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A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	June, 2006	Return to newsletter index

City of Saco Sustainability Committee Founding Statement, June 2006

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"Sustainable Development" is rooted in the environmental protection movement and emphasizes a long term view of natural and built systems. A chief concern of the sustainability is that current development and consumption practices are depleting resources beyond the capacity of the environment.

Sustainability has been defined many ways by hundreds of theorists and in dozens of international statements in the past two decades. Sustainable development takes the view that our actions today have long term impacts and that planning and care should be taken to minimize the harmful impacts. It holds that resources are generally finite and that these natural constraints need to be respected, and that actions are interconnected and that choices today should be designed to minimize the use of resources and to help replenish them. Beyond the environmental base, many of the international and state government statements on sustainability have emphasized participatory decisions making, economic and gender equity issues, promoting human health, and protecting cultural heritage.

"Think globally, act locally" is one slogan associated with the sustainability movement. As a local government, the city of Saco is active in many areas where improved practices related to the environment, transportation, and solid waste, among others, could have long term positive impacts. Incidentally, the life-cycle approach at the basis of sustainable development practices often leads to lower maintenance costs.

The purpose of the Sustainability Committee is to identify areas which might benefit the most from this approach and to implement practices and projects in ways consistent with sustainable development tenants. The Planning Department and the Public Works Department are cooperating in this effort because these departments are frequently responsible for working with elected and appointed officials to develop the local rules which regulate development and for reviewing development; for initiating and building city projects; and for providing city environmental, solid waste, waste water and construction services.

Because statements on sustainability cover so many activities and because some of them are not readily addressable by the committee, the committee has chosen to be active from the outset in the following areas:

• Water Quality
• Land Use and Open Space
• Energy
• Solid Waste and Recycling
• Transportation and Utility Infrastructure Planning
• Environmental Hazards

Initial efforts will be focused on the following projects:

Project	Timing
Water Quality - Stormwater
Review Section 500 of stormwater rules and outline city actions needed for compliance	2006
Explore options for Goosefare watershed improvement plan	2006
Educate the Planning Board and staff about Section 500 rules	2006
Explored and implement in city and private projects low impact development techniques	2006-7
Work with homeowners to develop low impact alternatives for nutrients & pesticides in yard maintenance, & extend model	2006-7
Water Quality - Wastewater
Nutrient removal and emissions (phosphorous and nitrogen)	2006
Air emissions - capture and treat VOCs (volatile organics)	2008
Land Use and Open Space
Rewrite cluster provisions to permit clustering in rural areas	2006-7
Complete open space purchases with voter approved bond revenues	2006-7
Plan Eastern Trail bridge	2006-7
Encourage green building techniques	2006-7
Obtain trail easements related to CMP transmission project	2006-7
Energy
Support energy committee efforts in Governor's energy challenge	2006
Solid Waste and Recycling
Evaluate single stream recycling	2006
Implement new disposal regime based on response to RFP	2006-7
Transportation and Utility Infrastructure Planning
Build sidewalks and bikeways in the Shadagee-Garfield area, Seaside Avenue, and a portion of Route 1	2006-7
Continue plans to minimize number of sewage pump stations	2006-7
Plan funding for Jenkins Road water	2006-7
Environmental Hazards
Work with DEP and EPA to remove control wastes at Earth Waste Systems (Saco Steel)	2006-7
Four town cooperative household hazardous waste disposal	2006-7
Junkyard elimination program	2006