From the time he was elected into office in January of 2004, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, has aggressively led The City of Grand Rapids on the path of becoming a greener city on several fronts. During a recent interview, Heartwell outlined the City's top three green priorities for 2010.
"They would be renewable energy, alternative fuels and river water quality," the Mayor said,"but not necessarily in priority order.
We've got a good start with renewable energy with 20% achieved in late 2007. I've set a very aggressive 100% goal by 2020, for the municipal government to be entirely independent of fossil fuel generated power. It is entirely doable."
Renewable Energy
Heartwell indicated the City is pursuing several wind energy turbine projects. The one that has garnered the most attention thus far, is proposed for the Lake Michigan Filtration Plant site near Grand Haven, which is owned by the City. Adjacent neighbors have voiced strong opposition to the project, citing health concerns as well as the impact the turbines would have on wildlife and property values. The City of Grand Rapids has responded with data addressing each of the concerns. As of this date, a final determination has not been made by the Grand Haven Township Board.
"We're also working with three other wind power developers." said Heartwell, "The City can provide bonding ability, at much lower rates than a developer can get them . The developer can use renewable energy tax credit and we can't. We've been working at crafting some partnerships where we can bring the best of both worlds together. I believe any one of them can happen, and two of the three are expandable beyond what we might do initially. Sites have already been identified and cleared for zoning."
Heartwell went on to explain that they are also exploring other renewable energy options, "We're looking at a Norwegian device. It's is a flow valve with a turbine that fits around your water pipe. As you're pushing water 32 miles up to Grand Rapids, you've got the force of the water moving, so it turns the turbine and generates power at the site. We're starting to put them at our pumping stations to generate power right at the lift from Lake Michigan. I'm really intrigued by it."
Alternative Fuel
"Alternative fuel is another priority," Heartwell pointed out, "We've now achieved 100% alternative fuel for 8 months of the year."
Citing biodiesel fuel performance issues during the winter months, Heartwell said, "The flip side is that biofuels burn cleaner and you get less buildup in the engine. We're moving in that direction. Our vehicles are running at least E20 right now. We're purchasing new vehicles that are E85 and currently have two hybrids."
River Water Quality
"River water quality is the other priority that has been a long time objective," said Heartwell, "In the late 1960's Grand Rapids contributed 12 billion gallons of raw and partially treated sewage into the Grand River. By the late 1980's the EPA was all over us. With encouragement from the EPA we began a program for separating storm and sanitary sewers. We have been more aggressive than the EPA required as we've been able to put together resources. We still have several overflow points that we're addressing. Last year we were at .4% of our worst year, so we've effectively solved 99.6% of the problem and we continue to separate sewers on each side to fully resolve the problem by 2018.
The results on the river are pretty stunning. In the spring (which is roughly another 45 days away) you see people lining up to fish for steelhead on their spawning run, people fishing all summer for walleye and small mouth base. Then in the fall, there's the salmon run. Now people are taking their fish home and eating them. It's pretty remarkable."
Heartwell acknowledged the financial challenges in completing the balance of the Grand River water quality project, "That .4% is all we've got left to go, but that is going to cost at least $100,000,000.. We installed a big catch basin that holds 10 million gallons before it goes into the treatment process. With the separation you don't have the mixing and overflows. We will definitely finish the balance of the project."
Sustainability
"Our staff has a pretty good understanding of the importance of a triple bottom-line balanced approach. You won't find a strategic plan for the City of Grand Rapids. You will find a sustainability plan. It is measuring on each of the bottom lines, economic,environmental and social. We're looking for convergence opportunities around those three areas.
The City of Grand Rapids received the first U.S. United Nations University designation as a Regional Center of Expertise for Education for Sustainable Development in January 2007, using the Community Service Partnership model.
"We have been working with Grand Valley State University on Community Sustainability Partnerships, said Heartwell, "and now with 192 other partnerships. The U.N. designation is sort of a badge you can wear proudly, but they expect that you are going to preach the gospel of sustainability. We've helped start parallel organizations in Muskegon, Holland , Grand Haven, Kalamazoo and Portage and we're working with a group in Detroit. And soon one with a city in Alabama. So we're taking it seriously.
When people talk about sustainability today, often they talk about the environmental side. Most people come into a sustainability frame of mind through the environment portal. We understand that it needs to be balanced. You can't have a sustainable city if you're not economically strong. You can't have a sustainable city if your slowing or depleting the natural resources . You can't have a sustainable city if your leaving some part of the problem behind; race, poverty, education, physical condition or whatever You've got to be working in all three of those areas to truly be a sustainable city."
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