CITY OF BURLINGTON

DEVELOPMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE DIVISION

For information not available through this medium, please contact the City Clerk's Department at (905) 335-7698.

Chairman and Members of the
Community Services Committee

THAT the City of Burlington implement the recommendations of the Halton Public Sector Smog Response Plan, as amended;

AND THAT a City Working Group be established to oversee the implementation of the Smog Response Plan; and

AND THAT the Working Group should include the following:

• Transit and Traffic
• Roads and Parks Maintenance
• Health and Safety Co-ordinator
• Environment Co-ordinator
• Engineering
• Parks and Recreation
• Building
• Finance

That the Working Group identifies further opportunities for reducing the impact of City operations during Smog Alert days and the smog season.

That the Working Group report on an annual basis on the number of occurrences of smog alert days, the success of the implementation of the smog response Plan and any issues or suggested changes needed to the Plan.

The purpose of this report is to outline the findings of the Working Group to identify the implications of the Halton Public Sector Smog Response Plan.

Council, at its meeting of February 7, 2000 approved the following item No CD-21-00

THAT the City of Burlington adopt the Halton Public Sector Response Plan, dated October 1999

AND THAT a City Working Group be established to determine the implications of implementing the Smog Response Plan. The Working Group should include the following:

• Transit and Traffic
• Roads and Park Maintenance
• Health and Safety Co-ordinator
• Environmental Co-ordinator
• Engineering
• Building
• Finance

AND THAT the Working Group report to CDC on or before April 10^th 2000 on specific measures the City will undertake to implement the Smog Response Plan, and any issues or suggested changes to the Plan.

As a procedural matter, this report has been forwarded to CSC as the most appropriate committee, notwithstanding the recommendation that it be forwarded to CDC.

A Working Group met to review the recommended actions of the Halton Sector Smog Response Plan. Members where asked to review the recommendations in relation to their Department and report back on the implications for their unit.

Members of the Working Group consisted of Scott Gillner (Traffic and Transit), Ross Foxcroft (Roads and Parks Maintenance), Doug Richardson (Health and Safety Co-ordinator) (Chair), Narelle Martin (Environmental Co-ordinator), Tom Eichenbaum (for Doug Dalgarno) (Engineering), Grant Ziliotto (Building), and Tony Bucca (Finance).

Appendix 1 is a table of the responses from the departments. In all, there were a large number of recommendations that were already being undertaken or could be undertaken with little difficulty or cost.

Traffic and Transit are already undertaking the majority of recommended activities.

Roads and Park Maintenance have responded that on smog alert days they intend to shut down normal operations with the exception of: emergency work; work on permitted sites and special events. On smog alert days student employees will be sent home. Full time staff working out of the operations center will be assigned alternate work. The Department will be identifying a plan for alternate work for those days. In addition the Department will be attempting to solicit co-operation with contractors that are presently working on contract. Future contracts will have an item dealing with the stoppage of work on smog alert days.

Engineering has recommended an amendment to the Smog Response Plan for asphalt work. They have suggested that Owners/Contractors are to be restricted to emergency paving work only on city streets and city owned properties from 0700 to 1800 on the second and subsequent consecutive days of a smog alert. This amendment still falls within the recommendation (3.5) of the Smog Response Plan which is to " Minimize where possible Road and roof resurfacing activities during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m."

Any future changes to asphalting practices would need to be reflected in future tender documents and discussed with contractors.

Building and Finance is already undertaking a number of the recommended activities. They have identified some additional modifications to some of their practices. These have no resource implications.

Some concern was expressed about increasing the temperature setting due to fluctuations of temperatures experienced currently during summer in City Hall. A program investigating air balances within City Hall may address this situation. Once these changes are in place then any upward adjustments and their impact, as recommended in the Strategy, would need to be monitored.

In addition to the 15 actions identified in the attached table, Management Committee noted that there are further opportunities for reducing the impact of Smog in Burlington. For example, the Fire Department currently has policies in place in relation to training on hot days. Further opportunities within the City should be pursued to reduce the impact of activities of the City of Burlington on air quality during the Smog Alert days, and during the smog season.

A sub committee of the Halton Smog Response Committee is developing a Communications Strategy for all of the twelve partners in the Halton Smog Response Plan. The City of Burlington is represented on both of these committees.

The draft Communication strategy includes: messages for notification to staff when a Smog Alert is due; notification of when the Smog Alert is over, draft press releases that can be modified for each organization, information kits for management; messages that can be placed in various message outlets; and survey material to identify the level of awareness both before and after the Smog season. The initial focus of the messages will be for staff and their families, but the opportunity to reach the wider community will be taken wherever possible.

One of the roles of the Working Group will be to assist in the implementation of the communications strategy.

The activities recommended in the Halton Public Sector Smog Response Plan may be implemented within the City of Burlington with comparatively little difficulty. The two areas of challenge are with Engineering with Roads and Roof Surfacing for which an amended recommendation has been presented, and Parks and Roads Maintenance. Parks and Road Maintenance has identified strategies to manage the smog alert days which need to be monitored as to their impact, effectiveness and cost and possible alternative approaches if needed.

It is recognized that the Halton Smog Response Plan is a work in progress and that the first year, Summer of 2000, will be a trial period. The recommendations in this report allow for the City to monitor and review the impact of the recommendations of the Smog Response Plan as it is implemented.

Respectfully submitted

Doug Richardson, Chair
Smog Response Plan Working Group

Narelle Martin
Environment Co-ordinator