U.S. city to set such a policy.
The proposal is part of a broader plan to protect Washington, which is home to 700,000 people and the headquarters of most federal agencies, from climate change and other threats. That plan, called “Resilient DC” and released Monday, sets a range of goals for coping with increasingly severe floods and heat waves, the major climate stresses projected for the city, which sits at the junction of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers.
“Confronting climate change means setting bold goals for the future,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. She said the resilience plan “builds on our reputation as a leader in the response to a changing climate.”
The plan would apply to all buildings, including homes, businesses and hospitals. The District says it also wants to include federal government buildings, though it has limited authority over them. The proposal envisions “a mix of regulations, incentives and outreach” to address each building.
The initiative comes as cities around the country face a growing toll from climate change. The Congressional Budget Office recently projected that hurricanes and storms will consume 0.3 percent of the nation’s GDP, while bond rating companies warn that ignoring extreme weather will hurt cities’ credit ratings. In response, cities are looking at everything from new types of private disaster insurance to gigantic coastal-protection projects.
Washington’s proposal marks a new approach to that problem. The plan includes tougher building codes for new buildings, constructing new flood-resistant infrastructure and helping residents understand the climate risk they face. But retrofitting or moving the structures that already exist in flood plains may be the plan’s most aggressive proposal, measured by the cost and amount of change it could entail.
“It’s not going to be cost-effective for every building to say, here’s how we’re going to flood-proof it,” Kevin Bush, Washington’s chief resilience officer and the lead author of the strategy, said in a phone interview. “In some cases, we’re going to have to figure out how to do managed retreat and relocation.”
Bush said the plan is to first project which buildings will be at “significant” risk in 2050, and then sharing that information with the owners.
“I want to be very inclusive with the process to determine appropriate levels of risk,” Bush said. “The scenarios we use and level of risk we accept can’t be decided unilaterally.”
It’s too early to know how much the effort might cost, or who would pay for it, Bush said. The goal at this point “is putting that line in the sand, so that we can organize around it, and then come up with the tools that we need.”
Being resilient to climate change requires addressing the buildings that already exist in high-risk areas, according to Bush.
“I can’t think of another city that has articulated this,” he said. Simply focusing on tougher standards for new or renovated buildings “is not going to get you where you need to be.”
A challenge for the plan may be the number of federal government buildings in Washington, over which the city has less authority. The headquarters of at least seven federal agencies are located within the 100- year flood plain, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg News in 2017 through a public-records request.
Included on that list are the main offices of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department. Also in the floodplain is the Trump International Hotel, which President Donald Trump’s company has leased from the U.S. General Services Administration.
“Obviously we’re not going to be able to have the same set of requirements on the federal government as we would on private property,” Bush said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t work with them, and come up with tools from a D.C. perspective that they can use.”
Another challenge, Bush said, is finding new homes in the city for the residents whose houses can’t affordably be retrofitted. The problem is that Washington, like other places around the country, is facing both a housing shortage and climate change at the same time.
“Those two big changes are in conflict with each other,” he said, noting that the city’s resilience plan also addresses both affordable housing and income inequality. “You can’t seriously address climate change without also understanding what we need to do to grow more inclusively.”
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