Energy, Equity, and the Environment

Name: CEMS Hybrid Luncheon – Application of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit in Commerce City: Only Rain in the Drain
Start: 2024-01-09T18:45+00:00
End: 2024-01-09T20:00+00:00

Commerce City is taking on new efforts to ensure the local environment is clean and healthy. We recognize the city’s responsibility to address environmental challenges and mitigate the impacts a rapidly changing global climate may have on our community. The city encourages sustainable development and green building practices to help balance our rapidly growing community with protection of our valuable natural resources.

Backyard Chickens & Bees

Click Here to learn about city regulations for the keeping of backyard chickens and/or bees within the city. It's a quick and easy process - you'll be enjoying fresh eggs and honey in no time!

What is sustainability?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.

Track your own carbon footprint: Carbon Footprint Calculator | Climate Change | US EPA

Meet the E3 Team

Commerce City created the Energy, Equity, and the Environment (E3) Division to implement projects identified in the Sustainability Action Plan. Approved by City Council in 2023, the plan specifically addresses measurable targets aimed to improve community health.

The E3 division is housed in the City Manager's Office and comprised of a sustainability manager and the following staff positions:

Melody Mascarenaz - Sustainability Manager

Melody Mascarenaz is thrilled to join the E3 team in January 2025 as the Sustainability Manager, where she leads sustainability initiatives and strategies. She has a strong background in managing complex remediation projects resulting in sustainable outcomes restoration efforts including surface and groundwater remediation, regulatory oversight, and waste management.

Prior to joining E3, Melody spent 10 years at the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) as a Project Manager, overseeing cleanups at federal facility and ensuring the protection of public health. She also managed contracts and projects within the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Program, using settlements from damages resulting from natural resource injuries, reviewed restoration proposals and drafted contracts for funding approved restoration activities and sustainability projects.

Before her tenure at the Department of Public Health and Environment, Melody worked for the Tri-County Health Department as the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Program Field Supervisor, representing Adams County's interests in the cleanup of the site. Her efforts, particularly her involvement with the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Project, contributed to the rehabilitation of 27-square miles of federal land, transforming it into one of the country’s largest sustainable urban wildlife refuges.

Melody’s passion for sustainability extends to her volunteer work with the Sustainable Neighborhoods Program and various local initiatives in her community. Recently, she collaborated with the city to become a regional partner with the Colorado Green Business Network, which helps local businesses develop plans to implement green practices. She is currently working on introducing similar initiatives in Commerce City.

Libby Tart - Environmental Planner and Water Specialist

Libby Tart is excited to join the E3 team as a senior environmental planner with a background in non-profit management, and grassroots organizing, and over 18 years of local government planning experience. She is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and holds a certificate of completion in the Foundations in Public Participation from the International Association for Public Participation.

She was originally onboarded with the Commerce City Planning Division in September 2022 and began work on development review projects ranging from affordable housing to large industrial recycling centers. Before C3, she was a senior long-range planner for four years at Adams County working on the 2020 Comprehensive Plan update and serving on task forces for the Hazard Mitigation Plan, Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Cultural Arts Master Plan, Sustainable Adams County 2030 Plan, and Transportation Master Plan. She was also an Adams County staff liaison to the District Plan Commission, or the partnership between the City of Brighton and Adams County to preserve farmland in the Historic Splendid Valley region.

She also worked with the Cities of Longmont and Aurora. Her work at the City of Aurora involved development review and code updates on sustainability items involving electric vehicles, solar and wind energy. She served as a local government contact on the Sustainable Buildings Council of Colorado, Project FEVER (Fostering Electric Vehicle Expansion in the Rockies), LiveWell HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Living) Communities, the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute (RMLUI) beta version of the Sustainable Community Development Code, and internally on a committee with Aurora Water to foster community garden opportunities within the city.

Libby graduated with a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) and a Masters in Public Administration with concentrations in Environmental Policy and Non-Profit Management from the University of Colorado – Denver and with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Environmental Ethics Certificate from the University of Georgia – Athens. Before her work in urban planning, she was a grassroots campaign organizer for the Colorado Springs/Pueblo region Yes on Amendment 24 campaign (2000) and as a staffer with the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Sierra Club. Her volunteer work has ranged from being a Denver co-chair with the RMC Sierra Club to board member with the American Planning Association’s Colorado Chapter (2013-2018), a Task Force Member on the Plan4Health Grant, and a current board member for The Land, a UMC affiliated wild church involving food, faith, and urban farming.

Olivia Quagliani - Sustainability Associate

Olivia Quagliani is happy to be a part of the E3 team. She was originally onboarded in July 2023 as the Sustainability Intern. In April 2024, she was hired to be the full-time Sustainability Associate. She graduated from the University of Utah where she received B.S. in Sociology and B.S. in Environmental Sustainability, emphasis in Land Conservation and Management. She also studied at Utah State University’s extension campus where she earned her certificate in Sustainable Supply Chain Management. She has volunteer experience with Tree Utah where she planted trees and studied the viability and growth of trees in the study. She previously worked for a ski school company, flaik, as a Sustainability Services Intern where she focused on achieving B Corp Certification and Carbon Neutrality for the company. She also worked for a native landscape company, YardFarmer Co., doing research on which species would thrive in each client’s respective ecosystem.

Olivia is currently continuing her education through CU Boulder’s Masters of the Environment program. This is an in-person, hands-on program offering in depth professional development. She is dual specializing in Urban Resilience and Sustainability and Sustainable Food Systems. She is working with the State of Colorado's Governor’s Office of Climate Preparedness and Disaster Recovery and the Colorado State Forest Service to analyze how tree canopy can help build resilience against heat island effect in Colorado’s urban environments. She will conclude her degree in May 2026.

Commerce City Targets

Stay up-to-date

Updates on the progress of environmental policy development in the city, the Suncor Refinery, and oil and gas application activity in the city are all included in the City Manager Week in Review Update. Sign up to receive email notifications when new updates are published at c3gov.com/Subscribe.

Commerce City staff provides a monthly update to City Council during the first regular council meeting of each month (typically the first Monday of the month). Visit c3gov.com/Council for the latest city council schedules, agendas, and presentation materials.

Take the Public Waste survey and help shape a more sustainable future
The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) is working with communities across the Front Range to develop a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) through support from the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. This regional plan will outline long-term strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving sustainability in the waste, building, and transportation sectors.

Commerce City residents have the opportunity to influence how waste-related strategies are developed by completing a quick Public Waste Survey. Your input will help identify the sustainable waste practices you want to see included in the CCAP.

The survey takes just 1–2 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous, and no personal data will be collected. Take the survey at surveymonkey.com/r/DRCOGWS1.

CEMS Hybrid Luncheon – Application of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit in Commerce City: Only Rain in the Drain

Date: 01/09/2024 11:45 AM - 1:00 PM 01/09/2024 11:45 AM 01/09/2024 1:00 PM

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Jennifer Strauss, Stormwater Coordinator, City of Commerce City, Colorado
Tuesday, January 9, 2024, 11:45am-1pm
Hybrid Format – In person and virtual

CEMS has received one (1) general CLE credit for this presentation

The MS4 permit is a type of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, which is authorized by the Clean Water Act. NPDES permits control water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge into Waters of the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region VIII authorizes the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to administer the NPDES permitting program through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). CDPHE clean water permits are administered through the Colorado Discharge Permitting System (CDPS). MS4 Permittees are typically municipalities, counties, schools, and transportation departments. This permit regulates stormwater discharges to the MS4 through a Stormwater Management Program. The Stormwater Management Program consists of six Minimum Control Measures (MCMs): Public Involvement and Participation; Public Education and Outreach; Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination; Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control; Post-Construction Stormwater Management in New Development and Redevelopment; and Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations. The MS4 permit also requires proper management of trash and nutrients. This presentation will discuss the regulations that were developed for the MS4, permitting requirements, compliance through the use of stormwater control measures (SCMs), and trash and nutrient management. Examples of application of the MS4 permit in Commerce City will also be provided to demonstrate how compliance can be achieved. Water quality will be protected through implementation of the MS4 permit.

Jennifer Strauss is the Stormwater Coordinator for the City of Commerce City. She has seven years of experience conducting stormwater planning and permitting with Commerce City and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). Jennifer also has 13 years of experience overseeing the cleanup of contaminated sites with the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety and PADEP. She specializes in fate and transport modeling, regulatory compliance, and water quality protection. Jennifer was a presenter for the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC) Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) training. She was also the President and Vice President of the Harrisburg Area Geological Society. Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Geology in 2002 from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

In Person Location: New Location – CDPHE, 4300 Cherry Creek S Drive, Denver, CO 80246, Building B (SE Corner), room B1E (The Crayton Room), MAP with parking

Go to Webinar:

Registration HERE (virtual attendance only). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing detailed information about joining the webinar. If you lose your registration or confirmation, or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact CEMS via email admin@coems.org.

In Person Registration:

BYO Box Lunch and Attend for Free – Registration with email to admin@coems.org

Box Lunch Registration – $18 CEMS member/ $21 non-members via PayPal HERE (until COB 1/5/2024)

Sponsorship: CEMS accepts sponsorships to defer expenses associated with its webinar series. Information about sponsorship can be found here: Sponsorship Program

Notice: CEMS would like to thank Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) for the use of meeting space and would like to emphasize that the use of CDPHE space does not constitute endorsement of CEMS, sponsors of CEMS functions, or the content of CEMS workshops or meetings

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