Board Members present: Sandra Bishop, Dorothy Anderson, Peter Bartel, Susie Smith, and Patrick Lanning.

Others present: Randy Berggren, JoAnn Andersen, Tom Buckhouse, Garry Kunkel, Dick Helgeson, Jim Origliosso, Roseanna McArthur, Marty Douglass, Cathy Hamilton, Scott Spettel, Eric Hiaasen, Jim Maloney, Dick Varner, Mark Wall, and Krista Hince of the EWEB staff; Maggie Moore, and Kim Kunkel, Minutes Recorder.

President Bishop called the Work Session of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to order.

SUSTAINABILITY DISCUSSION

Power Management and Planning Manager Scott Spettel explained that the purpose of this Work Session was to explore and discuss the meaning of "sustainability."

Referring to a memorandum entitled Environmental Performance Measures for Sustainability, EWEB Planning Analyst Jim Maloney presented a brief overview of the process staff engaged in to develop a list of proposed sustainability measures and flow chart of potential impacts on sustainable resources.

Environmental Specialist Mark Wall reviewed the following ideas, many of which are in progress, for implementing sustainability measures at EWEB and throughout the community:

1. reduce paper use;
2. sustainability training teams;
3. brief the Executive Management Team;
4. brief the Board of Commissioners;
5. Big footprint;
6. small footprint;
7. service plus; and
8. internal/external communications.

Members of the EWEB staff and Board discussed examples of EWEB's impacts on the environment and its efforts to manage and reduce those impacts.

EWEB Consultant Maggie Moore proposed that the Board consider, in its deliberation toward adopting a definition of "sustainability," the following three sustainability-related elements from the Executive Order recently signed by Governor John Kitzhaber:

1. economic;
2. cultural; and
3. environmental.

Commissioner Smith noted that although the Board had not yet defined "sustainability," the utility has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability through many resource acquisition and business decisions. Ms. Moore agreed that EWEB is part of a growing "sustainability community" that includes a number of local agencies and public involvement groups that are working in cooperation on behalf of increasing sustainability.

President Bishop said she liked a definition of "sustainability" proposed by Governor Kitzhaber in a recent publication. She said he defined "sustainability" as ". . .managing the use, development and protection of natural, social and environmental resources. . ." Noting that our culture is one of "consumption," she said it was important to differentiate between "desire" and "need" in considering the management of environmental impacts.

Ms. Moore said two questions that could test the sustainability of a decision are:

1. is it sustainable?; and
2. if we don't know whether it is sustainable, does it move us toward sustainability based upon the information available?

Commissioner Smith said she thought the two aforementioned questions were a valuable test of sustainability.

Mr. Berggren expressed his opinion that taking "right action" may be superior to "managing" a situation.

Referring to the three elements mentioned by Ms. Moore, Vice President Anderson suggested replacing the word "culture" with "community."

The Board agreed that the following three components were important to consider when determining sustainability:

1. community (social);
2. environment; and
3. economic.

The Board agreed that making "generational (long-term) decisions" in the interest of sustainability was paramount.

Commissioner Bartel said he was less interested in a "perfect" definition than in the practical application of the definition.

At the request of the Board, staff agreed to craft a definition of "sustainability" based upon Commissioners' comments.

With regard to "next steps," Mr. Maloney proposed measuring the sustainability of EWEB's activities in terms of "difficulty" versus "impact." Staff agreed to return to the Board with examples of such measurements.

The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.

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Assistant Secretary President