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Project Updates for collection: 2015 iCAP Objectives

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  1. Stormwater Utility Fee overview

    Associated Project(s): 
    Rainwater Management
    Identify funding for projects without payback
    Green Infrastructure
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam

    The University pays a stormwater utility fee to both the City of Urbana and the City of Champaign.  The fee is based on total impervious area that drains into city-owned storm sewers. If stormwater drains into university-owned sewers then directly discharges to a receiving stream, there is no fee assessed.

    • The current rate for the City of Champaign is $5.24/3,478 sq ft.
    • The current rate for the City of Urbana is $5.14/3,100 sq ft.

    There are credits and incentives that the university can apply toward the stormwater utility fee. By maintaining compliance with the university’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES), the university receives a 5% credit from each city. Additionally, each city has their own Credit and Incentive Manual (attached) which provides an opportunity for the university to reduce their stormwater utility fee by reducing the impact of the runoff from their properties by methods such as installing sustainable storm water practices that allow stormwater to infiltrate into the ground. The manuals have specific guidelines on how to calculate the credits based on the particular stormwater practices that are employed.

    Attached Files: 

  3. PWR SWATeam Minutes 3/15

    Associated Project(s): 
    Use Landfills with Methane-capture Technology
    Recycled-Content Paper Policy in CAM
    Establish a Net Zero Waste Plan and Policy
    Achieve Zero Waste

    At the PWR SWAT Team meeting on March 15th, the team debated over the message in the new Ethics Compliance Message concerning recycling standards and rules. The team decided that two videos should be created, one with base instructions for recycling, the other for explaining the commonly misunderstood paper policy. The team will look more into the paper policy draft and suggest a new paper policy for the campus. 

    Attached Files: 

  4. Sustainability interns continue work updating iCAP Portal project pages

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal
    Topical iCAP Teams
    2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (2015 iCAP) [ARCHIVED]

    CEE students Chenxi Jiang and Shuang Chen are working with Morgan Johnston to edit the iCAP Portal project pages for each iCAP objective.  Chapters 8-12 do not have SWATeams, and the background research on these chapters has been completed.  The edited project pages are scheduled to be online by the end of March.  The next step is editing the iCAP objectives for each SWATeam chapter in the iCAP.  Chenxi and Shaung will be meeting with SWATeam representatives over the next few weeks to gather information, and then the project pages will be edited to reflect the latest info.  We expect to be able to complete this before Earth Day on April 22, 2017.

  6. South Campus Afforestation Recommendation - Assessment with comments

    Associated Project(s): 
    ALUFS Recommendations Summary
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Increase Agroforestry on Campus

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on Feb 16, 2017. They supported the South Campus Afforestation recommendation. Their official comments for this recommendation was:

    "The iCAP includes an objective to add 50 acres of trees on campus, and this SWATeam recommendation suggests one potential location. The iWG suggests the College of ACES work with the Campus Master Planning committee to identify appropriate locations for additional trees. Another option to consider is parallel to the Embarras River."

    See attached the iWG assessment complete with comments from all the iWG members.

    See ALUFS003 South Campus Afforestation Recommendation

    Attached Files: 

  7. Provost Office approves funding for LED Exit Signs

    Associated Project(s): 
    LED Exit Signs
    Allocate Existing Resources

    The Office of the Provost approved $75,000 in one-time funding for the next step in the LED Exit Sign retrofit project.  The funding of $75,000 is for LED Exit Sign lighting replacement, additions, and new building surveys.  Material and labor of $70,000 would be used to replace 343 fixtures in 20 buildings at an average rate of $204/fixture.  An additional $5,000 is proposed to survey 50 campus buildings for exit light counts.  That will provide the input necessary for the next phase, once this phase is completed.

  8. EGEN SWATeam Meeting (3.10.17)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm
    Geothermal on Campus
    Solar Power on Campus
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Sustainability iCAP Portal
    Clean Power Agreements Off-Campus

    The EGEN SWATeam held another bi-weekly meeting. Topics covered include:

    • Associate Director for Campus Sustainability Ximing Cai and his vision for iSEE
    • Biomass boiler at Energy Farm
    • Opportunities for Geothermal on campus
    Attached Files: 

  9. iWG Meeting Notes from Jan. 27, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use
    Indoor Bike Parking
    Green Lab Program
    Formal Sustainability Procedures

    The iCAP Working Group met and discussed the following agenda items.  Meeting notes are attached.

    1. Brief iCAP Portal overview by Morgan
    2. Discuss any updates to Water002, Cooling Tower Increase COC
    3. Discuss Trans008, Bike Parking in Ramps
    4. Discuss updates to Econs004, Green Labs Coordinator
    5. Consider issues with recommendation process and view recommendation tracker

    Attached Files: 

  10. EGen006 Petascale Offsets recommendation - Assessment with all comments

    Associated Project(s): 
    eGen Recommendations Summary
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on February 23rd, 2017, to discuss and start the assessment on the SWATeam recommendation EGen006 Petascale Offsets. The iWG's official recommendation was:

    "This has been an open issue since the 2010 iCAP and the 2015 iCAP.  This should be addressed with the current discussions about supercomputing on campus."

    See attached the iWG assessment complete with official comments from all the iWG members.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen006 Petascale Offsets here.

    Attached Files: 

  15. Carbon Credit funding approved for Virtual Storeroom

    Associated Project(s): 
    Virtual Storeroom for Carbon Offsets
    Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) with Second Nature
    Utilize Carbon Credits
    Reduce Emissions from Business Travel

    The estimated cost of $2-3/Carbon Credit has been approved by Director of iSEE Evan DeLucia and Interim Executive Director of F&S Helen Coleman for buying 10,000 additional carbon offsets, when purchasing the 103,000 replacement offsets from the carbon credits sold from 2015.  The additional carbon offsets will be used as the initial inventory for a new Virtual Storeroom for carbon offsets being developed by iSEE for on campus users.

    An email of approval is attached below.

    Attached Files: 

  16. Inaugural Stormwater Public Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam
    Rainwater Management

    Keith Erickson, Morgan Johnston, Jason Jones, and Stephanie Cash attended the first annual Urbana Stormwater Public Meeting on February 15th, 2017. The City of Urbana Engineering Staff led a discussion with community members on the stormwater management practices required for the City’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The City of Urbana owns and operates a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) which is required by the US Environmental Protection Agency to implement minimum control measures to target and improve stormwater quality. The minimum control measures include public outreach and education, public participation and involvement, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site runoff control, post-construction runoff control, and pollution prevention and good housekeeping.

    For more information: http://www.urbanaillinois.us/departments/public-works/StormwaterManagement

  18. EGen006 Petascale Offsets recommendation - Submittal

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    eGen Recommendations Summary
    PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility

    The eGen SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating, "Continue and/or start discussions with the Vice Chancellor for Research and/or NCSA regarding the development of a plan and budget to procure the offset for all emissions from the National Petascale computing facility as outlined in the 2015 iCAP."

    See attached the SWATeam recommendation EGen006 Pertascale Offsets complete with comments from all the eGen SWATeam members.

    Attached Files: 

  19. ALUFS003 South Campus Afforestation Recommendation - Submittal

    Associated Project(s): 
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam
    ALUFS Recommendations Summary
    Increase Agroforestry on Campus

    The ALUFS SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating, "Recommendation to support a plan for a South Campus Afforestation plot by Jay Hayek, Extension Specialist in Forestry / NRES. Project to convert 2+ acres at the corner of Race and Windsor to a forestry tract. Currently, this land is maintained as turf grass. The new plantings would highlight native Illinois oak and hickory trees and be educational for the campus and surrounding population."

    See attached the SWATeam recommendation ALUFS003 South Campus Afforestation complete with comments from all the ALUFS SWATeam members.

    Attached Files: 

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