What's New At Greenland?

May - June 2010

• Earlier this year, the City of Toronto Green Roof Bylaw took effect and is now contained in the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 492. This is the first North American municipal bylaw to require and regulate the construction of green roofs for new building construction. The Technical Advisory Group (which included the Greenland Group) was instrumental in the success of bringing forward this bylaw for adoption by Toronto City Council. In May 2010, a letter of appreciation - (see attached) was received from Toronto’s Mayor David Miller thanking Greenland staff for their contribution in terms of integrated stormwater management and landscape architecture expertise and towards the development of the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 492 : Green Roofs.

• SENES Consultants (India) Limited invites Greenland International Consulting Ltd. to provide technical support for a study on the planning of water resources of the Rajasthan State.

• In the May/June 2010 edition of the “Water Magazine”, an article by the consultant team for a Lake Simcoe Basin Water Quality Trading (WQT) Framework highlighted the use of past and ongoing CANWET modeling initiatives that helped formulate the final WQT conclusions and recommendations.

• On June 16, 2010, Greenland International – Consulting Engineers participated in the Town of Collingwood “BIG Bike” fundraising campaign for the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation. Collingwood staff (see attached pictures) raised $3,000 for this important charity, which was hosted by Boston Pizza - Collingwood.

• On June 19, 2010, the Town of Collingwood hosted its first swimming competition for the “Collingwood Clippers Swim Club” at the reconstructed Centennial Pool facility. The project included a complete replacement of the existing facility. Greenland was retained as the prime consultant and was responsible for the detailed design and construction administration. Construction was completed “only days” before the annual event and was undertaken over a 3-month period. Pictures from the 2010 inaugural swimming event are attached. On June 21, 2010, these comments were received by Greenland’s project manager about the project: “This was an excellent project and everyone involved did a fantastic job. Well done. I am looking forward to working together on our next project - Ron Martin, MAATO, Deputy Chief Building Official, Town of Collingwood.”

• The primary purpose of the “Building Capacity for Multi-Purpose Land and Water Investments in the Red River Basin” project is to jointly develop with relevant stakeholders a decision support system (DSS) which will build capacity to examine the costs and benefits associated with natural capital (or natural environments) restoration investments at the basin scale and within municipalities and counties. A number of shared issues (flooding, water quality and supply) are being faced by the residents of the Red River Basin on both sides of the border. Well structured tools can assist with communicating the interconnectedness of these issues and provide a systems perspective that can help open up new possibilities for discourse and policy making pathways. An integrated high resolution decision support system (DSS) at the right scales (basin-wide and watershed scales) could improve the overall communication and decision making within the basin. On June 24, 2010, a workshop hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) was held to continue fostering cooperation between the residents of the basin to jointly solve trans-boundary issues. The workshop was designed to generate a spectrum of approaches for large scale basin modeling in support of integrated watershed management and bring together 30 participants from Canada and the United States with modeling and policy making expertise. The participants also discussed the specifics of designing a new decision support system for multi-purpose land and water investments within the Red River Basin by building on existing modeling tools. The CANWET technology developed by Greenland forms part of the recommended system. A copy of the workshop materials is attached.

• The Stragis-Tobique Environmental Services Company announces the “first” Canadian Aboriginal environmental joint venture that promises significant economic and environmental benefits while creating long-term sustainable growth for First Nation communities through new Green Industry. Stragis Environmental Services Inc. (http://www.stragisenvi.com/) is one of the 2 partners in the joint venture. See attached news release.

January – April  2010

• Greenland International Consulting Ltd. is retained by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to prepare a comprehensive review of Best Management Practices (BMPs) effectiveness for the Lake Simcoe Basin. Refer to the attached watershed map. Although the adoption of BMPs is the backbone behind many large-scale funding programs by the European Union and member countries, the United States, Australia, Canada and many other countries, it is challenging to quantify the amount of benefit achieved for the resources spent with great certainty. Numerous factors, including soils, topography and meteorology along with specific management practices determine the impact of agricultural activities at any given location. In the context of Lake Simcoe, stewardship programs have been encouraging the adoption of BMPs for many years, but few studies have been done to evaluate the benefits realized from these programs. The Lake Simcoe Basin is monitored for water quality and other environmental indicators, but linking trends over time to specific BMP types and application locations has been limited. Therefore, the Greenland project goal will be to improve the Ministry’s understanding of the effectiveness of BMPs approved for use in the Lake Simcoe Basin by assembling a knowledge base from other jurisdictions where similar practices have been adopted and studied. The project will also seek to define the range of effectiveness of these practices and also suggest how BMPs in the Lake Simcoe Basin might be monitored and evaluated in the future.

• On February 7, 2010, the Ontario Government posted on the Environmental Registry a proposed Phosphorus Reduction Strategy for the Lake Simcoe Basin (Canada) and also Amendments to the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. See http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTA4ODcw&statusId=MTYzNDUz. The key objective of the proposed Phosphorus Reduction Strategy is to reduce phosphorous loadings to where a dissolved oxygen level in Lake Simcoe of 7 milligrams per litre can be achieved and at a level that current scientific research indicates will support Lake Simcoe’s long-term ecological health. Achieving this objective requires reducing total phosphorus loading in the watershed to 44 tonnes per year (T/yr), from the current total annual loading of 72 T/yr, which means annual reductions of about 40 percent. Achieving this aggressive goal will be challenging and will take several decades. The development of the Phosphorus Reduction Strategy was completed by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and this agency used CANWET™ (Version 3.6). CANWET™ will also be used this year by the Ontario Government to develop a series of watershed targets in order to implement the proposed Lake Simcoe Phosphorus Reduction Strategy. Even though Greenland did not provide professional services, the attached letter of acknowledgment by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority speaks volumes about the role Greenland’s CANWET™ (Version 3.6) software did play during this landmark environmental protection project.

• In association with Zed-X Inc. (http://www.zedxinc.com/) and Penn State University, Greenland International Consulting Ltd. is invited to assist with the development of web-based management planning tools for the Chesapeake Bay Basin, which will add essential functionality to current programs now being administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (National Resources Conservation Service), United States Environmental Protection Agency and other agency partners at state and federal levels. The term "showcase" watershed - as well as "centerpiece projects" are referenced in both President Obama's Executive Order in May 09 - and in the resultant EPA and USDA agency strategies - 202a and 202b reports, respectively. The USDA - with the NRCS as the lead - has identified one watershed within Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania and to be elevated as a "showcase watershed" within which unique partnerships, comprised of both traditional and nontraditional partners, can emerge. Greenland will assist with developing the new generation of tools and information systems. It will also provide as an in-kind its source code technology from its ongoing CANWET™ development program with Canada’s National Resource Council and the University of Guelph. Further announcements will follow, including the selection of 1 or 2 similar “showcase watersheds” in Ontario (Great Lakes Basin) and Mexico where the software technologies arising from President Obama’s initiative can also be tested/customized for other watershed management and stewardship programs.

• Greenland International Consulting Ltd. is retained by the Town of Innisfil - Canada (http://www.innisfil.ca/) to assist with the design of an infrastructure servicing plan for key employment areas within the municipality. The initial project phase will include $53 Million of capital works. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start by the spring 2011 to service a “Campus Node” development (105Ac) consisting of: 1) a 440,000 ft² expansion of the Royal Victoria Hospital now located within the City of Barrie; 2) an Ontario-based university with a medical school; and, 3) an environmental health-focused Centre of Excellence that will offer research and development on the science of water in all forms, such as storm water, sanitary and reuse (reclamation) and also integration opportunities with clean energy solutions - including heat recovery from treated wastewater, cooling and geothermal technologies. Subsequent project phases for this employment infrastructure plan will service other strategic lands located along the Highway 400 corridor between Barrie and the Greater Toronto Area.

• Greenland International Consulting Ltd. is invited by the County of Simcoe - Canada (http://www.simcoe.ca/) to prepare a water and wastewater visioning strategy. In December 2009, County Council adopted the following resolution CCW-007-09 at its general meeting in order to implement this vision for a County-wide water and wastewater infrastructure and servicing strategy:"THAT County staff, in consultation with the staff of the member municipalities, the separated cities, neighbouring municipalities, first nation partners and the development community, be required to prepare a report on the existing water and wastewater system requirements, agreements and plans (including septage and leachate), as well as analysis of the current and potential delivery matrix and options with respect to long term solutions regarding co-ordination of this service delivery”.

• In April 2010, the Canadian Federal Government announced that Georgian College will receive an investment of $4 Million for a new Collingwood Campus through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. The new campus will be constructed within Collingwood’s new Industrial Park that is being developed by DiPoce Management. The Greenland Group was retained to provide engineering design, landscape architectural and construction administration services for the new campus development. Construction of the new facilities will begin this summer.

• In association with C&M Aquatics Limited (http://www.cmaquatics.com/), Greenland International Consulting Ltd. is invited by the Credit Valley Conservation (http://www.creditvalleycons.com/) to provide professional environmental services for a 3-year floating islands technology research consortium that also includes Trent University, Queen’s University, Fleming College, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority, City of Brampton and City of Mississauga. The purpose of the investigations are to evaluate the effectiveness of vegetated floating islands within stormwater management ponds with respect to water temperature, nutrient removal and hydraulics. The monitoring plan will be based on the protocols and practices being used on other programs by the Credit Valley Conservation.

• The City of Ottawa (Canada) invites Greenland International Consulting Ltd. to extend its current Model Keeper contract and to assist City staff with development review services affecting the Kanata West development areas draining to the Carp River Watershed. The original contract by Greenland for the City was executed in the fall 2008.