What’s New?
March Sustainability Forum to be held at Mesilla Park Recreation Center
Our guest speaker for the March Sustainability Forum will be Miles Dyson. Mr Dyson is a home energy inspector and will discuss a variety of ways to make your existing home more energy efficient. The meeting will begin at 6:00pm on Wednesday, March 17th, and will be held in the Mesilla Park Recreation Center, as the Munson Center is still closed. We will be moving the “open mic” portion to the beginning of the meeting to encourage greater participation.
Sustainability Action Plan in Development
The Sustainability Action Plan is intended to provide policy guidance for the new Sustainability Program going forward. It will contain a series of goals, implementation steps, and measureable indicators for assessing progress. Initial public input meetings were held in January to gather ideas for defining the goals and action steps. Follow-up meetings are expected in the spring and summer, and the draft plan is expected to be presented to City Council for adoption by the end of the year. Below you may access recordings of the January meetings.
- Presentation 1-20-10 (7MB MP3 file) (the presentation was identical at both meetings)
Single Stream Recycling Begins
Recycling just got easier as City and County residents will now be able to combine all their recyclables into a single bin. The list of recyclable items has also expanded to include junk mail and magazines.
For more information, Click Here
Survey on Renewable Energy Financing
If the City and County allowed a voluntary special property tax assessment as a way to pay for renewable energy installations for homes
and businesses, would you use it?
Click here to take our survey
New EPA Standards for Runoff
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is promulgating effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) and new
source performance standards (NSPS) to control the discharge of pollutants from
construction sites. The City is responsible for ensuring compliance with these federal regulations.
See the links below for more information or
contact Peter Bennett
at 528-3075. New EPA Regulations for Effluent from Construction: Summary;
Complete Rules
City Programs
Energy Efficiency
The City spends over $7 million
per year to power over 90 buildings, 6400 street lights, 100 traffic signals,
36 water wells, and 1400 vehicles. We are constantly looking for ways to become more efficient.
In October 2009, we completed a retrofit of
every traffic and pedestrian crossing signal to highly efficient LED
bulbs. These bulbs use 80% less energy
than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, and we expect them to save over
$130,000 annually on our electricity bill. As an added benefit, they are also brighter and last longer.
Green Building
The new City Hall, Convention
Center, and Museum of Nature and Science are
all designed to be LEED certified. The
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Program is the most widely
used certification program in the industry, and rates buildings based on their
energy and water consumption, use of local, nontoxic, and recycled materials,
and site selection.
Renewable Energy
For the first time, the City will
be incorporating renewable energy into three of its new buildings.
The new City Hall is equipped with a ground
source heat pump, which harnesses geothermal energy to heat or cool air
(depending on the season) before it is circulated throughout the building.
Both the Convention Center and Museum of Nature and Science (MoNaS) will have
photovoltaic systems, and MoNaS will also have a small wind turbine.
These projects were made possible by federal
funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Alternative Fuels
Las Cruces is a member of the Land of
Enchantment Clean Cities Program. The City operates several vehicles that run
on compressed natural gas (CNG), as well as a CNG fueling station on Motel Blvd.
Vision 2040
This is a long range planning
project being undertaken by both the City and Doña Ana County. The project is primarily focused on land use issues that will result
from expected population growth over the next 30 years. For more information, contact Andy Hume,
or click here.
Bicycle Planning
The City has a goal of being
recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community
in 2010. This year, the City has added
8.4 miles of bike lanes, and is working with local cycling groups to improve
community education and enforcement of laws for both cyclists and motorists. For a map of bicycle facilities in and around
the City, click here.
For more information, contact Andy Hume.
Industrial Pollution Prevention Program
For more information, contact Jeff Garcia.
Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program
For more information, contact Peter Bennett or click
here.
Water Conservation Program
For more information, contact Christine Chavez or
click here.
Keep Las Cruces Beautiful
For more information, contact Craig Fenske or
click here
Recycling
For more information, contact Bonnie Tafoya
or click here
Environmental Management System
For more information, contact Shelley Modell
Resources
State and Federal Incentives for Renewable Energy and Efficiency
Energy Star
GreenQuest energy tracking system
EPA Green Homes
General Contact
Tom Schuster
Sustainability Officer
575-528-3069
tschuster@las-cruces.org
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