Grantee Research Project Results
1999 Progress Report: Burlington EMPACT Project
EPA Grant Number: R827068Title: Burlington EMPACT Project
Investigators: Warner, Nick
Current Investigators: Rosenbluth, Betsy , Wang, Deane
Institution: City of Burlington , Community & Economic Development Office
Current Institution: City of Burlington , University of Vermont
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2000
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2000
Project Amount: $508,000
RFA: Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water , Sustainable and Healthy Communities , Air , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
Objective:
The goal of the project is to provide public access to clearly communicated, time-relevant (timely or real-time), useful, and accurate environmental monitoring data in an ongoing and sustainable manner. The project objective is to institutionalize a process for engaging citizens in developing environmental information accessible to a broad cross-section of residents and using it to inform collaborative actions that address priority problems in the urban ecosystem.
Progress Summary:
As a new collaborative effort, significant time has been spent defining and redefining the scope of the project, the role of the partners, and the expectations for project management. Linked to this were issues related to developing contracts with the various partners that reflect individual and collaborative responsibilities. In addition, the project experienced a change in staff and the subsequent learning curve. All these factors have contributed to a slower than anticipated start. However, the speed of progress should rapidly increase in the next few months as each of the partners, individually and in concert, have moved ahead in creation of the key components of the project-the Web site, the public process plan, and youth education activities.
Our project was designed to occur in two distinct phases. It is by design that we have saved the majority of our financial resources to be used in Phase II. We are committed to following a process with significant pubic involvement to fairly decide how the priority problems are addressed and the grant's financial resources will be utilized.
In Phase I of our project, the University of Vermont (UVM) has been involved with the development of the project Web site and associated environmental monitoring and data synthesis. Their first order of business was to determine what types of environmental monitoring happens in the greater Burlington area and to identify where new monitoring might be useful.
The Web site development first required the development of a conceptual plan for the INTERNET software. UVM's Web team met frequently with project participants and with various members of the project partnership to develop the audience concept and user interface. With the set of "audiences" agreed upon by the partnership, the Web development team developed a Phase I prototype, which will be ready for public evaluation in mid-March 2000.
In Phase I, Green Mountain Institute for Environmental Democracy (GMIED) developed a Public Process Plan for the project to use for generating key issues of community concern in a fair and inclusive manner and to determine what we will monitor in Phase II of the project.
GMIED also has developed a report to the partnership detailing public process considerations for each component of the project, based on the common framework generated by project partners. Another report entitled: "Considerations for the Burlington EMPACT Web Site," was completed by GMIED and passed to on the UVM Web team in early April-this included recommendations for a feedback loop for the Web site so that it meets the project's public process objectives.
GMIED also provided organizational support to the project. They conducted a collaborative road mapping process to generate a project plan and timeline for the project partners. This plan and timeline has been continually updated.
In Phase I, the Lake Champlain Basin Science Center (LCBSC) has launched their youth environmental programs. Under the supervision of educators and scientists from the Science Center, the youth from the Explainers Program have been conducting storm drain monitoring in Burlington. They will publish their data on the Burlington Eco Info Project Web site.
The Science Center, Very Special Arts Vermont and the Burlington Eco Info Project have teamed up to form the Young Artists and Educators Program (YAE), an arts based program aimed at providing environmental education for Burlington youth. Educators from YAE have facilitated several fun workshops with youth on various environmental topics. Upcoming topics for spring workshops include diversity and multicultural issues, urban agriculture and sustainable practices.
Among the known areas of environmental concern existing when Burlington sought this grant was the dust and other concerns from residents living near the McNeil Generating Station, a wood-fired energy and biomass gasification plant located in the heart of Burlington's Intervale. On September 21, 1999, the Burlington Eco Info Project held a public meeting in the neighborhood to hear from residents what the environmental issues and concerns were related to the plant and to see what, if anything, out project might be able to do to address them. The Project Coordinator has gathered existing environmental information about the McNeil Plant and the available testing that has been done. Every effort will be made to make this information available on the Burlington Eco Info Project Web site. While we have not set up any new monitoring in the neighborhood, and we may not be able to resolve the resident's concerns entirely, we have been successful at increasing access to available information.
Future Activities:
The coming months will involve an intensive campaign of public involvement to solicit and prioritize public concerns and to raise awareness of our dynamic Web site. By the middle of June we expect to make the transition from Phase I to Phase II. In Phase II we expect to undertake some new monitoring and launch educational programs in response to the concerns raised in Phase I.
Originally, GMI had intended to conduct Burlington-specific research regarding public process to inform the development of the initial public process plan. Given the amount of public process activity in the City from other initiatives, and the ability of the project coordinator to link with those existing processes, this research did not need to be undertaken as a discrete task. We decided, instead, to use resources that might have gone into that research to come to clear consensus among the partners on the public process and marketing plans.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 3 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
air, ambient air, atmosphere, ozone, drinking water, watersheds, groundwater, land, soil, global climate, exposure, risk, risk assessment, effects, health effects, human health, carcinogen, children, infants, elderly, race, age, diet, smoking, genetic predisposition, cumulative effects, chemicals, toxics, particulates, particulate matter, mold spores, bacteria, acid rain, discharge, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, sulfates, ecosystem, indicators, regionalization, sprawl, habitat, aquatic, sustainable development, green technologies, innovative technology, sustainable technologies, environmentally friendly, renewable, recyclable, remediation, clean-up, incineration, gasification, decision-making, community-based, cost benefit, sociological, psychological, socioeconomic, conservation, compensation, environmental, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, biology, medicine, pathology, epidemiology, genetics, zoology, psychology, EMAP, modeling, mapping, monitoring, surveys, measurement, GIS, tools, north, south, east, west, western, eastern, northern, southern, Lake Champlain, Lake Champlain Valley, Lake Champlain Basin, agriculture, business, non-profit, government, environmental industries, Brownfields, transportation., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Air, Geographic Area, Water, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, particulate matter, air toxics, Environmental Chemistry, climate change, State, Monitoring/Modeling, Wet Weather Flows, Environmental Monitoring, tropospheric ozone, Ecological Risk Assessment, aquatic ecosystem, EMPACT, hydrologic dynamics, ecological effects, monitoring, stakeholder involvement, particulates, stratospheric ozone, Vermont (VT), community-based approach, field portable monitoring, public information, particulate emissions, community based, aquatic degradation, surface water, time-relevant monitoring, web site development, water quality, community-based, community outreach, public access, ecosystem health, real time monitoring, environmental monitoring data, public outreach, real-time monitoringRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.