MINUTES OF THE METRO COUNCIL REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

Wednesday, September 20, 2000

Council Chamber

Members Present:  Ed Washington (Chair), Susan McLain (Vice Chair), Rod Park

Chair Washington called the meeting to order at 1:35 PM.

1.  CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF AUGUST 9, 2000

2.  REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR’S UPDATE

Terry Petersen, Director of the Regional Environmental Management Department, gave a summary of the department’s recent activities. (The summary is attached to the meeting record.) Items included the following:

•  Update on work underway to repair sections of the St John’s Landfill dike. Metro must match equal volumes of cuts with fills to comply with City of Portland requirements and is investigating the possibility of making a larger cut to prepare for future bank stabilization needs.

Councilor McLain expressed concern that Metro's own title 3 guidelines be followed in taking any larger cut. She said the size would not be so important as complying with title 3.

Mr. Petersen said title 3 has been and would be followed. So far those guidelines have been exceeded on this project, and they would at least be met in the future. He offered to make a slide presentation showing work in progress and invited all the Councilors to visit the landfill.

Chair Washington suggested that Mr. Petersen make the presentation on that repair project to the Council as a whole. He requested that compliance with title 3 always be explicitly addressed in future presentation. He asked how close the erosion had come to the bank.

Mr. Petersen said he had toured the area by canoe and could see exposed waste in some areas. He said the repair needed to be done now.

•  Transfer Station Administrative Procedures and Application Process. REM had held a public meeting and developed the materials for the application process. It is now ready to begin processing applications. Three pre-application conferences have been held with two different companies.

•  The Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) met earlier today to discuss its future work plan. Mr. Petersen said that he would like for the committee to develop a work plan for 2001, and he solicited input from the Council on what it would like to see in that workplan. SWAC also discussed the organics program and how a proposed organics tip fee might fit into it. SWAC also discussed how fees that encourage recovery are structured throughout the region and the need to make them consistent. That discussion will be continued at next month's meeting.

•  STS, Metro's solid waste transport service recently purchased by Churchill Environmental and Industrial Equity Partners, has granted Metro a 90-day extension--i.e., until December 14, 2000, to approve the change of control. Mr. Petersen will keep the committee apprised of progress.

•  Metro Region Recycling fell slightly during 1999, but the drop was not great. It is expected to recover during the year 2000 due to several new efforts.

Councilor McLain said that the DEQ and Metro assess recovery differently.

Mr. Petersen said SWAC had discussed that issue during its meeting that morning, specifically whether the methods ought to be made consistent.

Councilor McLain said she would like to see the list of things Metro, the DEQ, and the state consider in their calculations of recovery rates. She also asked if the waste stream audits had been self-imposed or imposed by the state.

Mr. Petersen said the audits, called "waste composition studies, had been imposed on Metro 10 years ago. The DEQ does those, and Metro works with that department. He said the calculations were based on the amount that goes to the recycling markets and the amount that goes to the landfill.

Councilor McLain said if the composition of the waste streams were known in more detail, the assessments might look different. Some waste is harder to recover than others and some is more important to remove from the waste stream. If they are all counted the same, credit might not be given for programs that address the more difficult to remove waste or more hazardous waste.

Chair Washington said that issue would be pursued further at the next SWAC meeting a month from now.

Mr. Petersen said he would provide Councilor McLain with a list of things the DEQ counts vs. those that Metro counts in figuring recovery rates.

Mr. Petersen introduced Janet Matthews, who joined the REM department a month ago. She came from New York where she worked with the Solid Waste Commission and the State Legislature there. He noted that at the last Council retreat, the Councilors had expressed an interest in resolving a perceived conflict between Metro's role as a solid waste regulator and as a participant in the market. Ms. Matthews will be the person working on that issue.

Councilor McLain said she had not perceived Metro's dual roles as conflicting, although they were different.

Chair Washington invited Tim Raphael to tell the committee about a book he wrote and has been promoting around the state.

Tim Raphael, Celilo Group, introduced his "Chinook Book," which presents environmentally friendly purchase options. It is sold as a fundraiser for nonprofits, with half the cover price ($15) going to the nonprofits that sell it.

3.  ORDINANCE NO. 00-873, FOR THE PURPOSE OF AMENDING METRO CODE CHAPTER 5.02 TO REMOVE THE RETRIEVAL RATE REQUIREMENT FOR REGIONAL SYSTEM FEE CREDIT ELIGIBILITY

Mr. Petersen explained that this ordinance would correct a redundancy in the Metro Code as a result of the changes Council made to the fee structure made last spring. (For more details, see the staff report that accompanies this legislation in the meeting packet that is part of the permanent record.)

Councilor Park asked how this change would affect a facility that handled mostly putrescibles and did not have 10% of its waste made up of dry recoverable material.

Mr. Petersen said the situation to which Councilor Park referred was different from the one this ordinance addresses. In this case, because mixed-waste facilities must already meet a 25% minimum for dry recoverables to receive the system fee credit, the 10% minimum simply was not needed.

Chair Washington opened a public hearing at 2:00 PM. No one came forward to testify so he closed the public hearing.

Councilor McLain was asked to carry the motion to a meeting of the full Council.

4.  ORDINANCE NO. 00-876, FOR THE PURPOSE OF AMENDING METRO CODE CHAPTER 5.02 TO CREATE A DISPOSAL CHARGE FOR COMPOSTABLE ORGANIC WASTE AT METRO TRANSFER STATIONS AND MAKING RELATED CHANGES TO THE METRO EXCISE TAX AND METRO CODE CHAPTER 7.01

Mr. Petersen explained that approval of this ordinance would lead to establishing a formula for calculating a special tip fee for disposal of clean organic waste brought to the transfer stations for composting.

Chair Washington clarified that this ordinance would not establish any fees in itself; it would simple be a placeholder to allow calculation of such a fee when the time comes.

Jennifer Erickson, Waste Reduction Planning and Outreach, presented a chart that illustrates the problem and why it would be desirable to address the problem early up the waste stream. The objective would be to prevent waste if possible and encourage diversion rather than disposal of clean organic waste. (For more information, see the staff report associated with this ordinance in the meeting packet that is part of the permanent record. See also "Collection and Processing, and "Regional Organics Plan Overview," attached to the meeting record.) She explained that the tip fee was just a small part of a much larger program designed to reduce organic waste.

Councilor McLain said she had understood the program would stick to upstream solutions. She thought the upstream solutions were good, but she had not expected to see downstream solutions. She was concerned that the fee might undermine those upstream solutions and take money away from those programs.

Ms. Erickson said Metro was putting most of its effort into the upstream objectives. However, none of the upstream diversion programs would address, for example, non-recyclable paper. A complete program would need to include the point farthest downstream.

Councilor Park asked whether there might be a liability problem for food donation. Ms. Erickson said two Good Samaritan laws, one federal and one state, protect those who donate in good faith.

Councilor Park asked if it was still a problem to collect information on animal feed. Ms. Erickson said the department had hired a consultant who had a good relationship with farmers. She said the study looked at wet feed and dry feed. Dry feed is a relatively new industry, so the data have been more difficult to collect. The consultant, however, had made progress and would get a draft to staff in the next three weeks.

Doug Anderson, REM Waste Reduction, Planning, and Outreach, distributed a sheet that summarizes key points about the fee (attached to the meeting record). He said the fee would be cost-driven and applied in the short run based on costs estimated for when the industry has stabilized.

Mr. Anderson summarized the fee and explained how it would be implemented. He said it would be similar to the fees charged for other recoverable waste taken to the transfer stations, but this fee would apply only to organic waste delivered to Metro in a form suitable for making compost. The purpose would be to avoid subsidizing waste at an unsustainable level. Staff anticipated imposing this fee in three years, at which time Council would be asked to approve a rate. The fee would be similar to that imposed on other recoverables in that it would exclude the surcharges typical for recoverable materials. It would be unique in that it would provide for a short-term subsidy.

Councilor McLain asked what other tip fee or subsidy staff decides? She said the proposal here is for staff to come up with a subsidy appropriate for an infant industry based on long-term cost projections. She wondered what the process for calculating this would be and what the administrative criteria would be. She said this would be a first for staff, and she wondered what about the process.

Mr. Anderson said the basic rate would be cost-driven. The ordinance specifies that as either a contractual rate received from the transfer station processor or an amount based on quotes/bids for the transfer, transport, and processing components. The subsidized rate would work as follows: either staff or an outside consultant would estimate the transfer, transport, and processing costs in three year’s time, after the industry has had a chance to mature. The ordinance requires that the fee structure then be reported to Council for approval or be returned to staff for revisions. It would be done this way to shorten the time it takes for governments to act in response to changes in the market.

Councilor McLain questioned the need to act on this ordinance now, while so many issues seem unresolved. She said she understood the need to provide an incentive to participate in the program, but the role of staff in setting a fee did not seem legally “clean” or practical as a process.

She also said that not enough is known at this time about organics waste or markets. She thought more needed to be known about upstream diversion before designing the downstream fee. Finally, she said that new fees and exceptions further complicate the system as far as citizens were concerned. She applauded the department’s work, but said that she did not feel comfortable supporting the ordinance at this stage.

Mr. Anderson said in response that as to how “clean” this felt, Metro both participates in the waste system and regulates it. Part of participation is the ability to set prices, but governments traditionally cannot respond quickly to markets. This was an attempt to enable a quick response. As to the tip fee complicating the system, fees are part of the market. They are a reality. As to how much we know about the upstream waste, he said that certain parts of the waste stream were well known, including waste not amenable to upstream diversion—dining waste, for example. This fee would be only a small part of a much larger program.

Councilor McLain said she still did not think she could support this ordinance today. She thought that the structure would remove fees from public review, which in spite of Metro’s role as a participant in the market was still important. She said that although this would be a subsidy, subsidies must be picked up by someone. She thought SWAC, the Rate Review Committee, and Council should discuss this.

Mr. Anderson said SWAC had brought up who would pick up the tab for the subsidy that morning. He said it would be handled in a usual way—i.e., Metro would forgive the regional system fee and excise tax on certain waste streams, with the slack picked up by those who dispose. As to public review of a public fee, he asked if she was concerned about public review of the formula or the subsidy. He noted that Metro’s code currently includes a formula-driven set of fees for hazardous waste, yard debris, and wood waste.

Councilor Park said in his reading of the ordinance, control would not be relinquished in the way that Councilor McLain thought. He said Council sets the tip fee, which provides the basis for calculating this fee.

Mr. Anderson said that was not quite the case. He said that the formula was not simply a stripping down of the tip fee, as the components themselves would be different. For example, the transport component might be to North Plains or Puyallup, Washington, as opposed to the STS rate as reflected in the tip fee.

Councilor Park asked where the ordinance addresses this.

Mr. Anderson said it was on page 8, subsection d.

Councilor McLain questioned why the ordinance needed to be rushed through.

Mr. Anderson said that organics were being hauled to Metro Central Transfer station now under the pilot programs currently underway. Metro must charge them the same tip fee assessed on mixed solid waste. It currently rebates a portion of that fee under a special Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Portland. But the Office of General Counsel has warned the department that this situation could become problematic if that group of haulers expands. Metro does not have a contractual relationship those haulers.

Councilor McLain said she understood that the pilot program was quite small and was not growing. She asked if his fear was that others might begin a similar pilot program if they see this rate.

Mr. Anderson said that regardless of the fact that the program was small, waste was still coming in.

Councilor McLain asked if the waste that was coming was clean enough.

Mr. Anderson said up to this point it had not been clean enough. He said that one hauler had been collecting clean organic waste before, and taking it to the former worm processing facility in North Portland. That hauler would like to find a place for that waste.

Councilor McLain said she did not understand the hurry if the rate would not kick in unless the loads were clean enough, and no one had yet brought in clean enough loads.

Mr. Anderson said that this ordinance would not take effect until the first of next year, and the bugs should be worked out of the program by then.

Mr. Fjordbeck said it was true that the department could not charge less at the transfer station than those the Council has approved. If there were to be a special rate, a code amendment would be required.

Mr. Petersen recommended postponing action on this ordinance until the next committee meeting and in the meantime studying the issues raised by Councilor McLain. He thanked Mr. Anderson and Ms. Erickson for being aggressive in pushing for higher waste-recovery rates.

Chair Washington said he did not see this as an attempt on the part of REM to usurp any of the Council’s power. He agreed to carry this over until a future meeting, after key issues had been addressed.

5.  STATUS ON CITY OF PORTLAND’S SOLID WASTE PROGRAMS WITHIN THE NEW OFFICE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Lee Barrett, Solid Waste Recycling Program, Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), City of Portland, said that after October 22, his department would no longer be under the BES, but under a new office, the Office of Sustainable Development. He said that the duties and responsibilities of his department more closely matched those of the other departments in the new office, namely the Portland Energy Office and the Green Building Program that they did those who treat sewerage. He said he did not anticipate any changes in the responsibilities, funding sources or staffing as a result of the merger. He explained his department’s funding sources for the residential and commercial programs. Regarding the Green Building Program, Mayor Katz and Commissioner Francesconi had requested that another source of funding be found for that program besides a 1.55% added to residential garbage bills. The mayor and the commissioner had questioned why residential garbage customers should fund commercial structures. The department agreed to look for another source of funding after this year. Mr. Barrett added that although the 1.55% was being collected this year, it would not actually be spent.

Councilor Park said he had also been concerned about the fairness funding the Green Building Program using residential dollars.

6.  REGIONAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN (RSWMP) STATUS REPORT

Scott Klag, REM, showed a PowerPoint presentation to summarize the process that would be used to review the Regional Solid Waste Management Plan. (Hard copies of this presentation are attached to the meeting record.) He reviewed the reason for the plan, its goals, the tasks, and timelines for completing the tasks, and the timeline for adopting the plan. He reviewed the roles of the public and stakeholder groups, and the subjects the plan review will cover. He also briefly touched on how the RSWMP relates to the REM Strategic Plan and Metro’s role in the solid waste business.

Councilor McLain asked Mr. Klag to provide a hard copy of his presentation to each member of Council.

7.  COUNCILOR COMMUNICATIONS

None.

There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:17 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pat Emmerson

Council Assistant

ATTACHMENTS TO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR THE MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 20, 2000