ORCAA Board of Directors
OLYMPIC REGION CLEAN AIR AGENCY
2940 B Limited Lane NW
Olympia, Washington 98502
MEETING
April 9, 2008
Members present:
Bob Beerbower, Grays Harbor County (Chair)
Ann Burgman, City of Lacey
Ross Gallagher, Mason County
Phil Johnson, Jefferson County
Joan Machlis, City of Olympia
Bob Macleod, Thurston County
Clay Harwood, Pacific County
Members absent:
Mike Doherty, Clallam County
Grant Munro, City of Port Angeles (Vice Chair)
Legal Counsel: Fred Gentry of Bean, Gentry, Wheeler & Peternell
Staff Present: Richard Stedman, Executive Director; Robert Moody, Compliance Supervisor; Mark Goodin, Professional Engineer; Lynn Harding, Administrative Services Manager; and Debbie Moody, Recorder
The meeting was called to order at 10:10 am.
Election of Board Officers:
Burgman nominated Grant Munro for Chair. The nomination was seconded by Johnson, voted upon and carried unanimously.
Gallagher nominated Ann Burgman for Vice Chair. The nomination was seconded by Johnson, voted upon and carried unanimously.
Stedman noted Beerbower has done an excellent job as Chair, through some very difficult and contentious issues in our communities. Stedman thanked him for his time as Chair.
There were no additions or omission to the Agenda. Harwood moved approval of the Agenda. Gallagher seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Machlis moved approval of the Consent Agenda. Harwood seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Michael Field, 3816 160th Lane Tenino, wanted to congratulate ORCAA for their 40 years of service. Field stated it has been a pleasure working with ORCAA with regards to the Soil Key issue and wanted to extend a personal thank you to Stedman for his assistance with the residents in the area and for such a professional organization. Field thanked the Board and Gentry for their work and assistance as well. Field noted his family is looking forward to clean air and barbecues this summer and not being held hostage due to odors. He also noted there had been a very productive meeting held in March. Thurston County, along with Department of Ecology, ORCAA and community members met to look at where things stood with the closure plan and where we are going in the future. We are pleased with the progress, Field stated. Field mentioned Gordon Lance’s involvement in the Soil Key case and stated Lance was a very professional person and ORCAA is lucky to have him on staff. Field stated the community is looking forward to working with ORCAA to determine the best time for Soil Key to break into the piles when they begin the process of clearing the property. Field thanked ORCAA again for all their help. The Board thanked Field for his comments.
PUBLIC HEARING
Land Clearing Burn Permit Fee Increase
Stedman explained the hearing is taking place to change our land clearing burn permit fee from $75 per acre cleared to $100 per acre cleared. Stedman stated we are hoping the fee will act as a deterrent to burning. We continue hoping for additional alternatives to burning as they become more cost effective.
Beerbower opened the public hearing at 10:18 am. There was no public comment. Beerbower asked if the Board would like to discuss the issue. Johnson asked if we are seeing an actual decrease in burning or if it is a decrease in the people coming in to get permits. Stedman stated it does appear to be a decrease in the number of permits and we do try to maintain some vigilance in watching for illegal burns. By in large, people aren’t burning—although if a significant development is planned, we expect them to want to burn. We have heard a 40 acre development is in the works, and we are sure they will request burning over an alternative. Stedman noted the goal of the law is to outlaw outdoor burning.
Machlis asked what the cost of chipping is for developers. Stedman stated it ranges, but can go as high as $10,000 for a tub grinder to be brought on site. There was some discussion regarding the success in Pacific County with regards to the storm debris. Johnson noted there are additional costs for burning—machinery, employees, etc. Stedman noted there is a health cost as well.
Beerbower asked for additional comments. There were none. The public hearing was closed at 10:26 am.
Machlis moved approval of the fee increase. Johnson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Stedman noted the increase will be in effect in 31 days.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Compliance Update
Robert Moody, Compliance Supervisor, noted the compliance section has had to deal with only 41 complaints in the past month. This left more time for the 81 inspections the team completed.
ORCAA Permit Actions
Mark Goodin, Professional Engineer, wanted to mention a few cases his team is working on. Atlas Shelton has an application in for a wood pellet facility. They use woody debris to make wood pellets which will be sold as a fuel source. There is a public hearing scheduled for April 17 in Mason County. We are working on a permit for the city of Westport’s Waste Water Treatment Plant’s composting operation. The permit is approved however we are waiting on fees. They will be composting bulking material and biosolids. They have enclosed composters so we do not expect issues such as we had at Soil Key. We have received an application from Ocean Protein regarding upgrades to their air pollution controls. One of the controls ionizes some of the air and adds it back into the bulk of the emissions. The ionized air is supposed to oxidize the residual odors. Goodin noted he has discussed this with Stedman and it is our recommendation we hold a public hearing for this permit. Stedman added with a new pollutant, ozone, being introduced into the area and we feel it is important to let the public know.
Goodin continued, noting we have contracted with the Energy Facility Site Environmental Council (EFSEC) to do compliance and permitting activities for the Grays Harbor Power Plant at Satsop Industrial Park. They are still working on getting equipment up and running and have stack testing scheduled for sometime at the end of the month. Goodin stated we also have two major sources that are experiencing a lull in the market – K Ply and Simpson Timber – neither of them is currently operating and we are doing what we can to be sensitive to their needs. We are working with them as best we can. Machlis asked for clarification. Goodin noted the sources need to maintain their permits and submit annual reports, if they don’t have staff to do that and we don’t receive reports, it actually constitutes a violation with respect to their permit. It puts us in a dilemma, so we have gone on a case-by-case basis to communicate with the source to work with them regarding their permit status.
Education and Outreach
Stedman noted Dan Nelson is currently at a conference giving a presentation on some of the lessons learned recently by our agency. Ocean Protein and Soil Key are two examples he’ll be discussing. Basically he is presenting the great work our staff has done working with other agencies.
Stedman stated we have had several press releases noting our 40th anniversary and thanked those that were present for coming.
Air Quality Summary
Stedman explained this should be the last summary for the year. The air quality is looking good and now that we are getting into a new season, we should continue to see healthy air. Air quality for the previous month was good at all monitoring stations.
Tacoma Rail Retrofit Report
Stedman stated there is a report in the packets. We teamed up with Department of Ecology and Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to retrofit locomotives in East Olympia that travel back and forth up to Tacoma. They were idling in East Olympia and residents were unhappy with the odors and noise. Tacoma Rail installed a hot start unit. Previously they did not want to shut down their engines because it does take a long time to restart. Now with the hot start unit they can shut down without complications. Stedman pointed out in the report that they have saved 58,000 gallons (or more) of fuel and reduced the amount of pollutants in the atmosphere by approximately 30 tons. We are very pleased to be associated with this project. Nelson will be working on a document and press release in the near future.
Beerbower asked if there was anything we could do with the Elma Railroad. Stedman stated he has tried in the past to contact the railroad, with no luck. We will continue to look into this situation.
ORCAA Building
Stedman noted we have been discussing moving our agency into the other side of the building once our tenant moves out. Their lease is up April 2009 and they have told us they most likely can’t be out by then, but are interested in staying on temporarily. We feel that side of the building is a better fit for our agency. We have been looking at what it will cost to remodel (paint, carpet replacement, etc.) the other side—which we will have to do whether we move over there or get new tenants—and it appears it will be upwards of $200,000. Stedman stated he recently met with LOTT and they are building a new administrative services center and it is to be a LEED certified platinum building. They stated they have a lot available that will be put out to bid. Stedman noted he would like to explore the possibility of ORCAA purchasing some property down there, with the intent of building a new LEED certified building. The expectation would be that we would minimize the contributions from the agency and we would maximize grant monies available. Our current tenants have expressed interest in possibly coming along with us.
Burgman asked what they are asking for the property. Stedman stated we do not know yet—they are not releasing that information at this time. LOTT actually wants to lease the property, but we have told them we would be interested in purchasing. We feel this would be a great fit for our agency. The Hands on Children’s museum will be located nearby and LOTT will be working with them on a waste water and water quality education/outreach component and we would like to go in with an air quality component as well.
Machlis noted the Children’s Museum is really looking at optimizing that location and the water is part of the compelling reason they feel they can develop the grant base they are looking for. There is a possibility that having ORCAA offer some sort of education/outreach around air quality could fit in with what the museum is trying to do. One of the cautions, Machlis continued, is all of the sites are polluted so if we purchase a lot, we are putting ourselves into some sort of remediation. Machlis thought it was a good proposal.
Beerbower asked the Board if they felt staff should move forward in investigating the possibility of this project and report back to the Board. The Board agreed.
NEW BUSINESS
Draft FY2009 Budget Report
Stedman noted he had met with the finance committee prior to the Board meeting this morning. The draft budget was gone over in detail. Stedman noted he would provide a copy to the Board after the meeting. Briefly, Stedman stated, this current year we will not exceed our budget. The upcoming budget will show a slight increase in the AOP fees, ranging from 0% to 5%. The total budget increase from 2008 is 5%, which incorporates a 3.31% COLA and an increase in benefits (approximately 10%). We also are looking at adding a new employee, a Monitoring Technician. We would like to have a combined position that would cover a monitoring tech as well as an IT person. We will not be receiving any further funds for school bus retrofits—it sunsets in 2008, however, we are planning on using some of the funds for the monitoring position. We have some money coming in for EFSEC as well as funds for Cheeka Peak. Lakeside Industries also contributes $10,000 per year for a couple more years, for their Nisqually Valley site. Stedman noted we have a few items that we’d like to see—such as the new building, hiring an energy specialist, and the purchase of an electric vehicle.
Stedman also noted we are still looking at moving some diesel trucks up from California, to replace older rigs and having them for use in Washington. This would greatly reduce emissions. Machlis asked what our financial involvement would be in the diesel vehicle transfer. Stedman noted we are working with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, who would most likely manage the program, as well as Cascade Sierra Solutions. We are looking at paying a monthly charge to the people purchasing them for scrapping—probably $50 per month. We are looking at leasing the vehicles competitively and we need to be respectful of displacing truck sales. We would be targeting truckers who own the older 1960’s vehicles that cannot afford to purchase a new, cleaner vehicle. ORCAA may be contributing up to $200,000 to the project.
There was no action required of the Board.
Lon Wyrick, TRPC Executive Director
Stedman introduced Lon Wyrick, Executive Director for Thurston Regional Planning Commission (TRPC). Wyrick gave a brief presentation regarding what TRPC provides and who the members are. Wyrick noted they would like to have ORCAA as a partner. Wyrick did note they have a new membership level, the Associate Member, and would encourage ORCAA to try that level. Wyrick did explain TRPC would like to have an elected official represent ORCAA at the meetings. The associate membership is $1,000 per year.
Stedman stated he would like to see ORCAA participate as an Associate Member. We do work with the TRPC. We will need to work very closely with them in order to maintain our air quality attainment status. The standards have been lowered and we are in danger of becoming nonattainment for PM2.5.
After some discussion, Machlis moved approval of ORCAA participating as an Associate Member of TRPC. Burgman seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Wyrick thanked the Board and noted he looked forward to working more closely with ORCAA.
ORCAA 40th Anniversary
Stedman unveiled a plaque that was engraved with 1968-2008, 40 Years of Cleaner Air. Stedman stated it has been a pleasure being a part of this organization and seeing the changes through the years. We have an incredible staff, Stedman continued, and it is a pleasure to work with them.
Annette McGee, noting she had been a previous Board member; it really is rewarding to see how far ORCAA has come. McGee congratulated Gentry, he is an excellent attorney. She congratulated the Board for hiring Stedman—she noted there have been many improvements since Stedman came aboard. We owe a lot of thanks to our legislators and Governor Evans for instituting the ORCAA, so we have the clean air that we have.
Beerbower stated he felt he could speak for the Board in saying we are very proud of the employees we have. Since he has been on the Board we have gone through some issues and problems with previous staff, however, now everyone has come together and we truly appreciate all the work staff has done and it is very important to have such a good team.
The meeting adjourned at 11:25 am.
PRESENTED BY
Richard A. Stedman, Executive Director
APPROVED BY:
The Majority of the Board
APPROVED and SIGNED this 14th day of May 2008