Click the following link to view Supervisor Ovitt's Video:
http://www.sbcounty.gov/bosd4/20071012_newsletter_video.htm

The Inland Empire air quality has improved dramatically over the past 30 years due, in part, to stringent vehicle emission standards and market incentives that induced factories and businesses to implement pollution control measures.

As more people and businesses move into San Bernardino County, the County Board of Supervisors has taken the initiative to promote policies and plans that foster sustainable and environmentally sound growth.

The Board recently passed the San Bernardino County Green Builder (SBCGB) program as a voluntary program to encourage and support green building practices in new residential construction and respond to a growing demand by consumers for green homes. The SBCGB program will assure San Bernardino County’s commitment in addressing the growing constraints on resources and satisfying the needs of the County. In addition, the program will provide incentives to builders who include green building practices in their projects.

Under the SBCGB program, construction must satisfy the requirements of the California Green Builder (CGB) program which was developed by the California Building Industry Association technical and research affiliate, the Building Industry Institute, to provide a measurable environmentally friendly and cost-effective green building program designed primarily for production home builders (those who build at least 85 homes a year or build subdivisions with master plan approval for their building permits).

The CGB program is recognized by the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission and the California League of Cities, and is the largest residential green builder program in California. This program has set goals for significant improvements in energy efficiency, indoor air quality and comfort, onsite waste recycling and water and wood conservation. The components of the CGB program include:

• Higher Energy Standards – CGB homes are designed and built to exceed energy efficiency standards by at least 15%; provide improved insulation installation; a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) designed by a licensed mechanical engineer; tight heating, ventilation and air conditioning ducts; and inspection and verification by a certified rater.
  
  
• Water conservation – CGB homes use at least 20,000 gallons less water per year than similar, newly constructed “non green” homes by featuring innovative plumbing and fixtures, parallel hot water piping or hot water recirculation systems, water efficient landscaping and weather-based irrigation controllers.
  
  
• Indoor Air Quality – CGB homes utilize HVAC systems designed by a licensed engineer to recognized air quality standards or the equivalent. These systems are installed per engineered designs and special filters are installed in return air grids. CGB homes also utilize paints, lacquers, floor underlayments and carpets which emit no or low amounts of smog-producing pollutants into the air.
  
  
• Waste Reduction – At least 50% of construction waste is diverted from landfills through recycling.

Water is a very precious commodity and becoming more so as we suffer the effects of a long-term drought. And depending on future events, natural and man made, notably whether we receive substantial rainfall during the coming months or more drought, we may have to consider the radical thought someday of water rationing.

The man made concern is a recent court decision that water to Southern California may be curtailed from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta between the months of December and June. This could potentially reduce water flow from the Delta by one-third.

That could mean in the next few years that there would be much less water for lawns and parks. It could also mean the amount of lawn per house would be restricted. We could end up looking more like the semi-arid desert that we are. The good news is that the County currently uses less than half the maximum water supply it is entitled to. But with the allocation reduction, the County will not be able to “bank” as much water as it has in the past.

Now is the time to both invest in new water infrastructure - both new sources and treatment facilities, and most of all conservation.

One recent initiative for water conversation is the San Bernardino County California Green Builder (CGB) program. Under this program each certified new home is required to save 20,000 gallons of water annually, by either installing innovative plumbing systems, including new designs for landscaping and irrigation or participation in Metropolitan Water District’s California friendly water conservation program. Today (CGB) homes are saving more than 28 million gallons of water per year and the amount is growing.

In the next 20 years, Ontario Airport will double its passenger traffic and triple its air cargo flights. With that cheery prognosis come some sobering issues.

As the County’s representative on the Southern California Regional Airport Authority (SCRAA) which is the administrative committee governing airports in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino Counties. I am acutely aware that growth presents positive change as well as poses challenges.

Questions were recently presented to Ontario residents at two meetings last month. Meeting attendees were asked what issues they want raised as the master plan, guiding the expansion of LA/Ontario International Airport (LA/ONT) through the year 2030, was unveiled.

Los Angeles World Airports which owns the airport, was very open and welcomed input on potential conflicts and suggested flight path alternatives as well as environmental concerns and considerations. Multiple government agencies, including the cities of Ontario and Chino, as well as private citizens attended and made their views known. More than 1,000 potentially impacted residents and other interested parties were invited.

The new airport master plan envisions LA/ONT in 2030 with five passenger terminals, an automated people mover, and expanded cargo space, among other things.

The two runways will move south and east, which shifts the airfields in those directions and calls for the acquisition of 35 acres south of the airport. The Ontario expansion will relieve LAX which served 61 million passengers in 2006 and has a cap of 78.9 million annually. Ontario served 7 million passengers in 2006 and has the capacity to serve 30 million with its two runways.

Some of the sobering issues that have to be dealt with include traffic volume and additional access by roads and rail, air quality, parking, land use and noise concerns. While Los Angeles controls LA/ONT, Ontario still has jurisdiction over all the infrastructure around it.

The bigger airport will provide Ontario with more services and jobs at and around the airport. Infrastructure will develop to support airport growth. Potential new projects might include access to a Metrolink line, the extension of the Gold Line through the San Gabriel Valley to Ontario and a high-speed rail connection from West LA to LA/ONT.

The next chance for community input will be in about 12 months, when the draft Environmental Impact Review is expected to be filed.