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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRCC AGENDA PK 1993/07/12MEMORANDUM DATE: July 7, 1993 TO: Resource Conservation Commission Members ~Q,~. n VIA: Doug Reid, Environmental Review CoordinatodJ~' !~ FROM: Athena Lee Bradley, Conservation Coordinator {~iX"~ RE: Attached Council Agenda Statement for Proposed Composting Facility I have attached a report to Council regarding a proposed composting facility to be located in the City of San Diego on the Otay Mesa. I believe that this facility will provide Chula Vista with a viable alternative for processing of its yard wastes. Council approval of this resolution, however, does not commit us to send our materials to the facility, it will however provide us with a potential alternative. Unfortunately I have to fly unexpectedly out of town and cannot be at your July 12th meeting. Because this item is time sensitive I would ask that you discuss the item at your meeting. Bob Fuller, Recycling Specialist with the County of San Diego, will come to the meeting to answer any questions regarding the proposed facility. He is the lead County of San Diego staff for the project and would no doubt be able to answer any of your questions better than I. I also believe that the Council report that I have drafted is very detailed and should provide you with sufficient background. If you have any questions in advance of the meeting, please feel free to contact Bob at 974-2675. Should your meeting be canceled, I would appreciate any input that you would like to give to either Bob or myself. I will be back in town on Tuesday, July 13th (691-51221. Sorry to miss your meeting! COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT Item Meeting Date07/20/93 ITEM TITLE: Resolution Supporting Organic Recycling West's Green Materials Composting Facility as Required for the "GAP" Procedures for Inclusion in the County of San Diego Solid Waste Management Plan and Approval of an Amendment to the 1986 Revised San Diego County Regional Solid Waste Management Plan to Include the Proposed Composting Facility. SUBMITTED BY: Conservation Coordinator REVIEWED BY: City Manager (4/5ths Vote: Yes_No_) BACKGROUND: Organic Recycling West, Inc. (ORI) is a company specializing in the design and operations of municipal composting facilities. ORI is in the process of establishing a green materials (yard waste) composting facility in the Otay Mesa area of the City of San Diego. Pursuant to Section 50000 of the Public Resources Code, and as required by State law (the "Gap Procedure") all new solid waste facilities (materials recovery, composting and landfill) must be included in the County Solid Waste Management Plan (CoSWMP). This report describes the proposed composting facility. Support of the proposed project does not require that Chula Vista commit its green materials to the facility. However, should the facility open, it will provide the City with a viable alternative for processing of its yard waste materials. RECOMMENDATION: Approve the resolution. BOARDS/COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATION: The Resource Conservation Commission reviewed this item at their July 12 meeting and.... DISCUSSION: As Council is aware the collection of yard waste, separated from refuse, is required under the County Mandatory Recycling Ordinance (MRO). Yard waste comprises almost 20 percent of Chula Vista's waste stream. Composting or mulching of this easily separated portion of the waste will assist the region in conserving its landfill space and help the City in meeting its AB 939 diversion goals. i However, under the current AB 939 regulations, only yard waste that is composted or mulched can be "counted" toward diversion goals. Yard waste that is diverted through use as biofuel does not count toward meeting the 25 percent diversion goal (to be attained by 1995) and can only count for up to 10 percent of the diversion for the year 2000 goal of 50 percent. As directed by City Council, staff has begun negotiations with Laidlaw to collect green materials from the City. It is anticipated that the yard waste recycling program will be phased in beginning in early September. Currently the only processor for green material is the County of San Diego Clean Green Program. About 75 percent of the material processed by the County is sent to electrical generation plants in Imperial Valley to be used as biofuel. The County is, however, interested in getting out of the "mulch" business because it does not currently provide enough revenues to cover operational costs. Organic Recycling West, Inc. (ORI) is a company specializing in the design and operations of municipal composting facilities. It is a subsidiary of Organic Recycling Inc., a company with over 14 years of experience specializing in composting. The parent company has established composting facilities and provided consulting and management services for composting facilities throughout North America and Southeast Asia. ORI is in the process of establishing a green materials (yard waste) composting facility in the Otay Mesa area of the City of San Diego. The facility is proposed to be located on 25 acres in the Northeast corner of Brown Field Municipal Airport on property owned by the City of San Diego. It is expected that the facility will divert large quantities of green waste from the Otay landfill. Attachment A contains a site layout plan for the proposed facility and a location map is contained as Attachment B. ORI's facility will receive yard waste material for processing into compost and horticultural mulch which will be sold as soil amendment. The facility can accept yard waste from all South Bay cities and landscapers, and is expected to process approximately 40,000-50,000 tons of yard waste per year. This amount is approximately equal to the total amount of green waste received by the County at the Otay landfill each year. Thus, materials sent to the proposed facility will count toward meeting the diversion goals required under AB 939 and would be a significant contribution to meeting the goals of the Source Reduction and Recycling Elements (SRRE's) of the region's jurisdictions. As of July 1, the tipping fee charged by the County for clean green waste is $25 per ton. The ORI facility will charge a lower tipping fee for disposal of yard waste thereby creating an economic incentive to divert yard waste within the Otay service area (including Chula Vista) to the ORI facility. Moreover, ORI has a reputation for producing a high quality compost product and will work in cooperation with the cities 2 and haulers to market the product. Through marketing of the compost product, the value of the material should increase over time potentially leading to reduced tipping fees. The facility, to be located approximately 8 miles south of the Otay landfill, will be easily accessible by collection vehicles from throughout the South Bay. Chula Vista's streets will not be significantly impacted by vehicles delivering to the facility. Vehicles delivering yard waste from South Bay cities would access the facility from Otay Mesa Road (I-805 to 905 to Otay Mesa Rd.). In Chula Vista, yard waste collection will be conducted regardless of the establishment of ORI's facility. If it best serves the City to deliver its yard waste to the facility, collection vehicles would have no more of an impact on Chula Vista's streets delivering materials to the facility than they would have going to the County's Clean Green Program at the Otay Landfill. With diversion of yard waste to the ORI facility, away from the Otay landfill, traffic flow on the Otay Valley road would potentially be reduced. The location is in an industrial area with no residential areas nearby. Additionally, the proposed site is approximately 200 feet above the highest anticipated water table at all locations within the facility. The soils in the area have a clay texture and slow permeability, thus the location would be suitable for composting due to the soil type and distance to groundwater. The facility is not within 100-year floodplains, wetlands, vernal pools, riparian lands, nor on existing natural springs. Active composting areas will be set back from the facility boundaries so that visibility will be minimal. The facility will have a water supply for the wetting of windrows, dust control and fire control. Additionally, ORI has perfected a composting method that ensures minimal odor and utilizes aerobic windrow composting methods. The facility will also be properly fenced to prevent unauthorized access and illegal dumping. Berms, fencing and/or trees will be used to reduce noise impacts. Equipment to be used will include a 12 foot diameter tub grinder, wood grinder, compost turner and trommel screen; all appropriate air and noise pollution controls will be utilized. ORI has completed its environmental review period with the City of San Diego Planning Department and was given a negative declaration status. The City of San Diego Fire Department also approved the proposed facility. ORI staff has held preliminary permit application meetings with the County of San Diego Department of Health Services, acting as the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA), responsible for approving all newly proposed solid waste facilities in the region. Upon recommendation by the LEA, ORI will submit the permit application to the California Integrated Waste Management Board. ORI has either received or is working on obtaining all other necessary permits, including the Air Pollution Control District and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. The proposed facility has received the full support of the County of San Diego Solid Waste Division, the City of San Diego Waste Management Department, 3 SANDAG (acting in its capacity as the Integrated Waste Management Task Force), the AB 939 Technical Advisory Committee and the AB 939 Citizens' Advisory Committee. Pursuant to section 50000 of the County of San Diego Public Resources Code, and as required by the Gap Procedure, all new solid waste facilities must be included in the County Solid Waste Management Plan (CoSWMP). To accomplish this, a majority of city councils that contain a majority of the region's incorporated population and the Board of Supervisors must approve the proposed amendment to the CoSWMP. Attachment ~ contains a description of the procedure necessary to amend the CoSwmp. Council support of the proposed composting project does not require that the City commit its green materials to the facility. However, should the facility open, it will provide the City with a viable alternative for processing of its yard waste materials. If approved for inclusion in the CoSwmp, the facility is expected to begin operations in the early fall. Should staff recommend that green materials from Chula Vista be taken to ORI's facility, staff will bring the proposal to Council at a later date. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact as a result of this report. 4 Peris Lake Elsinore Son Juon .r0 9~-, Oceanside r~ f~ O n~ ~L. j o s to SCALE IN MILES San Diego 8 Escondido ®~f Romona Julion ®. San Ysidro Tijuana LOCATION MAP 4 Jamul 20JECT LOCATION Z Campo Tecote -PAN F ~~~9 FuTu(ts Ex A9NS~0 N• EUfFER ~ MIN• 'Sd ~) s'saRAGE AREA g IaR a+ipess .: k ~., r t,~ }} a T I' ~ $' n1 y 3g y y ~ ~° ti g 0 ~ ~ cam. ~ ° 3 ~ a c o°c Ce ~ ° ° v 9 ~ i Z ~ 2 Z t a Z ~ = K Z • i Z 4 $ Z ~ ~ = 3 °~ i 3 2 e o 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 m ~ ~ ~ N ~ ~ o v ~ ~ ~ n ~ f£ F E ~~ E ~ n ~ ~ ~ F $ ~~ g E E 8 u v° ~ °v °v u° °v u 9 S $ S v °v S ~ ~ G OMP ott - - tNG CL aN SC ~ N~ R REC.swiNGi k PRE - PROC65S1Ng = _ ? f-REh r ~c6 .~ ~oaolN6, -- -- SLIILE ~ AREA h° L ro BERrvI TO SE S'6EnED AND Pc.ANTED W tTN B+tRu6 . AGEESS fZoA~, -- --1- - -- FuTu1~lE -- --F?CFA(V$ -aP-~~ ' __ ~;i~p 1n --__. -- - ~ - z_ ~_ ~- ~ - - ~, -_ ~ - ~ - - - ~ - -- -- o - ~, COCA Solid Waste Management Plan Amendment Process Coun~y of San Diego The following procedure, described fully in section 50000 of the Public Resources Code, is the process specified for approval an3 permitting of new or expanded solid waste facilities not previously identified and approved in the county solid waste management plan in effect on December 31, 1989. All the cities in the County agreed to this process which will be in effect until the County's Integrated Waste Management Plan is approved by the California Integrated Waste Management Board. 1. All General Plan Amendments for the proposed facility must have been completed prior to beginning the approval process. 2. The person or agency proposing the facility shall submit the site identification and description to the Clerk of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. Within 5 days of submission the Clerk of the Board of Supervi- sors shall forward the site identification and description to the San Diego County Integrated Waste Management Task Force (c/o DPW, Solid Waste Division staff) for docketing on its next meeting agenda. 4. within 45 days after receiving the-site identification-and----- - description the Task Force shall meet and comment in writing on the proposed facility. The task force shall transmit those comments to the applicant, to the County and to all of the cities in the County. Those comments shall include, but are not limited to, the relationship between the proposed new or expanded facility and achievement of the solid waste diversion requirements (25% by 1995 and 50% by 2000) of Section 41780 of the Public Resources Code. 5. t~~ithin 20 days of submission the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall submit the site identification and descrip- tion to each city within the County. 6. The County Board of Supervisors and each City Council shall approve or disapprove by resolution the site identification and description within 90 days after it was initially submit- ted to the Clerk of the County Soard of Supervisors. Each city shall notify the County Board of Supervisors of its -z- decision within the 90-day period. If the County or a city fails to approve or disapprove the site identification and description within 90 days the city or County shall be deemed to have approved the site identification and descrip- tion. 7. To approve a proposed site identification and description, the city or the County in which the site is located shall make a finding that establishment or expansion of the solid waste disposal or transformation facility is in a land use area designated or authorized for a solid waste facility and that land uses authorized adjacent to. the facility are compatible with the establishment or expansion of the solid waste disposal or transformation facility in the applicable city or County general plan. 8. If a city or the County disapproves the site identification and description, the city or the County shall, within 10 days of the disapproval, mail notice of its decision by first-class mail to the person or agency requesting the approval stating its reasons for the disapproval. 9. 2vo city or the County shall disapprove a proposed site identification and description for a new solid waste or transformation_ facility-~-or-an- expanded--solid --waste---0r- ----- ----- - transformation facility which will result in a significant increase in the amount of solid waste handled at the facility, unless it determines, based on substantial evidence in the record, that there will be one or more significant adverse impacts within its boundaries from the proposed project. 10. Upon approval of the site identification and description by the County and a majority of. the cities containing a majority of the population of the incorporated area of the County of San Diego, including the jurisdiction within which the ~oposed new or expanded facility is located, the person or agency proposing the facility shall submit the proposal along with the above approvals to the Local Enforcement Agency and the California Integrated Waste Management Board (Board) for concurrence/approval and issuance of a permit. 11. Pursuant to Section 44009 of the Public Resources Code the Board shall in writing concur or object to issuance, modifica- tion, or revision of the solid waste facilities permit.