HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.b. Execute One Specific Modification and an Extension to the Permit Contract with ACME Fill Corporation for Discharge of Treated Landfill LeachateCentral Contra Costa Sanitary District
' BOARD OF DIRECTORS
POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: March 18, 2010 No.: 9.b. Engineering
Type of Action: AUTHORIZE PERMIT CONTRACT
Sudject: AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE ONE SPECIFIC
MODIFICATION AND AN EXTENSION TO THE PERMIT CONTRACT WITH ACME
FILL CORPORATION FOR DISCHARGE OF TREATED LANDFILL LEACHATE
sudmlrred By: Tim Potter, -nitlating Depr.~Dlv.: Engineering/
Environmental Compliance Superintendent Environmental Services
REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED FOR BOARD ACTION:
T. Potter A. Farrell K. Alm
James y
General Manager
ISSUE: Wastewater Discharge Permit Contracts for Class I Industrial Users must be
approved by the Board of Directors. The current three year Permit Contract with Acme
is to expire on April 1,.2010. Acme representatives have requested modifying the
pretreatment processes and some of the monitoring required in the current Permit
Contract in addition to reducing the amount of the certificate of deposit (CD) that the
District holds. Staff is proposing allowing the reduction in the CD amount and
processing a one year extension to the existing contract to allow evaluation of the other
Acme proposals.
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the General Manager to execute an extension of up
to one year and one specific modification to the current Permit Contract with Acme Fill
Corporation regarding the acceptance of treated landfill leachate.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS: No adverse financial impacts are anticipated from incorporating
the specific modification or processing this extension. Source Control, laboratory, and
legal costs are recovered by direct billing. Treatment plant and collection system costs
are recovered through the Sewer Service Charge.
ALTERNATIVES/CONSIDERATIONS: The alternative to the proposed modification
and extension to the Permit Contract would be to process a new three year contract
with no modifications. This alternative is not recommended since some alteration of the
monitoring and pretreatment processes may be acceptable while still protecting District
operations; therefore, staff feels it is reasonable to investigate Acme's requested
modifications.
BACKGROUND: Acme's pretreated landfill leachate has been accepted by the District
under a pilot project since the early 1990's, and through permit contracts since 1994. A
permit contract was used to protect the District and to preserve the right to modify the
discharge conditions or stop receiving the treated leachate. The District chose to
receive the leachate at the direction of the Regional Water Quality Control Board
POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: March 18, 2010
subject. AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO EXECUTE SPECIFIC
MODIFICATIONS AND AN EXTENSION TO THE PERMIT CONTRACT WITH ACME
FILL CORPORATION FOR DISCHARGE OF TREATED LANDFILL LEACHATE
(RWOCB) because the District's sludge and ash had been disposed of at Acme Fill, and
the District's franchised solid waste companies disposed garbage in the landfill. In
addition, the RWQCB identified that there were no viable alternatives available for the
disposal of the treated landfill leachate as the hazardous waste landfill operations
entered into closure.
During the last three years, Acme has operated the Leachate Treatment Plant (LTP) in
compliance with the conditions of the Permit Contract which is set to expire on April 1,
2010. This compliance record was maintained for the prior six years except for one
Notice of Violation issued in January 2005 when discrepancies between the reported
volumes of influent and effluent were noted in the monthly compliance report. Acme
corrected this condition'.
During discussions about the Permit Contract renewal, Acme representatives proposed
a potentially significant change to the required processes used to treat the landfill
leachate: a reduction and potential elimination of adding Powered Activated Carbon
(PAC). This proposal may have merit, in particular the reduction of PAC in the
treatment process, but District staff believes that a formal evaluation process, including
enhanced monitoring during the evaluation period, should be employed.
The proposed Permit Contract extension maintains the protections in the previous
Permit Contract during the evaluation period. One modification requested by Acme
representatives is recommended as part of this Permit Contract extension. Currently
the Permit requires a Certificate of Deposit in the amount of $150,000 to cover costs not
recoverable under environmental liability insurance requirements. Acme has requested
that this amount be reduced and staff has investigated our potential liabilities and
recommends that a CD in the amount of $50,000 is adequate to protect the District's
interests. Therefore, staff is recommending that this change be made as part of the one
year Contract extension.
Staff has concluded that approval of this contract extension is exempt from the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under District CEQA Guidelines Section
15301 since it involves permitting of an existing operation with no expansion in use.
Approval of this Permit Contract extension will establish the Board of Directors'
independent finding that this action is exempt from CEQA.
RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION: Authorize the General Manager to execute one
specific modification and an extension of up to one year for the current Permit Contract
with Acme Fill Corporation regarding the acceptance of treated landfill leachate from the
Acme Landfill located in Martinez, California.
Item ~~'.a & ~(:.b
Central Contra Costa
Sanitary District
Proposed Capacity Fees &
Environmental and
Development-Related
Rates & Charges
March 18, 2010
Schedule
• Set Public Hearing Date ------ March 18, 2010
• "Outreach" --------- March 19 to April 15, 2010
• Conduct Public Hearing --------- April 15, 2010
• Fees & Charges effective----------July 1, 2010
1
Capacity Fees
• This one-time "buy-in" fee is charged at
time of connection and is used primarily
for capital facility needs.
• Capacity Fees are ~25-30% of long-
term Sewer Construction Fund revenue.
• Annual Capacity Fee revenue is
somewhat unpredictable since it is
dependent on rate of development.
Capacity. Fee Approach
• "Buy-in" calculation:
Value of Assets
---------------------- =Capacity Fee
Number of RUE
This approach avoids having current
customers subsidize new connectors.
2
Current Capacity Fees
• Gravity Zone:
• Pumped Zone:
$5,298 /RUE
$6,949 /RUE
Proposed Capacity Fees
• Gravity Zone: $5,451 /RUE (+2.9%)
• Pumped Zone: $7,092 /RUE (+2.1%)
3
Environmental Services and
Development-Related Rates & Charges
• Recommended Rates and Charges reflect:
- Revisions to address actual cost of
services and benefits of process
improvements.
• If adopted, 49 fees would increase, 1
would decrease, and 24 would remain
unchanged.
Public Outreach
• Letters (400)
- Home Builders Association
- Applicants, Developers, Engineers, Business
Owners and Contractors
• Meetings with Customers (tentative dates)
- April 6, 2010 at 7 pm
- April 7, 2010 at 10 am
4
Schedule
• Set Public Hearing-Date ------ March 18, 2010
• "Outreach" --------- March 19 to April 15, 2010
•~ Conduct Public Hearing --------- April 15, 2010
• Fees & Charges effective----------July 1, 2010
Questions...?
5