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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02071984 - IO.1 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: Internal Operations Committee Costa DATE: February 6, 1984 @ County SUBJECT: Solid Waste Management Alternatives SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . That the Board of Supervisors accept the Solid Waste Commission's "Report on Solid Waste Management Alternatives" and authorize its implementation. 2. That the Board of Supervisors request the Solid Waste Commission to establish a timetable and methodology for implementation of their report on Solid Waste Manage- ment Alternatives in coordination with representatives from cities, sanitary districts, garbage collection companies, landfill operators, and others concerned with this subject. 3. That the Board refer to the Recycling Committee the recycling section of the report. 4. That the Board commend the residents of Port Costa for the outstanding job they have been doing in collecting a full dump truck load of material to be recycled and delivering it to the Recycling Center every two weeks. 5. That the Board ask the Health Services Department to determine what authority the Board of Supervisors has to prevent Acme Fill from closing their dump .to public use and to report on this matter to the Board on February 7, 1984. 6. That the Board of Supervisors express their grave concern to the Board of Directors of Acme Fill about any potential plans they may have to close the dump to public use and request instead that they work closely with County staff in an effort to work out an alternative proposal on an interim basis. 7. Remove this item as a referral to our Committee. BACKGROUND: On January 17, 1984, the Board referred to our Committee a report from the Public Works Director transmitting a report from the Solid Waste Commission on Solid Waste Manage- ment Alternatives and recommending that the Board accept the Commission's report and authorize its implementation. We met with staff from Public Works and Health Services on February 6, 1984. Public Works' staff explained that the report is in effect an extension of the Solid Waste Plan and can serve as a handbook for those interested in alternative solid waste disposal technology. The report provides a great deal of data on costs for various alternatives and makes a number of recommendations relating to recycling, composting waste to energy and waste reduction and public awareness. The report would, for instance, provide individuals with the background information to go to a city council and request a curbside recycling program. In response to concerns expressed by Committee members on how all of these issues . can be coordinated, staff suggested that the Solid Waste Commission would be the appropriate place to coordinate all activities related to solid waste management. r Kathleen Nimr, on behalf of the League of Women Voters, submitted written comments relating to several of the recommendations. She urged that the Board find some method of obtaining better detailed data on the actual cost to the collection companies of disposing of solid waste so that the public will know what the company's costs are; what the company's profit is and, therefore, whether requests for rate increases are justified. In regard to recommendation #8, Ms. Nimr suggested that Acme Fill should be required to compost landscaping materials which have been segregated from other solid waste by cities or other individuals or organizations starting immediately, and that they may wish to consider composting as a method of providing cover for Acme Fill even after the dump site is closed. It is her belief that simply encouraging composting is inadequate. Finally, Ms. Nimr believes that solid waste management should be viewed as an entire system, with recycling made an integral part of the system. She also urged that a transfer station be located in Contra Costa County. 281 -2- Supervisor Fanden generally agreed with Ms. Nimr's comments, suggesting that someone needs to look at the company's books; that we need more information, on the amount of segregated landscaping waste which is available; that the County should prohibit the importation of solid waste from other counties, and that stricter conditions should be put on any permits for new land use. waste sites or expansion of existing sites. Supervisor Powers noted that the County has only a limited role in the entire solid waste management process, and that while additional conditions on land use permits may be appropriate, the County is certainly in no position to solve the entire problem through the land use process. Staff from the Public Works Department noted that of the cost of collecting and disposing of solid waste, between 80% and 85% of the cost is for ccllection, which is generally under the jurisdiction of cities and sanitary districts and only 15% to 20% of the cost is for the actual disposal of the waste, the only area in which the County has any clear jurisdiction under the system currently in place in this County. Supervisor Fanden noted the outstanding job being done by the residents of Port Costa who have for some time been collecting material to be recycled and are now at the point where they dispose of a dump truck full every two weeks. Our Committee is in agreement that the Board should adopt the Commission' s report, but should also urge the Commission to be more specific in terms of how and when they are going to implement the report's recommendations. We note that the implementation of these .recommendations will require cooperation and input from the cities, sanitary districts, the collection companies, and the dump site operators. Finally, we were concerned to learn that the Board of Directors of Acme Fill is apparently meeting on February 6 to consider closing the dump to the general public. We believe that this may lead to the public either having to take solid waste some distance to dispose of in another dump site or that littering along the highway will become a greatly intensified problem. We have asked representatives from the Health Services Department to be present at the Board meeting on February 7 ready to advise the Board on what authority the Board may have to prevent Acme Fill from taking such action. We are also suggesting that the Chairman be authorized to sign a letter to the Acme Fill Board of Directors strongly expressing the Board's concern that such an action would not be in the public interest, but that County staff would be willing and able to work with the operators of the Acme Fill in an effort to clarify an alternative which can be used on an interim basis pending either the closure of Acme Fill or its expansion. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDA F COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X_ RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE X APPROV OTHER t-tCY�t� SIGNATURES) Tom Powers N. C. TFden ACTION OF BOARD ON February, 1984 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED A_ OTHER X _ In response to Recommendation No. S, Dan Bergman, Assistant Health Services Director, referred to several sections in the current permit relative to operation of Acme Fill and advised of discussions with the State to determine Board authority to prevent closure of its land fill site. The Board changed Recommendation No. 6 to authorize the Chairman to send a letter to the Board of Directors of Acme Fill, expressing appreciation for their decision to not close the dump to the general public at this time and requesting said Directors to discuss with the Board of Supervisors and County staff any future plans for closure of the dump site. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS A_ UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD County Administrator OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Public Works Director CC: Acting Health Services Director ATTESTED 7 i9 Solid Waste Commission J.R. OLSSON,616OUNTY CLERK Recycling Committee AND EX OFFICIO CLERK OF THE BOARD !l..++ M382/7-83 BY DEPUTY