Washington requires energy producers to meet emissions performance standards, TransAlta, the state’s coal plant has been working with state officials to find ways to meet those standards without having to close completely. In order to meet the standard for new and modified power plants, the boilers must be shut down. In light of this, the company is examining new business options including a natural gas plant in the same area. Between now and 2025 when the second boiler is turned off, TransAlta will be implementing several pollution control measures.

According to the agreement, in 2013 TransAlta will use pollution control technology to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides at the plant. The plant is responsible for most of the nitrogen oxide in Washington. Nitrogen oxides are one of the causes of haze. The company will also contribute $30 million to a community investment fund focused on energy efficient economic development and $25 million to an energy technology transition fund to support innovative energy technology and companies in Washington.

“TransAlta is a progressive power company that strives to produce more electricity with less environmental impact, every day,” said TransAlta President and CEO Steve Snyder. “We are proud to play a leading role in this unique collaboration of industry, government, community and environmentalists to chart a new energy future for Washington State. With this bill, TransAlta will be able to continue powering this community with new investments in power production and new jobs.”

According to NRG, the chargers will have a 480-volt direct current fast charger that can add 30 miles of range to an electric car in as little as 10 minutes, and a 240-volt charger that can add up to 25 miles in an hour. Like a gas station, the chargers will be available and lit for easier access 24 hours a day. Customer service will also be available. Some stations may also be included as part of standard highway rest stops with convenience stores.

The company said it will charge users a flat monthly fee to charge up with plans costing $89 per month and including a home charger.

Texas joins a growing number of states with charging stations for electric vehicles along their highways. As CivSource reported recently, Washington and Oregon were the first out with Connecticut following closely behind. So far, there are two mass market electric vehicle models the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt, with other car makers expected to roll out their own offerings later this year.

“In Texas, we’ve adopted an all of the above approach in order to meet our energy needs, decrease foreign energy dependency and improve our air quality while protecting jobs and strengthening our economy,” Governor Perry said of the project.

Before joining the Seattle-based architectural firm, CollinsWoerman, Steve Moddemeyer worked for Seattle Public Utilities and later the Department of Planning and Development to help them develop a new segment of their land use code for landscaping – one that is based on sustainability, resiliency and adaptability. At Seattle DPD, Moddemeyer authored a landscape requirement called Green Factor, which is an expanding pilot project in the city. While the average person may think the requirements are purely aesthetic or part of an earth-loving bureaucratic agenda, it is part of a design and governance approach that is much more dramatic.

“The infrastructure model that cities use now is based on 19th Century thinking,” Mr. Moddemeyer told CivSource in an interview. “And we really have a whole new world – with population growth, energy constraints and resource constraints. It’s imperative that utilities and cities start reimagining how they deliver their services, in a way that expects energy to be expensive, that minimizes environmental footprint and that’s adaptable and resilient.”

The City of Seattle annually allocates $650 million for capital spending to repair or improve infrastructure. One area of particular interest to Mr. Moddemeyer was Seattle Public Utility’s combined sewer overflow system. He said in the late 1990s, his team recognized that the way people treat the land on their property – specifically their landscaping, gardens, etc. – has a big impact on how much water flows into the sewer system. Traditionally, overflow strategies tend to focus on sewer pipe and tank management, which allowed engineers to manage and control where the water goes. But according to Moddemeyer, these big underground structures have a fairly linear relationship between size and cost. So a 2 million gallon tank costs almost double what 1 million gallon tank costs, he said.

Moddemeyer proposed, instead, that the city allocate funds to build a distributed, upstream strategy. He wanted to engage the public, encourage those who wanted to build rain gardens or add vegetation to their homes in Seattle’s residential and commercial areas, so there would be more surface area for rain to be used. This would make Seattle greener, make its infrastructure more sustainable and do so at a cost that would be less than putting a big tank in the ground at the end of the pipe, Moddemeyer argued.

“We wanted to think about how we can change the way landscape is managed so that rainfall stays outside and is soaked up rather than flow into the sewer system.”

There was initial resistance from the engineers, Moddemeyer said, because the plan would turn a centrally controlled system into a distributed system, in which many people would have to play a role. “Most engineers, certainly at that time, questioned how they could trust people – when a tank is there, they operate it and they’re confident in how they manage it,” Mr. Moddemeyer said.

Mr. Moddemeyer compared his plan to recycling. In Seattle, the city has decades-long contracts with companies to use their recycled materials and the city depends on individual residents to voluntarily participate. According to Mr. Moddemeyer, the city plans on roughly 20 to 40 percent of residents to recycle, so that when those percentages start drifting down towards that 20 percent, they spend more on advertising and public outreach – and this is an effective strategy.

“It’s the same with waste water,” he said. If the city estimates that 1 million gallons of rain can be stored through green practices, then the city does not have to devote as much land and capital to maintaining its combined sewer overflow system.

When the city looked at how much it cost to maintain its current setup with its underground tank, they found it was more than $10 per gallon to build additional capacity, Mr. Moddemeyer said.

This led the city to move forward with a pilot project that is now expanding to other types of buildings and locations within Seattle. Mr. Moddemeyer said other cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and San Francisco are now looking at similar plans.

“The old model is, put pavement down so we don’t walk in mud. When water hits, get it out as fast as possible. The new model is to minimize the amount of pavement and then have highly absorbent soils and plants to hold that water in place. That’s why a distributed system at the top end of the combined sewer overflow system works so well.”

“Then you have this huge landscape that is working for you, rather than against you.”

A new paradigm

According to Mr. Moddemeyer, “The old paradigm is causing the climate to change, polluting water, and driving up maintenance costs [for infrastructure]. The new paradigm is about resilience and adaptability.”

Mr. Moddemeyer says that under the new paradigm sustainability projects play a more important role in traditional areas of infrastructure. He says leaders need to look at ways to use a distributed system at small scales, instead of a centralized system at big scale.

“All infrastructure systems – roads, bridges, waste water, water supply – are all built upon the weather record and are built to be reliable within a known range of the kinds of weather they’re going to get. Now climate change experts are saying, ‘you don’t know how the weather will act in the future.’ So how do you deal in the interim when you have huge uncertainty?”

“The way you deal with it,” he said, “is that you build resiliency in the system. At every scale you have little fractals of the next scale up.”

The Governor claims that the changes are needed in order to make the state more responsive to the business community and create jobs. Currently, state regulations require that the agencies must ensure environmental protection while also supporting economic development. According to the Governor, the agencies aren’t fully living up to the second requirement and must streamline and speed up the permitting process.

The Order requires that the Commissioners of the Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency make decisions on permitting within 150 days of receiving a complete application, and/or make decisions within 30 days of the completion of an environmental impact study. Further, both agencies must allow for electronic filing of both permit applications and environmental impact studies.

According to the Governor, the changes “show that we mean it when we say Minnesota will be an even better place for business success.”

Released January 1 of this year, “Climate Change Impacts on Iowa 2010,” highlights the latest literature and research to define specific effects of climate change on the state’s economy. Among the report’s main findings is that changes to its economy and human welfare are well underway. The report identifies changes to Iowa’s climate, agriculture, environment, public health, and infrastructure – much of which affects most or all of these areas.

“Climate change is already affecting the way Iowans live and work,” the report says. “Without action to mitigate these effects, our future responses will become more complex and costly.”

For example, the state has experienced significant increases in flooding, more rainfall (8 percent increase in annual average participation over 136 years) and a long-term upward trend in temperature (a six fold increase in winter temperatures compared to summer temperatures).

These factors are sometimes met with contradictory conditions, such as a decrease in extreme high summer temperatures in the last 40 years. The report notes that this is “likely due to increased summer precipitation and moist soils, which suppress surface heating and daytime summer maximum temperatures.” It goes on to warn that “If severe drought were to return, the current slow and steady rise in annual mean temperature could abruptly produce extreme summer heat, comparable to that of 1983 and 1988.”

Focusing on climate change’s impacts on Iowa’s agricultural sector, the report notes that some changes are beneficial, while others have the potential to be ruinous. The report notes that farmers have steadily planted corn and soybean crops earlier in the year and yields have increased since 1940. But the state’s increased rainfall and humidity have allowed unwanted pests and pathogens to spread, leading to an increase in pesticides, which has negatively affected productivity and water quality. Increased flooding has cost the state and federal government billions in lost crops, displaced homes and damaged businesses. The 2008 flood cost Iowa $3.5 billion according to the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission 2008.

Major floods over the last ten years has not only affected native plant and animal life, causing many species to adapt or move, but they have caused multiple health hazards for humans. Increases in death or illness from heat waves, pulmonary and cardiac problems from air pollutants, the spread of infectious diseases and a prevalence of allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma have been linked to Iowa’s floods – seen most widely after the 2008 floods.

The report said changes in agricultural economy are expected to be the most prominent, with further declines in productivity.

“If climate change results in more serious weather events, then in addition to losses from [2008], disaster services and costs of mitigation and infrastructure maintenance will rise,” the report said. “More costly civil engineering innovations and designs that withstand infrastructure-damaging weather occurrences will be required.”

The report suggests that Iowa policymakers focus on the increased financial and human impacts of the state’s climate trends, implementing strong protections for Iowa’s soil, water quality and agricultural productivity. The report also suggests that the state’s Department of Public Health and Dept. of Transportation consider more directly how climate change affects their missions, as well as helping the Iowa Insurance Division to periodically issue reports of findings and policy recommendations concerning risks and costs of climate related claims.

Despite a mixed picture across states – with some states dropping several spots and others making gains – twenty-seven states have adopted or have pending Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS). EERS establish long-term, fixed efficiency savings targets. According to the scorecard, the number of EERS states has doubled since 2006, and these states account for two-thirds of the electricity sales in the US.

“Even as Washington dawdles on climate and clean energy, states are moving ahead with considerable vigor on these vital matters, with energy efficiency initiatives leading the way,” ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel said in a statement.

Failing to pass significant climate or energy policy, the federal government has helped in other ways, the report said. Through the Recovery Act, $11 billion has gone to state energy efficiency efforts and energy-saving programs.

“Under the Recovery Act, states across the country are making major investments in clean energy technologies and innovative approaches to improving energy efficiency that will continue to benefit our homes and businesses for years to come,” said DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan.

Even with this boon of cash, the report chided states who are diverting “millions of dollars of energy efficiency funds to balance the budget or reduce deficits,” including Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, and the District of Columbia.

Some of the most improved states were concentrated in the southwest, with Utah (tied for #12, up 11 spots from 2009), Arizona (#18, up 11 spots), and New Mexico (#22, up eight spots), rounding out the top three most improved.

California, Massachusetts, Oregon, New York and Vermont were 2010’s top five.

The restoration of recreational and commercial fishing is one of the key components of Louisiana’s response plan. Fishing is a major part of the state’s economy and the ban caused by the oil spill dealt a major blow to the local economy. Last Wednesday, Louisiana opened up nearly 86% of its waters to sport fishing and announced that it was working to create a certification plan that willl ensure the safety of its commercial fishing catch. However, it appears that funding for the plan will come from BP rather than the state, the federal government or an independent source. According to the announcement:

“Louisiana has submitted proposals to BP to conduct a five-year fishery resource-monitoring plan and to increase testing and sampling. Contingent on BP approval of this funding, Louisiana plans to conduct 400 samplings of shrimp, crab, oysters, and finfish each month in all coastal parishes and waters to guarantee the safety of the state’s seafood and fisheries and to complement the ongoing water sampling. {…}

Governor Jindal noted that Louisiana submitted a long-term seafood safety plan to BP on May 29, 2010, to fund the creation of a Louisiana Wild Seafood Certification Program that will enable the state to oversee seafood processing from catch to retail. This will allow for Louisiana seafood harvesters and processors to certify that their products adhere to best practices, guaranteeing quality for American consumers and demonstrating that people in Louisiana stand behind their products. Governor Jindal called on BP to immediately approve the funding for this long-term seafood safety and marketing plan.”
(Emphasis added.)

The FDA has oversight over the safety of commercial seafood sold to the public and Governor Jindal is already pressuring the agency to allow commercial fishing in the same areas currently open to sport fishing while it works to gain approval from BP on its certification proposals.

The Governor’s plan also pushes to restore Louisiana’s coastal areas to the level that existed in the 1930s before the oil spill or even hurricane Katrina. In the plan, Jindal contends that Louisiana has been losing 29 square miles of coast land since the levee system was installed on the lower Mississippi River in the 1930s. A problem that, he says, has only been exacerbated by successive disasters. The Governor estimates it will take $96 billion to recover the areas lost thus far and points to the $9 billion in coastal projects currently authorized at the federal level as a way to get started. In the meantime, he’s moving ahead with other agenda items which are more controversial – the construction of sand berms.

Jindal has clashed with the federal government as well as marine scientists on his agenda as they question both the scientific assumptions and practicality of the plan, especially the Governor’s support for sand berms. Several scientists have said that sand berms won’t work and even if they do may cause more harm than good over the long term.

Despite this, the Governor’s current agenda still calls for continued sand berm construction. In his announcement, Jindal points to the current $360 million six berm project already under construction and leaves the door open for the project’s expansion. Jindal put significant pressure on the Army Corps of Engineers to start the project despite opposition and fiercely defends it. Last week, the Governor and Former Louisiana State University marine sciences professor Len Bahr argued over the effectiveness of the berms with dueling photo shoots. In his, Bahr contends that the berms are being washed into the ocean, a claim which prompted the Governor to put out his own photos which he says show the berm working as planned.

As for other restoration projects, such as wildlife clean up and monitoring the Governor is seeking money from BP and is asking for $250 million in funds already appropriated to hurricane protection repairs to be re-appropriated into his restoration agenda.

The highway stations will support plug-in electric vehicles along the full 276 miles of I-5 between Washington’s borders north and south. The state estimates that nearly 300,000 electric cars will be on Washington’s roads during the next ten years. Right now, almost half of Washington’s emissions come from standard cars.

Washington also hopes that their charging stations network will provide a link with other nearby states with similar initiatives. CivSource has reported on Oregon’s plans for its own charging stations network. In total, the states that are participating in the EV Project will deploy close to 15,000 charging stations across five states. The first charging sites in Washington will be north of Everett and south of Centralia. The work on I-5 will be complemented with deployments along I-90 to include Central Washington. Funding for the project will be administered through the State Energy Program which will also manage Recovery Act funds.

The electric highway project is also part of a tri-state initiative to promote the use of cleaner fuels in the region. In February, Governor Gregoire signed an action plan with leaders from Oregon, California, and British Columbia to establish I-5 as a green highway by building infrastructure for alternative fuels and electric vehicle charging.

“Washington state is a leader in creating green jobs, adopting new clean technologies and we are poised to do it again with electric vehicles,” said Gregoire. “Providing the nation’s first true electrified highway (I-5) will benefit Washingtonians and show the rest of the country how we can use innovative partnerships to solve some of our most difficult challenges like climate change and our dependence on oil.”

The state signed a memorandum of understanding with the company in April of last year. The memo was the first such agreement Mitsubishi has made in the US. Under the agreement, Mitsubishi will lead efforts to promote electric vehicle use in the state as well as development of the vehicle charging network.  Plans for the network include testing along the I-5 corridor.  The agreement also allows the state to purchase Mitsubishi’s electric car, the i-MiEV for its state vehicle fleets at a negotiated cost.

Currently, the i-MiEV is only available for purchase in Japan.  The car was launched there last year, but the company hopes to have the vehicle ready for purchase in the US by 2011 in several target markets, including Oregon.

The vehicle charging network has also attracted the attention of other carmakers including Nissan, Toyota and BYD all of which have or are examining electric cars. The state aims to be a leader in fostering the electric car market as part of its sustainability and energy efficiency plans.

Oregon was also named an official test market for electric cars by the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) which has received nearly $100 million in federal funds to study the use of electric cars across the country. Initial plans call for the creation of 1,000 public charging stations throughout the state with deployment scheduled to begin later this year.

“Oregon’s goal is to transform the way we fuel our transportation system,” Governor Kulongoski said. “With the continued assistance from our private sector partners, including forward-thinking automakers like Mitsubishi Motors, we can create a reliable charging infrastructure and bring zero-emission vehicles to market for Oregon consumers.

Oregon’s test market status is part of the largest national deployment of electric cars and charging infrastructure to date. The EV Project, which is responsible for the deployments will be running a pilot program designed to provide a framework for creating a national electric car infrastructure.

Other states slated to be in the first phase of the electric car charging network include Arizona, Tennessee, California, and Washington. The project will also deploy 4,700 zero-emission Nissan LEAF electric vehicles, to examine electric car usage in the first five states and provide data for future deployment of 5,000,000 electric cars.

More information including deployment and charging network maps can be found at the EV Project.

At the heart of the legislation is how one of the state’s largest drinking water sources, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, is managed. The plan calls for a restoration of the collection of channels, natural habitats and islands found at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers.

Additional pieces of legislation outlined new statewide water conservation goals and set up a vote next year for residents to approve a $9.99 billion bond package that would pay for water-related projects. An additional $30 billion would be paid for by localities, mainly through user fees, plan architects said.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged the bill’s passage, calling water the “lifeblood” of California. He called the bill’s passage a historic achievement, thanking the efforts of Senate President Darrell Steinberg. “Without clean, reliable water, we cannot build, we cannot farm, we cannot grow and we cannot prosper. That is why I am so proud that the legislature, Democrats and Republicans, came together and tackled one of the most complicated issues in our state’s history.”

Richard Little, the director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policyat the University of Southern California, agreed, telling the New York Times, “This is the most comprehensive water resources action that California has taken since the state water project in the ’60s…for the first time, they are tying ecosystem enhancement and environmental restoration directly to the infrastructure.”

Despite some ranker among Democrats and Republicans in the California state Assembly, the legislation passed with significant margins, especially given the body’s track record.

“Our state is dying a slow death from dehydration,” State Sen. Abel Maldonado, told the Sacramento Bee. “This isn’t about Democrats and it isn’t about Republicans, and this isn’t about the northern part of California or the southern part. This is about the people of California who need water. And that’s everybody.”