MINUTES OF THE METRO COUNCIL

REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

Tuesday, July 21, 1998

Council Chamber

Chair Morissette called the meeting to order at 11:06 AM.

1.  REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR’S UPDATE

Bruce Warner, Director, Metro Regional Environmental Management, distributed a written summary of his update (attached to the meeting record). He then summarized the information, highlights of which follow.

• The department will conduct a first-ever collection of hazardous waste at the Forest Grove transfer station on Saturday, July 25. This event might serve as a prototype of how Metro might deal with household hazardous-waste collection throughout the region at various locations in place of the large-scale, mobile events the department has had in the past. He said this event has broad support. He thanked USA Waste and its manager for helping set this event up. Mr. Warner said the reason the department is seeking new ways to collect household hazardous waste is that a record volume of hazardous waste was collected at the three big events held in the spring. There is clearly a need to provide a convenient way for citizens to dispose of hazardous waste.

• The regional system free-credit program is underway. Six facilities have submitted applications for June credits, with recovery rates ranging from 39% to 51%. This could result in total credits of over $115,000. He said the efforts to increase waste recovery at the transfer stations have begun to pay off at Metro South, increasing from 300 pounds, or 1.1%, in June of 1997 to 1,000 pounds, or 3.3% in June of 1998. He praised the staff at the transfer station for accomplishing this.

• The USA Waste/Waste Management merger has been approved by the US Department of Justice. (A copy of an associated press story about the merger is attached to the meeting record.) He said that as part of the merger, the Department of Justice requires the new company to sell some of its landfill and collection operations around the country, including some in this area and the Wasco County Landfill. The implications for Metro are that Article 29 of the Metro contract with Oregon waste systems states that “any change in control or transfer of controlling interests in the beneficial ownership of the contractor shall constitute a default under the terms of this contract unless Metro consents to such a transfer.” Mr. Warner said the department is working closely with Marvin Fjordbeck and Daniel Cooper of Metro’s office of legal counsel, to evaluate the merger in light of Article 29. He said he will brief this committee on this again next month.

• In June Metro received two bids for diesel fuel-supply contracts in Eastern Oregon and none in Western Oregon. One of the bids in Eastern Oregon was from Hattenhauer Distributing and the other was from Devin Oil. Neither bid demonstrated compliance with the bid specifications. Neither firm submitted a site plan that allowed for traffic to be assessed and safety assured. A visit to the Hattenhauer site revealed that the actual dimensions of the site differed from the dimensions that had been submitted with the bid.

Councilor McFarland said she understood that at the Hattenhauer site, not only did the dimensions not match what was submitted, but the real dimensions would not accommodate the size of vehicles that needed to go in and out of there.

Mr. Warner said Mr. Hattenhauer has proposed changes to the site to accommodate the trucks, but based on the original provision, the department could not determine that the site was safe.

Chair Morissette said that both companies are still in contact and working to provide the information needed. Mr. Warner said that in the meantime, Metro had entered into an emergency contract with the current vendor while the department works on the problem. He said the department is considering an alternative to the normal low-bid process to allow flexibility. He said possibly both companies could be used. In the meantime, legal staff is working to find a way to make a win/win situation for everyone.

• The four compost bin sales held throughout the region in May sold over 9600 bins. The program is currently being evaluated for effectiveness. It has not been budgeted for next year. He said when the evaluation has been completed, the department will present that to the committee. He said that clearly, the demand exists and can be reached with proper advertising.

Chair Morissette asked if staff would include the USA Waste/Waste Management merger on the next agenda. Mr. Warner recommended putting this on as a standing agenda item for the next few meetings so the department can keep the committee up to date on the situation. Chair Morissette agreed to do that.

2.  ORDINANCE NO. 98-767, FOR THE PURPOSE OF AMENDING THE METRO CODE CHAPTER 5.01 TO SET CERTAIN FEES AND PENALTIES, AND MAKING RELATED ADJUSTMENTS TO CHAPTER 7.01

Mr. Warner explained what these amendments do. He said this is one of three related ordinances amending the Metro code. The other two cover the plan amendment and code changes. This one, as the title reflects, deals with fees created as part of the new code and ensure that the facilities that do materials recovery continue to receive the excise tax exemption. Also, it establishes an “in lieu of” fee on the disposal of waste that could be direct-hauled to the Columbia Ridge Landfill, to hold the excise tax projections harmless for the agency. In other words, the amount of excise tax depends on the waste tonnage, not whether the waste is taken to the landfill directly or via Metro’s transfer station.

Without these changes, Metro would not have the money to pay for the new instruments in the code. Also, if this is not enacted excise taxes revenues would have to increase, but at the detriment of materials recovery. Charging those facilities at the front door greatly reduces the incentive to do materials recovery, as those facilities operate on small margins already.

Chair Morissette noted that Metro’s approach in this was to keep fees and penalties low in relation to the size of the contract, and create incentives to do the right thing as opposed to penalties under the assumption that Metro has a good working relationship with the partners.

Councilor McFarland said she would support this resolution, but she said the checks and balances need to be rigorously enforced.

Councilor McLain asked if this topic is that referred to on page 5, lower-case “c” under section 7.

Mr. Warner said yes. He added that obviously the facilities would love to escape excise taxes entirely, but the facilities did not want to see the private sector have a competitive advantage for a service that Metro provides, through simple tax-avoidance.

Councilor McLain said she wanted it on the record that there is a need for a system to remain in place that deals with household hazardous waste and the permanent sites Metro operates and the new agreement Metro has with the operator in Forest Grove. There is a good argument for the system to complement private and public enterprises. She said that is not obvious to the casual reader. She said if the question is asked, it needs to be made clear that no one is being taxed for services not received. The operators understand the service they do receive and they understand they cannot provide all the services that the Metro transfer stations and the rest of the system provides to the entire region. She said it is important to reinforce that concept, so it does not appear that anyone is paying a fee yet receiving nothing in return.

Chair Morissette opened a public hearing at 11:25 am.

Public Hearing.

No one came forward to testify, so the public hearing was closed.

Councilor McFarland will carry the motion to a meeting of the full Council.

3.  RESOLUTION NO. 98-2677, FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING RELEASE OF RFP #98-47-REM FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES RELATED TO THE STABILIZATION OF THE ST. JOHNS LANDFILL PERIMETER DIKE

Mr. Warner explained the need for contracting for services to build the dike at the St. John’s Landfill. He said the resolution releases a Request for Proposals (RFP) to deal with the perimeter of the landfill, particularly those areas where waste is close to the surface of the landfill and adjacent to waterways where fluctuation water levels erode the banks. In some spots, waste has already been exposed by high water in recent years. The intent of the RFP is to procure construction services starting in 1999, so the design engineer should be selected this summer.

Mr. Warner said one of the things Metro will be dealing with is the conflict between a long-lasting, cost-effective structure and the goal of preserving and repairing habitat in this sensitive area. He said one solution would be to throw rip-rap on the edges of the bank. It would protect the bank, but it would not provide good wildlife habitat.

Mr. Warner also said that the total cost was not to exceed $203,000. The project has been identified in the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) adopted by the Council.

Councilor Washington said he found it hard to believe that waste was deposited so close to the slough in the first place.

Councilor McFarland said that the landfill was in use for 50 years. She said that at one time, garbage was burned and the ash dumped into the landfill. She said that a lot of hazardous waste was deposited in the landfill. No one today knows what wastes were dumped in there nor where. She said at the time the landfill began, wetlands were commonly filled in and built upon. She said that when Metro acquired the landfill, it was aware that it also acquired 50 years of a different attitude toward wetlands and garbage.

Councilor Washington asked whether originally waste material had been dumped at the site and the dikes built up to contain it.

Dennis O’Neil, Senior Solid Waste Planner, Metro Regional Environmental Management, explained that this area was originally bowl composed of a low-permeability silt. He said, however, in one area the edge of the bowl is low. He pointed out that area on a map. He said that between 1956 and 1964, the low area had been filled with trash rather than a berm of dirt. He said it was built to leave only a thin layer of dirt separating the trash from the high-water level. That thin layer gets saturated every year. Also, the bank is being undercut by water, raising the concern that a whole section of waste could drop into the slough. He said natural erosion is occurring around the entire perimeter of the land fill. He said we need to figure out a way to “go against nature” to deal with this human-made problem.

Councilor McFarland asked if the bowl originally had water in it. Mr. O’Neil said yes. He referred the committee to figures 3 and 4, photographs in agenda packet of the area in 1936 and 1940, respectively, which illustrate that. Figures 6 and 7 show how much dirt was put into the land fill.

Councilor Washington asked if in the future we might have to dig down and seal the base with a more permanent barrier, such as concrete. Mr. O’Neil said that is not far off the mark. He said it could possibly be a plastic barrier. He said the problem the engineers foresee, however, pertains to stabilizing the slope outside the barrier and into the slough. The erosion control and the barrier will need to be done by the same engineer, in tandem.

Councilor McLain asked if the department had been able to talk with others around the nation who deal with similar problems. Mr. O’Neil said yes. He said he attends national conferences and workshops that deal with landfills and landfill closures. He personally tries to keep abreast of the literature on this. He said methods developed to deal with hazardous waste sites are also a possibility.

Councilor McLain asked whether the St. John’s Landfill Closure Fund had enough money in it to do the job.

Mr. Warner said he plans to discuss the long-term closure plans with that group. He said his staff has been working closely with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to obtain an agreement on a final closure order for that facility, which would define what would need to be done based on risk assessments. He said when that is finished, the committee would be given that analysis. He said the committee would be shown the closure plans before any agreement is made.

Councilor McFarland said she would approve release of the RFP, but she urged the staff to anticipate future problems in describing what Metro wants and in assessing what the bidders say they will do. She said she had no doubt that Metro will encounter surprises, as this site constitutes 50 years of use without the same concerns or rules for managing wastes we have today.

Councilor Washington said he would move to approve this resolution, but said he thinks it is time to face the worst-case scenario. He said we need to know exactly what it will cost.

Councilor Washington will carry the motion to a meeting of the full Council.

5.  COUNCILOR COMMUNICATIONS

None.

There being no further business before the committee, Chair Morissette adjourned the meeting at approximately 11:37 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Pat Emmerson

Council Assistant

ATTACHMENTS TO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR THE MEETING OF JULY 21, 1998

The following have been included as part of the official public record.