ORCAA Board of Directors
OLYMPIC REGION CLEAN AIR AGENCY
2940 B Limited Lane NW
Olympia, Washington 98502
MEETING
February 13 , 2008
Members present:
Bob Beerbower, Grays Harbor County (Chair)
Ann Burgman, City of Lacey
Ross Gallagher, Mason County
Mike Doherty, Clallam County
Phil Johnson, Jefferson County
Bob Macleod, Thurston County
Joan Machlis, City of Olympia
Grant Munro, City of Port Angeles (Vice Chair),
Members absent:
Clay Harwood, Pacific County
Legal Counsel: Fred Gentry and Heather Welch of Bean, Gentry, Wheeler & Peternell
Staff Present: Richard Stedman, Executive Director, Robert Moody, Compliance Supervisor; Gordon LanceEngineer; Lynn Harding, Administrative Services Manager; Aly Dyson, Air Quality Specialist and Debbie Moody, Recorder
The meeting was called to order at 10:05 am.
Stedman introduced our new Board Member, Joan Machlis. The Board welcomed Machlis. Stedman noted we have had a plaque made for Jeff Kingsbury. Stedman stated he would be presenting it to him at one of the upcoming Olympia Council meetings.
Selection of Finance committee: Ann (Chair), Joan, and Bob Macleod were selected. Beerbower would be an alternate member.
There were no additions or omission to the Agenda. Burgman moved approval of the Agenda. Johnson seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Munro moved approval of the Consent Agenda. Macleod seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Beerbower noted there was no public in the audience. Gentry took this time to introduce Heather Welch. Welch recently joined the firm and will be assisting with ORCAA’s cases. The Board welcomed Welch.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Compliance Update
Robert Moody, Compliance Supervisor, explained Sierra Pacific Lumber Mill has officially declared their major source status. Soil Key has requested minor reshaping of their piles, and we are allowing that. We are working in concert with Thurston County Environmental Health and Ecology. Their concern was getting the piles covered so they aren’t leaching contaminants into the groundwater. The case is still on the PCHB agenda for June 2008. We will continue to do our best to mitigate it between now and then. Beerbower asked if we are working with the owners of the property or the Soil Key. R.Moody stated we are working with the manager of Soil Key. We will be meeting with Thurston County and Ecology tomorrow, regarding several proposals the facility has made in regards to closing of the business.
We continue to work on enforcement issues with Westport Shipyard Inc. We do expect some resolution soon. Also in Grays Harbor, we have received a few noise complaints from the Satsop Turbine Project. EFSEC is actually in charge of the noise issues and we are told they are dealing with it. Beerbower noted the noise will not ever be entirely gone, so we do expect some complaints as it is something different.
Stedman added we have met with Westport Shipyard Inc representatives and they have been made aware of the hefty penalty coming their way. We were very impressed with management and the actions they have taken thus far to correct their problems. The new manager has instituted a lot of new measures to work towards and stay in compliance. In the degree that we can, we will give credit for work done, however knowing EPA is watching this case, we do want to insure EPA does not feel the need to over file.
R.Moody explained to the Board that on a semi regular basis the compliance and engineer team attend source tests at different facilities. We have been notified of several upcoming tests, for different sources, to be completed this spring.
ORCAA Permit Actions
Stedman noted Gordon Lance, Engineer, is filling in for Mark Goodin who is attending a meeting in Washington D.C. The meeting is sponsored by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies and they are discussing what cities, counties and local air agencies can do with regards to climate change impacts.
Lance explained it has been relatively quiet in the permitting section, which has given them time to catch up on some of the projects that have been on hold for a variety of reasons. Lance did note a new project, a pellet plant, is being proposed in Shelton. We expect a preliminary determination to be completed in the next few weeks. Lance added the engineers are also working together, with Goodin leading, on examining what some of the other agencies are doing with respect to greenhouse gas emissions.
Education and Outreach
Dan Nelson, Public Information Officer, stated the television spots (outdoor burning) are running and we have received very positive comments, however some very negative ones as well. The majority of the negative comments are coming from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s (PSCAA) jurisdiction and we are sure they have learned of PSCAA’s intention to ban outdoor burning in their entire jurisdiction. We will discuss whether or not to continue running that advertisement next year. We will also be discussing new advertisements regarding auto emissions and ways individuals can make changes in their own lives. Nelson explained a report was included in the packet which shows our web site visits. Basically it shows that our website is our dominant outreach and communication tool for us. Nelson briefly highlighted the report. Nelson stated if there were any questions regarding the report he would be happy to answer them.
Nelson stated we have expanded our diesel program, thanks to our director, into zero emission vehicles. We have established some partnership and grant programs within our jurisdiction. The Port of Olympia has purchased two Zap trucks (electric vehicles) and are retiring other vehicles. The City of Olympia has purchased one zero emission vehicle and will be requesting 50% match. The City of Lacey, Tumwater, Port Townsend, as well as Jefferson County have been in contact with us regarding zero emission vehicles as well.
Nelson stated phase 2 of the school bus retrofits is under way. Several districts are in the works or have been completed – Southside, Grapeview, Mary M. Knight, Pioneer, Hood Canal, Ocean Beach and North River are currently in phase 2 and/or complete. Several districts are now waiting for summer break to begin. Most of the fleets should be complete by beginning of next school year.
Air Quality Summary
Stedman noted the Air Quality Summary sheet in the packet. Pointing out January, Stedman explained, you’ll see we had several days of moderate to unhealthy days. Due to this, on January 22nd we did call a voluntary burn ban, which became a stage I burn ban on January 24th. Once the weather changed, the ban was discontinued. Stedman noted we may run into some air quality issues during this month and into March. Stedman wanted to let the Board know that we did exceed the Federal Standard (35 micrograms per meter cubed) in January, however, the good news is we don’t have a Federal Reference Sampler so it isn’t official data. What it does mean, is if trends continue, we could be designated non-attainment for PM2.5 in Thurston County. Stedman did note Tacoma has been declared non-attainment for PM2.5.
We will be watching this closely and discussing implementation of woodstove buy back programs, which will hopefully lower the emissions. There was some further discussion regarding air quality. There was no action required of the Board.
Legislative Summary
Stedman stated he has been very active with the legislature this year. Stedman reminded the Board as of January 1, 2007, there was a burn ban issued on all cities within an Urban Growth Area. Since then, a work panel was established to look at alternatives to burning in the UGAs. The outcome of that work group was that there are alternatives available. Currently Douglas County, primarily, was trying to revise the ban, allowing burning to occur on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays in November—which is one of the worst times of the year to burn. It does appear their bill is not going to go through. We do feel they will try to bring it up again next year.
There is a woodstove curtailment bill that is currently in committee. This bill would require that once we hit 25 micrograms per meter cubed (the current trigger is 35), we would then be required to call a stage I burn ban—meaning only certified stoves can burn. The additional condition in that bill would trigger stage II at 35 micrograms per meter cubed. There is not a lot of opposition to that bill, in fact, in the past, the Hearth Products Association was the main opposition and they have signed on to the bill this year. Stedman noted there are also quite a few climate change bills; however he has not been tracking them too closely.
Senator Honeyford is sponsoring a burning bill this year. He wants to allow for the burning of debris before it can catch fire. Ecology has added some proposed language to the bill, basically stating there would be no burning in non-attainment areas as well as individual determinations made by fire districts. Stedman stated he would continue to watch that bill.
Federal Budget Update
Stedman stated President Bush has requested $185.58 million for air agencies. This represents a reduction of about 14.4% or $31.25 million reduction over what had been allocated for 2008. The National Association of Clean Air Agencies has recommended a budget, last year, of $270 million, which is far from the $185 million. We do hope the appropriation will be larger once it gets through congress. What this means to our agency, Stedman stated is a reduction of several thousand dollars in our federal grant.
Financial Update
Stedman stated we are doing well and are within our budget to date. We are under spending in several categories at this point in the year. Stedman wanted to thank Thurston County, Robin Hunt in particular, for a good job in the investment pool. We budgeted $52,000 for the year, and currently we are at nearly $58,000. Stedman noted a few other categories and stated overall we are in good shape. Stedman added we have not yet dipped into our reserve. Our current budget allows for the use of $359,000 from our reserves.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Introduction of New AQS – Alyson Dyson
Stedman introduced Aly Dyson. Stedman stated Dyson has come to us from North Carolina, where she worked at Department of Natural Resources, Division of Air Quality. Dyson has an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and is almost completed with her Masters in Environmental Chemistry. The Board welcomed Dyson.
SAO Audit Results
Stedman stated we received the final copy of our audit. Copies were available to the Board. There were no findings and they were quite impressed with how we operate our agency. The one item we need to work on has to do with the prevailing wage. We are currently working on the policy which we will bring to the Board for approval. We will be looking into work rosters and/or possibly tagging onto a city or county work roster. We will also be looking at hiring an employee as a janitor/handyman. We have been in contact with the Auditors’ explaining the changes will take time, and they are willing to work with us.
Building Update
Stedman wanted to let the Board know it appears Catholic Community Services will not be renewing their lease. Stedman explained there are two organizations at CCS and one of the organizations has noted they would like first option on our side of the building when the other organization vacates. What we would like to do is move to the other side of the building. That side of the building would accommodate our agency much better than what we currently have. This move will require some remodeling. That side of the building is due for painting, HVAC system upgrade, and carpeting. Stedman noted we are going to be working on our parking lot as well. We will have additional recycled asphalt spread soon, but in the long term, Stedman explained, we will be working with Ecology on a grant. They have grants for low impact development; unfortunately we just missed this grant cycle. Stedman stated he will be working on securing funds for next year, hopefully doing some innovative paving such as pervious concrete or asphalt, or gravel grids. Stedman stated he has been talking to the city as well, to find out what will be required.
NEW BUSINESS
Puget Sound Clean Cities – Mark Brady
Stedman noted he has requested Mark Brady, Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition to make a presentation to the Board. Brady had previously been headquartered at the City of Seattle and is currently housed at PSCAA. Brady recently provided information to the Washington Air Quality Manager’s group and we felt it would be valuable for him to provide the information to the Board. Brady provided a power point presentation (provided in packet). The Board thanked Brady for his presentation.
Land Clearing Burn Permit Fee
Stedman explained our original burn permit fee was $100 regardless of the acreage being cleared. Last year we changed the fee to $75 per acre cleared, anticipating the fee would help cover the cost of the program. Unfortunately we have seen a reduction in revenue. At this time, we are requesting to raise the fee to $100 per acre cleared. Johnson asked if people are not being honest with the number of acres and wondered if by raising the fee, they will do so even more. Stedman stated we are hoping that by raising it to the $100, we’ll at least be holding ground and be closer to where we were previously. Beerbower thought perhaps clearing is slowing down and we probably won’t be seeing as many permits. Burgman didn’t feel people would complain at the $100 level, but she was hesitant to go much higher. Stedman noted after crunching some numbers, $125 would probably bring us closer to covering our current costs; however it is hard to predict how many permits we are going to have. Our original intent on going to the per acre cost was to hopefully recover additional monies to assist in the out door burning program, which is currently unfunded.
Machlis noted it appears the $100 doesn’t cover the cost, and if the majority of the permits are small acreage, why not have the fee for the first acre be much larger, and then subsequent acres be less. If we are trying to equate cost with activity, the fee seems too low.
Stedman gave Machlis a brief history on the land clearing burn program.
Stedman noted PSCAA is planning on banning burning in their jurisdiction. The state law states we are supposed to do an analysis ever three years on the feasibility of alternatives to burn. If there are alternatives available, we are supposed to ban all burning. We will be looking into this for our jurisdiction as well. We already know there are fewer options in the more rural areas, however, in Pacific County they were able to come up with alternatives for the wind blown debris and have made great progress.
Munro moved to allow staff to proceed to rule making and implement the proposed fee increase. Gallagher seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Resolution 243 – Public Records Officer and Indexing of Public Records
Stedman explained we need to formally designate a Public Records Officer and discuss the indexing of public records. Basically, this document names Debbie Moody as the Records Officer and it also states we do not maintain an index of our public records.
Burgman moved approval of Resolution 243. Johnson seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Executive Director’s Evaluation – Executive Session
The Board went into executive session to discuss employee evaluation at 11:23 am and reconvened at 11:37am. Beerbower noted no decisions were made during the session. A report will be distributed at the next regular scheduled meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m.
PRESENTED BY
Richard A. Stedman, Executive Director
APPROVED BY:
The Majority of the Board
APPROVED and SIGNED this 12th day of March 2008