Silvermine FallsNASH
NASH News
March 13, 2012
Last Chance to Save the Norwalk Museum      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
The operating budget public hearing is scheduled for March 21 at 7:00PM in the concert hall at City Hall. This is the last opportunity for us to speak at a public hearing about saving the Museum.  
Power Struggle: Balancing Needs  Reported by Leigh Grant   
"The Tree Conservancy of Darien, together with nine other tree-focused alliances and southern Fairfield County chapters of the League of Women Voters sponsored an educational forum  "Power Struggle: Balancing the Needs of People, Power and Trees" on Tuesday, February 28 from 7-9:00 PM at the Darien Town Hall." 
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The panel consisted of five men. Each panelist had 10 minutes to speak. After the statements of each panelist, the public's questions were vetted and selected by a representative, Kay Maxwell, of the League of Women Voters.
First panelist: Joe McGee, Chair of the Governor's Two-Storm Panel
CT mandates preparation for a Category 3 storm - 100 to 120 mph. A Category 3 storm would have the potential to knock down 70% of the state's trees. The two storms where state preparedness was recently found lacking were not Category 3 storms even though about 2% of the state's trees were felled by them. In an effort to augment preparedness, Florida was consulted because, in 2004-2005, Florida experienced ten hurricanes. Florida realized then that it had to prepare better. The following measures were taken:

  • Connect towns and utilities at a local level. Many towns did not know they had that authority.
  • Formulate a plan and practice it with a real life exercise.
Climate change is real. Sea level will rise 1.5 feet by mid-century and 3.5 feet by 2100. The recent storm was one foot from over-cresting Norwalk's water treatment plant (sewage). Extreme weather is connected to climate change. Connecticut has one of the largest tree canopies in the US as well as having trees with larger circumferences. There is a wide variation in tree trimming budgets from town to town. This extends to state agencies. Last year, DOT spent $550,00 on tree trimming while CL&P spent 24 million. People plant the wrong kind of trees under wires (or allow them to grow up). Problem trees often aren't dealt with. Timed out.

Second panelist: Ken Bowes, CL&P 
The utility has an obligation to serve three groups: regulators, customers and workforce. In dealing with a storm, safety in the workplace is an important consideration. With these factors in mind, the state commission has asked the utilities "to lean into" storm events. The following are the utility's resolutions: 
  • Improve communications before and after a storm event.
  • Coordinate with the towns.
  • "Harden" infrastructure: update equipment (old wires, poles, etc.), vegetation management, selective under-grounding
Third panelist: Eric Hammerling, Executive Director, CT Forest and Park Association 
This organization was the first conservation group in Connecticut, founded in 1895. 60% of Connecticut is covered with forests. There are conflicts between forests and power:
  • Vast inequality in funds allotted to tree management. Underinvestment in the state's forests.
  • Timing is everything. Would we be here if leaf off had occurred before the October storm?
  • When trees are seen as the problem, the benefits of trees are forgotten (e.g.. Important in maintaining soil permeability, reduction of erosion, important to human health: trap pollutants, improve air quality and contribute to mental health. Used strategically can reduce energy consumption up to 30%. Reduce "heat island" effect. Enhance businesses with shady tree-lined streets. Provide nature habitats, etc.)kWh
There is a need for balance, a need for management. Removal of trees actually exposes wires to more wind. Timed out.

  

Fourth panelist: Chris Roy, Engineering & Operations Manager, Concord Municipal Light Plant
Concord, MA bought its own municipal utility that serves 8000 meters and has 30 employees. Concord made the decision to gradually underground all the town's wires while also mandating underground for new construction. Geologically speaking, Concord is part sand, part ledge. Population density drives new placement of underground wires and investment is made in 40-year cable that is submersible. A 2% surcharge funds most of the effort (about $2.00 a month on an average use of 700 kWh) and brings in about $500,000 a year. The rest comes from grants, etc.. Cost is one million a mile but road cuts and similar changes can add to cost. Territory can be a problem as Verizon and Cablevision do not always agree to be underground with the wire or have different agreements. Under grounding is not done every year but so far, undergrounding about half the town has been achieved. Note that Concord is an historic town. The town-owned plant also offers rebates of $20.00 a foot for undergrounding. Timed out.

  

Fifth panelist: Jonathan Schrag, Deputy Commissioner for Energy, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
This panelist arrived quite late and as a result reiterated some of the things that had already been said. More discussion of "hardening the infrastructure". Some poles are 30 years old. Upgrades have been mandated by PURA (Public Utilities Regulatory Authority) but have not been enforced. Dependence on a macro-grid is now thought to be more hurtful than helpful. Encourage dependence on a micro-grid instead. A large grid that fails affects many more customers than a micro-grid. Those with power can then help those without. Place trees appropriately. Undergrounding is good but can be more expensive if contaminated soil is found under the street.  

General discussion and answers to various questions: State-wide training for storm events is being funded. There is a large increase in the DOT budget for tree trimming. There is a need to measure storms and provide performance standards for utilities for extreme storms. There are issues with town tree wardens as well. Many have no criteria to meet for the position. It is suggested that tree wardens should by law have to meet a certification requirement. Utilities are businesses that respond to incentives. "Incentivizing" performance could result in better storm response. Lastly, tree trimming by utilities is not properly done. Florida tested their utility tree trimming with jet engines and found that the ways the trees were trimmed actually contributed to the problem. More branches on trees actually reduce the velocity of the wind and in doing so protect the wires more efficiently. 

  

Respectfully submitted,

Leigh Grant
Our Mission
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The mission of the Norwalk Association of Silvermine Homeowners (NASH) is to provide a voice for Silvermine as a historic, cultural and natural resource. We support a vision of a rural neighborhood within whose boundaries change can continue to occur while the feeling of community and the "sense of place" remain strong, the important historic structures are preserved, and the existing biodiversity, in all its richness, is not compromised.
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Contact Information
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mailing address:  NASH, P.M.B 731, Norwalk, CT 06850
NASH Board
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Christine Names, President; Linda Lee, Vice President; Leigh Grant, Secretary; Eric Nelson, Treasurer; Heather Dunn; Leigh Finley; Leigh Grant; John Kahler; Lee Levey; Alex Modica; Sue Palinkos
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