ORCAA Board of Directors
OLYMPIC REGION CLEAN AIR AGENCY
2940 B Limited Lane NW
Olympia, Washington 98502
MEETING
April 11, 2007
Members present:
Bob Beerbower, Grays Harbor County (Chair)
Ann Burgman, City of Lacey
Clay Harwood, Pacific County
Grant Munro, City of Port Angeles (Vice Chair)
Ross Gallagher, Mason County
Bob Macleod, Thurston County
Jeff Kingsbury, City of Olympia
Phil Johnson, Jefferson County
Members absent:
Mike Doherty, Clallam County
Legal Counsel: Fred Gentry, Bean & Gentry
Staff Present:
Richard Stedman, Executive Director, Robert Moody, Compliance Supervisor; Gordon Lance, Engineer; Dan Nelson, Public Information Officer; Lynn Harding, Administrative Services Manager; John Kelly, Engineer; and Debbie Moody, Recorder
The meeting was called to order at 10:01 am.
There were no additions or omissions to the Agenda. Stedman noted he would like to move the Public Comment prior to the Public Hearing. Burgman moved approval of the amended Agenda. Munro seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Election of Officers: Burgman nominated Beerbower for Chair. The nomination was seconded by Johnson. There were no further nominations. Burgman nominated Munro for Vice Chair. The nomination was seconded by Johnson. There were no further nominations. Beerbower called for the question. The nominations carried.
Kingsbury asked that his name be placed under Members Present as he was in attendance. Burgman moved approval of the Consent Agenda with the change noted. Munro seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Soil Key Neighborhood Concerns
Beerbower asked the public to introduce themselves.
Present were: Neil Tuttle, Stacy Roark, Steve Roark, Mike Field, Jack Fraker, Nelda Fraker, Gayle Heyl, James Heyl, all from the vicinity of 160th Lane in Tenino.
Beerbower stated he would allow 3 minutes per person for those wishing to speak. Steve Roark stood and noted that he would be speaking on behalf of the group, with the Boards permission. Beerbower stated that would be fine.
Steve Roark, 3840 160th Lane SW, in Tenino. Roark stated he was present to speak on behalf of many neighbors who are adjacent to Soil Key’s compost operation. We are here to get the perspective of ORCAA’s Board on what actions are coming forth to deal with the odor problem we have. We would like to thank ORCAA for all the work they have done and the efforts they have put forth these past two years in responding and trying to eliminate the odor problem. However, there is still a significant problem. Roark explained most of the residence moved into the neighborhood between 2001 and 2003. At that time, we were aware South Sound Soils was in operation adjacent to our properties. There were no odor problems at that time. Around 2005 Soil Key began building up the operation and resulted in the release of odors. Roark described the property and location of the composting facility in reference to their homes. Soil Key has increased the operation from what South Sound Soil was doing previously. If you look at the data, you will see that the complaints over the past years have increased. We have been very patient in dealing with Soil Key. Based on reports from Soil Key, regarding our complaints, it is apparent to us they do not acknowledge the odor issue. We have no confidence in Soil Key’s plan in implementing best management practices. Specifically we feel they are not going to implement Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT). Soil Key hired a consultant who has recommended RACT and other things they can do to mitigate the odors. We have been told by Mr. Spoerer (manager of Soil Key) that things will not change. Roark noted Mr. Spoerer specifically told them he would not place the recommended vegetative buffers adjacent to his property because we continue to complain.
Roark noted the goal of this group is to have the odors cease. It didn’t stink when we moved in and we are worried it will continue. The odors are extremely horrid in the summer. We can’t open our window or enjoy a barbecue. Roark stated they have begun to do their own footwork. They requested, and received, a copy of Soil Key’s SEPA MDNS which was issued back in 1998. We don’t believe it is relevant given the operation in its current state, we believe it is a new source. We have also reviewed the NOC which was issued by ORCAA and we do want to know what ORCAA will be doing with Soil Key’s operating permit when it becomes due. We have reviewed the consultant’s report as well. There are industry standards for composting facilities and it is obvious Soil Key is not following them. We would like to hear from the Board what strategy or action the Board will take to address this issue. Roark added it is not their intent to harm Soil Key, we simply want to enjoy the use of our property without having to smell the odors generated from their property.
Stedman explained there is some information in the packets. Stedman agreed with Roark’s history of the source. Looking at the last page of the information staff put together, you can see a substantial increase in the amount of waste this facility is processing. Stedman noted the complaint count, also in the packet, stating we are up to over 200 complaints. When we showed the information to Soil Key, they made a point that complaints are not violations. He seems to dismiss the complaints and we continue to try to work with him. He has several violations on the books already and if we receive another complaint and verify it, he is looking at maximum penalties. Stedman stated part of the issue is the fact that the county allows these types of businesses to be located next to residences, or residences to be built next to these types of business. We have to rely on the operators of these types of facilities to do the right thing, and Mr. Spoerer has demonstrated his unwillingness to work with the community and the agency.
Stedman noted we have mitigated some of the penalties so that Soil Key could invest the monies back into the facility to eliminate the problems. We are hoping the system that Soil Key is putting in place will take care of the odors. We also recognize, regardless of the system, once he breaks into the pile there will be odors. Burgman asked if there was a fire danger. Stedman stated their material is quite wet and we aren’t aware of a problem. Burgman asked if there is a timeline for the improvements. Stedman noted by mid-June they are to have the system operational. Johnson asked if the County could require the buffer. Stedman stated he wasn’t sure, but the county has opened the zoning rules and they are re-considering buffer distance, however it won’t help in this situation. If we don’t gain any success with Mr. Spoerer, Stedman continued, because he isn’t the owner of the property we will be contacting the property owner and will cite them if necessary.
Stedman stated we continue to respond to the complaints and travel to the site to verify the odors. We are still trying to work out some mitigation, although Soil Key isn’t really working with us. We would really like to see him do the right thing and operate with less odors. It is probably unlikely for this operation to operate without some odors, but we feel it can operate with a considerably less odor.
James Heyl, 3815 160th Lane SW, Tenino, stated their have been fires and smoke—approximately five fires last year. Heyl noted they have been trying to work with Soil Key as well. Soil Key is not responsive, Heyl continued, and it will result in more complaints from neighbors. Mike Field, noting the question regarding buffers, stated the county SEPA did require buffers and three rows of trees; however the county has not enforced this issue.
Macleod stated the county is aware of the situation and we are working on it. Kingsbury asked how often a Notice of Violation could be issued. Stedman noted we can issue a notice daily. Kingsbury asked if we have contacted LOTT and let them know about the issues. Stedman explained LOTT actually contacted us. John Kelly, ORCAA Engineer, noted the amount of waste materials received has increased substantially, however it isn’t all from LOTT. They do take in other materials, including land clearing debris. Kelly also noted he has been in contact with John Libby of Thurston County and we are working together and will be inspecting the facility with Libby in the near future. Harwood asked if they are limited in the amount of material stored, and if they are limited, have they exceeded the maximum allowed. Kelly stated the newest permit that was issued in July 2006, did address a material limit of 100 tons per day. Harwood asked if the sewage is a new material or was it part of the original permit. Kelly stated there were specified materials in the original permit and since that time there have been additional material on site. Under the Thurston County Solid Waste Permit they can process type 1, 2, 3, and 4 wastes. Under our permit, the applicant requested the type of waste they wanted to process and we put them in the permit, however, they have since asked to add different types of wastes. This change would require them to open the permit, basically submitting a new NOC. This has not happened.
Munro asked when we might see resolution. Stedman stated we do not have a specific date, but we expect the new system to be up and operating by their deadline.
PUBLIC HEARING
Beerbower opened the public hearing at 10:45 a.m.
Registration and NSR Fee increase
Stedman explained the proposed fee increases. Stedman noted the different fees in the registration program. We compared our fees to other jurisdictions and with this increase we are now closer to the middle. We will be looking at these fees again next year while we try to catch up from past years.
Stedman stated the NSR Fees were increased by 20%, by direction of the Board. We are changing our system to move towards cost recovery in this program. We have base fees that are based on specified hours. We have built in a way to recover fees for those difficult cases by charging hourly fees for work done beyond the base hours.
No public were present. Beerbower closed the hearing at 10:52 a.m.
Burgman moved approval of the fee increases. Munro seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
<Compliance Update
Robert Moody, Compliance Supervisor, briefly went over the inspection, complaints and permits. R.Moody, noting the settlement with S&W Contractors stated they have hired a third party consultant to submit a plan to us, which will hopefully allow them to burn.
ORCAA Permit Actions
Gordon Lance, Engineer, briefly went over the NSR list. Lance stated there was not a lot of new information however, Lance continued, there will be a presentation later regarding Ocean Protein’s newest permit.
School Bus Retrofit Update
Dan Nelson, Pubic Information Officer, stated he had spoken with Tacoma Rail this morning and they noted they have four locomotives currently in the facility being outfitted with the new equipment. The first one should be done by the end of this week and they are estimating that all four will be done by May 10. As for buses, Cummins NW has completed trial of the crank case ventilators systems and we are ready to move forward with our buses. We are going to start with Ocean Beach in Ilwaco. They have been one of our lead school districts and on their own they switched to 50/50 biodiesel for their fleet. Nelson noted that at least 90% of our school districts have implemented the anti-idling policy for their buses. Stedman added that we gave approximately $12,000 to the city of Olympia to retrofit their construction and garbage vehicles. Stedman reminded the Board that we do have money available for other municipalities.
Air Quality Summary
Stedman noted we are in good air quality season. Stedman explained we have printed out a copy of the AQ trends and what we are seeing for most of our six sites is a decrease. However, Port Angeles remains a mystery. We have seen ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ on the Port Angeles site.
Legislative Update
Stedman explained it appears our bill has passed. We aren’t sure what the next step is, but we are very excited.
Personnel Changes
Stedman explained that Steve Rybolt has given us notice that he is taking a position at the Port of Seattle. We will be recognizing him at an upcoming staff meeting. We will start recruiting for his replacement as well as an additional inspector for the upcoming fiscal year.
US Supreme Court Decision
Stedman explained a couple of sessions ago we passed California Clean Car standards. Basically, Stedman stated, this was for greenhouse gases. Auto manufacturers and some industry groups felt it was an end run around the corporate average fuel economy café standards for emissions on vehicles. The only way to reduce CO2 gases on a vehicle is to increase its efficiency or gas mileage—a lot of people sued and stated only the Feds have the ability to regulate the fuel economy. This has been upheld, 5 to 4, that EPA does have the ability to regulate the greenhouse gases. This is good news.
The next decision had to do with modification. As soon as a facility is modified, the facility is subject to new source review requirements. This can be very costly to the facilities. Duke Energy wanted to upgrade a lot of their older facilities without calling it a modification and the court found that if they do this, it is a modification. They were basing it on an increase in emissions and Duke wanted it to be based on an hourly rate rather than tons per year—which captures the entire facility. This is good news for air quality.
NEW BUSINESS
Raymond Open House
We have schedule an open house for our new satellite office. The open house will take place on May 2, from noon to 4:00 p.m. We will be sending out a notice to several sources and we’ll also notice it in the local papers as well as on our web site.
ORCAA Clean Air Month
Stedman explained we have a few events planned for Clean Air Month. We will be participating in the Lacey Alternative Fuel Fair and the YMCA fun run. We would like to have another open house and invite the public and our sources as well. Munro asked if staff could come to the city halls and write up a proclamation. Stedman stated he would have Nelson write up a proclamation.
Puget Sound Maritime Emissions Inventory Results
Stedman stated we just received this document yesterday. The document is well over 700 pages; however we are providing you the cover and a few pages that pertain to our agency. Stedman briefly went over the information, noting the pollutants are coming from trucks, railroad, ocean going vessels, harbor vessels, and cargo handling equipment that all use diesel.
The document gives an idea of some of the emissions that are coming off of the ports. This report also shows the non-maritime emissions for each area. Stedman stated one page shows a comparison of each of the air agencies and the maritime emissions associated with their areas. ORCAA seems to be dwarfing the other areas. Of importance, Stedman stated, the ocean going vessels must go by the strait and a huge amount of emissions are dumped on Clallam and Jefferson Counties. The next step is to figure out where the emissions are going.
Ocean Protein
Gordon Lance, Engineer gave a presentation on Ocean Protein’s latest permit application.
Johnson asked how much OP has invested in this project. Lance felt it was in the neighborhood of half million. Beerbower noted it is a benefit. They make quite a bit of money on this process. Stedman stated we still expect odors after these changes, but we are hopeful they will not be nearly as bad. There was no action required of the Board.
The meeting adjourned at 11:40 am.
PRESENTED BY
Richard A. Stedman, Executive Director
APPROVED BY:
The Majority of the Board
APPROVED and SIGNED this 9th day of May 2007