Henrico’s ‘HEART’ environmental committee makes several proposals to supervisors

A new Henrico environmental committee composed of government employees from various Henrico agencies has made several environmental-themed proposals for the county’s board of supervisors to consider.

Henrico’s Environmental Action Resource Team, or HEART, was created to help promote sustainability and energy conservation throughout the county, while also working to reduce the impact of government services on the environment.

During a July 11 board of supervisors work session, Assistant Division Director for Solid Waste and Recycling Josh Byerly of the Resource Conservation Subcommittee emphasized the importance of initiatives to share environmental metrics with the public, including data on recycling, energy, water, solar and waste.

In addition, Byerly explained the benefits of advanced metering infrastructure (or AMI) – water meters that can provide real time data as opposed to requiring a person physically check each meter.

Byerly also presented to the board an interest in expanding the reuse of biogas from the Wastewater Recovery Facility. While some of the biogas, which is 60% methane, currently is reused for heating in the treatment process, Byerly wants to look at ways of utilizing the rest of the biogas, such as converting it into energy or putting it back on the electrical grid.

Currently, landfill gas at the now closed Springfield Road Landfill is captured as a resource and has been for more than a decade. More than 3 billion standard cubic feet of gas equates to 143,000 megawatt hours of electricity, and more than 60 million pounds of methane, said Byerly, citing the statistics for the last decade. There is a roughly $10,000 revenue benefit to the county from this project, he said.

The county owns 6,300 acres of forest, or 4% of the county’s landmass, Deputy County Manager Steven Yob noted. There are companies that will pay for the carbon emissions sequestered in forests, Yob explained, and county officials are currently exploring that option.

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Henrico Department of Public Works Floodplain Manager Kristin Owen of the Water Resources Subcommittee recommended to the board the installation of riparian buffers, natural vegetation placed near water to protect it from pollutants and erosion. The Lake Hening project will involve planting trees to improve water quality and putting up educational signage near the Western Henrico Government Center off of East Parham Road.

Yob followed up with the board to explain that the county’s zoning ordinances encourage conservation by allowing developers to earn incentives for conserving energy and water or implementing green roofs.

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Department of Public Works, Transportation Development Project Manager Ryan Levering spoke on behalf of the Active Transportation and Mobility Subcommittee to recommend identifying areas that lack "active transportation" options (such as bike, transit or sidewalk connections) and bringing those areas to the attention of officials at the Department of Public Works. Levering also recommended creating a resource that educates citizens about existing transit routes and how to travel without a car safely and lawfully.

“I think our subcommittee would love to see increased programming in schools or at recreation centers, things like that, that maybe discuss safe biking from an early age, especially as we have more bike lanes and more trails and things of that nature added to the county,” Levering said.

In addition, Levering talked about improving facilities for cyclists and pedestrians by adding repurposed school lockers as storage lockers and bike racks to what he called “end of trip facilities,” like the Western and Eastern Government Centers. For instance, if a person rode the bus to the courts, he or she would have a place to store their personal belongings, explained Levering.

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The county’s native species guidebook is being updated and expected to be completed this month, said Henrico Extension Office Extension Agent Kim Edmonds, co-chair of the Greenspace and Recreation Subcommittee. County offices and departments are collaborating to source the new and updated information.

“That will be another resource that will allow us to continue to have more native plantings within the county,” Edmonds said.

Edmonds also discussed creating listings on the office’s H.E.A.R.T website that identifies and highlights sustainable habitats throughout the county.

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Project Manager for the Department of Public Relations and Media Services Geoff Weidele presented updates for the Education Subcommittee, including the launch of an energy usage dashboard for the county and a blog about HEART mascot Stewart the Turtle’s travels. he website also features input surveys and the option for users to sign up for texts for more information. Weidele reflected on some of the outreach events, podcasts and videos that his department participated in and encouraged the board to utilize their platform to spread the word about their own district projects.