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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 1998
98-035
CONTACT: Jani Gilbert, Public Information Officer, (509) 456-4464,
pager (509) 622-1289
Dale Arnold, City of Spokane Environmental Programs, (509) 625-6273
SPOKANE - The Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority (SCAPCA) and the Spokane Regional Health District have signed an agreement designed to clarify what kinds of waste may be incinerated at Spokane’s Waste-to-Energy Plant.
The agreement document (attached) includes 10 individual agreements that also clarify procedures for accepting wastes, how the local agencies communicate and work together, and how solid waste emergencies involving the Waste-to-Energy Plant will be handled in the future.
"This agreement will give the local agencies some guidelines to help head off disputes in the future," said Tony Grover, Department of Ecology’s regional director for Eastern Washington. Grover served as mediator between SCAPCA, the health district and the solid waste system during three sessions held in December 1997 and in January and February 1998. Staff from the state Department of Health and Ecology also attended the mediation sessions.
"We’ve even described under what circumstances we should sit down and talk again in order to avoid misunderstandings," Grover added.
The signed agreement is being presented today in separate meetings to the Spokane city council and the Solid Waste Liaison Board. The SCAPCA board will consider endorsing the agreement at its meeting on March 5.
"For us, this agreement marks the beginning of a better working relationship between these local agencies," said Dale Arnold, Spokane’s director of environmental programs. "We have a much improved understanding of each others’ concerns and priorities. We also share a mutual interest in maintaining a strong solid-waste system and protecting air quality at the same time."
Past points of contention involved the acceptance of "non-typical" wastes from outside Spokane County, such as Canadian oil-field filters and pesticide containers. The agreement specifies what is and is not to be accepted in the future and outlines a process for considering future requests to accept "non-typical" waste.
Another issue involved higher carbon-monoxide emissions from the facility as operators tried to deal with the influx of wet woody debris after the ice storm in November 1996. The agreement requires a plan to develop reporting procedures and roles during such an emergency.
Agreements concerning the Spokane Waste-to-Energy Plant
This mediation was a consensus-based approach to developing agreements among all the parties. The mediation process involved the following people:
Harriet Ammann Washington State Department of Health
AGREEMENTS
Agreement 1: About the Mediation Process
This mediation process started fresh with the above-named individuals. This mediation was not based on the previous effort that ended in 1995.
Agreement 2: Acceptable Materials
Out-of-county solid waste, which is essentially identical to residential and commercial waste normally collected in Spokane County, can be accepted at the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Plant. Examples are airline food waste, confidential documentary waste material, and confiscated evidentiary materials.
Agreement 3: Oil Filters
Out-of-county oil filters can be accepted in a manner that will be agreed on by the SCAPCA director and the SRSWS director. The term "oil filters" is intended to mean oil filters and fuel line filters from internal combustion engines, as well as absorbent materials used in the normal course of changing the oil from these engines. Current oil-filter handling practices will continue until the SCAPCA director and the SRSWS director establish parameters for accepting oil filters at the WTE facility.
Agreement 4: Normally Collected Waste
Waste normally collected at the curb, drop box or transfer station is acceptable. Industrial solid waste generated within Spokane County is also acceptable. Both these waste streams can be taken at the WTE facility without consulting either SCAPCA or the Spokane Regional Health District. Other waste streams do require a consultation with SCAPCA and the Spokane Regional Health District. The parties agree to support each other in resolving unclear waste-acceptability questions.
Agreement 5: Unacceptable Materials
Canadian oil-field waste and pesticide containers, oil-spill cleanup booms and sorbant materials that are generated outside Spokane County will not be accepted at the WTE facility.
Agreement 6: Resolution of Regulatory Issues
Regulatory issues should be dealt with through the regulatory process. The SRSWS director recognizes SCAPCA is the authorized air-quality regulatory agency. All parties agree not to seek political means to solve regulatory issues. The Washington Department of Ecology affirms SCAPCA is the primary air-quality regulatory agency in Spokane County. The Spokane Regional Health District has jurisdiction over the WTE Plant’s solid-waste permit. It is recognized that the Spokane Regional Health District and SCAPCA have overlapping jurisdiction over the feedstock that goes into the WTE facility.
Agreement 7: Procedures Related to Questions of Compliance & Potential Enforcement Actions
Preventive Measures
It is a mutual goal of SCAPCA and the SRSWS to take preventive measures toward reducing the likelihood of SCAPCA alleging violations of federal, state and local air-quality laws and regulations. Therefore, before a situation arises which may lead to questions of compliance, the appropriate staff of SCAPCA and the SRSWS will confer and attempt to reach agreement on how to proceed while remaining in compliance. To the extent necessary, there will be an exchange of written documentation of the issue and its resolution.
Notification of alleged violations
When the SCAPCA Director concludes that a violation of federal, state or local air-quality laws or regulations has occurred, the SCAPCA Director will prepare a Notice of Violation. To the extent that it is possible to do so, the SCAPCA Director will confer with the SRSWS Director in advance of issuing the Notice of Violation, stating how this conclusion was reached. The SRSWS Director will have the opportunity at this conference to provide verbal response and other appropriate information to the SCAPCA Director. If, after this conference, the SCAPCA Director is still of the opinion that a violation occurred, the SCAPCA Director would present the Notice of Violation to the SRSWS Director or his/her representative. To the extent possible, both directors will immediately and jointly brief the Spokane City Manager on the issue.
Actions following a Notice of Violation
Once a Notice of Violation is issued, the SCAPCA Director and the SRSWS Director will attempt to be available to jointly brief local elected officials who have an interest in the issue. Appropriate staff of the Washington Department of Ecology and the Spokane Regional Health District will be informed as well. The process which follows will be in accordance with state laws and regulations governing enforcement actions, including further conferring on the alleged violation, penalty assessment (if deemed appropriate by SCAPCA), possible remission of the penalty, and administrative appeals. In the unusual circumstance where such matters cannot be resolved administratively, both SCAPCA and the SRSWS recognize the prospect of having the matter litigated in a court of law. However, this is the course of last resort.
Role of governing boards in enforcement matters
Both SCAPCA and the SRSWS are governed by local boards (i.e., the SCAPCA board of directors and the Solid Waste Liaison Board, respectively). There are individuals who hold board positions on both bodies. By endorsing these procedures, both boards are encouraged to allow enforcement matters to be resolved through the procedures established by state laws and regulations. As a part of the process of achieving endorsement of these procedures, the SCAPCA Director will make a presentation to the SCAPCA board of directors and to the Solid Waste Liaison Board explaining SCAPCA’s authority to regulate air emissions from the Waste-to-Energy Plant, and the enforcement procedures established under state laws and regulations.
The SCAPCA Director and the SRSWS Director agree not to attempt to use these local boards or individual board members as judicial bodies to resolve alleged violations or as instruments to force a certain action favorable to one agency at the expense of the other agency. When boards or individual board members inquire of the directors what enforcement actions will be taken, the directors will refer to the agreed-upon procedures established by state laws and regulations.
Response to waste disposal inquiries
It is expected that the SRSWS will continue to receive inquiries from waste generators and waste disposal companies about the possibilities of disposing "non-typical" wastes by incineration at the WTE Plant. Decisions on whether or not to accept specific wastes will be made in accordance with the agreed-upon procedures for handling "non-typical" waste requests. The SRSWS will be the point of contact (i.e., not SCAPCA) for the entity making the request. While the decision process may involve consultation among the SRSWS, the Spokane Regional Health District and SCAPCA, when a request is denied, the final denial of the request will come from the SRSWS Director and will not be represented as SCAPCA’s decision or the Health District’s decision against the wishes of the SRSWS.
Agreement 8: Resolution of SCAPCA Notice of Violation Resulting from Ice Storm
The notice of violation, number 5639, issued by SCAPCA for carbon monoxide violations at the WTE facility resulting from the ice storm in November 1996 will not be contested by City of Spokane staff. No penalty will be assessed for this violation.
Agreement 9: Planning for Solid Waste Management in an Emergency.
A plan for managing solid waste during a state of emergency will be developed by the City of Spokane. This plan will include a statement similar to: "The official in charge of an emergency can override any part of an emergency plan for operating the WTE facility and transfer stations, if deemed necessary to effectively respond to an emergency."
Compliance with the SCAPCA-approved emergency plan is an applicable requirement under the Chapter 401 permit (Air Operating permit); however, the actual elements of the plan are flexible. SCAPCA will issue an administrative order requiring development of and compliance with the emergency plan.
Agreement 10: Applicability of Agreements
The items agreed to in this mediation process are applicable requirements under the Chapter 401 permit, including the concepts of non-typical and normally collected waste.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
