The West Campus Co-generation Facility Advisory Committee (WCCFA) was formed as a result of the memorandum of understanding between the Regent Neighborhood Association (RNA) and MG&E plus the university. The primary purposes of the committee are to inform the neighbors about the projects construction and operation, and to address complaints not resolved by MG&E. Ann Varda, Brian Stone, Jeff Schimff (alternate) and I (Karen Carlson) were asked by the RNA board to represent the neighborhood. Other members include employees of MG&E, the university, and the city (non-voting).

Update 1.

The committee has met five times. Relevant issues discussed are:
• Guidelines on how the committee will operate, including deciding by consensus
• Design of complaint form and process of handling and tracking complaints (complaints go to MG&E first; the committee deals with only those not resolved by MG&E)
• Information resources: kiosks on campus to inform passers-by of the status of the co-generation facility (not yet constructed), a notebook at the Monroe St Library, a web site; notices about meetings are posted at a variety of locals, such as Regent Market, EVP and Dancing Grounds coffee shops, etc.
• Design, url, content of this committee's web site (not yet launched; for the present, go to http://www.mge.com/ and choose the Co-generation link, then choose Advisory Committee from list on the left [minutes of meetings are available]; also on the left, find the Questions/Concerns link for information on who to contact at MG&E and a link to the form Notification of Concern for those complaints not resolved by MG&E)
• Traffic plan for trucks entering campus (solution was to minimize impact on neighborhood, and to reduce impact on any one segment of the neighborhood by using a circular pattern of entry-exit)
• Sampling air quality, specifically location of devices (we added Chancellor's house and Randall School---both these sites will be discussed again along with the type of instrument and its type of sampling)
• Concerns expressed by neighbors so far are centered on the noise of the pile driver (cannot be avoided, MG&E feels getting it over with ASAPto be the best strategy), and crowding of the bike lane on Walnut St by parked trucks (MG&E has asked trucks to move and in one case, asked a company not to use a particularly uncooperative driver)

Update 2.

• Six complaints to MG&E thus far (3 from campus, 3 from neighborhood), all related to noise (these have not been referred to the committee because, alas, we see no alternative to pile drivers)
• Pile driving may continue into early December; later on in the project, pile driving will return but for only a few days
• The committee agreed to recommend that the city and MG&E amend their agreement to use the air particulate matter standard of PM 2.5, a stricter standard than the current PM 10
• A fact sheet about particulate matter will be posted on the committee's web site (now linked via MG&E's web site but soon to have its own domain)
• Sites (e.g., Olin House, Randell School) for air pollution monitors were discussed but no decisions were made pending more study of possibilities
• The committee approved the design & content for an informational kiosk to be placed across the street from the project (near WARF)
• In December, the concrete trucks will be arriving on site (these tend to be noisy vehicles)
• MG&E is using a not-for-profit firm to recycle contraction waste, old concrete, and packing material

NOTES

1. If you note trucks speeding, or using Allen Street or on Old University east of Walnut, try to get some identifying information from the truck.  If it is an MG&E vehicle and you can't read the license or truck number, note the type of truck (van? pickup?), approximate time & location. Report this to MG&E (Bob Stoffs).  Someone there will try to figure out if the non-MG&E truck is related to the Co-gen project and if it is a company truck, MG&E will educate the driver.
2. The two small metal buildings on the project site will be removed some time next spring.  MG&E would like the buildings to go to someone who needs them (and will disassemble and move them) rather than recycle as scrap.  Contact Bob Stoffs at MG&E.
3. If you wish more information about air pollution beyond the fact sheet referenced above,  please contact me

Update 3.

• Pile driving is now complete; in the spring (April?) there will be a day or two more
• Currently, foundations for large machines are being poured.
• Large machines are being stored off campus and during the winter break, theyll be moved to the site in the wee hours of the night as the transport will require stopping traffic and other inconveniences. The bridge on Observatory Drive near the Nat will need to be reinforced but should not hinder auto traffic.
• Some digging on the Lake Shore path will be required for this project.
• As planned, the majority of workers are now being bused from the Allient Center to the campus site; the route is along Old University and involves 4 or 5 buses a day. Mention was made that school children and schools buses will be active on Univ Ave at the same morning hours so MG&E should caution bus drivers.
• Siting of the continuous air monitor was discussed at length. Both sites discusses have positive and negative features and neither meets the strictest federal guidelines. We decided to take one more look at these and possible other sites and then try to decide at our January meeting.
• A large portion of the meeting was devoted to the observations made by Allen St Traffic Maven, Ericka Kluetmeier who had carefully documented inappropriately heavy trucks using Allen and a speeding MG&E vehicle. Bob Stoffs, the MG&E person who staffs the meetings, will be contacting Ericka to get more information about one of her complaints to determine if the truck was serving the WCCF. He has identified the speeding MG&E and will speak with the supervisor to remind all drivers that no matter what the vehicle is doing, speeding is not acceptable. Some vehicles Ericka reported are not involved with the WCCF but if the company works with MG&E on other projects, Bob will contact them. The hardest problems to solve are common carrier trucksthose general shippers who are used by manufacturers to deliver smallish items. Allen maybe used because of the location of a previous delivery, nonetheless, MG &E will consider contacting the carriers and ask that streets other than Allen be used. The RNA reps on the committee were satisfied with MG&Es efforts thus far but if problems persist with WCCF related trucks, additional steps must be taken.

The next meetings will be in Fridays, Jan 9^th & February 6^th. Both will be at Blessed Sacrements Parish Center, second floor, 7:30 am to 9:00. All visitors are welcome with no notification necessary.

Update 4.

• Currently, the project is in the steel erection phase.
• Heavy haul was not carried out last week; instead it is scheduled for every night between Jan 9-17, between 2 & 6 am. This includes the reinforcement of the bridge near the Nat.
• The WCCF kiosk is now completed. Its located on a grassy area between the WARF building and its parking lot, across from the construction site. A second kiosk, to be sited on the lakeshore path, wont be completed for several months.
• Construction on the water pipe along the lakeshore path and then south along the creek on the west side of the Nat will continue until the semester begins and will resume when the semester is over.
• MG&E is talking with all the carriers they do business with, even if they arent involved with the WCCF, to discourage use of Allen Street. Trucks leaving the project area are now reminded via posted reminders that they should exit to the right (Walnut north to Highland) rather than south on Walnut to University. This is the traffic route approved by the advisory committee.
• Siting the new air monitoring device may be settled if a site on University Avenue is approved by the board that oversees the building. The advisory committee feels this is the best location we can find.(The monitor will read 2.5 pm, a stricter level of measuring particulate matter.)

The committee now plans to meet on a monthly basis, on first Fridays. The next meeting will be Feb 6. Anyone who would like to attend is welcome. We meet in the second floor gathering area of Blessed Sacraments Paris Center.

Update 5. Feb 6 & March 5

• Air monitor is now sited: location is the stairway structure at the NE corner of the Wisconsin Foundation's parking lot. Installation soon.
• Street sweeping: The university and MG&E have a plan to keep Walnut St and Observatory Dr near the site clear of gravel and mud, daily sweeping if needed.
• MG&E reports that construction recycling is going well
• Tie-in to university's chilled water system is now complete
• Delivery of steel is now going on
• Kiosk at the NE corner of the playing fields now complete; another is planned for the NW corner to contain educational info on the planned water filtering improvements to the playing field when a staging area is no longer needed (the kiosk to go near the marsh parking lot is planned but not connected to the WCCF)
• End of next week, the newsletter "Co-Generation Connection" will be mailed
• Spring break: may be more work done on the Lakeshore path
• Chillers to be installed 22 March; will require a crane & Walnut St activity
• Driving piles: A couple of days planned for late April-early May
• Walnut Street trench:The portion between the railway and the greenhouses will have a trench dug on the shoulder to accommodate water and gas lines. Shoulder will be disrupted for a minimum of two weeks.

MEETING SCHEDULE CHANGE: Due to the few items needing to be discussed and no complaints, the committee decided to meet on the first Friday of every ODD month.< The next meeting will be 7 May. Since the July meeting falls just before a holiday weekend, the 2 July meeting date will be finalized in May. In between meetings, MG&E will email project updates to committee members so that updates will continue on a monthly basis. Visitors are welcome at all meetings. (7:30 am, second floor of Bessed Sacrament Parish Center)

Update 6. April 1, 2004

• The web cam (http://cogencam.fpm.wisc.edu/view/view.shtml) recently broke down and is currently being replaced with a new unit.
• Components of four chillers were set last week on the second level of the south west corner of the facility. All of the major pieces of equipment are now in place.
• Structural steel installation is continuing along with further work on the heat recovery steam generators and other major plant systems.
• Construction of the lake water pipeline has resumed along the Temin Lakeshore Path west of the dorms and is nearing Willow Creek. The pipe will soon be bored under the creek and then turn south and then west along Observatory Drive. Next week a sanitary sewer line will also be bored under the creek just south of the footbridge at Linden Drive.
• In about two weeks the water line construction will turn south across Observatory near Walnut. Observatory Drive will remain open during this crossing but there may be some temporary disruption of traffic.

Update 7. May 7, 2004

• Construction plans are on schedule for on-line operation in spring of 2005; one-half to two-thirds erection of steel is now complete; last part of project requiring large number of concrete trucks should be completed within a week or so, depending on amount of rain; visual impact will be becoming a reality as cooling towers are erected
• Air monitor, mandated by memorandum of agreement, should be in place by the end of May or early June; the city has approved the money for one-third of its purchase and operation with MG&E providing the remaining two-thirds; commitment is for 5 yrs with possibility of extension
• Traffic, dust, street condition concerns recently raised by Erika Kleutmeier, have been addressed by continuing education of contractors, repair of street sweeper, repair of a pothole, and seeding of large piles of dirt (although this is not topsoil so will probably remain barren)
• Walnut Street, between the Barley-Malt Institute and the greenhouses, will be dug up for gas and water lines and tie-up to city services; street will be one lane as needed from July until August 15;
• Soon a new Barley-Malt building will be constructed on Gifford Pinchot Drive, thus adding to construction activities (fate of current B-M building uncertain); federal administrators have been asked to follow WCCF transportation plan
• Greenhouse will be moved north to current parking lot and the parking lot moved to current greenhouse site (i.e., flip-flopped); trucks involved will follow the WCCF transportation plan
• The Lakeshore Path from Willow Creek west to parking lot of Picnic Point will begin its improvement activity next week (May 10); this is not related to the WCCF but to the plan to stop erosion and improve drainage via a grant from the state; 51 trees will be removed; pavement will be replaced; should be done by fall
• Also on Lakeshore Path: installation of pipes between the crew house to Social Sciences will begin May 17^th and will take two to three weeks to complete
• MG&E will be scheduling a larger meeting of RNA, city, and environmental groups (participants on the three memoranda of agreement) to review status of WCCF and receive input

Update 9 July 2004

• Facility construction is moving from outside to inside; more buses have been added to shuttle workers to and from site; truck traffic is reduced but frequent deliveries are continuing.
• The air monitor is installed (on top of parking lot stairway of Wisc Foundation on University Ave. Data printouts show a down period after even blips of power outages, thus the committee asked MG&E to investigate possibility of backup power. MG&E will be submitting a plan for monitoring and sampling to DNR; committee members asked for a regular posting to our website of data (this will be facilitated when SBC installs a phone line to the monitor; however, in interest of making current data available, MG&E will need to collect data on site).
• Lakeshore path water pipe construction will be completed next week; (FYI:  reconstruction of all of Lakeshore path to be completed by July 15 except for part on lake side of new crew house)
• Greenhouse reconstruction underway; cement pads now in place (green houses north of facility site have been moved to former site of parking lot and parking lot will be relocated to former greenhouse site)
• Meeting of parties of three MOUs (June 27) revealed to important issues of concern: first, the siting and operation of air monitor (now accomplished); and second, development of plan for offset of VOCs (volatile organic compounds).  Several plans are under consideration and can be accessed via WCCF website of by contacting Bob Stoffs at MG&E.  Regent Neighborhood Association members asked to be directly invited to next meeting (sometime in January 2005).

Update 10 September 2004

• Complaints about dust and difficulty navigating on Walnut St should now be relieved. MG&E was watering twice a day but at times, the water was cut off.
• Curbing and gutters on both Walnut & Observatory will be completed in early fall or spring.
• Stacks are now at their final height, cladding nearly finished as are exterior walls except where an opening is needed for installation of large equipment; October will see exterior completed.
• Greenhouse construction on track but UW says keeping site tidy is a challenge.
• Pile driving for Lot 76 (near Nielson) should be completed by now (Oct 7).
• Federal government will be building a new Barley & Malt Institute across the street from old one. This will entail removal of buildings currently on the site. Resurfacing of Pinchot Drive is scheduled. The UW has asked the Feds to follow the same transportation routes established for the WCCF but it has no control over the project.
• Air monitoring device is up and operating, however, the phone line is not operating properly and this prevents online-realtime data collection. Until this problem is solved, MG&E will collect data from site and post on the web site.
• Steam blows are scheduled for the first of the year--several hours a day over a week or so. There will be silencers installed to reduce the noise. Neighbors will receive a direct mailing and another newsletter will come out.
• UW had finished the Lake Shore Path work except for the part in front of the construction of the crew house.

As has been announced in the RNA listserve, FORE's law suit re the WCCF was unsuccessful. An appeal has not yet been filed.

NEXT MEETING:   Friday 12 Nov, 7:30-9:00am, Blessed Sacrament Parish Center, 2nd floor. All are welcome.

WCCF Meeting 3 Feb 2006

• No neighborhood concerns have been reported in the period between this and the last meeting (Sept 9. 2205)
• Operational status:  the facility is fully operational for electricity & steam with about 3 days per week generating steam for UW, sometimes twice a day
• Diesel generator (used only for back up during ìblack outsí) has yet to pass its inspection although the test values are very near the permitted level; MG&E may ask for re-permitting
• Sodium hypochlorite (bleach) spill in the plant was probably caused by momentary carelessness.  About half of the 1,500 gallons spilled was contained in the floor pit and the rest leaked into the ground via an open electrical conduit (since the incident, this has been sealed as it should have been).  Soil testing using core samples shows chlorides, indicating an interaction with soil components.  Consultant hired to test ground water showed levels below enforcement levels.  Note:  the bleach used here is about !2% while household bleach is about 5.5%.
• Landscaping: some trees were lost to high winds early on and will be replanted this year.
• Recreational fields reconstruction: the work is essentially complete and MG&E will hand over the field to UW in May who may keep it closed until fall in order to help the grass get well established.  The big problem is Canada geese.  The campus has a pest control worker who uses a ìbottle rocketî kind of devise that produces a loud noise to deter the geese.  Itís hoped that when the fields are open to use, this will help make them less attractive to geese.
• Post-construction noise survey results:  This was undertaken by Sanchez Design who has completed a draft report but has been unavailable for questions and for writing an executive summary for the general reader.  When finalized, the report will be posted on MG&Eís web site.  Some highlights: the ambient noise without the facility in operation is 43 dbA at the chancellorís house, 46 at 2200 block of Kendall , 49 on the Lakeshore Path, with none showing more than a 3 dBA gain with the facility in operation. At these background levels, a 3dB gain is just noticeable while a 6dB difference is clearly noted. More details about when and how noise was measured will be available in the report when final.

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