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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06051984 - 2.7 7 : Contra TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Costa County FROM: J. MICHAEL WALFORD, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR D] TE: June 5, 1984 SUBJECT: Solid Waste Import Policy Statement Specific Requests or Recommendations & Background & Justification RECOMMENDATION Approve Board of Supervisors policy statement on imported solid waste. BACKGROUND On October 17, 1983, the Board approved a recommendation from the Internal Operations Committee that the Public Works Director review the County Solid Waste Management Plan ' s policy statement on imports of solid waste from other counties disposed of in Contra Costa County, and return to the Board with a recommendation. The Public Works Department sought input from the Solid Waste Commission and the Commission's Technical Advisory Committee to develop the attached policy statement for the Board. The policy statement should be viewed as the Board's interpretation of the approved County Solid Waste Management Plan. The policy statement should be formally included into the Plan when the Plan- is next amended or revised. The policy statement was unanimously approved by the Solid Waste Commission at their May 16, 1984 meeting. The policy statement requires that any new import of solid waste be evaluated by the Board of Supervisors for consistency with the County Solid Waste Management Plan. A new import is defined as any new arrangement whereby solid waste are brought to Contra Costa County landfills from communities in other counties. For existing imports from other counties, a new import will be considered as any imports in excess of a 25 percent increase in waste identified in the 1982 County Solid Waste Management Plan. If the new imports are determined not to be consistent with the Plan, the Plan will have to be formally amended to recognize the new imports. Landfill operators will be required to petition the County for approval to accept. the waste as new arrangements are made, or the growth limit is reached. The County has no way to monitor imports, therefore, it is appropriate to place the responsibility of notifying the County on the operators. The Solid Waste Commission recommended that County Counsel review the policy statement, however, the Public Works Department does not feel that County Counsel review is necessary since this is not a major change from approved Board policy. The authority of the Board Continued on attachment: X yes Signatur Recommendation of County Administrator Recommendation of BoardCommittee Approve Other: Signature(s): Action of Board on: June 5. 1984 Approved as Recommended Other The aforesaid policy statment on imports of solid waste from other counties is hereby REFERRED back to staff to consider with suggestions which will be furnished by Board members . Vote of Supervisors I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN Unanimous (Absent ) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE Ayes: Noes: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON DATE SHOWN. Absent: Abstain: Attested June 5, 1984 Orig. Div.: Public Works (EC) J.R. OLSSON, OOl1NTY CLERK AND cc: County Administrator EX OFFICIO CLERK OF THE BOARD Planning Department Health Services-Env.Health County Counsel By DEPUTY Acme Fill Corp-(via EC) Richmond Sanitary Svc.(via EC) Contra Costa Waste Svc.(via EC) �� Solid Waste Commission (via EC) Board Members Z to regulate imports of solid waste through a consistency determination with the County Solid Waste Management Plan is a relatively new law. It is unknown how the courts would rule on such a matter if challenged. The issue of clarifying the Board ' s policy on imports of solid waste was brought to the Board's attention by a request that the Board place a surcharge on solid waste currently being imported to the County. County Counsel has determined that applying a surcharge is not legal. If those proposing to import solid waste into Contra Costa County are agreeable to paying a surcharge, resulting in the surcharge not being imposed by the County, the surcharge can be accepted. A surcharge may be part of a proposal to import waste into the County as was proposed with .the import of waste from San Francisco into Alameda County. Such a proposal would be consistent with this policy statement. DBO:cl bo.sw.imp.pol.t5 00 X89 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS POLICY STATEMENT ON IMPORTED SOLID WASTE Approved June 5, 1984 BACKGROUND INFORMATION As private sector solid waste collection companies developed within Contra Costa County, they looked for areas of growth. This growth process occurred by the purchasing of other companies, the merging of companies, expansion of service areas, and by providing service to new developments. The growth of these companies was not restricted by governmental boundaries. In the late 1950's, several landfills in the San Francisco Bay Area closed because of changes in operating regulations and an increased public awareness of disposal problems and practices. These closures altered the flow pattern of the solid waste. Decisions on which alternate landfill sites to use were made on economics and the preference of the collector, usually without governmental involvement. At the present time, all the operating landfill sites within Contra Costa County are privately owned and operated. When these sites are closed, the solid waste will have to be disposed of elsewhere. Studies indicate future landfills will be located further from population centers than the present sites. This additional distance will probably require the use of transfer stations. Development costs of new landfills will be higher than at the existing sites. Therefore, disposal charges ( "tipping fees") at new landfills will be higher than at existing landfills. The higher tippin fee plus the higher transportation costs ( including transfer station costs will result in rate increases to the consumer. It is in the best interest of the citizens of the County to avoid, for as long as possible, the increased costs that a new landfill will require. Table 8-2 in the Contra Costa County Solid Waste Management Plan shows the quantities of wastes for different collection areas. These figures are 1980 estimates and are considered to be existing imports. Berkeley - 36 TPD; Marin County - 101 TPD; Benicia - 56 TPD; and Oakland - 90 TPD. Page 40 of the Plan discusses an import from the City of Berkeley of 400 TPD for the two year period of mid-1983 to mid-1985. This import from Berkeley actually started on the first of August 1983. The import from Benicia goes to the Acme Landfill . The remainder goes to the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill . Table A shows these imports. The tonnages used in the Plan were estimates, but the tonnages closely approximate tonnages reported by the landfill operators. This policy statement is an elaboration to the Contra Costa County Solid Waste Management Plan approved in 1982, and constitutes the Board of Supervisors' interpretation of the Plan. By this policy statement, the Board determines 2 that the solid waste imports listed in Table #A are imports that were approved by the Plan (1982) . This approval is restricted to the quantities and dates shown in the Table. The County, as protector of the public's best interest, is interested in insuring the maximum utilization of the remaining capacity of the existing landfill sites by County residents. The approved Contra Costa County Solid Waste Management Plan states "Solid waste from outside of Contra Costa County, in excess of the wastes currently being imported into this County, is subject to review on a case-by-case basis by the Board of Supervisors. Any major import, as determined by the Board of Supervisors, will require an amendment to this Plan." (Page 4) Definitions: When used in this policy statement, the following definitions shall be applied. Imported Solid Waste - Solid Waste that is collected outside of Contra Costa County, but disposed of in Contra Costa County. Solid Waste - Group 2 and 3 wastes as defined in Subchapter 15 (titled Waste Disposal to Land) of the State of California State Water Resources Control Board Regulations (Group 1 wastes are not covered by this policy statement.) and sewage sludge. POLICY STATEMENT Any proposed new import should be evaluated by the Board of Supervisors (through the Solid Waste Commission)- for consistency with the County Solid Waste Management Plan. A new import is to be defined as any new arrangement whereby solid wastes are brought to Contra Costa County landfills from communities in other counties. For existing imports from other counties, a new import will be considered as any imports in excess of a 25 percent increase in wastes identified in the 1982 County Solid Waste Management Plan. Landfill operators will be required to petition the County for approval to accept the waste as new arrangements are made or the growth limit is reached. PROCEDURE In order to monitor County landfills, the County Public Works Department and the County Department of Health Services shall evaluate the quarterly monitoring reports submitted by the disposal operators to the Regional Water Quality Control Board for increases in tonnage. Increases in tonnage will be evaluated to determine if they are from imports or from growth within the County. The Public Works Department shall compare the quarterly tonnages from the landfills with estimates contained in the County Solid Waste Management Plan to determine if landfill life expectancies, as stated in the Plan, are still valid. 00 291. 3 Upon receipt of a request for determination of finding of conformance, the Board of Supervisors shall refer the request to the Contra Costa County Solid Waste Commission for a recommendation. The Commission will review the "import" request and make a recommendation to the Board. The Commission may request the operator to provide any data they need to fully evaluate the impacts that the imported waste would create. Imports shall be judged upon the following criteria including, but not limited to: The quantity of imports The economic mitigation proposed The remaining capacity of landfills in Contra Costa County Waste reduction practices at the receiving landfill The waste reduction policies of the exporting area The length of time for which the import is proposed to occur The composition of the solid waste The best interest of the citizens of Contra Costa County DBO:cl - May 1984 sw.pol.statemnt.t5 00 297. f ' TABLE A SOLID WASTE IMPORTED INTO CONTRA COSTA COUNTY Disposal Site Tons per Day* Used (1980 Estimates) Alameda County Berkeley West Contra Costa 36 (commercial accounts only) Sanitary Landfill City of Berkeley West Contra Costa 400 (Aug. 1983 thru July 1985 only) Sanitary Landfill Oakland West Contra Costa 90 (Snitzer Steel) Sanitary Landfill Marin County Southern Marin cities West Contra Costa 101 Sanitary Landfill Solano County Benicia Acme Landfill 56 * Within the solid waste industry, "daily averages," shown as Tons Per Day (TPD), are based upon a seven-day week and not upon the number of actual days that the waste was collected or disposed of. Notes: Sewage sludge from the East Bay Municipal Utility District and the City of San Francisco are disposed of at the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill. The sludge, when dried, is mixed with soil and used as cover material so the sludge quantity is not listed in this Table. The West Contra Sanitary Landfill also accepts wastes from a collector that services military installations around the Bay Area. In 1980, approximately 30 tons per day were collected. These contracts are renewed periodically. DBO:cl sw.pol.tbl.a.t5 00 9a� .