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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02251992 - EA.1 {�� �1 ice• , � � �d Contra TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS -.- ., Costa FROM: ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 'h a`o County f SUPERVISOR NANCY FAHDEN, CHAIR rd-Ac y SUPERVISOR TOM TORLAKSON DATE: FEBRUARY 10, 1992 SUBJECT: SECOND ANNUAL HEARING ON THE OPERATION OF THE ACME FILL WASTE RECOVERY AND TRANSFER STATION SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Accept this report from the Environmental Affairs Committee. 2 . Recommend to the Board of Supervisors that the annual hearing on the Acme Fill Waste Recovery and Transfer. Station's Land Use Permit Conditions of Approval be scheduled as soon as practicable. 3 . Advise the Board of Supervisors that circumstances may require amending the Land Use Permit in early 1992 to extend the termination date for the operation of the Interim Transfer Station from July 27, 1992 to October 30, 1993 . 4-. Recommend that the Board of Supervisors accept the table entitled Acme Fill Waste Recovery and Transfer Station Implementation and Mitigation Monitoring Tracking Chart, dated December, 1991, as the annual report for the facility's Implementation and Mitigation Monitoring Program. FISCAL IMPACT None. The costs of the Implementation and Mitigation Monitoring Program and a Land Use Permit amendment are borne by the permittee. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS The Environmental Affairs Committee considered this matter at its December 9, 1991 meeting, and decided to send this report and recommendations to the Board for action. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR xx RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURES) Supervisor ancy Fandeny Chair Supervisor Tom Torlakson ACTION OF BOARD ON S /rfl�APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A; UNANIMOUS (ABSENT TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Orig: Community Development Department (CDD) ATTESTED cc: County Administrator PHIL BATCHE R, CLERK OF County Counsel THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Acme Fill Corporation (via CDD) AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR GMEDA BY , DEPUTY CAZ:gms eat:\bo\AcmeGate - r Second Annual Hearing on the Operation of the Acme Fill Waste Recovery & Transfer Station Continued - Page Two Annual Hearing Requirement Condition 4 . 1 of Land Use Permit 2122-86 for the Acme . Fill Waste Recovery and Transfer Station specifies that the Board of Supervisors shall hold three annual hearings on the permit following the commencement of operations. Subsequently, the County Planning Commission is to hold hearings every three years. The facility, through its Interim Transfer Station, began operations on December 18, 1989. The Board of Supervisors held its first annual hearing on December 18, 1990. The facility was reported to be operating without significant problems and within its permit parameters. No changes to the Conditions were recommended or found to be necessary. Several specific Conditions warranting attention were identified in the 1990 report, and their handling is addressed below. Solid Waste Facilities Permit The County Health Services Department, in its role of the Local Enforcement Agency for the state's transfer station operating requirements, inspected the facility almost monthly during 1991. It found no significant violations of the Solid Waste Facilities Permit. Minor infractions, such as employees not wearing visibility vests, were corrected on request. Land Use Permit Compliance The Community Development Department found no violations of the Land Use Permit in 1991 and continues to report that the facility is operating within the parameters of the permit. For 1992, staff,., believes that an amendment of the permit to extend the operating life of the interim station is warranted. The reason for the extension is discussed below. Interim Transfer Station Operating Period Extension Condition 29 of the Land Use Permit, together with other permits, enables an interim transfer station to be built and operated on the Acme Landfill site. The interim station has been' in operation since December 18, 1989, as noted. It has been serving as a trans- shipment facility for about one-half of the County's solid waste. From December 1989 to December 1991, the waste was exported, to Alameda and Solano Counties. The agreement with Alameda County (for the use of the Altamont Landfill) expired in December and has not yet been reinstated. The interim facility, will be needed until .it is superseded by the permanent station. Shipment of solid waste in transfer vans is a requirement of the export agreements. Although the status of export to Alameda County is uncertain since the original agreement expired on December 17th, new arrangements are being negotiated. Regardless, the Solano County agreement will continue through the opening of a new landfill in Contra Costa County. Both of the new permitted landfills require almost all of the waste stream to be sent through a transfer station. Condition 29 presently allows the Interim Transfer Station to continue in operation through July 27, 1992 . The Permanent Transfer Station is being built, as stated in Acme Fill Corporation's attached letter, but may not be ready to operate by late July. Staff, therefore, is recommending that the Board of Supervisors authorize staff to process an amendment to the Land Use Permit to extend the permissible operating date to October 30, 1993 . Commensurate with this action, staff recommended that the Board request the. Local Enforcement Agency (the Health Services Department) to process an extension of the interim station's Solid Waste Facilities Permit. Second Annual Hearing on the Operation of the 'Acme Fill Waste Recovery & Transfer Station Continued - Page Three Follow-Up on the 1990 Annual Report The following actions were taken in 1991 as follow-up efforts to the 1990 annual report: 1. Covered Load Program (Condition 25.8) . Acme Fill Corporation developed a surcharge program for uncovered loads which was approved by the County. It went into effect on July is Within a month, as previously reported to the Board, uncovered loads virtually ceased to be brought to the facility. 2. Composting Pilot Project (Condition 12 . 6) . The last approval for Acme „ Fill Corporation's pilotproject (now, a "demonstration project" pursuant to state law) was granted- by the County Health Services Department in late November. The site is now being prepared for operations. The demonstration project was processed through the County's Task Force on Composting and was approved by the Board of Supervisors in May. Permitting under evolving state requirements occupied the interval between May and November. The Composting Demonstration Project will also implement the wood chipping program called for by Condition 12 . 5. 3 . Local Advisory Committee (Condition 8. 2) . The permittee organized a local advisory committee pursuant to the condition. It met twice in 1991. It , concurred with the design of the sound wall and the permanent transfer station. It also raised concern over the continual opening of the Arthur Road Gate (Condition 18. 5) . Condition 18.5 reads: Arthur Road Gate. The Transfer Station developer shall provide for connection between the Arthur Road corridor and the main Transfer Station intersection controlled by a lockable gate. The connection shall admit emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, and the gate shall be controlled by the emergency vehicles. , If the Martinez Gun Club legally must be granted access to their site by way of Arthur Road, the Club shall also be provided the opportunity to transport their traffic through the gate. If agreement can be obtained from the parties of interest, the Transfer station developer shall provide for gate control by card or similar device available to authorized users. As a result of .repeated problems over keeping the Arthur Road Gate locked and accessible only to authorized users, the Acme Fill Corporation hired a .guard and conducted a study of those who attempted to use Arthur Road for access. The preponderance of those questioned were Martinez. Gun Club users. The gun club, Acme, and other authorized users are working to get their people to use Waterfront Road/Waterbird Way. The problem was coming under control, but users evidently have reverted to leaving the gate open when the guard is not present. If this chronic problem cannot be - handled with a gate, another kind of a solution might have to be implemented. The implementation of Condition 9. 2, dealing with Waste Characterization, and 13 . 2 , dealing with a household hazardous waste program, is being held pending the outcome of the .AB 939 program. Permanent Transfer Station The status of the permanent transfer station is covered in the attached letter from the Acme Fill Corporation. Second Annual Hearing on the Operation of the Acme Fill Waste Recovery & Transfer Station Continued - Page Four Implementation and Mitigation Monitoring Program California law requires the status of Environmental Impact Report mitigation measures to be monitored. The Community Development Department has combined the mitigation measures monitoring program with its program to track the implementation of Conditions of Approval (many Conditions originated as mitigation measures) . The current status of the measures/Conditions is displayed on the Acme Fill Waste Recovery and Transfer Station. Implementation and Mitigation Monitoring Tracking Chart (December, 1991, version) provided under separate cover. CZ:/gms ea1:\bo\AcmeG&to • 4CA PRESIDENT DIRECTORS Boyd M. Olney, Jr. " .``Bat D io SECRETARY - TREASURER - ' "Clark Clovis: . George Navone November 26, 1991 Mr. Charles Zahn Community Development Department County of Contra Costa 651 Pine Street, 4th Floor, North Wing Martinez, California 94553 Re: Status Summary - Conditions of Approval for Land Use Permit-Acme Dear Mr. Zahn: The Board of Supervisors has requested a status report regarding the implementatiori of the permit conditions of the Acme Land Use Permit (LUP. 1211-86) for Acme's Waste Recovery and Transfer Station. A summary. of Acme's status of compliance with the County conditions of approval is as follows: Acme, continues to operate the interim transfer station within the validity period. A permit has been granted for Facility Operation by the California Integrated Waste Management. Board (CIWMB) (Condition 3 , Validity Period) . Acme continues to comply with County mandated eligible and 'ineligible wastes (Condition 7, Eligible and Ineligible Wastes) . A load inspection program is 'in operation for the interim transfer station. A waste characterization has been performed (Condition 9 , Load Inspection) . A load inspection is in operation for the interim transfer station. In the event that hazardous waste' is unloaded at the station, the waste is diverted from transfer and storage in a designated storage area for identification and transferred to an authorized hazardous. waste landfill. Plans for a- permanent household hazardous ,waste facility have been developed in the design for the permanent transfer station (Condition 13 , Hazardous Waste) . Acme continues to submit quarterly incoming waste P.O. l2ox 1108 lY1"2�1 ago4Au 9-4553 Aon ; 6§xce 228-7099 q& 228-65.25 Mr. Charles Zahn County of Contra Costa November 26, 1991 Page 2 reports to County LEA. Acme continues to hold regular meetings of the Local .Advisory Committee (LAC) . The LAC has approved all design and construction proposals to date (Condition 8 , Administration) . Acme operates a drop-off recyclable material center along the access road prior to the paybooth. Plans include a buy-back center as part of the existing drop-off center. Currently, incoming loads are screened for recyclable material content and diverted to stockpile areas, for bulk transfer to recycling markets. A composting pilot project has been developed with capability to compost yard debris. Final regulatory approval has been recently granted, and operation of the project is commencing. Acme has funded the County , Resource Recovery Management Program as requested. It took a year to resolve the permitting process with the State. The Compost Task Force, the IO Committee and Board of Supervisors assisted in the design °approvals of the pilot demonstration project, and the last approval. was obtained from the LEA . on October 31, 1991 (Condition 12 , Resource Recovery) . Development plans have been developed during the design of the permanent transfer station. The design takes into consideration the concept of down sizing due to fluctuations in the waste stream, as reported in the 1990 Report of Station information. Design; design approval, and construction of the permanent transfer station for Phases I and 2 have been completed. Design Phase 3 has been submitted 'to the County for approval. Design of Phase 4 is underway. Acme will proceed with construction of Phase 3 when approved by the County. Acme has implemented a County approved . surcharge to contribute to closure costs of the landfill for the general public (Condition 15, Development- and Improvement Plan). Final development of the transportation and circulation plan is underway. All roadway usage and modification plans are being coordinated with Vine Hill residents, representatives of the Martinez Gun Club . and I.T. Corporation, and County Public Works and Community Development staff (Condition 18, Transportation and Circulation Plan)- . Construction of the sound walls is complete. The access road to the site will be paved prior to commencement of operations. Paving details are included in Phase 3 design Jz: Mr. Charles Zahn County of Contra Costa November 26, 1991 Page 3 submittal (Condition 21, Construction Conditions) . A study of current noise levels in the area is in process. An ongoing noise monitoring program is part of operations of the permanent transfer station. West-facing doors will not be opened between the hours of 5: 00 p.m. and 7 : 00 a.m. , in order to reduce operational noise which may reach the Vine Hill residents (Condition 22, Noise Control) . - The facility has been designed to process all incoming waste within 24 hours. Overhead mist systems for dust control will be fitted with odor suppressants (perfumes) if needed (Condition 23 , Odor Control) . All rough sitework and grading are complete with no evidence of archaeological findings (Condition 24, Cultural Resources) . The transfer station will be .completely fenced for capture of litter, as well as for security. Staffing includes personnel for on- and off-site litter policing. A load covering program is in effect at the interim transfer station. All uncovered loads are fined with a surcharge. This program is expected to remain in effect during operation of the permanent transfer station (condition 25, Litter Control) . Acme is completely enclosed with security fencing and patrolled by security personnel during nighttime hours. All staff are aware of security monitoring concerns and communications (Condition 27, Site Security) . Waste is not stored for longer than 24 hours. Acme does not have a problem with rodents, or other vectors, but does, and will continue to, monitor the site for any occurrences (Condition 28, Vectors) . The interim transfer station has been permitted and is in operation.. The facility is located on the Southern portion of the East Parcel. Authorization to continue operation has- been granted by Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) to continue operation until December 31, 1993 , or no later than 60 days after beginning operations of the permanent transfer station (whichever comes first) . The other permits are valid through July, 1992 . If more is needed, extensions need to be obtained (Condition 29 , Interim Transfer Station) . Mr. Charles Zahn County of Contra Costa November 26, 1991 Page 4 Should there be any questions or comments, please contact Michael Reed at Acme Fill (Phone: 228-7099) . Very truly yours, �r MICHAEL REED Acting Director of Operations Acme Landfill 0000107E