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File Copy • Jefferson County Board of 3-IeaCth. .Agenda .Minutes • July 19, 2 012 • • JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH July 19, 2012 Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan Port Townsend,WA 2:30—4:30 PM DRAFT AGENDA I. Approval of Agenda IL Approval of Minutes of June 21,2012 Board of Health Meeting III. Old Business and Informational Items 1. JC-WQ award Puget Sound Champion 2. Whopping cough vaccine and rates 3. Local Health Boards Alliance 4. JCPH web page FAQs to answer public questions • 5. County Budget schedule 6. Letters from citizens 7. THRIVE grant award to Bridge Partnership for NFP IV. New Business 1. Electronic Health records- JCPH moves forward 2. Sampling County lakes, health risks see press releases 3. Local Shellfish Closures—Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning 4. Affordability Care Act- state impacts V. Activity Update VI. Public Comments VII. Agenda Planning Calendar: November Meeting Cancelled VIII. Next Scheduled Meeting: August 16, 2012 2:30—4:30 pm Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan St. • Port Townsend, WA 98368 • JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday,June 21, 2012 2:30 PM—4:30 PM Cotton Building, 607 Water Street,Port Townsend, WA 98368 Board Members Staff Members Phil Johnson,Chair, County Commissioner District#1 Thomas Locke,MD,MPH Health Officer David Sullivan,County Commissioner,District#2 Jean Baldwin,Public Health Services Director John Austin, County Commissioner,District#3 Julia Danskin,Nursing Services Director Roberta Frissell,citizen at large(County) Jared Keefer,Environmental Health Services Director Catharine Robinson,Port Townsend City Council Sheila Westerman, Citizen at large(City) Jill Buhler, Vice Chair,Hospital Commissioner,District#2 Chair Johnson called the meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order.at 2:30 PM. A quorum was present. Members Present: Phil Johnson, David Sullivan, John Austin, Jill Buhler, Catharine Robinson, Roberta Frissell Members Excused: Sheila Westerman 111 Staff Present: Dr. Thomas Locke, Jean Baldwin, Julia Danskin, Jared Keefer APPROVAL OF AGENDA Member Austin moved to approve the agenda for the June 21,2012 BOH meeting. Member Sullivan seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Member Robinson requested the following changes be made to the May 17,2012 BOH minutes: On page 2 the first commenter of the public hearing should be changed from "President" to "resident", add the name of the nay voter, Member Sullivan, to page 3 where first motion passed with a 5 to 1 majority vote,and on page 5 under the first paragraph of Agenda Planning the sentence is changed to read "Jean Baldwin announced that on June 19,2012 WASAC is having a meeting and invited the Board to attend." Member Buhler moved to approve the minutes of the May 17,2012 BOH meeting as amended. Member Robinson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS and INFORMATIONAL ITEMS The Power of Nursing • Jean Baldwin announced there is an article from the New York Times on Nurse Family Partnership included the agenda packet. She stated this is a program has been underway in Jefferson County for 13 years. Ms. Baldwin also announced that JCPH is partnering with other • counties to provide supervision services. JCPH is providing those services to Kitsap Health District and Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, giving them the training and ability to start Nurse Family Partnership program in their communities. Flu Shots for Moms Dr. Locke pointed out new research documenting that flu vaccine being given during pregnancy results in healthier babies. He also stated the number of flu vaccinations being given has increased steadily, especially among health care providers and the rate of flu related hospitalizations and deaths has been decreasing. Northwest Public Health Journal—Olympic Regional Mutual Assistance Agreement Article Dr. Locke reviewed an article he wrote, which was published in the Northwest Public Health Journal, about an agreement between three Washington State County Public Health jurisdictions and seven American Indian tribes, allowing them to share resources and expertise in a public health emergency. Dr. Locke also invited the Board to visit www.nwpublichealth.org to read an article by the Dean of the Public Health,Dr. Howard Frumkin about the many challenges public health is facing. NEW BUSINESS Food Service Establishment Outstanding Achievement Award Presentation • Jared Keefer,Environntal Health Director, announced the 28 Jefferson County food service establishments that received the 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award for demonstrating the highest standards for safe food handling duringthe past year. Awards were presented at the BOH meeting. Jefferson County Syringe Exchange Program 2011 Annual Report Jean Baldwin reviewed the 2011 Syringe Exchange Program Annual Report. Ms. Baldwin announced there has been increases in the number of syringes being exchanged, clinic visits, and new clients, and clients from the county. Public Hearing—Environmental Health Fee Schedule Revision Jared Keefer, Environmental Health Services Director reported that the proposed fee revision is only for the 0 & M Homeowner Inspection Authorization fee,which is $10 for the first home owner system and $5 for each additional system. Chair Johnson opened the Public Hearing. There were no comments. • • Member Austin moved to adopt the $10 fee for the Homeowner Inspection. Member Frissell seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Port Townsend Paper Corporation Landfill Permit Update Dr. Locke briefed the Board on their authority with regards to the Port Townsend Paper landfill permit,the history of the landfill permit, and the current status of the permit. Approval of a solid waste landfill permit is an administrative decision of the health officer subject to appeal to the board of health. Dr. Locke outlined the minimum criteria that a new permit for the Port Townsend Paper Corporation must meet, including the need to resume groundwater monitoring, provide financial assurance to cover closure costs, and adequately characterize the waste materials going into the landfill Board of Health Minutes Format Discussion It was discussed and agreed upon by the Board that when offered by the speaker, the name of the person making public comment to the Board be listed along with a brief description of their comment. It was also agreed that the name of the Nay voters on any motion be listed. PUBLIC COMMENTS Valerie Phimister commented in favor of fair and consistent monitoring of the mill landfill and • requiring financial assurance be provided should they have to close. Peter Lauritze reiterated what the previous speaker commented on. Alea Waters encouraged the Board to issue a limited purpose permit for the mill landfill. Elaine Bailey encouraged the Board not to make any special exceptions to Port Townsend Paper when considering which permit is issued for the landfill. O'Neill Louchard posed several questions regarding the landfill located at Port Townsend Paper on how tall, how deep and when it is decided the landfill is full. Gene Brandon asked whether he can be assured the public will see the mills permit application. Dr. Locke assured Mr. Brandon they will be able to see the application. Peter Guerrero expressed his concern over the ground water that flows from the landfill in to Port Townsend Bay. He also urged the Board to issue a limited use permit that requires ground water monitoring and financial assurance. Lang Russel urged the Board to issue a limited use permit for the Port Townsend Paper landfill. • Gretchen Brewer thanked Dr. Locke for his analysis, asked for it to be considered to have a • cover on the landfill and encouraged the Board to follow the Department of Ecology and hold the landfill to all applicable standards and not permit the landfill as inert. Doug Milholland suggested that the mill be asked to examine how the waste can be reused instead of throwing it away. Bill Curtsinger feels the mill should be required to file an environmental impact study. Ruth Apter urged the Board to use their power and not accept the minimumwhen considering the mills landfill permit. Monica Fletcher expressed concern over modifications being made to an inert permit rather than issuing a limited use permit. Eveleen Muehlethaler of Port Townsend Paper thanked the Board members that have visited the landfill and Dr. Locke for his presentation of the process of the permit. Rich Doherty wants to know the process if there were positive water monitoring and will it be written in to the permit. Sally Schumacher feels the mill has hired an attorney to get the Board to issue an inert permit and the Board should not be afraid of Port Townsend Paper. Johanna Perkins commented on several health issues that can be caused due to airborne • particulates. Jeff Ikon runs a sauna at the Oregon Country Fair where they are banned from burning wood from construction sites that has nails or paint on them and he expressed the need to protect the children. Dave MiWethy expressed the need for the ground water testing to be placed in the appropriate places Jim Todd urged the Board to require the mill to do the appropriate testing. Mary Daubenberger suggested that the permit include serious consequences and fines. Steven Boyer expressed concern of what is being drained in to the bay and the construction debris being placed in the landfill. Alan Bond would like to see the requirements for an inert versus a non-inert permit. Ted Shoulberg asked Dr. Locke, since he has now heard the testimony if he will be able to show how he changed his negotiating position. Dr. Locke responded by stating that the specific permit requirements, compliance with state and local codes, and penalties that are in the approved . • permit are what is important. The permit classification (Inert vs. Limited Purpose) is of lesser importance. Dr. Locke also stated that his goal is to see the ground water and financial assurance in place as soon as possible. ACTIVITY UPDATE None AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR Ms. Baldwin announced she expects to have an update from the healthcare reform ruling which will determine the effects on services and funding. Ms. Baldwin announced she will have a report on the school based health clinics. Member Austin reported he was at a meeting for Washington State Association of Public Health Alliance which allows members of Boards of Health to interact with each other. There is a meeting in November which would be beneficial to have a Member attend. Ms. Baldwin reported on an update from the State Department of Health and State BOH on a public health agenda for change that will be released in the next few months and minors the Institute of Medicine report on Public Health National Changes recommended. She would like a workgroup to see what the State and Federal agencies are seeing as the future of public health. • The next scheduled BOH Meeting will be held July 19, 2012 at Jefferson County Public Health. ADJOURNMENT Member Austin moved to adjourn the June 21, 2412 BOH meeting. Member Buhler seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Johnson adjourned the BOH meeting at 4:15 PM • JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH Phil Johnson, Chair Jill Buhler,Vice Chair Roberta Frissell, Member David Sullivan, Member Catharine Robinson, Member John Austin, Member Excused Sheila Westerman, Member Respectfully Submitted: Stacie Reid • 0 Board of 3Cealth OCd Business & Informational-Items .agenda Item #III., 1 • TC-1N.9 Award Puget Sound Champion • July 19, 2 01 . 4- --- _ - - '_ .--.. - LL .:.�-. . 'R _ •�,,,�gy,_._ _. . .;te . 0 ,-.:-'"'"-'6"-- 7 -- — �,. "�" "•^, ,mom .-" ""� tea: • .,..„. —'— - $' ., _ 2 _ r z x � s` 4 , � �tSo Partnership h aur sound,our community,our chance r tY". Ss _r - ,� C g t # y Pu et Sound Champ.'on Award '� »1 g �. ,t In recognition of outstanding contributions to the recovery of Puget Sound x' Hood Canal Regional PIC :,..,..,, .,_ _ __ June 20, 2012 I. A' ' ( J e Martha Ko gsgaard, Chair Gerry d e fe, Ex �ive Director Leaders ip Council Pugeound�' rtnership 1 i 1 2 i 6 3 • PugetSoundPartnership our sound, our community, our chance FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 20, 2012 PHOTO http://bit.Iy/MiPKwK Four "Puget Sound Champions" honored in Hood Canal for protecting and restoring Puget Sound KINGSTON –Today the Puget Sound Partnership honored four "Puget Sound Champions" in Hood Canal for their exceptional work protecting and restoring habitat, cleaning up polluted waters, and engaging the community in implementing the Action Agenda—the Partnership's regional plan to cleanup Puget Sound. The ceremony occurred at the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribal Center, located in Kingston. The Puget Sound Partnership is the state agency coordinating the regional cleanupof Puget • Sound."The Puget Sound is connected to our quality of life, economy and our environment. It is our greatest natural asset,"said Gerry O'Keefe, Executive Director of the Partnership. "It's important we work together, invest in the highest priorities, and celebrate success." The honorees are partnerswith the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, one of ten localwatershed-based groupsthe Partnership works with to help set priorities for local programs and projects. The Hood Canal Coordinating Council has been working since 1985 to address community concerns about water quality problems and related natural resource issues in the watershed. Gerry O'Keefeand Ron Sims, a member of the Partnership's Leadership Council and former King County Executive, presented the awards. The honorees are: Hood Canal Regional Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) Programfor addressing water quality issues critical for protecting and enhancing human and ecological health and shellfish industry resources. The program is a successful regionalcollaboration between jurisdictions in the Hood Canal Watershed, including Mason, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties, and the Skokomish and Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribes.Keith Grellner, Kitsap County Environmental Health Director, accepted the award on the group's behalf. "In order to restore Puget Sound, we need to know what's polluting it and where the pollution comes from," said Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-Sequim). "The establishment of the Hood Canal PIC program will have a positive impact on cleanup efforts, and brings together various jurisdictions who all share the same objective. I fully support their efforts." Kitsap Forest & Bay Coalition, for its community-wide effort to conserve nearly 7,000 acres of forest and 1.8 miles of shoreline on the Kitsap Peninsula for wildlife habitat, public recreation and cultural sustenance. Themore than thirty coalition partnersare working collaboratively and independently toconserve the land. Key leaders of the coalition include: Kitsap County, Pope Resources, Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe, Great Peninsula Conservancy and Forterra. Sandra Staples-Bortner, Chair of the Kitsap Forest and Bay coalition and Executive Director of the Great Peninsula Conservancy, accepted the award on behalf of the coalition. "The two dozen organizations that make up the Kitsap Forest & Bay Coalition are passionate about conserving the 7,000 acres," said Ms. Staples-Bortner. "Our focus is on protecting critical wildlife habitats, ensuring continued public access to forest trails, and preserving the vital shellfish, fisheries, and water birds of Port Gamble Bay," Rep. Hansen was the sponsor of the tax-relief bill that passed the legislature this year and makes possible the transfer of the land from Pope. "This project has the potential to create tourism and recreation jobs in Kitsap County by establishing a pristine forest and waterfront park just a 30-minute ferry ride from Seattle," said Rep. Drew Hansen (D-Bainbridge Island). • "We depend on the health of Puget Sound for our quality of life and the vitality of many of our businesses. By uniting the efforts of so many organizations and businesses behind conserving our shorelines, the Kitsap Forest and Bay Coalition is helping to preserve much of what makes our communities great, and I congratulate them on being named champions of the sound," said Sen. Christine Rolfes(D-Bainbridge Island). "Congratulations and thank you," said Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo). "Our beautiful 23rd district and the entire Puget Sound region are made better by your teamwork and your dedication to conserving our magnificent environment." The Skokomish Tribe and the Mason Conservation District for their efforts in restoring the Skokomish Estuaryby removing three miles of dikes, which restored thousands of feet of tidal channels near the mouth of the Skokomish River and approximately 500 acres of estuary.This project represents the single most important habitat restoration project in Hood Canal. The estuary provides rearing habitat of the federally listed summer chum and Chinook salmon, bull trout and steelhead.Alex Gouley, Habitat Manager for the Skokomish Tribe and John Bolender, District Manager for Mason Conservation District accepted the award for the Skokomish Estuary Restoration project. • • "Today's honorees are to be congratulated for their ongoing work to improve water quality in the Hood Canal region," said Rep. Fred Finn (D-rural Thurston County). "Their efforts are helping to secure a healthier future for the people and marine life that coexist here." "Restoring the Skokomish Bay estuary has been a huge undertaking, a long and important project," said Rep. Kathy Haigh (D-Shelton). "I'm very happy that the Puget Sound Partnership is recognizing the efforts of the Skokomish Tribe, the Mason Conservation District and others who are being honored today." "The work of John Bolender and the Mason Conservation District on this important project is a making a real difference in the Hood Canal," said Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlach. "Their efforts to restore more than 300 acres of the largest contiguous salt marsh complex along the Hood Canal are vital to restoring habitat for summer chum and Chinook salmon, bull trout and steelhead." Pat Pearson with the WSU Jefferson County Extension, for her 20 year career providing education, outreach and resources to thousands of individuals, non-governmental agencies and partners throughout the 12 Puget Sound counties and beyond regarding water quality and natural resources. Gerry O'Keefe laudedall award recipients for their commitment to working with partners, community groups and citizens, and implementing priority actions that protect and enhance • Hood Canal's environmental and economic health. "We value our partnership with the Hood Canal Coordinating Council," said O'Keefe. "Your innovation and determination has helped us integrate planning efforts, focus mitigation funding on the highest priorities, prevent pollution at the source and evaluate progress through regional monitoring. Thank you for implementing the Action Agenda and being leader in Puget Sound recovery." "The Hood Canal Coordinating Council has done impressive work, and serves as an excellent example of effective and strategic local coordination," said Ron Sims. "Your work is significant locally, and regionally. Without your work on the ground, the regional Puget Sound recovery effort would exist only as a vision and plan, and not a reality." ### The Puget Sound Partnership is the backbone organization connecting citizens, governments, tribes, scientists and businesses together to set science-based priorities, implement a regional recovery plan, and ensure accountability for results that cleanup Puget Sound.Since the Partnership was established through bipartisan leadership in 2007, more than 2,440 acres of habitat have been protected, 70 miles of streams and rivers have been restored, and game- changing restoration projects have been advanced. MEDIA CONTACT • Michael Grayum, Director of Public Affairs, 360.464.1221 Board of Health OCd Business & Informational Items Agenda item # III., 2 • 1Nhopping Cough 'Vaccine and Rates July 19, 2 01 • • W.shin ion State Department of Hea1th News Release For immediate release: July 12, 2012 (12-091) Contacts: Tim Church, Communications Office 360-236-4077 Donn Moyer, Communications Office 360-236-4076 Whooping cough epidemic continues: state buying, distributing more vaccine Vaccination promotion campaign aids the effort to curb the epidemic OLYMPIA—More than 2,000 new cases of whooping cough have been reported since the secretary of health declared an epidemic April 3. The epidemic is up to 2,883 reported cases and remains active; state health officials urge vaccination and other disease prevention measures. "Infants are most at risk for very serious illness from whooping cough, and many are made sick by an adult who didn't know they were carrying the illness," explains State Health Officer Dr. Maxine Hayes. "All teens and adults should get the Tdap shot. Even people who don't have close • contact with babies can spread the illness to babies when they're in public." The Department of Health ordered 14,000 more doses of whooping cough vaccine for uninsured adults to go with 27,000 doses already sent to local health and tribal partners. A state health vaccination promotion campaign includes radio, TV, billboard, and bus ads around Washington. Getting vaccinated helps protect the person who gets immunized while protecting others from disease, including infants who most often catch the illness from a relative. Babies under two months are too young to get vaccinated and are at high risk for serious illness. This year there have been 173 reported whooping cough cases in infants; 38 of them were hospitalized.No deaths have been reported. Protection provided by the childhood whooping cough vaccine series wears off over time, so teens and adults need a booster. People whose vaccine protection wears off may get whooping cough, yet usually have less severe symptoms, shorter illnesses, and are less likely to spread the • disease to others. Adults who aren't sure if they've had the Tdap booster should check with their health care provider. —More— Whooping cough epidemic continues July 12, 2012 Page 2 While vaccination is the best protection,there are other effective ways to reduce the spread of • pertussis. It's important for anyone with a cough to stay home when they're sick, wash their hands often, and go to the doctor for a prolonged cough. People diagnosed with whooping cough should stay away from babies, and stay home from work, school, and other activities until they've finished five days of antibiotics or until at least three weeks after the cough started. Because pertussis in its early stages appears similar to a common cold, it's often not suspected or diagnosed until the more severe symptoms appear. Infected people are most contagious during this time, up to about 2 weeks after the cough begins. Anyone who has been in close contact with someone known to have whooping cough should talk to their health care provider. Uninsured adults can contact their local health agency to find out where state-supplied vaccine is available. Health care providers can charge up to about$15 to give the vaccine, but this fee can be waived for those who can't afford it. Most health insurance plans cover whooping cough vaccine for adults and the state provides all vaccine for Washington children younger than 19 years old through the Childhood Vaccine Program. The state has now purchased 41,000 total doses of Tdap for adults for local health agencies and tribes to use in their communities. For more information visit the Department of Health's whooping cough epidemic website. The Department of Health website (doh.wa.gov) is your source for a healthy dose of information. Also, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ### • Board of 3feaCth Old Business & InformationaCltems .agenda item # III., 3 • LocaC3fealth Boards Affiance July 19, 2 01 • • WSALPHO WASIIINGION STATE SSO ATIO SOF LOCAL PUBLIC HEATH OFFICIALS WSALPHO's Local Health Boards Alliance - DRAFT CHARTER - ARTICLE I - NAME This subset of the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials (WSALPHO),as approved by WSALPHO's Board of Director and with the support of the Washington State Association of Counties(WSAC),shall be called the Local Health Boards Alliance(Alliance). ARTICLE II - PURPOSE The purpose of this Alliance shall be: • 1. To exchange information among Washington State's Local Boards of Health. 2. To help coordinate policies and programs among the 35 local health jurisdictions. 3. To work in concert with WSAC and WSALPHO to explore and pursue new,as well as amend existing public health laws,standards,regulations,and rules to prevent disease,disability,and premature death;to promote healthy lifestyles;and to protect and promote the health and quality of our environment. 4. To provide a venue where local health boards can work collectively in their role as part of the larger public health system in Washington State. ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP&VOTING The following shall constitute the membership of the Alliance: 1. All members of Washington State's 35 Local Boards of Health 2. One Liaison from each of WSALPHO existing Forums(CHLF, PHELF,WSEHD, HO) • 3. WSALPHO's Managing Director 206 Tenth Avenue SE Olympia,WA 98501 I Tel:360.753.1886 Fax:360.753.2842 www.wsalpho.org WSALPHO • 4. President of the Washington State Public Health Association 5. WSAC's Executive Director or Staff Designee 6. Association of Washington Cities'(AWC) Executive Director or Staff Designee 7. One Department of Health Local Health Liaison 8. One State Board of Health Liaison Voting at all Alliance meetings shall be limited to Local Health Board Members. A majority of members present at an Alliance meeting shall constitute a quorum. ARTICLE IV- LEADERSHIP Leadership of the Alliance will consist of an elected Executive Committee and shall consist of the following: 1. Chair • 2. Vice-Chair 3. Secretary 4. Immediate Past Chair The Chair,Vice-Chair,Secretary and Immediate Past Chair of the Alliance shall take office at the conclusion of the Alliance's Annual Autumn Meeting (in conjunction with WSALPHO and WSAC's Annual Autumn Meeting) and shall serve until the conclusion of the next Annual Autumn Meeting. ARTICLE V-MEETINGS WSALPHO's Local Health Boards Alliance shall hold two in person meetings per calendar year. These meetings will be held in conjunction with WSALPHO's Summer and Autumn Meetings. Additional meetings, in person or otherwise,are subject to the call of the Alliance Executive Committee on an as needed basis. • 206 Tenth Avenue SE Olympia,WA 98501 1 Tei:360153.1886 Fax:360.753.28421 www.wsalpho.org Board of Cealth Old Business & Informational-Items Agenda Item #III., 5 • County Budget Schedule JuCy 19, 2 01 • CC AA\ )Q:)r3 UjL-11 )1 • JEFFERSON COUNTY STATE OF WASHINGTON IN THE MATTER OF ESTABLISHING } THE DATE FOR 2013 BUDGET } RESOLUTION NO. 32-12 SUBMISSIONS, REVIEW HEARINGS } AND FINAL ADOPTION } WHEREAS, pursuant to RCW 36.40.071, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners has selected the alternate date of the first week in December to hold budget hearings for the purpose of adoption of the Jefferson County budget for 2013; and WHEREAS,pursuant to RCW 36.40.071,the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners has also selected to set other dates relating to the budget process, including but not limited to the dates set in RCW 36.40.010 and RCW 36.40.050 to conform to the alternate date for the budget hearing; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that pursuant to RCW 36.40.010, the Jefferson County Auditor shall notify, in writing, each elected or appointed County official to file with her on or before the 4th day of September 2012, an estimated budget for the ensuing year; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,that pursuant to RCW 36.40.050,the Jefferson County Auditor shall submit the budget to the County Administrator by September 21, 2012; and • BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED,that pursuant to RCW 36.40.070 and RCW 36.40.071 the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners will hold a public budget hearing on December 3, 2012 the first Monday in December,that said hearing may be continued from day to day until concluded but not to exceed a total of five (5) days, and that the Jefferson County Budget for 2013 shall be deliberated upon and adopted thereafter. 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A N ,..mw,..mw-..1 �N OmRN M2. 0) a Board of 3-fealth Old Business & InformationaCltems ,agenda Item # III., 6 • Letters From Citizens July 19, 2012 • rage 1 01 2 Cathy Avery From: orsocoppia [lauraking@orsocoppia.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 12:31 PM To: Tom Locke; tstu461@ecy.wa.gov Cc: maria_cantwell@cantwell.senate.gov; governor.gregoire@governor.wa.gov; Itgov@leg.wa.gov; epacallcenter@epa.gov; mjones@sterlingplanet.com; bmaddox@sterlingplanet.com; sreed@sos.wa.gov; emailago@atg.wa.gov; cpl@dnr.wa.gov; info@jeffersoncountypublichealth.org; Jean Baldwin; Julia Danskin; Veronica K. Shaw; Jared Keefer; tdah461@ecy.wa.gov; joph461@ecy.wa.gov; jmor461 @ecy.wa.gov; shgr461 @ecy.wa.gov; bpow461 @ecy.wa.gov; Idum461 @ecy.wa.gov; solmaker@olympus.net; monicaflet@gmail.com; elainembailey@earthlink.net; Willowtree@olypen.com; allenvaa@hotmail.com; dandr@u.washington.edu; ddaline@hotmail.com; drbilly@msn.com; harmony23fem@aol.com; harp@olympus.net; helenk@olympus.net; hlauritz@cablespeed.com; hzdudley@olypen.com; joe.breskin@gmail.com;judydamore@gmail.com; jyoungwash@hotmail.com; kgphox@gmail.com; lane@iar-wa.com; oneill@olympus.net; ptawdirector@mailhaven.com; santoshanobel@sbcglobal.net; teds@cablespeed.com; twowetdogs@rockisland.com; white904@cablespeed.com; willowtree@olypen.com; 4nhand@gmail.com Subject: non-enforcement of law endangers health of PT residents Dear Dr. Locke and Mr. Sturdevant: I would like to first explain why this issue concerns me personally, and share my views regarding the Landfill Permit being considered for the Port Townsend Paper Corporation in Port Townsend, Washington. I moved my family and business to Port Townsend 2 1/2 years ago from the San Francisco bay area. Our production facility is located in an industrial park close to the mill. After working a few days at this facility, my dormant asthma was triggered and I . found myself coughing and short of breath. We installed air purifiers, but my symptoms would not subside. I moved my office to my home and must now commute to minimize my exposure. Not only has the air quality affected my health, but the health of our workers. We have been forced to accept the cost and disruption to our business in an already challenging economy - and will be moving from that location in August in order to protect the health of those we care for: our employees. Is it too much to ask that our public officials do the same and put the health interests of the community ahead of all other interests? I was shocked and appalled when I learned that you both have tentatively agreed to a 'creatively written inert permit.' I do not need to remind you that PTPC has been in violation of the law by conducting business with an Inert Landfill permit (WAC 173-350- 410) since 2004. Before 2004, the PTPC's landfill was running appropriately with a Limted Purpose permit (WAC 173-350-400) . . . what happened to change that designation? It is clear to local citizens that an Inert permit is for waste that is non-reactive, like gravel - if you put it in your mouth it wouldn't hurt you. Instead, the PTPC mill's ash, as alkaline as 12.3 pH, is one hundred times more caustic than ammonia. DOE points out that risks to human health and environmental groundwater contamination are in clear violation of the inert criteria law. The physical characteristics of the ash, also, do not meet the criteria for an Inert permit. PTPC is alone among all other paper mills in Washington State in having an ash landfill permitted as Inert. Every other industrial ash landfill is permitted as Limited Purpose. • Why does PTPC refuse to comply with the law and why are you, our local officials, enabling this violation? Mr. Sturdevant, your blog reads: "Regulations and permits provide certainty and 7/10/2012 rage LIDI 2 fairness to businesses. They ensure that all permit holders abide by the same rules." / am confused and alarmed as to why, Mr. Sturdevant, you are not requiring PTPC to abide by the same rules and regulations every other paper mill in Washington state is held accountable to. Dr. Locke, as a physician I know you take seriously the mandate to 'do no harm' as well asY our • obligation to fulfill the duties of your position with the BOH as detailed in RCW 70.05.060: "Each local board of health shall have supervision over all matters pertaining to the preservation of health and life within it's jurisdiction and shall provide for the prevention, control, and abatement of nuisances detrimental to the public health." In RCW 7.48.120: "Nuisance consists of unlawfully doing an act or omitting to perform a duty, which act or omission either annoys, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, or safety of others . . . or in any way renders other persons insecure in life and in the use of property." Dr. Locke, I do not wish to assume that your motives are improper, however, to any concerned onlooker, this 'creatively' working with PTPC against the public health interest raises serious and disturbing questions about your unbiased assessment of this issue. A great crowd of Port Townsend and Jefferson County residents are clamoring to be protected under a Limited Purpose Landfill permit and I urge you to listen to their voices. We are your neighbors, your family, your children. I am imploring you to please take a proper stand to fulfill your obligations as public servants and fellow residents of this place we all call home. With appreciation for the good you do and with hope that you will act in the best health interests of our community, Laura King ' - P I ( • Laura King Iauraking©orsocoppia.com +1.360.379.4683 I www.orsocoppia.com S 7/10/2012 Cathy Avery m: Elaine Bailey [elainembailey@earthlink.net] t: Friday, July 06, 2012 5:11 PM o: boh@jeffersoncountypublichealth.org Subject: Landfill, urban wood, dioxin. Attachments: Fly in the ashes.doc; ATT12280.txt A Fly in the ATT12280.tx hes.doc (43 K t (72 B) Dear members of JCBOH. I understand you have little time to research the many issues relating to biomass for energy. I have been doing so rigorously for the past two and a half years. I would be happy to share any information I have with any of you who would be interested. Please read and notice highlighted sections of the attached article. To not know what is actually in our landfill is unacceptable and morally wrong. PTPC burns large amounts of C&D - "urban wood" and although there are stipulated restrictions as to treated wood in WA regs, the controls for knowing content are negligible. Painted wood is allowed. I worked in an architectural firm in San Francisco and had a remodel and design business for over 30 years and can assure you that demolition debris, to be cost effective, cannot be tested effectively Wd thoroughly. It is very difficult to recognize and identify older treated wood and or lead paint, especially if it has been painted over. Pallets are a large source of supply and can be easily contaminated. Many states have banned the use of "urban wood" for biomass incineration because of its known health hazard. The cogeneration project will be burning massive amounts as this is a cheap source of fuel and has a water content lower than the cleaner hog fuel, making it helpful in the combustion process where little fuel oil is used. Thank you for protecting the interests and health of all of us in Jefferson County and making sure that the landfill is now, and will be safe for years to come. Sincerely, Elaine Bailey 4111 1 ti Fly in the ashes Waste from co-generation plant tests high for dioxins • By"l om Gascoyne Last December the Butte County District Attorney's Office was alerted to a huge pile of fly ash, some 19,000 tons of the stuff, sitting on property off Hicks Lane in North Chico. The ash,reported by a local citizen,was traced to the Covanta Energy-owned Pacific Oroville Power Inc. facility, which is located in Oroville's Highway 70 Industrial Park. The ash was recently tested by the Butte Environmental Council for the DA's Office. s ,x,)= � � The dioxin tested out at 459 parts per trillion, which is half of the amount classifying official hazardous waste, but well over the safety levels set by the World Health Organization. The pile is larger in length and width than a football field, about 20 feet tall, and sits on property owned by MGM Trucking,which contracted with Covanta in 2008 to store the ash. And that property sits on federally designated wetlands. The DA is in the process of prosecuting the company for its disposal practices. The cogeneration plant is mostly self-monitored, recording the type of fuel purchased and brought in for consumption, as well as the byproduct emitted from its exhaust stacks and the ash collected in its burners, the very material that ended up in a pile in north Chico. The Oroville facility received its permit to operate in 1983. Initially, the plant burned wood chips generated1111 from local timber harvests. But as the lumber industry declined,the plant began burning agricultural waste to ensure its fuel supply. Its incinerators consume 28 tons of fuel an hour. MS 0 °O 0 1 t <N .:.a Vit4,... 4'1,0 1.0 OA' »sL.r... 0 00A ki e. .., DA Mike Ramsey said as they weather metals become more toxic and degrade to become either carried off as dust in the air or become runoff when it rains. -ae 410414$0n s .. a s c e _ _ Min ki4°Mtt4V -4.tksikk Orrit*IffMtv tti rteptitiVetsOlgylt4mliA, sAtt OAMLIOAVROVIA‘sWAPIAltsk,rA;,1,* lotbt-ota loK-4,a4004ktov-o-mc‘:0‘4#4 :AAA eL �, s �� O . . . gym, , ... .aM n s r Waste Management operates a Class II landfill in Anderson, and Recology owns one in Wheatland. "[Covanta has] indicated they are in the process of moving it, and we are in the process of moving them to do so," said Ramsey. "They want to get to some sort of settlement." • .�..a 0,;..., , ,. - 0 • . " _0 * ° �� _and as such is looking to dispose of its ash on local farms as a"soil amendment," a means of disposal it has used in the past. "Covanta said it costs them $18 a ton to take it to a regular landfill, $48 a ton to the Class II landfill in eatland and a little less to take it to the one in Anderson," said a source close to the case. "The problem is the dfill in Anderson is less restrictive, and they tend to use the ash for daily cover,which is the stuff you put over the garbage you bring in every day." That cover,the source said, has a tendancy to blow into the air, which is why it is called "fly ash." 1 ' a i �' B! ar �1 � � p. b .`bx t3.3�=w33 .� ¢¢ as, a� ' � z'S ,;'+�a� - E a � ams v BEC has been testing chicken eggs in the Oroville area for dioxins. In 1987 a fire at the now-closed Koppers wood treatement plant spread a cloud of dioxin-laced smoke over farms to the south of the plant. Today eggs from farms to the west and north of the site are also testing high for dioxins, suggesting the source could be the Covanta plant. A call to Covanta headquarters in Patterson,N.J., asking for comment was not returned by deadline. S S Board of 3fealth Old Business & informational items Agenda item # 7 • 7'.�fRIVE Grant Award to Bridge PartnersFi p for NFP July 19, 201 • JCPH rage 1 of 1 AlwayswnrkirtsfornhenithierJrfferson. Jefferson County Public Health S Port Townsend,Washington Home About JCPH Community Health Environmental Health/Water Quality Information News&Events Public Health News and Events. 1 ,x Welcome»News&Events JCPH AWARDED STATE/PRIVATE GRANT FOR LOCAL FAMILIES Port Townsend,Washington,July 9, 2012- About 25 families in Jefferson County will now get additional support to give their children a great start in life thanks to a recent round of awards from the state's Home Visiting Services Account(HVSA). Jefferson County Public Health(JCPH)and Kitsap Public Health Division (KPHD)were one of 10 grantees statewide. Over the next year, $87,500 will help Jefferson County Public Health continue the Nurse Family Partnership(NFP) home visiting program that began 13 years ago, seeing 25 to 32 families yearly."This evidenced-based program changes the future of our community,improves school readiness, decreases reliance on welfare and emergency room use", says Jean Baldwin JCPH Director. Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe contracted with JCPH in 2011 to provide NFP supervision for their nurse and to help with program start up.Joining this"Bridge"KPHD will receive NFP supervision and mentoring from JCPH as they initiate this life changing home visiting program.The two Public Health departments have had years of successful ongoing partnerships in strengthening regional services. This project and funding allows the region called the"Bridge"to work with the local tribes and the two counties. Home visiting is a voluntary service in which nurses meet with at-risk families in their homes and offer information and support related to healthy child and family development. Nurse Family Partnership families receive biweekly home visits from their own specially trained nurse,from mid-pregnancy until the child's second birthday.The nurse will follow NFP visit guidelines and offer education and support on many topics including quitting smoking, safe discipline, parents as partners and making education plans. Receiving this kind of support, their children are healthier,are less likely to suffer from abuse or neglect and are better prepared for school. In fact,the entire family and community will benefit. . "Home visiting works,and the Home Visiting Services Account is committed to helping make sure more eligible families—especially families in some of our state's most at-risk communities—have access to it,"said Nina Auerbach, President and CEO of Thrive by Five Washington,the state's public-private partnership for early learning that administers the account."An early investment in families results in stronger families and, ultimately, stronger communities." Since it was created by the Washington State Legislature in 2010,the HVSA has become a national model for leveraging public and private funds to support home visiting programs and has helped Washington invest 10 times more than it did in home visiting just two years ago. As of July 1,the HVSA has awarded nearly$4 million in grants to 31 evidence-based, research-based and promising home visiting programs serving about 1,000 families in 13 Washington counties. HVSA grantees represent a range of programs that meet the needs of populations across the state, including diverse geographic, racial/ethnic and other demographic groups. While most of the account's funds support direct services to families,some funds also are used for training, quality implementation and evaluation to ensure programs get the outcomes they promise to deliver for children and families.The Washington state Department of Early Learning(DEL)oversees the account,and Thrive administers it. Making home visiting available to at-risk families is a key strategy in Washington's 10-year Early Learning Plan. Right now, only a small percentage of eligible families throughout the state receive evidence-based home visiting services. ### Always Working for a Safer&Healthier Jefferson County Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan Street-Port Townsend.WA 98368 CommunityHealth:360.385.9400 I Environmental Heaflh:360.385.9444 info@jettersoncou ntypubiichealth.0r8 JCPH Employee Resources • http://www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/index.php?hvsa 7/12/2012 Thrive byF ve WASHINGTON • FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT July 9, 2012 Molly O'Connor,Thrive by Five Washington 206-621-5562; molly@thrivebyfivewa.org NEW GRANTS HELP SAVE PROGRAMS THAT WILL GIVE MORE THAN 300 AT-RISK BABIES A GREAT START IN LIFE $1.4 million in public-private funds awarded to 10 home visiting programs throughout state SEATTLE—The families of more than 300 babies in some of the state's most at-risk communities will now get the support they need to give their child a great start in life thanks to a recent round of awards from the state's Home Visiting Services Account(HVSA).The 10 home visiting programs that serve these families will share $1,453,000 in grants over the next year. For many of the programs,the grants will help them keep the doors open and allow them to keep serving families in their area. "Over the past five years, our program has made a difference in the lives of more than 200 families," said Beth Hansen, executive director of St.James Family Center in Wahkiakum, one of the new grantees. "For many of the families we serve,we are their primary support system, and this grant means we don't have to cut our services. We know other programs aren't so lucky right now and are either serving fewer families or closing their program altogether." Home visiting is a voluntary service in which nurses or other trained professionals meet with at-risk families in their homes and offer information and support related to healthy child and family development. Depending on the program, • these visits can happen during pregnancy up to a child's fifth birthday. Evidence shows that when families receive this kind of support,their children are born healthier, are less likely to suffer from abuse or neglect and are better prepared for school. In fact,the entire family benefits. "The Home Visiting Services Account provides money to support home visiting programs,though what we're really doing is investing in families," said Nina Auerbach, president and CEO of Thrive by Five Washington,the state's public-private partnership for early learning that administers the account. "The arrival of a new baby is a time of joy and transition for every family, but some families need extra support to thrive. In this round of funding, most of the grants will help a number of programs maintain their services, but the account has also helped expand or start high-quality and effective home visiting programs in communities where the need is high." Since it was created by the Washington state Legislature in 2010,the HVSA has become a national model for leveraging public and private funds to support home visiting programs and has helped Washington invest 10 times more than it did in home visiting just two years ago. As of July 1,the HVSA has awarded nearly$4 million in grants to 31 evidence-based, research-based and promising home visiting programs serving about 1,000 families in 13 Washington counties. HVSA grantees represent a range of programs that meet the needs of populations across the state, including diverse geographic, racial/ethnic and other demographic groups. While most of the account's funds support direct services to families,some funds also are used for training, quality implementation and evaluation to ensure programs get the outcomes they promise to deliver for children and families. Recent account investments include$1 million in continued state support;two competitive, multi-year federal grants totaling nearly$27 million; and a 5-year, $7.5 million commitment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.The Washington state Department of Early Learning (DEL) oversees the account, and Thrive administers it. DEL and Thrive • also consult with the Department of Health and Department of Social and Health Services on how to serve families around our state. "Home visiting is an important program for Washington children and families,"said Bette Hyde, director of the state Department of Early Learning. "Evidence shows that families who receive home-based support are less likely to suffer abuse and neglect. Home visiting offers a strong return on investment in the prevention of abuse and educating families in good care of their children." Making home visiting available to at-risk families is a key strategy in Washington's 10-year Early Learning Plan. Right now, only 2 to 11 percent of eligible families receive evidence-based home visiting services. Three evidence-based home visiting models are supported with this recent round of grants: Nurse Family Partnership, Parents as Teachers and Early Head Start. Grant awards are as follows: ■ Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Yakima—The Parents as Teachers program receives$105,160 to provide services to the families of 50 children. ■ Denise Louie Education Center—The Nurse Family Partnership program receives$175,000 to provide services to the families of 33 children in King County. ■ Jefferson County Public Health—The Nurse Family Partnership program receives$175,000 to provide services to the families of 50 children. ■ Mid-Columbia Children's Council—The Early Head Start program receives$173,317.50 to provide services to the families of 18 children in Klickitat County. ■ St.James Family Center—The Parents as Teachers program receives$71,335 to provide services to the families of 40 children in Wahkiakum County. ■ Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department—The Nurse Family Partnership program receives$145,686.50 to provide services to the families of 25 children in Pierce County. ■ Thurston County Public Health and Social Services—The Nurse Family Partnership program receives$102,500 to provide services to the families of 22 children in Thurston County. ■ Whatcom County Health Department—The Nurse Family Partnership program receives$175,000 to provide services to the families of 20 children. • ■ Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital Association—The Nurse Family Partnership program receives$175,000 to provide services to the families of 33 children. ■ Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic—The Parents as Teachers program receives$155,000 to provide services to the families of 50 children in Yakima County. On Thursday,June 28,Thrive by Five Washington released a Request for Proposals to support research-based models and promising practices home visiting models only. Grantees for this round of funding will be announced in early September. About Thrive by Five Washington Created in 2006,Thrive by Five Washington is the state's nonprofit public-private partnership for early learning.Thrive mobilizes the statewide commitment to early learning by raising public awareness about the importance of early learning for all children birth to age 5; identifying and driving proven programs, best practices and promising models across the state; and collaborating with early learning and K-12 partners to build an early learning system that helps families and caregivers give their children the best start in school and life possible. For more information about Thrive by Five Washington:www.thrivebyfivewa.org. ### • 0 Board of Health New Business .agenda Item # IV., 1 • Electronic .1Cealth Records - TCP.1CMoves Forward July 19, 2 01 Electronic Health Record JCPH update: Changes in the law, billing requirements and quality assurances: Electronic Health Records (EHR) are part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services provision's to meet the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This Act provides incentive payments to encourage Providers to use electronic health records. The electronic record program will increase quality of care of clients by standardizing record systems. All EHR technologies must meet stringent government requirements. The Federal Government or the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMMS) have contracted with different agencies throughout the country to aid medical offices in their update to EHR. These agencies are set up through the States, the Washington/Idaho Regional Extension Center (WIREC) and services are provided at no cost to qualifying agencies. JCPH Plan: Jefferson County Public Health applied and was accepted to receive WIREC services. The WIREC technical assistance helped JCPH staff understand how to come into compliance with • the Healthcare Reform Provision of EHR and to meet indicators of health for individual patients called "meaningful use". WIREC and the Federal Government screened and prepared a list of qualifying EHR vendors. There are many, many vendors. Using the list of those who are qualified, also looking to see which vendors are serving in Washington so that Washington billing and Washington State laws are honored is the second step. WIREC interviewed and did quality reviews of hundreds of EHR products. After, JCPH qualified for the ARRA incentive payments for certified Providers, a staff team of the director, deputy director, billing coordinator, FNP clinician, JC-IS supervisor and scheduling clerk reviewed the WIREC list of certified providers that were interested in serving small clinics. JCPH also reviewed only certified providers who gave a group discount rate to WIREC members. In the process, JCPH spent 5 months traveling, watching webinars, and reviewing different EHR systems. In the process we toured or had presentations from NextGen, E-MDs, Allscripts, Care 360 and NetSmart. JCPH reviewed bids from four of these vendors. After careful consideration and review of capacity of the agency, and ability of the EHRs to help us meet meaningful use, we have chosen the bid from e-MDs and are submitting this contract to • the BOCC for review and acceptance. 7/13/2012 Meaningful Use Criteria and How to Attain Meaningful Use of E,HKs 1 Providers oZ, note... Page I of 2 ID . ea .:, -,, ,, . v .. ' ' -0- - --4i!..: -:-'''- - go Advancing America's Health Care HealthlT.gov > For Providers&Professionals > EHR Incentives&Certification > How to Attain Meaningful Use EHR Incentives & Certification How to Attain Meaningful Use Eligible professionals(EPs)and hospitals need to successfully attest to demonstrating meaningful use of certified electronic health records(EHRs)to qualify for an incentive payment through the Medicare EHR Incentive Program administered by the Centers for Medicare&Medicaid Services(CMS). EPs and hospitals that are eligible for the CMS EHR Medicaid Incentive Program do not need to attest to meaningful use in 2011, but must adopt, implement or upgrade to an EHR to receive a payment from their State. Summary of Meaningful Use Criteria and Objectives: In order to attain meaningful use,EPs and hospitals must adopt certified EHR technology and use it to achieve specific objectives. Eligible health care professionals and hospitals may become meaningful users of certified EHRs to qualify for incentive payments through the Medicare EHR Incentive Program administered by CMS. These meaningful use objectives and measures will evolve in three stages over the next five years: 1. Stage 1 • 2011-2012 Data capture and sharing 2. Stage 2 2013 Advance clinical processes 3. Stage 3 2015 Improved outcomes Stage 1: Stage 2: Stage 3: Meaningful use criteria focus on: Meaningful use criteria focus on: Meaningful use criteria focus on: Electronically capturing health information More rigorous health information Improving quality,safety,and efficiency, in a standardized format exchange(HIE) leading to improved health outcomes Increased requirements for e- Using that information to track key clinical Decision support for national high-priority prescribing and incorporating lab conditions results conditions Communicating that information for care Electronic transmission of patient care coordination processes summaries across multiple settings Patient access to self-management tools Initiating the reporting of clinical quality More patient controlled data Access to comprehensive patient data measures and public health information through patient-centered HIE III Using information to engage patients and their families in their care Improving population health http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/how-attain-meaningful-use 7/12/2012 Meaningful Use Criteria and How to Attain Meaningful Use of LHK5 t'roviaers & rrore... rage 2 or 2 Achieving meaningful use during Stage 1 requires meeting both core and menu objectives.All of the core objectives are required. EPs and hospitals may choose which objectives to meet from the menu set. 9 MU criteria for eligible health care professionals S 1. 15 core objectives 2. 5 objectives out of 10 from menu set 3. 6 total Clinical Quality Measures • 3 core or alternate core • 3 out of 38 from additional set MU criteria for eligible hospitals/CAHs 1. 14 core objectives 2. 5 objectives out of 10 from menu set 3. 15 Clinical Quality Measures Clinical Quality Measures As part of meeting one of the meaningful use core measures, EPs and eligible hospitals must report on clinical quality measures in order to successfully attest to meaningful use and receive an incentive payment. For information on clinical quality measures, including how to report on them from an EHR,visit the CMS Quality Measures page. Steps to demonstrating meaningful use 1. Contact your local Regional Extension Center(REC) • 2. Work with your REC through the EHR adoption and implementation process 3. Achieve and attest to meaningful use measures Stage 2 Proposed Rule Now Available The notice of proposed rule-making(NPRM)for the ONC meaningful use Stage 2 rule is now available. Learn more about the NPRM. USA.gav • http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/how-attain-meaningful-use 7/12/2012 Board of Health Mew Business .agenda Item #I`V., 2 • Sampling County Lakes, Health Risks July 19, 2 01 • 1 1 1 1 • • • C! P • • • °' ` 1 f* p cn C�' noO S iIUI•ry o -G 1 5 ° 0 w. 5 p5' x on n •.< o o n n �q o . ., I i--1 6,, O p• ti v, cA O O 'C O, `n p �• .C- O o 1 P' p74 o• '',• "" n N CD Cn p� ry " A' v' Cg) ".•-• °. A•• Fl I u Cr un cr O = O Co O A- O V, Q- A' 'L? " p cp„ O O p ry CD 1 rw- i `C r+ r+ p• — n n s'2 41g-"")'! 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Jefferson County Public Health Home About JCPH Community Health Environmental Health/Water Quality Information Public Health lheves&Events • Promoting healthy communities and their environments X44 I Welcome a Environmental Heal/Water Quality a Water Quaky*Lake Water Quality Search JCPH: LAKE STATUS 1 IBJ TOXIC ALGAE MONITORING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH& Some species of bluegreen algae(also known as cyanobacteria)can produce toxins harmful to human WATER QUALITY health.The Jefferson County Water Quality Department monitors the following lakes for bluegreen algae: Business Pollution Anderson Lake,Gibbs Lake,Lake Leland and Sandy Shore Lake.These lakes are monitored weekly and Prevention sampled for toxins if bluegreen algae are suspected to be present.Other lakes are monitored as needed. Drinkino Water/Wells Results are generally obtained by Friday and lake status is updated on this page.For more information EH Fee Schedule about toxic algae blooms,click here. Food Safety $eotic Systems Name of Late Date Last Sampled Status 5olid Waste Anderson Lake 5/31/2011 WARNING water Oualaty Lake water Quality TOXIC ALGAE PRESENT Beach&Shellfish Lake unsafe for people and pets Gibbs Lake 5/31/2011 Monitoring CAUTION Clean Water District TOXIC ALGAE MAY BE PRESENT Clean Water Protects Lake may be made for people and pets Water Resources Lake Leland 5/31/2011 CAUTION Conservation Futures TOXIC ALGAE MAY BE PRESENT QUICK LINKS Lake may be unsafe for people and pots Sandy Shore Lake 4/18/2011 West Nile Virus Newt CLEAR rest Nile Virus in Washington (NO SIGN AT SITE) Department of Health Silent Lake 5/31/2011 CAUTION WA State(DOH)Environmental Health A Safety TOXIC ALGAE MAY BE PRESENT Lake may be unraM for people and pets State(DoH)Drinkino Water 0 Lake conditions can change rapidly and lake status may have changed since the last sample was • taken.Regardless of what is posted here,if you observe a Green paint-like scum or bloom on a lake follow State(DOH)Food Safety t$ the recommendations listed at the WARNING level.If you observe a bloom in a Jefferson County lake, Shellfish Programs please report it by calling(360)385-9444. State(DOH)Waste Water Mansaemers 0 What the Status sign means:(dick image to enlarge) Department of Ecology CLEAR No toxins detected in last sample,no toxic species present and no bloom WA State(DOE)well Lau (NO SIGN AT SITE) visible.Note there is no sign posted when the lake is clear. CAUTION WARNING DANGER tone on .Re.m...-2,— TOXIC ALGAE PRESENT LAKE CLOSED •w w due to took algae ' ,�"= iii) KEEP OUT 'M-'�•` OF LAKE Toxins detected at low levels, Toxins at or above state Lake closed by land manager's toxic species may be present or guidelines or extensive bloom decision bloom visible. present with toxic species. • Do not swim in areas of • Do not swim in areas of • Keep out of/off lake scum scum • Do not drink lake water • Do not drink lake water • Keep pets and livestock • Keep pets and livestock away away • Clean fish well and discard • Clean fish well and discard guts guts • Avoid scum when boating • Avoid scum when boating • Warning-algae toxins may • Warning-algae toxins may be present in fish tissue, be present in fish tissue, please call your local please call your local health department, health department, Jefferson County,at(360) Jefferson County,at(360) 385-9444 for more 385-9444 for more information information • Home I Previous Page Jefferson County Public Health teta Sheridan Street-Port T nand,WA 98368 Community Health.300.385.9405 I Environments!Health:308.385.9444 infoltjeffersonoountypublicrealth.ag JCPH Employee Resources • ra'elccme En°riranmental Heaftht�,°Dater Quality»WaterQuality Lake Water Quality LAKE WATER QUALITY Some species of bluegreen algae can produce toxins harmful to people and animals, During 2010, blooms of bluegreen algae Frere observed in Anderson Lake and Lake Leland. Gibbs Lake has also had blooms. Toxins such as anatoxin-a and microcystin were present last year in Anderson Laro ke, especially in early summer° Algal blooms are most common in summer but can also occur at any time of year° Toxins produced by bluegreen algae may be present during a visible bloom or may persist after a bloom has disappeared. If you see a bloom in a Jefferson County lake, please report it by calling (360) 385-9444. For more information about bluegreen algae see these sites from the �. ashington State Department of Health and Department of Ecology. y sy �, +1.} VrA�,� � +tiff v.�'f<,'�' r i s ♦.' +% r m L2. d T . 4.4'9 r- '.: ,f i`;P�Y".'ii+� �, r k y rr.. i.. ,v' a ::+. 4.`t ° �•' .' 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'"IL,,'... - - , �'i.4 FY J4 i "-,F ..r 1- "' ' _,„„ ' ' r fi M1 x { kv -- � 'r � .. r,ay.� �'' � � _..,.,:-go.... � ;� ` e bks .� r,` 01$4-. , El T4-€tw a ar y/}. !• ,. , R • t s- nb et S Y #'F Ix✓ ^ V . �' do t It a if.t P":7, , - ; rt I Y.� - k :611a i a \*1/4 N '' ' �r T VI. �s• z *;a 0 1 v **1,1.,„ 1►�#N. x " •* r 1 r j tiot $. t $ ` "34,,i;,. _ gy • �4r�derson' take cyanobacteria bloom, 2003 • Board of Health Netiv Business Agenda Item #117., 3 • LocaCS(ellfish Closures - Diarr(etic Shellfish Poisioning Judy 19, 2012 • Y4'2hin Wn SM De jr r r of Okadaic Acid (DSP) in Shellfish A1,4'1400)1154* What is okadaic acid? Okadaic acid is a naturally occuring marine toxin, called a "biotoxin", that is produced by microscopic algae, specifically, the dinoflagellate Dinophysis. Shellfish eat these algae and can retain the toxin, sometimes at levels that can make people sick. Okadaic acid causes Diarrhetic Shellfish Poison (DSP) in humans who eat shellfish contaminated with the toxin. What types of shellfish are affected? All species of shellfish including clams, mussels, oysters, geoduck, and scallops are able to accumulate DSP toxin. How do shellfish become contaminated with DSP? Shellfish are filter feeders. They pump water through their systems, filtering out and eating algae and other food particles. When shellfish eat biotoxin producing algae, the biotoxin can accumulate in their tissue. What causes unsafe levels of DSP? It is normal for biotoxin producing algae to be present in marine water, usually in low numbers that cause no problems. The algae that produces the DSP toxin has been detected in Washington's marine waters for some time, but has not produced toxin. That changed in June 2011 when the first confirmed DSP illnesses were reported (three people became ill after eating recreationally harvested mussels from Sequim • Bay), and testing confirmed shellfish were contaminated with the toxin. Although DSP has been a problem in European countries for some time, this is an emerging health threat for Washington. New information will be shared as it becomes available. Can I tell if the shellfish are toxic by the way they look? No. Shellfish containing toxic levels of DSP do not look or taste any different from shellfish that are safe to eat. Laboratory testing of shellfish meat is the only known method of detecting DSP. What are the symptoms of DSP? DSP causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, with diarrhea being the most commonly reported symptom. Does cooking the shellfish make it safe to eat? No, DSP is not destroyed by cooking or freezing. How can I protect myself from DSP? We close areas where toxins are at unsafe levels. Before harvesting any kind of shellfish, check the Shellfish Safety Bulletin , our Clickable Maps, or call the Shellfish Safety Hotline at 1-800-562-5632 to find out what recreational areas are closed due to DSP. Signs are being developed to post at beaches that have DSP closures. Who is most at risk? Anyone who eats DSP contaminated shellfish is at risk for illness. The DSP toxin is • non-lethal to humans. DOH 332-097 March 2012 Nushington Slats D pootntmt of *I-lealth Okadaic Acid (DSP) in Shellfish (cont'd) 0 What should I do if I think I have DSP? If symptoms are mild, call your health care provider and your local public health agency. If symptoms are severe, call 911 or have someone take you to your family doctor. Are there any other illnesses associated with shellfish? Yes. There are other types of marine biotoxins found in the northwest called Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning and Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning. Harmful bacteria and viruses can cause intestinal upset (see Vibriosis in Shellfish). Some people can have an allergic reaction to shellfish. Where can I get more information? On current closures: • visit www.doh.wa.gov/shellfishsafety.htm (clickable maps) • view the Shellfish Safety Bulletin • call our recorded biotoxin hotline at 1-800-562-5632 • call the local health department in the area you plan to harvest • call our office at 360-236-3330 On biotoxins: • • Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, or"red tide" • Domoic Acid (causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) • Biotoxins: Myths and Misconceptions • Visit our Recreational Shellfish Program page • Northwest Fisheries Science Center's Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) site. This web site discusses HABs, what they are, how they happen, and the effects on humans and wildlife. • Harmful algal blooms (HABs) and their life cycle, from the National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms, is another informative site. Want more information? Call the Office of Shellfish and Water Protection at (360) 236-3330. Biotoxin Hotline (24-hour) 1-800-562-5632 Online: www.doh.wa.gov/shellfishsafety.htm (current closure information) PUBLIC HEALTH ALWAYS WORKING FORA SAFER AND HEALTHIER WASHINGTON • _____ . _ _. ____ .. . - DOH 332-097 March JEFFERSON COUNTY Marine Biotoxin Closure Zone ,. - ,, Fr x .�4 1a — h CLAL,:AM "°� III •J rt R �--_- —_— / Mellon island rog r 4 27 a gler �, _ �. • }- 't Towns- ' r.+ 1 30 �, tot "' t'` /� .i 7l ,_ t c9. t 1 1 j., '1:5 7. ■�r9 ysy m, \ o� - \ 1. li Bay aJ Ns�very Bay Cos>d...! .1, ! Oak Bay Pacific Coastline i Y } 25 Jefferson County zit Mats''Mots •:• •,*II 0,1 110 1, r44. 4..,•. eidt. �s� � % Port Ludbw t �II � 17.01 i:ii.:' !tit?,:.P 1 0 2 4 8 Miles Gra :Harbor "° l.i!;i:fi`�:: t I I I I I l r I I :444.•8'=:'1. i ' JEFFERSON Squamish Ha • 54 201 f • Samb �i 110 •fall Qutr -„ r "lune T - fpoui• `' " Soqu ` :'':Zr,' � 8 4 c ( 01 71l, � { z , • ,aP , w - �'Aftarim ,, 111fr , i t Legend N C Sentinel Mussel Sites Major Roads w E �ffHe Cbsve Zones All Roads Off.' of tnnin,a,nrredt Health Asaer.nrun. H® a ttw wa,Mr.pm SLI.().part.., Heath(DOH) Vlltterbodies Reservationsrbsrtot r.,unr Y,r..,,n.cy.reliability co amass.,Jany iararmr'm pJri:hd I.Ow • MNGeodude Tracts '',//j Major Cities 0 2 nap and a,arntnromlpamMlay fa erten in 4 $ Merman.or the Information Road.,pMtn. WaterI I 1 I I I I anima Ural rayon any Information obtained from I J m air nap do to at lbw own Miles Mop coaled by Nancy L West loamy Ill 2006 !taelfe., d Board of.7Cealth Netiv Business .agenda Item #IV., 4 � fforabitity Care .pct - State Impacts July 19, 2 01 • 0,, 4„ •• THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ..,,,,,,„,, 2 v; �� WASHINGTON,D.C. 20201 a: ti`- O. s3�.' .USA.:.... July 10, 2012 Dear Governor: As you know, the Supreme Court issued a historic decision upholding the Affordable Care Act. American families can now look forward to new health insurance markets offering the security of affordable health care coverage. I am mindful of the concerns that some governors have shared about the law, but I also believe that we are all committed to providing our nation's citizens with access to quality health care at an affordable price. As the President has said, it is time to move forward. I want to take this opportunity to let you know how my Department will continue to work with you and your state officials to implement the health care law. As I have emphasized in previous letters, we are committed to providing states with as much flexibility as we can to achieve successful implementation of the many important opportunities provided by this legislation. Over the past two years, we have worked closely with states to begin building new health insurance marketplaces, the Affordable Insurance Exchanges, where Americans will be able to choose private health insurance plans based on price and quality. I appreciate the hard work • states have engaged in over the past months to begin laying the foundation for the Exchanges. In May, I wrote you about several new resources, including guidance on the different models of Exchanges, to help states establish Exchanges by 2014. We informed states about a range of options and significant flexibility for building the marketplace that best meets their needs while offering quality, affordable coverage to their residents. On June 29, I announced a new funding opportunity to help you deliver these new health insurance markets to your residents. This funding will be available to states, no matter where they are in the process of establishing a marketplace, and no matter whether a state plans on running its own Exchange, partnering with another state, or partnering with the federal government. As many governors have requested, states will now have until the end of 2014 to apply for such funds and may use such funds for building Exchanges and for start-up costs. I encourage your state to take advantage of these additional resources. I also appreciate that many states have questions about how the Court's decision will affect their Medicaid programs. As you know, beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act provides for the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to those adults under the age of 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level who were not previously eligible for Medicaid. The Supreme Court held that, if a state chooses not to participate in this expansion of Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults, the state may not, as a consequence, lose federal funding for its existing Medicaid program. The Court's decision did not affect other provisions of the law. For example, the decision did not change the fact that the federal government will completely pay for 41 coverage under the eligibility expansion in 2014-2016, and for at least 90 percent of such costs Page 2 thereafter, or that states have flexibility to design the benefit package for the individuals covered. Ultimately, I am hopeful that state leaders will take advantage of the opportunity provided to insure their poorest working families with the unusually generous federal resources while dramatically reducing the burden of uncompensated care on their hospitals and other health care providers. If any state were to choose not to do so, the Affordable Care Act exempts individuals who Congress determined cannot afford coverage from the individual responsibility provision. As to the very small number of affected individuals who would not qualify for the statutory exemption, Congress provided additional authority, which we intend to exercise as appropriate, to establish any hardship exemption that may be needed. As we move forward with implementation of the law, we want to work closely with you, providing timely information and listening to feedback and concerns. To that end, this summer, we will be holding meetings around the country that will bring together officials from our Department with state officials and stakeholders to address challenges, answer questions, and talk about how we will continue moving forward. I urge you to send state officials to these forums and ask them to continue participating in our regular state conference calls. The schedule of meetings is attached. Now that the Supreme Court has issued a decision, we want to work with you to achieve our ultimate shared goal of ensuring that every American has access to affordable, quality health • care. I look forward to continuing our work to implement the Affordable Care Act and invite you to share your thoughts on how we can improve the law and our strategies in the months ahead. Sincerely, 111 Iry,i Kathleen Sebelius Enclosure • What's at stake: The Affordable Care Act in Washington state: A county-by- county analysis 0 Mike Kreidler Washington state Insurance Commissioner • May 2012 • Executive summary For many of the 1. million Washingtonians with no health insurance, the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) is at this point their only hope for getting meaningful coverage. Millions more stand to benefit from important consumer protections built into the law. The ACA was signed into law in late March 2010. It was promptly challenged in court by critics, including the attorney general for Washington state.They are seeking repeal of the entire act. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the law in June 2012. This brief illustrates the impact, at both the state and county level if, as the Affordable Care Act's critics are requesting, the entire law is invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Such a ruling would: • Cancel an expansion of Medicaid in 2014 that would provide coverage to 328,000 currently uninsured Washingtonians. • . Eliminate subsidies, also beginning in 2014, that would help another 477,400 uninsured Washingtonians pay for health insurance. • Do away with the phased-in elimination of the prescription-drug "donut hole" coverage gap for more than 1 million Washingtonians on Medicare. • Remove legal requirements that health insurers offer several reforms, such as no lifetime limit on medical benefits and free preventive care for senior citizens. • Do away with other reforms, including tax breaks for small businesses and federal review of unreasonable increases in health insurance premiums. These effects and others are described in more detail below. Due to the uncertainties involved, we did not attempt to analyze the effects if the court throws out only certain parts of the law. • 1 Background • As shown below, the lower your income, the less likely you are to have health insurance. Percent uninsured, by household income 30.0% 25.0% -- — — 20.0% — --- — — 1 15.0% -- — 10.0% 1f 5.0% — Under$25,000 $25,000 to $50,000 to $75,000 to $100,000 and $49,999 $74,999 $99,999 over • Source: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 2010 The Affordable Care Act addresses this reality by expanding Medicaid eligibility to single adults earning up to about $14,850 a year. It also includes federal subsidies to help low- and middle-income Americans pay for private health insurance. Both the Medicaid expansion and subsidies are slated to take effect in 2014. Analysis In recent years, the percentage of uninsured Washingtonians has grown dramatically. In 2004, about 12 percent of the state's population —700,000 people —had no health coverage. By the end of 2013, the number will have grown to nearly 16 percent of the state's population, or nearly 1.1 million people. Due to income or immigration status, approximately 285,000 of those people will not be eligible for Medicaid or subsidies to pay for private insurance under the ACA. But the vast majority—805,400 people --will be. • 2 i • Of Washington's nearly 1.1 million uninsured by the end of 2013, we calculate that 805,400 will be eligible for either Medicaid or subsidies under the ACA, as follows: Medicaid: 328,000 people Subsidies: 477,400 people So the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling could have profound consequences. If the entire act is thrown out, many of those 805,400 Washingtonians will face the same problem they and their • families do today: living one bad diagnosis away from medical bankruptcy. In the absence of meaningful alternative reforms, existing health care trends-ever higher premiums, growing numbers of uninsured, and ever higher amounts of charity care and bad debt-would likely continue.These numbers are broken out by county in Table 1 below. # `F �sf, d 3 `+ i 3 ' 4Y5lr d e W ' Uninsured 41 Percent of ® t�® o; r S `4 s. ...,'(-„,.'''''''1-1"'61--;,' ,..:::,,...:.::::;:', who uninsured..`1,,' a„...,,,,,4--,,,,,,„p �red w would m s who will Region County �� � ,� � �' � � a- ,h q �, for s a <�.-. qualify for ';':13.,T5.,1,..:7.,.-=',,.' benefit ii 1.2)3�j2013 ° d , s subsidies from ACA '''11:11'-','4C:1".11'1.:' r � � Island 80,900 9;:i ffi0 77% 4d k San Juan 16 200 r. ' 0 1,2 ,, f,,, 3 North � � ��� • Sound Skagit 120,400 19,600 .5,300 = ""8,600 = 71%>'f� ill Whatcom 207,200 25,100 7,500 11,900 77% jRegional Sum 424,800 5 _; 17,000 ,.fit 25,600 75% ''-'10,� 4800 89/0 Glallam73,600` 900 ,�g ®! ,,,,; I Cowlitz ,; 105 500 16 700' 5,60 ° Grays �� Harbor 75,000 13,300 5,600 �5,� 0®, �� .�., West Balance Jeffierson 30,800 4,500 1,300 1,900 71% Klickitat 20,900 4,400 1,400 1,900 75% Lewis 177,700 12,600 4 200 4,700 71% • Mason 62;500 11,300 3,600 4,800 74% 3 Projected ured Perent o Pry,; der-65 who, who uninsured pope at►on- world County uninsured would who will by qualify for as of ( qualify for benefit 12/31/2013 Medicaid 12/31/13 subsidies from ACA expansion Pacific 21,600 4,000 1,300 1,700 75% Skamania 11,400 1,700 500 800 76% T Wahkiakum 4,100 700 200 300 71% Regional Sum 483,100 80,100 30,900 32,700 79% King 1,989,500 282,800 79,400 117,600 70% King Regional Sum 1,989,500 282,800 79,400 117,600 70% Pierce 819,200 121,200 35,800 58,600 78% Pierce I Regional Sum 819,200 121,200 35,800 58,600 78% • Snohomish 734,900 112,400 25,600 49,600 67% Snohomish Regional Sum 734,900 112,400 25,600 49,600 67% Kitsap 258,700 33,100 10,300 16,900 j 82% • Puget Sound Thurston 259,900 31,200 ;'7,700 16,800 79% • Metro Regional Sum 518,600 64,300 18,000 33,700 80% Clark 438,200 65,600 20,000 31,900 79% Clark - Regional Sum 438,200 65,600 20,000 31,900 79% Adams 19,300 4,500 1,800 1,800 80% Asotin 22,300 13,400 1,200 1,400 76% East Chelan 74,600 15,800 3,200 9,500 80% Balance - - Columbia 4,200 800 i 300 300 75% Douglas 39,600 8,600 2,900 3,600 76% Ferry 7,800 1,700 600 [700 76% 4 Effect on those with insurance • Invalidation of the law would also likely strip away significant consumer protections and other reforms for the 5.8 million Washingtonians who already have health coverage.Some of these benefits have already gone into effect; others are slated to start in 2014. They include: • No deductible or co-pays for preventive services. • Free preventive care for senior citizens • Tax rebates for small business • No lifetime dollar limit on benefits. • Elimination of the prescription drug"donut hole" coverage gap for the more than 1 million Washington seniors on Medicare • Federal review of unreasonable increases in health insurance premiums • Expanded coverage for early retirees The law is also slated to dramatically improve the medical benefits for about 180,000 Washingtonians who have very limited medical insurance in the individual market today, by requiring that plans meet higher standards for coverage. Uncompensated care In addition, the amount of uncompensated care—bad debt and charity care provided by • hospitals, doctors and others-- has risen sharply. In 2008, uncompensated care in Washington state amounted to about $675 million a year. Today, it is more than $1 billion. Those costs are often shifted to patients with insurance. We estimate that premiums for an average insured family are $1,017 a year higher due to cost-shifting from uncompensated care. Since overturning the Affordable Care Act would likely result in growing numbers of uninsured Washingtonians, we believe that the cost of uncompensated care would also continue to rise. Total number of uninsured, statewide and by county Below are our projections for the number of Washingtonians without health coverage at the end of 2013. Note: Unlike the table above, this also includes the small number of people— about 7,000 statewide--who are over age 65 but not on Medicare. • 6 • ,.,f,':',. :.-:,.:;1K4.---jt-';'' ,.-1,--1';;-'1'.e:-'''''''''''' ' '' Tota f;,4O 'l 0 :t" nta•z0,0- . . County tlnfuttea�y�H � �# Region oto'16 ii I Island -� - g� q %,',-..,'San Juan North Skagit t° ,®l��£i l..,u :' Sound Whatcom ,p s. r w Sec anal Sum f, ,4i1 s` o• • h ``` Clallam .'. '� T � v s= ez� ox, ,COwaItZ -<.��� �-„ �,� a,.,. r��� Grays Harbor „ , `9° (6fff ® sQ Jefferson c' Klick'itat : .:';. :. ' ® � ,„. 2 4 n 3 West Lewis :,A . Pst Balance Mason �� Pacific Skamania _, 't4iiwip , ® 0 41Wahkiakum g00 Regional Sum `t r `� ° H King. -:8407.3A„.;"1/7'3%;„;4':, 90 King Regional Sum 284,600 ® , cit Pierce 121,800 ,_-' , .:Q, Pierce Regional Sum 4�� ;"���.���°��1 � ' �° � Snohomish 113,101.X15;4% Snohomish Regional Sum 110�� : : 15.4% Kitsap 33,300 '' ,. . 12.9% Puget Thurston 31,500 12.1% Sound Metro Regional Sum 64,800 12.5% Clark 66,000 15.1% Clark Regional Sum ; 66,000 15.1% i 1 a -----0“:1A. a 3 x - 0 si �� ° �� �'i Uninsured.asa 7 ata p cr` cts percentage of County --,..0.,.3,t t e% a-" 4, ntal county 4� t=ton ,,,t%-,...,; -...,„,. .,,4,,-.4. ,_ .,06,_ , Chelan Columbia . . 9; , .44: °; 17.0/ Douglas ®;.4. k '` 22:0%` Ferry 1,700 �. .�` 21.3% ' Garfield ' 'x,400 16.0%' Region Grant ,23,500 , 25.6% • Kittitas ` ® 2IfQ 20.0% Lincoln Q00 14.7% Okanogan ��I00:- 25.7%' Pend Oreille 2100 kh :-' 15.4% Stevens '. 8,100 18.1% Walla Walla 11,90= 19.6% Whitman 7,700. ' '' 16.6% Regional Sum 109,500 21.0% Spokane 73,700 15.2% Spokane . Regional Sum 73,700 15.2% Benton 29,500 16.3% Franklin 18,700 23.2 Tr Lime Yakima 77,100 30.8% Regional Sum 125,300 24.5% Washington State 1,097,000 15.8% i 8 • How this report was prepared This analysis, by staff from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, used the most recent available data (as of May 1, 2012) from several federal and state agencies and some key non- profit organizations as its primary basis. These include: • The U.S. Census Bureau (2010 American Community Survey, 2010 Census, and the 2009 Small Area Health Insurance Estimates) • The Washington State Office of Financial Management (2010 Washington State Population Survey, 2011 population projections to 2030) • The Washington State Caseload Forecast Council (Medicaid and state health program enrollment data for 2011) • The Washington State Health Care Authority(Basic Health Plan and Public Employees Benefit Board enrollment data for 2011) • The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner(enrollment data from the Additional Data Statements for 2010 and 2011) • The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (2010 and 2011 Annual Reports from insurers, 2011 Annual Health Supplement reports) • The Kaiser Family Foundation (Key Facts on Health Coverage for Low-Income Immigrants Today and Under Health Reform—February 2012) • • PEW Hispanic Center(Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends, 2010) 411 9 W 3 Z p •V Z Ch) C) 0 r -p Z rfl w * cn x Z -I Z -I m D D D 0 C) D m 0 0 D -. 4 Z m < v m F. m D- v 52.t a v m v v o v O = 71 70 27 o 0 2 m 2 O ss S 0 , N < CD O n . 3 0 'O"'• N' Q v O v O XI .T1 71 3 C) xi 5 5n A ' co O o o m . o O m K d. 2 = 0 o n = D D D 3 0 5 v m D cT < ai - m v, a o 5 a) m o 03 sp w o o S m 0 c w m & > • rt g 0 .c v w o- m CD co o v a CD m Z' 0 v v m v 0 a m m S. a o �' w' m K o m S Q �. -n n- g co m < 7-1-.• Q, < co v .- 3 -I o cQ- < m 3. 0 - g r) O N tD U — ii— t ID a CD -a 7.. r„) N Q R.N' 3 N .41 O n (n (n . 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I O O O O Oo _ n O (n -r co 3 7 N O � 3 N O co - —. co - N -, CO .- (D W O O O O --A 'VCOU O COOp t O al to O o O O O O O O O O O O S iA Washington State Department of • 0 Health Impact of Overturning the Affordable Care Act The Department of Health has received funding from a number of different grant programs in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the entire ACA, the legal authority for that funding, and future appropriations,would be eliminated. The depal intent would lose more than $16 million in annual funding. Here are some examples of the funding that would be eliminated: Prevention and Public Health Fund (Section 4002): Elimination of the fund would reduce the Department of Health's funding by about $9.1 million, in several important areas. Here are some examples of reductions if the fund is eliminated and the effects on Washington. • Reduction of Section 317 Immunization Program: Our state relies heavily on the Section 317 Immunization program to support vaccinating underserved children. Washington State would likely lose about$2.1 million. • Elimination of Community Transformation Grants: These grants would be eliminated;a reduction of$226 million. Washington State would lose about $3.3 million that we are using to promote healthy eating,physical activity, tobacco free living, and preventive health services in communities all over the state. • Elimination of National Public Health Improvement Initiative: Through the Prevention and Public Health Fund, our state uses funding from the National Public Health Improvement Initiative. This program aims to improve the delivery of necessary public health services. Public health capacity and performance will be improved and made more efficient through this investment. Without the help of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, it will be difficult to achieve these standards. Total funding eliminated would be $40.2 million; Washington State would lose about $400,000. • Elimination of Environmental Public Health Tracking: The goal of the tracking network is to integrate hazard, exposure, and health outcome information for use by public health advocates, professionals, and researchers. Chronic diseases account for 70% of deaths in the United States, and environmental hazards may influence many of these diseases and health conditions. Eliminating the fund would cut $35 million from the network; Washington State would lose about $1.1 million. • Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Grants: Those grants will be reduced by$40 million. The Department of Health could lose up to $1.78 million. The grant funds critical disease surveillance and lab testing activities. The funds help improve detection • and response to outbreaks including foodborne illness, flu, and pertussis. PUBLIC HEALTH ALWAYS WORKING FOR A SAFER AND June 2012 HEALTHIER WASHINGTON iA Washington State Department of Health • Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (Section 2951): The state has been awarded one of 10 competitive federal grants to expand evidence-based home visiting for families in at-risk communities. The Department of Early Learning is the lead agency for the grant. Washington State is expected to receive a total of about $25 million. The state was recently awarded about $6.6 million. (The department received about $1.4 million.) The remainder of the grant, about$18 million, would be lost if the ACA was overturned. Personal Responsibility Education Program (Section 2953): The department and partner agencies (DSHS, OSPI, and the American Indian Health Commission) received a five year, $1.1 million grant to reduce teen pregnancy rates by educating youth in middle and high school. The department would lose about $2.2 million if the ACA was overturned. Pregnancy Assistance Fund (Section 10211): The department and partner agencies received a three year, $1.5 million grant to improve the health status of pregnant and parenting teens and protect victims of domestic violence. The department would lose about $1.5 million if the ACA was overturned. In addition to the grants that the department would lose, the ACA addressed the value of prevention and health promotion in health care and public health. That emphasis would be lost if the court invalidates the ACA. Some examples: 41111 National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy (Section 4001): Requires creating a national strategy to: set goals and objectives for improving health through federally supported prevention, health promotion and public health programs, establish measurable actions and timelines to carry out the strategy, and make recommendations to improve Federal prevention, health promotion, public health and integrative health care practices. Coverage of Preventive Health Services (Section 2713): Requires a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall provide to coverage for and shall not impose any cost sharing requirements for: Medicare Coverage of Annual Wellness Visit Providing a Personalized Prevention Plan (Section 4103): Provides Medicare Part B coverage,with no co-payment or deductible, for certain preventive services Removal of Barriers to Preventive Services in Medicare (Section 4104): Waives coinsurance requirements for most preventive services. Coverage of Comprehensive Tobacco Cessation Services for Pregnant Women in Medicaid (Section 4107): States would be required to provide Medicaid coverage for counseling and pharmacotherapy for tobacco cessation by pregnant women. • PUBLIC HEALTH ALWAYS WORKING FOR A SAFER AND June 2012 HEALTHIER WASHINGTON • Board of Health .Media Report • July 19, 2 01 Jefferson County Public Health • June/July 2012 NEWS ARTICLES 1. "Anderson Lake toxins highest of the year," June 17th, 2012. 2. "Out of the stack: A 70 percent reduction in today's particulate emissions is central to PT Paper plan," Port Townsend Leader, June 20th, 2012. 3. "Landfill permit controversy lands on health board agenda," Port Townsend Leader, June 20th, 2012. 4. "Up in smoke: Woodstoves are air pollution offenders," Port Townsend Leader, June 20th 2012. 5. "Community Announcement-What's lurking at the bottom of the pit?," Port Townsend Leader, June 20th, 2012. 6. "Letters - Mill needs LPL permit now," Port Townsend Leader, June 20th, 2012. 7. "Anderson Lake still deadly despite dip in toxin level," Peninsula Daily News, June 24th, 2012 8. "Panel to hear on acquisition fund," Peninsula Daily News, June 24th, 2012. 9. "Whooping cough epidemic continues," Peninsula Daily News, June 24th, 2012. 10. "Board of Health recognizes Jefferson County eateries," Peninsula Daily News, June 26th, 2012. 11. " Whooping cough still a concern here, and throughout state," Port Townsend Leader, June 26th, 2012. 12. "Back-to-school shots set; laws on exemptions changed," Port Townsend Leader, June 27tH • 2012. 13. "P.T.'s Partnership with our Mill -to mass or not to mass?," Port Townsend Leader, The Co- Op Commons, Summer Quarterly 2012, June 27th, 2012. 14. "Toxins drop, but Anderson Lake's still closed," Peninsula Daily News, July 2nd, 2012. 15. "Recipes for a Green Planet," City of Port Townsend Newsletter, July 2012. 16. "Aberdeen biomass hums along without controversy," Port Townsend Leader, July 3rd, 2012. 17. "Aberdeen's air quality good, despite being a `mill' town," Port Townsend Leader, July 4th, 2012. 18. "PUD spends $3.35 million on Aberdeen cogen power," Port Townsend Leader, July 4th 2012. 19. "Beaches closed to shellfish harvesting," Port Townsend Leader, July 6th, 2012. 20. "Recreational shellfish closures spread to Jefferson County," Peninsula Daily News, July 8th 2012. 21. "Toxins increase in Gibbs Lake, knock out swimming," Peninsula Daily News, July 8th, 2012. 22. "Anderson Lake reaches highest level of toxicity since closure in May," Peninsula Daily News, July 8th, 2012. 23. "State Health Department detects West Nile virus for 1St time this year," Peninsula Daily News, July 8th, 2012. 24. "New toxin disrupts shellfish harvest," Port Townsend Leader, July 11th, 2012. 25. "Blue-green algae bloom limits freshwater swimming-hole options," Port Townsend Leader, July 11th, 2012. 26. "Ultrafine particles, sharp contrast of opinions," Port Townsend Leader, July 11th, 2012. 27. "Controlling emissions," Port Townsend Leader, July 11th, 2012. • 28. "Letter: Mill's emission reduction overstated," Port Townsend Leader, July 11th, 2012. 29. "World Breastfeeding Week," Jefferson County Public Health, June 2012 Anderson Lake toxins highest of the year By Leah Leach • Peninsula Daily News, June 17th, 2012 PORT TOWNSEND—The level of a fast-acting nerve poison in Anderson Lake has leaped to more than 500 times the warning level, according to results of tests taken last week. "A serious bloom is happening, and the toxins have jumped way, way up," said Greg Thomason, Jefferson County environmental health specialist, on Friday. "It's the highest it's been this season at Anderson Lake." The lake between Port Townsend and Chimacum, which was closed May 3 this year because of elevated levels of toxins produced by blue-green algae, remains closed to recreation, though the 410-acre park surrounding it stays open to the public. The level of anatoxin-a, which can quickly cause convulsions and stop breathing, was measured at 534 micrograms per liter of water. Beyond the threshold The safety threshold is 1 microgram per liter. The level found the week before was 24.8 micrograms per liter of water. "So it's taken a huge jump,"Thomason said. • The level of microcystin—another algae-produced toxin commonly found in East Jefferson County lakes—came up in Anderson Lake, though it was way below the danger threshold of 6 micrograms per liter. Microcystin can cause skin irritation and, if ingested over a period of many years, can result in liver failure. It was found to be at 1.4 micrograms per liter in Anderson Lake in the latest results. None was detected in the tests the week before. "It's summertime, and things are cooking," Thomason explained. Sunny weather and warm temperatures encourage the growth of blue-green algae when sufficient nutrients, such as phosphates, are present. But only some species of algae produce toxins—and not all the time. What prompts benign algae to begin pumping out poison into a waterway is a mystery—one that researchers all over the world are attempting to solve, Thomason said. That's why caution signs are up at Leland, Gibbs and Crocker lakes. The levels of algae-produced toxins are low, but the species of algae in all three lakes are types known to at times • begin to create toxins. If they do, the only way to know if a lake is poisoned is through tests. Samples are taken every Monday and sent to King County Environmental Lab, which issues results Fridays—so results are at least five days behind reality. Use caution Thomason urged users of Leland Lake in particular to use caution this week. "Leland is still safe, but the anatoxin there shot up over 10 times what it was last week," Thomason said. The level of anatoxin-a in Leland, which is north of Quilcene, was measured at 0.52 micrograms per liter— a rise from the week before when it was 0.05. Even though it's below the danger level, "it's also shooting up fairly quickly," Thomason said. He noted that the last sample was taken June 11, and the next time the county will be notified of any increase in toxin level will be June 22. "Because of the lag time, we ask people to be very cautious," he said. "If you see a pea-soup kind of green scum, just stay away from the water. "Even as I speak, they could be at the danger level, and we wouldn't know it." No microcystin was detected in Lake Leland. • Gibbs Lake The latest testing showed that toxin levels in Gibbs Lake, south of Port Townsend, are still very low, with anatoxin-a at 0.03 and microcystin at 0.11. No other lakes were sampled last week. No toxic blue-green algae has been reported in Clallam County, where health officers do not test for toxins; instead, they visually monitor lakes for signs of algae bloom. A Discover Pass—which is$10 for one day or$30 for an annual pass, and which can purchased at state parks— is needed to visit state parks. Report algae blooms in Clallam County by phoning 360-417-2258. Report algae blooms in Jefferson County by phoning 360-385-9444. For more information about lake quality in Jefferson County, visit the environmental health website at http://tinyurl.com/6z64ofy. Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leah.leachpeninsuladailynews.com. e e 6/20/2012 6:00:00 AM Out of the stack: A 70 percent reduction in today's particulate emissions is central to PT Paper plan • Scott Wilson publisher Among all the numbers that are rolled out in the course of debate and discussion about Port Townsend Paper Corp.'s proposal to modify its biomass-burning boilerto also generate significant electricity, none is more potent than this one: 70 percent. That is the percentage of the weight of particulate matter (PM) currently being emitted by the mill's primary boiler, Power Boiler 10, that $10 million of proposed new pollution controls is expected to scrub out before the steam hits the atmosphere. The reduction would come in spite of the fact that the biomass-burning cogeneration project would more than double the amount of biomass burned at PT Paper. The plan calls for biomass to replace most of the reprocessed fuel oil (RFO) currently burned as a supplement to Power Boiler 10. "This is straight-up fuel displacement," said Roger Loney, PT Paper president. "The new boiler would displace oil, and the new pollution control system would reduce particulates by 70 percent" by weight compared to today's emissions. That lowers costs for the mill and is good for the environment, he said. • tiasee' , kS: Biomass proposal • PT Paper proposes a$55 million project to install a new steam turbine to generate 24 MW of electricity a year.The turbine would be powered h by a rebuild of Power Boiler 10 that would burnmore biomass and less petroleum.The steamp d' would also be used in the pulp-making process. J `"�� :..Additional air pollution control equipment would be installed,including an electrostatic ,;+ n precipitator,to achieve a net reduction in air pollution.Other modifications would be made. The emissions from various stacks at Port Townsend The proposal has been approved by the state Paper are mostly steam, but particulates and gases also Department of Ecology,but has been appealed by environmental groups to state courts. escape. The plan to modify Power Boiler 10 includes new emission controls that would reduce, by 70 percent of weight, the boiler's current level of particulates. Leader file photo by Patrick J. Sullivan • Raising questions Under the PT Paper biomass proposal, most particulates "'Opponents of the project take issue with and gases would decline; two would increase. This claims about the scope of the reductions scorecard summarizes the findings of the Department of of particulate releases. Ecology (DOE) and the conditions of the permit. Particulates and ultrafine particulates would be captured by a new electrostatic precipitator. Some gases would be Kees Kolff, former Port Townsend City burned off or captured by other pollution processes. Council member and leader of a Sierra Carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Club—connected group that is opposing would increase. Carbon dioxide is the matter of much the biomass plan locally and in a lawsuit, debate, and the subject of a future story. said the reductions have to be seen in ▪ s,.:. the context of the entire mill. Most particulates, gases reduetWirstmll pl▪an "Power Boiler 10 is not the largest Port Townsend Paper,Corp.'s consultants and producer of particulates," he said, government regulators say that once the rebuild of Power pointing to the recovery furnace as Boiler 10 with new pollution control equipment is another source. The new pollution control completed, the scorecard of emissions will look like this: technology would reduce by 70 percent of weight the particulate emissions from • Particulates (ash): According to PT Paper, and in accordance with the permit issued by the Department'of Power Boiler 10, but Kolff estimated that Ecology, there would be a 65 to 70 percent reduction by the changes would reduce by 25 percent weight in the emission of particulates as compared to by weight the particulate emissions from today's emissions coming from Power Boiler 10. This is all of the mill's three boilers. "That's a primarily due to the addition of an electrostatic spin to make things sound better than it precipitator. • might be," he said. • Ultrafine particulates (UFP) down to nanoparticles: According to PT Paper, the reduction of PM 2.5 and He also said it's important that the smaller particleswould be even more than 70 percent. reduction is by weight of particulate Most of the new particulate matter captured by the ESP matter, not numbers of particles. That would be particles of PM 2.5 or smaller, said Eveleen could mean larger particles are captured Muehlethaler PT Paper's vice president of environmental affairs, a 30-year employee. "What's going into the air while smaller ones are not— an assertion today is going to go down by 70 percent, even though we rejected by mill officials, who said the are burning more wood," Muehlethaler said of Power new equipment would mostly capture the Boiler 10. smaller particles that are more dangerous to human health, an assertion • Methane: This gas is a major contributor to global backed by state regulators with the state warming. It is released by open fires, such as the burning of slash piles in the forest. Burning biomass in a Department of Ecology (DOE). controlled boiler burns off 100 percent of methane, in comparison to slash-pile burns. Kolff challenged two other issues. In terms of emission reduction, the law • Nitrogen oxide (NOx): Reduced by 11 percent allowed the mill to pick any year in the last 10 as its baseline, and the mill • Sulfur dioxide (SO2): Reduced by 26 percent picked a year with higher emissions. DOE regulators responded that this is • Burning fuel oil: Reduced by 1.8 million gallons/year standard practice. "The program was set • up to provide an averaging period," said Carbon monoxide (CO): Increased by 7 percent Mark Heffner, the DOE's technical lead •Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Increased by 6 with the PT Paper project. "If the last two percent years were really good years, you are not forced to take the most recent two years." That would penalize the mill for working to have low-emission years, he said. PT Paper's emission data for other years is not publicly available, Kolff said. • Additional measurement of emissions was needed outside of the stack, Kolff said, because some chemicals and particles form new particulates once emitted. "This does not measure secondary particulates," he said, which could also pose health issues. Discussions are under way between PT Paper and state regulators about a second air emission testing station in Port Townsend, perhaps near Grant Street Elementary School, to join the one at Blue Heron Middle School. Grant Street Elementary is about a mile closer to the mill than Blue Heron. Health concerns Particulates and gas emissions are part of almost every industrial process. When opponents like Kolff make presentations questioning the biomass plan, they discuss the health dangers of particulate emissions — especially the tiniest particulates — and certain gases. "The health impacts have been established by various studies," he said in a March presentation. "Who is most affected? Our children, our teens, our elders." State and federal regulators acknowledge that these industrial processes have health risks. "Pollutants emitted from biomass burning can cause a range of dangerous health effects," noted Enesta Jones, spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Gary Palcisko, an air quality toxicologist with the state DOE, said that scientists keep a particularly close eye on particulate emissions —whether increasing or decreasing. "Some have chemicals attached to them," he said. "They are a vehicle that carry pollutants or other things into the lungs, or the particles themselves can cause problems in your lungs." Thanks to a steady ratcheting up of pollution controls over the last 40 years, industrial emissions of particulate matter across the U.S. has steadily declined, he said. Toxicologists know that reducing emissions of particulates into the air means "we're reducing the mixture of gases as well," said Palcisko. "There's been good evidence over the last 30 years that by reducing particulates, we've seen improvement in air quality and improvement in health issues that we measure. We think particles are a good indicator of air quality." New controls Reducing the emission of particles is the most dramatic of the environmental improvements designed into the $55 million PT Paper biomass proposal. Almost everything currently emitted from the powerful stack above Power Boiler 10 would be reduced if the project were built. Details on the reductions were written into PT Paper's lengthy proposal to regulators at the DOE and now have been written into the permit language approved • by the DOE. Those standards have the force of law, say DOE officials, and if violated could prompt significant penalties, which could include fines and even criminal penalties. "It's going to be a good improvement," said Heffner, the DOE engineer who has the lead role in the PT Paper biomass permit. "In recent history, it's still going to be an improvement, and I "'would think it will be better across all the particulates." The DOE permit has twice been appealed by environmental groups, and twice upheld. The third appeal is currently before the state Court of Appeals. Air tests The Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) is the state agency responsible for monitoring air quality in the Olympic Peninsula. ORCAA maintains an air monitor at Blue Heron Middle School and is contemplating the installation of a second one at Grant Street Elementary School. Constant tests from that equipment show that Port Townsend's air quality has remained well inside the "good" air standards in 2012. Environmentalists say the Blue Heron station is too far from the mill and are pressing for the second station. According to Bill Wise, a proponent of the mill project who is also a board member of Team Jefferson, the biomass project would offer other environmental advantages. Slash and waste from logging jobs are often now burned in the open forest. In those cases, there are no controls for particulates and gases. "Burned slash piles emit 1,000 times more particulate emissions than if burned in a controlled setting," he said. The proposal would also eliminate the burning of 1.8 million gallons of fuel per year in Power Boiler 10, although other parts of the mill's power plant • would still burn petroleum. New standards, controls Ratcheting up pollution controls is nothing new for the industry, said Eveleen Muehlethaler, PT Paper's vice president of environmental affairs. Federal and state air quality standards have continually gotten tougher, and the industry has kept pace, she said. The same is true for the standards being applied to the biomass plant, she said. Today, federal standards are focused on reducing the emission of particulates that are 10 microns or less in size (called PM 10). But the new rules, expected to be implemented in mid- 2013, focus on reducing emissions of much smaller particulates of 2.5 microns in size and smaller (called PM 2.5), she said. "Our project is still under the (regulatory) era of PM 10, but we're close to (the era of) PM 2.5," she said. "We designed our equipment to anticipate the new regulations." As a result, the mill's biomass plan calls for achieving the emission control standards known as "maximum achievable control technology," a step above the current standard. "Our project is permitted with an eye toward the future," she said. Scrubbing technology 110 PT Paper has always tried to keep up with air pollution control technology, in keeping with government regulations, said officials. A state-of-the-art wet scrubber was installed in the mid- 1980s, said Muehlethaler. Combined with another technology, the scrubber eliminated most of the PM 10 particulates, she said. The cogeneration proposal requires several improvements to the air pollution equipment. • The wet scrubber will be enhanced by adding a caustic solution — sodium hydroxide — to enhance its removal of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Emission of sulfur dioxide is expected to drop by 26 percent. • A selective non-catalytic reduction system will be added to capture nitrogen oxide (NOx), emissions of which are expected to be reduced 11 percent from current levels. • A dry electrostatic precipitator (ESP) will be added to reduce particulate emissions from Power Boiler 10 by 70 percent by weight. Muehlethaler said it will be especially effective in grabbing the tiniest particulates that environmentalists say pose the biggest health risks. The ESP functions like this: Two large plates face each other in one portion of the emission process. The plates are charged with an electrical current and function like static electricity, said Muehlethaler. Particles of all sizes are drawn to the plates and stick to it. The plates are periodically rapped to shake down the particulate matter; it is then collected for disposal. Muehlethaler said it's likely that emissions will be cleansed by the ESP first, the NOx scrubber second, and the wet scrubber third. Another process also remains in place. Muehlethaler said she anticipates that almost all of that reduction will come from capturing the tiniest particles. "Over 90 percent of what is coming out now is PM 2.5 or smaller," she said. • Kolff acknowledged that the new equipment will have an impact on small particles, but said the permit terms do not specify that or offer firm evidence it will do so. DOE regulators also believe the ESP will remove even the tiniest particulates, although it is difficult to quantify. "Smaller particles might be more efficiently removed than larger particles," said Garin Shreve, the DOE's manager of technical services. Future articles in this Port Townsend Paper cogeneration series outline the issues regarding global warming and explore the special issues of ultrafine particles— UFP— and nanoparticles. • , , ,t,.. 4:;,,,, • s 4r� r 3 � 17:13 1`aer is2 1 kii mit,, 11F 4.4 r4i it c CO �irld CI ' _. Paritculate Emissions Today and with Cogeneration , �,. , w4— _ 200 IIBone Dry Tons/Year Emissions in thousands 184 Scorecard0 0 co cn PT PAPER BIOMASS PROPOSAL 150 E Percent of Today's Particulates Emissions 0 70% reduction ctz Q Ultra Fine Particulates .- IIIII 70%o reduction (PT Paper) 100 too .o U Methane 100% eliminated + 50 to NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) 11 % reduction SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide) 26% reduciton 0 . Today Cogeneration Burning Fuel Oil According to PT Paper,and as permitted by the DOE,the PT Paper biomass plan would Reduction of 1 .8 million increase the amount of biomass burned by 2.6 times—from 84 tons(measured as dry al lens/ ear tons)to 184 tons.But new pollution control equipment would cut particulate emissions gfrom Power Boiler 10 by as much as 70 percent of weight,compared to today's levels. Other boilers at the mill would not be affected by the new controls;critics say the overall CO (Carbon Monoxide) decrease of particulates would be 25 percent.This table was prepared by Bill Wise, a 7% increase biomass plan proponent. VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) 12% increase 4110 maw 9 imam a CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) Neutral? Up for debate Carbon PMIO PM2.5 Monoxide Particulates Particulates • Fires: wildfire, structures,vehicles 265,566 25,917 22,238 (45%) Wood stoves, fireplaces&inserts 107,058 14,556 14,544 (29%) Ali point sources(industry) 107,058 14,556 14,544 (29%) Open burning: agriculture, silviculture, rangeland 43,473 4,315 3,698 (7%) Open burning: residential 14,917 3,442 3,167 (6%) PT Paper 1,788 333 278 (0.5%) Numbers measure tons per year 7% Jefferson County homes use wood as primary heat • 30%supplemental heating ORCAA:80% of Olympic Peninsula pollution in winter is from wood stoves In 2005,the Department of Ecology(DOE)completed a statewide study of air emissions.It concluded that fires -forest fires,home heating fires and open burning in rural areas-contributed the vast majority of particulate emissions and carbon monoxide. Emissions from all "point sources,"the term for industrial plants, ranked lower.PT Paper Corp.,by itself(based on 2005 numbers),ranked very low,but in this table,it is compared to all emissions statewide.This table was prepared by Bill Wise,a biomass proponent,and its numbers were checked • against the DOE database. • 6/20/2012 6:00:00 AM Landfill permit controversy lands on health board agenda County openly disagrees with mill over inert landfill permit • Allison Arthur assistant editor Jefferson County's difference of opinion with the Port Townsend Paper Corp. over a permit for the mill's ash landfill permit has surfaced in the form of a memo response to the mill's June 7 analysis of its inert permit. Jefferson County Public Health issued a "key points" memo June 18 that says it "does not share the mill's perspective in their key points released in June that 'it was agreed that the waste is most appropriately classified as inert." Jefferson County's difference of opinion with the Port Townsend Paper Corp. over a permit for the mill's ash landfill permit has surfaced in the form of a memo response to the mill's June 7 analysis of its inert permit. Jefferson County Public Health issued a "key points" memo June 18 that says it "does not share the mill's perspective in their key points released in June that 'it was agreed that the waste is most appropriately classified as inert." . ti �2' , • y. r" A c., a/ 1t jjyi 1 f �Fa 4h bbL 41, :Y`'+§# rq �" 4 .ta • y.i�w1x � �.. IY i ``"`,� 1,744!:',1'7,, App+oalmata— ix , a ] of L radfill , s C!;°.-.) This shows where the landfill is in relation to the Port Townsend mill. The landfill makes up 25 acres of a 250- acre site. State and county officials are discussing what landfill regulations are needed as Port Townsend Paper Corp. attempts to expand its burning of biomass, which mill • officials acknowledge will produce a larger volume of ash. Image by Leader Graphix based on map from Jefferson County Public Health file Allison Arthur assistant editor The Port Townsend mill currently is the only known mill in the state with an inert permit for an active landfill. Because of • ' . that permit status, the mill's 25-acre �� .•F landfill on its wooded property south of ` , the mill does not require quarterly „ rtigroundwater monitoring. The mill also is ' not required to provide proof it has the �� finances to close the landfill once the , landfill is full. 1:41 .Pari tri gP.1 ti con The mill's permit for an inert landfill likely is to be discussed when the Jefferson 031..ft et:r Vila, k711. County Board of Health meets at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, June 21 at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St. in downtown Port ' ` Townsend. _ 74, _ The meeting had been set for the Jefferson County Public Health meeting room at Castle Hill, but has been moved to the larger venue. The mill's $55 million biomass cogeneration project has been attracting larger-than-usual •attendance at health board meetings in the last few months. The meeting June 21 is not a public hearing on the mill's permit, although the public can comment on that during a public comment time. A public hearing on the county's environmental health fee schedule is on the board's agenda. Mill permit Opponents of the mill's proposed cogeneration project are pushing for the health department to insist on a limited purpose landfill (LPL) permit, a permit status that requires both groundwater testing and financial assurance. The county hasn't issued a new permit for 2012, which means the inert permit from 2011 is still in effect. In a three-page statement issued June 7, the mill stated that it has agreed to do groundwater tests, but it doesn't say when or for how long. The last testing available to the county or the state Department of Ecology (DOE) was done in 2004, according to the DOE. After disagreeing with the mill's assessment that the material is inert, the health department memo states, "Our approach was to defer the designation issue and renew the inert permit with • additional requirements, including environmental monitoring and financial assurance." The memo notes that the health department informed the mill in 2011 that it intended to regulate the mill as a limited purpose landfill — not an inert landfill, as the mill steadfastly has insisted it be called. The timeline also says that one of the mill's attorneys wrote a letter in October 2011 "claiming that JCPH's [Jefferson County Public Health] decision to change the designation lacks legal basis and offer to meet to resolve the issue without litigating it." , (The Leader has requested a copy of that letter.) Mill officials have said that it is premature to answer questions about the permit status because it is still under discussion, and on June 19 confirmed they would not provide comment at this time. Inspection Pinky Feria Mingo, an environmental health specialist with Jefferson County who spent 20 years with the state DOE's hazardous waste and toxic reduction program, recently inspected the landfill. Feria Mingo said she made a few suggestions for changes, but found the mill in compliance with its existing inert permit. The key points analysis released by the health department June 18 says the inspection results are pending. Technically, the county regulates landfills in Jefferson County. The state DOE offers technical assistance but could appeal a county decision, as could the mill. The DOE did appeal the county's decision in 1989 to classify the landfill as an inert. The state • Pollution Control Hearings Board agreed with the state and the mill operated as a LPL landfill from 1990 to 2003. After the state changed its laws and the mill submitted a report from Landau Associates in 2003 that suggested the ash and lime grit were inert, the mill applied for an inert permit in 2004 and the county approved it. What has triggered a new look at the landfill is the mill's proposed cogeneration project. Because there will be more biomass to burn, it's expected the landfill will fill up somewhat faster, as even mill officials agree. But officials also insist that the material will not be any different than what is being dumped now in the landfill. They therefore want to stay with the "inert" label. DOE officials, however, say the understanding of pH has changed over the years and they would like assurances, once the new biomass project is up and running, that groundwater isn't being impacted. • 6/20/2012 6:00:00 AM Up in smoke: Woodstoves are air pollution offenders Scott Wilson • publisher 8% Gas 8910 Fuel Oil There's nothing like sitting around the old campfire to tell a few tales. Or stoking up a � , . x woodstove on a winter evening to warm the 8% r , � feet. Marine And nothing douses those experiences likesl.;;.j; 0 the steady stream of scientific studies that ?; , - iiia, outline the health risks and impacts of the Secondary'. '� gases and particulates carried in wood `k h , ,', smoke. Many studies have concluded that �`,�' t •V� ri7 - , wood smoke inhalation is a health hazard. v, , .. gym �.? 1 ` "It is now well established ... that wood- a t burning stoves and fireplaces as well as wild V land and agricultural fires emit significant quantities of known health-damaging 15% ` 19% pollutants, including several carcinogenic _ » tyies,e4Sulfate compounds," summarized Luke P. Naeher, a professor in the University of Georgia's „ Department of Environmental Health Science, in a sweeping 2007 study that reviewed the conclusions of several dozen Residential woodstoves have historically put more411 other studies from around the world on woodparticulate matter into the air than any other source in the smoke health risks. Northwest. The Naeher study of 2007 included data from a three-year study of Seattle's air quality that concluded that The question of wood smoke health impacts vegetative burning, mostly from woodstoves, contributed 34 has entered the debate over the Port percent of the total particulates over those years. Townsend Paper Corp. biomass plan, because wood smoke and biomass emissions are the same thing. The difference, however, is fundamental to the Air Yni Y 1t 3 e., a , support for the project voiced by proponents ,. and government regulators alike. �' ' ( Biomass emissions from PT Paper today are �; - ; -s.„4,4**„ El U $j , - ib washed, scrubbed and otherwise treated to - � remove particulates and gases. Under the , „ ,, proposed plan for more biomass, additional , : -'° "m pollution controls that use electrical charges °f to remove most remaining particulates and gases would be added. Wood smoke national studies demonstrate that State and most of the air pollution from burning wood • comes from open, uncontrolled fires, not from plants like PT Paper, which have layers of emission controls and government regulators monitoring compliance. ',Every person with a woodstove is a biomass burner," said Dan Nelson, spokesperson for the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA), a state agency charged with monitoring and regulating air pollution on the Olympic Peninsula. "Our data has shown that our number-one source of problem air days comes from residential burning, indoor and outdoor." According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 7 percent of Jefferson County homes use woodstoves or fireplaces as their primary source of heat, and 30 percent use them for supplemental heat. In 2005, the Department of Ecology (DOE) completed a statewide study of air emissions. It concluded that fires—forest fires, home heating fires and open burning in rural areas —contributed the vast majority of particulate emissions and carbon monoxide. Emissions from all "point sources," the term for industrial plants, ranked much lower. Gary Palcisko, an air-quality toxicologist for the DOE, said other studies have shown the same thing. "In general, woodstoves are the worst for particulates," he said. It's primarily during atmospheric inversions on winter days —when woodstove emissions are at their highest —that air pollution becomes a problem for a city or a region, he said. Forest fires, house fires, agricultural burning and residential outdoor burning also pollute, he said, because they are uncontrolled and either unregulated or impossible to regulate. By contrast, air emissions from PT Paper and other industrial sources are heavily regulated and •monitored, with federal and state air pollution standards becoming consistently tighter over the years. "In industry, there has been a steady decline in particulates and pollution over the last 40 years," said Palcisko. "Industrial particulates are down across the country." Burn on Fireplaces and woodstoves, however, burn on — unless a region imposes a burn ban when experiencing an atmospheric inversion, which causes emissions to be trapped near the ground for a period of time. Jefferson County, for example, has no regulations on wood smoke emissions from households, and only rarely imposes a burn ban due to dry or inversion conditions. Nelson, the ORCAA spokesperson, said Jefferson County very rarely has inversion days when monitors suggest air quality is bad enough to impose a burn ban. "On average, it's one episode a year," he said. In terms of air quality, the area benefits from steady, ventilating winds, he said. The wood smoke issue has sometimes become an ironic sideshow to the PT Paper biomass debate. A slide shown by biomass supporter and retired Florida pulp mill regulator Carolyn Salmon, now a Port Townsend resident, shows the back end of a local pickup truck. It carries a bumper sticker attacking PT Paper's biomass-burning plans. But the bed of the truck is full of firewood, heading home for its turn in someone's woodstove. S COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT lWhat's at the bottompit? of the For 50 years the 25-acre ash dump at Port Townsend Paper has been filling up with toxic ash. May cost taxpayers millions in cleanup costs • Jefferson County has no financial assurances from PTPC's international hedge fund owner for when it closes Contains ash from decades of burning debris and tires • decades of unregulated burning, and burning tires • 1 .5 tons of lead to landfill added each year • pH is around 12-13 (like chemical drain cleaners) "The [PTPC] landfill is the only active ash landfill in the state" that's being called "inert" • granted to PTPC by JeffCo Health in 2004 Jeffco Health Department is considering granting a • hodge-podge "inert" permit that • waters down or exempts financial assurances • exempts PTPC from adequate independent testing This doesn't protect • Environmental health • Human health • Taxpayer exposure for closure cost Will you be left • holdingbag ?the . • Your health is at stake! Now's your chance to speak out! Jefferson County Board of Health Meeting Thursday, June 21 , 2:30 p.m. Cotton Building, Port Townsend • 607 Water Street, across from City Hall • This is a paid advertisement,placed by Citizen Watch:Sunshine Committee, P.O. Box 156,Port Townsend, WA 98368 / lettersbusiness in Washington.The mill is alone among all other paper mills in Washington in having an ash land- fill permitted as inert. Mill needs LPL Every other industrial ash land- fill is permitted as limited purpose. permit now In February,at a closed meeting My compliments to the Leader with Jefferson County Public Health for a well-written article about the (JCPH) and the mill,DOE Director PTPC ash landfill Ted Sturdevant intervened on behalf The mill landfill should be per- of the mill to water down require- mitted as a limited purpose land menu that his sty had urged, con- fill(WAC 173-350-400),as urged by trary to his offirial policy. Department of Ecology (DOE) tech- On the DOE website, Director nical staffers.It is at present wrongly "Regulations . blog states: permitted as an inert landfill(WAC and permits provide certainty and fairness to businesses. 173-350-410). They ensure that all permit holders An inert permit is for waste that abide by the same rules?' is non-reactive,like graveL If you put This landfill is expected to have it in your mouth, it wouldn't hurt a life of another 30 years. To go all you. that time without groundwater moth- Instead, the. mill's ash, as alka- toring is wrong and should not be line as 12.3 pH, is 100 times more allowed. A straightforward limited caustic than ammonia. DOE points out that risks to purpose permit is necessary. human health and environmental The final decisions on permit groundwater contamination are in ting are up to JCPH, which issues clear violation of the inert criteria the permit. Come to the meeting of law. The physical characteristics of the Board of Health at 2:30 p.m., the ash, also, do not meet the cri Thursday, June 21 at the Cotton Building, to remind the board of its • teria. obligation to protect health and the A limited purpose landfill(LPL) environment,and to follow state law. permit requires groundwater moth DAVE MCWETHY toring and assurance of funds to Port Townsend dose the landfill in the future. These requirements are neces- sary to detect problems of contami- nation at an early stage,and to have the user of a landfill pay for closure instead of waiting for a cleanup at county taxpayer expense. The mill has protested any pos- sible expense of complying with the law. The mill should be reminded of all the years they have avoid- ed legitimate expenses of being in •S f�7- r Anderson Lake still deadly despite dip in toxin level • By Leah Leach Peninsula Daily News,Sunday, June 24',2012 PORT TOWNSEND—The level of a fast-acting nerve poison is down in Anderson Lake, but the water remains deadly. The level of anatoxin-a dropped to 166 micrograms per liter last week, according to test results received Friday. That's a big drop from the prior week's measurement of 534 micrograms per liter—the highest seen in the lake this season—but still way above the warning level of 1 microgram per liter, said Greg Thomason, Jefferson County environmental health specialist, on Friday. "So the lake stays closed," he said. Anderson Lake, a popular trout-fishing lake between Port Townsend and Chimacum, was closed May 3 because of elevated levels of toxins in the water. The 410-acre state park surrounding it stays open to the public. A Discover Pass is needed to park there. Toxins are created by blue-green algae, which is generally benign, but some species can begin to produce toxins at times. A heavy bloom and scum around the edge of the lake can be seen. • No microcystin —a toxin that can cause skin irritation and, if ingested over a period of many years, can result in liver failure—was found in Anderson Lake, Thomason said. The week before, the level was 1.4 micrograms per liter, which was far below the safety threshold of 6 micrograms per liter. Other lakes Levels of algae-produced toxins also fell in Leland and Gibbs lakes, the other two tested last week. Both have tested below safety thresholds throughout the summer. The level of anatoxin-a dropped to 0.06 last week from 0.52 the week before at Leland, which is north of Quilcene. No microcystin was found. No anatoxin-a was found in Gibbs Lake, north of Port Townsend, and microcystin was down to 0.05 from 0.11. Caution signs remain posted at both Leland and Gibbs lakes because they contain algae known to sometimes suddenly begin to produce toxins. • "The toxin-producing algae is the dominant algae in Leland, so anything can happen,"Thomason said. He warned that since test results of samples taken Mondays are issued Fridays, they are always several days behind the actual condition of the lakes, and the level of toxins can change quickly. A caution sign remains at Crocker Lake because it, too, contains algae known to produce toxins. The dip in toxins is probably because of cooler, cloudier weather, Thomason said. "Cooler weather, little less sunlight will slow it down," he said. Sunny weather and warm temperatures encourage the growth of blue-green algae when sufficient nutrients, such as phosphates, are present. It also could be that samples were taken during a period of less activity. 'Come and go' "These blooms come and go," he said. "They last an average of five to eight days, then another comes in." Higher levels could be the result of many blooms overlapping each other, he said, while a decrease could • be because the sample was taken during a die-off or in between blooms. "We just happen to get in there once a week. Sometimes we're at a peak, sometimes at a trough," Thomason said. No toxic blue-green algae has been reported in Clallam County, where health officers do not test for toxins; instead, they visually monitor lakes for signs of algae bloom. A Discover Pass—which is$10 for one day or$30 for an annual pass, and which can be purchased at state parks—is needed to visit state parks. Report algae blooms in Clallam County by phoning 360-417-2258. Report algae blooms in Jefferson County by phoning 360-385-9444. For more information about lake quality in Jefferson County, visit the environmental health website at http://tinyurl.com/6z64ofy. pPanel t . . si ar on , . . . P P P acquisition d • PENINSULA DAILY NEWS -,-+"?-,to:z . ,:-\,:ft•?'t I.:"! 4 A' . The three Jefferson County commission- t £' o s . ers will hear a presentation about the Con- �=' £, servation Futures Project. at CityHall,250 Madison St. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m.in corn- missioners'chambers at the Jefferson County Port of Port Townsend Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend. Port of Port Townsend commissioners will The purpose of the Conservation Futures discuss a property purchase proposal and Project is to fund acquisition projects of pub- updates to its boat ramp policy when they lic open spaces. meet Wednesday. The board will hear requests for the fund- The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.in the ing of three projects: the Boulton Farm conference room,375 Hudson St. _ ($69,000), the L. Brown Trust II ($24,000) Commissioners also will get an update on and the Tarboo Forest Construction the GPS approach at Jefferson County Inter- ($269,000). national Airport. The balance for the Conservation Futures fund at the end of May was$647,540. Port Townsend schools Funds available for 2012 projects equal The Port Townsend School Board will $288,000. The total for the proposed projects is consider several policies,including one gov- $262,000,which is within that amount. erning alternative learning experiences, Items on the consent agenda include: when it meets Monday. ■ Approval for the extension of the The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Courthouse Roof Stabilization Phase 1 Proj- high school library,1500 Van Ness St. ect, with completion date extended to The board also will consider adoption of June 30. curriculum: an interactive science program I An agreement to support professional and textbooks Modern Chemistry and Phys- services, birth to 3 years program in the ics. 411 They will hear an update on high school amount of$858.00. ® An agreement to fund the North Pacific athletics and a report on enrollment, and Coast Marine Resources Committee with an consider the board's annual calendar. additional amount of$3,000 totaling$11,500. Jefferson Healthcare Port Townsend city Jefferson Healthcare commissioners will The Port Townsend City Council Special hear a review of the hospitals financial audit Projects Committee will discuss an ordi- during a meeting in Chelan on Monday nance that would ban single-use plastic bags The 11:0 am.meetingn will be r Room a 9:30 am.t Campbell'sto when it meets Tuesday. The meeting will be at 4 p.m. in council Resort,104 W.Woodin Ave.,Chelan. chambers at City Hall,540 Water St. The meeting is in conjunction with the The committee is expected to discuss the Washington State Hospital Association's details of an ordinance having to do with 36th annual Rural Hospit,11 Conference in enforcement of the ban and when it would Chelan. begin. Commissioners will hear a review of its The committee will then prepare recom- financial audit and a review of performance mendations that will be presented to the full improvement opportunities as presented by City Council at a meeting in July Tom Dingus,CPA,Dingus,Zarecor&Associ- The City Council is not meeting this ates PLLC. • week. On Wednesday, the hoards of Jefferson Special City Council office hours, where Healthcare, Olympic Medical Center and anyone can talk with a council member with- Forks Community Hospital will conduct a out an appointment, will take place from special meeting to discuss the Swedish Med- 11 a.m.to 1 p.m.Tuesday and from 3 p.m.to ical Center affiliation and other matters. 5 p.m.Thursday in the mayor's office on the The meeting will be from 11:30 a.m. to second floor of historic City Hall,540 Water 1 p.m. in the Lakeside Room of Campbell's St. Resort. One other committee meeting is sched- Topics will include collaboration on strat.e- • uled this week. gic initiatives,advocacy,clinical services and The Council Finance &Budget Commit- emergency planning. tee will meet from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. No formal action will he taken at either ��� Wednesday in the first-floor conference room meeting. Aly// - Whooping cough epidemic continues . • By ROB OLLIKAINEN PENINSULA A DAILY NEWS the Sequim area,but now we The Clallam County are seeing cases in Port Health Department offered Angeles," Burks told the free Tdap vaccinations May PORT ANGET,FS — At health board. 18 for people with no medical least 34 pertussis cases have "As of last Friday,I don't insurance or insurance that occurred on the North Olym- think we had any identified does not cover vaccinations pic Peninsula since January, in Forks." in Port Angeles and Forks. part of a statewide epidemic There have been eight Vaccinations also were that had affected 2,520 as of pertussis cases confirmed on provided to Medicare June 16. the Peninsula since early patients who would have had Jefferson County had 22 May.All but one occurred in to shell out$200 for a shot. confirmed cases of pertussis, Clallam County. "We gave, between the otherwise known as whoop- To qualify as a pertussis two places, 166 shots in a case, coughing symptoms three-hour period, which I ing cough, according to the latest situation report from must persist for at least two think was pretty good," the state Department of weeks. Burks said. Health. "We don't like to wait," "We had some pregnant Clallam County had 12 Locke said. females that came in if they confirmed cases of the highly "If we know someone is were in their last trimester.. contagious bacterial disease exposed and they're getting .We had a lot of new fathers that produces severe cough- pertussis, we want to treat that came that had babies ing and can lead to severe them as soon as possible.You ander 6 months old, which complications in infants. don't want to wait two weeks we were glad to see. "We, of course, still are so that you can count them "And we had a lot of very much in an epidemic in your report." grandparents that came and • phase,' said Dr. Tom Locke, Of the 2,520 known cases said, They said if I didn't public health officer for Clal- in Washington, 148 have come get my shot,I couldn't lam and Jefferson counties, afflicted infants younger see that baby.' in Tuesday's Clallam County than 1. "So they came because Board of Health meeting. "Of those, 32 have been they wanted to see the baby The good news is the out- hospitalized,"Locke said. as well as health care for the • break appears to be slowing "And of the hospitalized, baby." down. nearly three-quarters are The state provided Clal There were 50 new cases under the age of 3 months. lam County with 300 doses in Washington the week end- That's really what these con- of the booster. There are ing June 16 compared with trol efforts are all about: to more than 50 remaining 249 new cases the week end- protect that very vulnerable group. does, which likely will be ing May 19. "Some of this may be real used in another free clinic in "The younger you are,the Forks,Burks said. in that some of the pertussis more deadly pertussis is,"he For more details on per activity may be abating, added. tussis,visit the state Health's Locke said. I think, though, it's Immunizations website,www.doh.wa.gov. equally likely that people are just doing less testing and Health officials say the relying more on symptoms best way to protect infants and exposure risk because who are too young to be to be the testing necessary to con- fully immunized is to immu- firm cases is expensive to do." nize older children and Clallam County Health adults around them. and'Human Services Direc- Because the adult booster tor rya Burks said there are for pertussis — called Tdap 15 known cases in Clallam for tetanus, diphtheria and County,three more than the acellular pertussis — has ° state tally. been available only since "The vast majority of 2005, fewer than 1 in 10 • those have been actually in adults has gotten the shot. ill . /0/V/pc'// '*•--'1,•sl.,,,,,,,,,,,..„ ,,,..„. , . .,,,4:,-,, i.„-,,,,,,,,,,,4„,„,,,„...., • , ,,,,,..„-,, ,,,,-,„..„.,,,,,...,„„„,„..,, , „„ .. r,...,„ ,, .... ,, , ,.. '''4'-':i',,,> 7tti , t � ,frr ' ;r „ ngM- r'°°tryy� s°ax y 1:;,,,,•ei,,sre,..4,-,,,t,,,,,0%124%.,i. �' A ": ' s , -tiftgv a r k �� 114,,,,,4-- R• vit,;.,-;:it."060,0e*„.540:1;.„ �.S �\ . .'� .. •k �&�/�w�xi. �� �. .W:. ..'..X'iYn°'X "F�F ..m<:.7^;...F w �� From left: Larry Dennison of Dos Okies Bar Jeffrey Jared Keefer Jefferson County environmental health/water quality director; Mike Garling and Jeffrey Dale of Metro Bagels; Andrea Morales and Doreen Carpenter of Port Townsend QFC No. 106; and Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke. and of Health recognizes�o • .!e fferso nCountyeateries Awards given for they had added food safety challenges. Restaurant scores are available at Jefferson County Public Health www.jeffersoncountypublichealth. safe food handling and the Board of Health recognized org/foodsafety/indexphp. them for their dedication to prevent- Winners are Belmont Restaurant; ing illness. Blue Heron School; BPO Elks Lodge PENINSULA DAILY NEWS It also encourages the entire food No. 317; Brinnon School District; PORT TOWNSEND—The Jeffer industry to strive for the same honor. Cedarbrook Daycare & Pre-School; son County Board of Health recently Criteria for the award were devel Chimacum Elementary School; Chi- recognized 28 restauruts,full service oped by the Jefferson County Public macum High School; Cuisine Med food establishments and their propri Health Food Service Advisory COM- Catering; Dos Okies Barbeque; El etors with its 2011 Outstanding � e Cottage; Fiesta Mexican Restaurant; The Galley; Highway Twenty Road Achievement Awards. Evaluations for health,safety house; Jefferson County Jail; Khu Award winners demonstrated the Ler Thai; La Isla Mexican Restau highest standards for safe food hanThey require evaluations in areas rant; Lan7a's; Metro Bagels; Pizza dung during the past year,the board of personal hygiene,food temperature Factory; Port Townsend QFC Deli; said. safety, and prevention of contamina port Hadlock QFC Deli Port Hadlock; Most of the award winners, the tion. Quilcene School District; Silverwater health board said,are full service res All food workers must hold a cur- Cafe; Sirens;Spruce Goose Cafe;Tri taurants and food establishments rent Washington State Food Worker Area Community Center; Upstage that work with complex menus, so Card- he— ard. Restaurant and Uptown Pub&Grill. • /DOA/ ��CG/lol-- 6/26/2012 2:07:00 PM,Port Townsend Leader • Whooping cough still a concern here, and throughout state Although only one case of whooping cough was reported in May and none have been reported in June so far, whooping cough still is considered an epidemic in Washington. Both Jefferson County Public Health and Port Hadlock Medical Care are offering free whooping cough vaccine for uninsured or underinsured people this summer. "Thankfully, we're not seeing any new reported cases in Jefferson County, but there still are reported cases in the state," said Julia Danskin, public health director for Jefferson County. "Especially during the vacation season when people travel, they could be vulnerable if they aren't immunized." "We have vaccine available for insured, underinsured or those not insured. Give us a call or come into our walk-in clinic," Danskin urged. As of June 22, there have been 28 reported cases of whooping cough in Jefferson County in 2012. That compares to one case in all of 2011. Statewide, there have been a total of 2,520 cases reported through June 16, compared to 179 cases reported in 2011 during the same time period. Both the health department and the medical center are offering free whooping cough vaccine • (Tdap vaccine) provided by the Washington State Department of Health. The free vaccine is for adults 19 and older who don't have health insurance or whose insurance doesn't cover immunizations. An administration fee may be charged on a sliding fee scale, essentially depending on a person's ability to pay. The greatest number of local cases had an onset of illness in January, February or March, according to health officials. The age range of local cases has been from 6 months through 64 years of age. The majority of Jefferson County cases, 79 percent, have been in persons who were either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated for pertussis, according to health department officials. And 21 percent of those who contracted the illness were fully vaccinated, officials said. The health department also holds special clinics from 1 to 4 p.m. on Mondays at its offices at 615 Sheridan St. The vaccine is also available at the regular Tuesday- and Thursday-afternoon walk-in clinics, which are from 1 to 4 p.m. However, health officials say these clinics tend to be busy, so wait times may be longer. For immunization at Port Hadlock Medical Care, call 379-6737 to make an appointment. The vaccine there is free only to those who are uninsured. Some Medicare Part D plans may cover this vaccine under the pharmacy benefit. Pharmacists can administer the shots, but people should call ahead and ask about how their insurance pays first. People on Medicare are eligible for the free vaccine if their Part D plan does not cover • • vaccines. Vaccine protection can decrease as the number of years since immunization increases. A booster dose is recommended to increase protection. The Tdap vaccine is recommended for all adolescents age 11 years and older and for all adults. Immunization of older children and adults is especially important because it can decrease the risk of exposing an infant to whooping cough. Infants are at the highest risk of severe complications of whooping cough and are too young to be fully immunized. Most infants get the disease from older children and adults around them. The whooping cough epidemic in Washington state continues, health officials say, with many counties reporting increasing numbers of cases. Of the 156 infants younger than 1 year of age who have been reported as having whooping cough this year, 36 of them were hospitalized, according to state health officials. No deaths have been associated with whooping cough so far in 2012; there were two deaths last year and two deaths in 2010. For more information, contact the health department at 385-9400. • • • Back-to-school shots set; laws on exemptions changed • Summer has arrived department at 385-9400. zations and of withholding and Jefferson County Other vaccines that can immunizations. Public Health officials are prevent serious diseases are The provider must sign saying it's not too early to recommended for children the certificate of exemption consider back-to-school vac- and teens by the Centers for form to be filed with the cinations. Disease Control, but are not school. Health-care provid- Waiting until late in the required for school atten- ers do not need to sign the summer to get children's dance.Vaccines are available form for parents who show shots can leave parents and free or at low cost for stu- membership in a church or students facing long waits dents under age 19.Ask your religious body that does not on sunny days at the health provider or Jefferson County allow medical treatment by department or their doc- Public Health about available a health-care provider. tor's office, officials say. vaccines. Jefferson County Public Jefferson County Public Meningococcal vaccine Health has walk-in immu- Health encourages parents is one that is especially nization clinics from 1 to to get their students' shots important for freshmen 4 p.m. every Tuesday and early to avoid the late sum- entering college. HPV vac- Thursday at 6l5 Sheridan mer rush. cine is recommended for all St.. Port Townsend. No The requirements for adolescents, according to appointment is necessary. school shots change slightly health officials. Call Jefferson County , every year. If you are not Public Health. 385-9100, sure if your child is up to EXEMPTIONS REQUIRE for more information. date for all immunizations, CONSULT To schedule an appoint- check with your health care The law regarding vac- ment for school immuniza- provider or call the health cination exemptions for tions. call your medical pro- school changed last year. vider. 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CO eD p n y ., f9 A u' rf G O (D (D .n '70 0 0 0 .. o 4 4 o 2- g c o rb • Do w � P � C�`c ° � 53a rt , g E- to Cr 0 o �' cD A ti aCD 0a O U~�0 ` (0D"� N'ro "U 0' ?• • G ^E. 0 pp �� CD W 'a o pa cr et) 0 o z `}'i to iD 0 f,, 0 'zi0 O I 0 0. 04 Cs% 0 0 0^. °- a ,i .- Lf OC O 0 • Toxins drop, but Anderson Lake's still closed By Leah Leach Peninsula Daily News,July 2od,2012 PORT TOWNSEND—The level of a fast-acting nerve poison continued to drop in Anderson Lake, but not fast enough to re-open the popular trout-fishing destination. The level of anatoxin-a in the lake between Port Townsend and Chimacum dropped to 135 micrograms per liter last week, according to test results received Friday. The week before, the level of the algae-produced toxin, which can cause convulsions and stop breathing, had been measured at 166 micrograms per liter, which was a big decrease from the prior week's measurement of 534 micrograms per liter—the highest seen in the lake this season. But all measurements since the lake was closed May 3 have been above the warning level of 1 microgram per liter. "Nothing has changed," said Greg Thomason, Jefferson County environmental health specialist, on Friday. "Anderson Lake stays closed . . . Leland is still safe . . . Gibbs is still very safe," he summed up. Only the lake in Anderson Lake State Park is closed to recreational use. The 410 acres surrounding it remain open. A Discover Pass is needed to park there. A trace of anatoxin-a was found in Lake Leland, north of Quilcene. None could be found in Gibbs Lake, north of Port Townsend. No microcystin was found in Anderson Lake or Lake Leland. A trace was found in Gibbs. • Microcystin can cause skin irritation and, if ingested over a period of many years, can result in liver failure. Toxins are created by blue-green algae, which is generally benign, but some species can begin to produce toxins at times. Sunny weather and warm temperatures encourage the growth of blue-green algae when sufficient nutrients, such as phosphates, are present, but researchers don't know what triggers the production of toxins. Caution signs remain posted at both Leland and Gibbs lakes because they contain algae known to sometimes suddenly begin to produce toxins. A caution sign remains at Crocker Lake because it, too, contains algae known to produce toxins. Samples are taken on Mondays and results are received from King County Environmental Labs at the end of each week, usually on Friday. No toxic blue-green algae has been reported in Clallam County, where health officers do not test for toxins; instead, they visually monitor lakes for signs of algae bloom. Report algae blooms in Clallam County by phoning 360-417-2258. Report algae blooms in Jefferson County by phoning 360-385-9444. 11111 For more information about lake quality in Jefferson County, visit the environmental health website at http://tinyurl com/6z64ofy. Recipes for a Green Planet Common household cleaners contain hazardous chemicals that are harmful if used or disposed improperly. If you're chemically sensitive or just want a non-toxic alternative, here are some alternatives listed below that you can use for cleaning. For more information on non-toxic alternatives contact: Pinky Feria Mingo at 360 379-4489 or email pinky@co.jefferson.wa.us or go on-line at: http:// www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/pdf/Toxic% 20Free%20Alternatives.pdf. Multi-Purpose"Green Cleaner" 1 tsp soap(flakes,powder,or liquid) l tsp borax 2 TBS white distilled vinegar 2 cups water Bathroom Mold Cleaner 1 part hydrogen peroxide(3%solution) 2 parts water Mix hydrogen peroxide and water in a spray bottle. Spray on ar- eas with mold.Wait at least one hour before rinsing. Take care around fabrics as it can bleach out colors. Window and Mirror Cleaner • 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar 2 cups water Put into a spray bottle and use a lint free rag or newspaper to wipe surface. Toilet Bowl Stain Remover Dissolve one or two denture cleaning tablets in a porcelain toilet bowl and let stand overnight or during the day while everyone is at work or school. • 7/3/2012 6:00:00 AM,Port Townsend Leader Aberdeen biomass hums along without controversy Sales of lumber is down; sale of electricity is up • Allison Arthur assistant editor ABERDEEN —Sierra Pacific Industries has six biomass cogeneration operations in California and two in Washington, including an 18-megawatt plant that hums one and a half miles east of Aberdeen. It makes power, but not headlines. Although there were opponents when the plant was proposed some 12 years ago, there's no organized opposition to the operation now. There's more talk these days in Aberdeen about double-digit unemployment in Grays Harbor County and efforts to find a buyer for the mothballed Grays Harbor Paper. Like Port Townsend Paper Corp. employees, Sierra Pacific Industries workers are proud of their operation. And they don't mind showing it off, because they want people to get behind biomass and cogeneration, and take note of the air quality in Aberdeen. Mostly, they want people to see what they are doing as producing clean green energy. "It's true green and renewable energy," said John Gardner, a cogeneration supervisor for Sierra Pacific Industries. "A lot of people don't believe that of wood-fired combustions, but we plant more trees every year than we harvest and we use the entire tree in this plant." "We use every part of our resources, because they are so precious," said Sheri D. Nelson, community relations manager. It's sawdust from the lumber mill that fuels the Aberdeen cogen plant and that saves the company money. In the past, the • company had to pay to have the sawdust taken away. Now, the sawdust is turned into energy, a second product the mill sells on the grid to Grays Harbor Public Utility District, for about$3.35 million in 2011. Sawdust into power A tour of the operation just south of the Chehalis River starts in the fuel shed, where large mounds of dry sawdust are forming, slowly but steadily. A conveyor brings the sawdust to the hardpan yard from the nearby lumber mill. Gardner explains how much material the cogen plant consumes: It's about 80,000 pounds of sawdust an hour. That's about two truckloads of fuel an hour. And that's 24/7—year around. "We get about 90 percent of what we need to run from the mill," says Gardner over the din of machinery moving the sawdust. The remaining 10 percent of fuel comes from outside sources, including from other mills that Sierra Pacific owns. "As long as we're selling the lumber, we're producing hog fuel," said Gardner. "You can't really run the mill without this plant here running, too," said Gardner of the cogeneration plant. "They co-exist," chimes in Sierra Pacific division manager Matt Taborski. "We have to have electricity to run the mill and we have to have the steam to dry the lumber, and that's all a vital part of this operation. If the cogen wasn't here, then we'd have to try to get rid of this fuel somewhere," said Gardner. "And we'd have to buy power, which would add cost to the overall operation," said Nelson. So could the lumber mill stand alone, operate without the cogeneration plant? • "That changes every year, depending on what the markets are doing for power, what the lumber market is doing. There's no answer for that. There's been years it can go either way," said Taborski. "It would certainly hurt the viability of the operation." Ore is an undercurrent of concern about the amount of lumber that's piling up in the yard. It's about 15 million board feet. "This is the most inventory that we've ever had in our history," Nelson said, explaining that the slump in the housing market has been hammering the lumber industry hard. Those 2-by-4's need to be sold to keep the lumber mill going. "It's been a huge challenge for us," said Nelson. Still, it doesn't take many people to run the cogeneration plant; it requires 15 employees for the year-round operation. The process is mechanized and computerized, and the only employee in the yard on a windy day in May is a forklift operator moving lumber from one place to another. Unlike employees at the other two Washington mills that Sierra Pacific owns, Aberdeen's employees chose to unionize. They are associated with a carpenters union. And while the lumber they make may not be selling, the power from the cogeneration facility is. Fallout, monitoring The fuel shed where all that sawdust is stored is 300 feet long and 150 feet deep and can hold as much as a week's worth of fuel. Standing at the base of one of those giant mounds of fresh sawdust, Nelson points out the three metal hands, called reclaimers, under the shed's roof. The reclaimers reach out and grip sawdust from the mound, pulling it back into a tube fat sucks the sawdust into a three-story firebox, to be burned in a 65-foot-tall boiler that's housed in a giant blue building. Any sawdust that happens to fall off the conveyor system is swept back into the fuel shed. No one wants to waste it— or have it fly off into a neighbor's yard and have Sierra Pacific cited for a pollution violation, better known in the industry as "particulate matter fallout." And that has happened, though not with the cogen plant. Between the boiler and the fuel shed is the big machine that's designed to keep pollutants out of the air, the magic machine that Port Townsend Paper touts as removing as much as 70 percent of particulates out of the air—the electrostatic precipitator(ESP). Sierra Pacific's ESP is a three-story corrugated metal-sided building with a yellow stairway to the top and a smoke stack sticking out, which seems, on this particular blue-sky day, to be emitting nothing. Not smoke. Not steam. Not vapor. Nothing. And mill officials say that's what it looks like most days, except maybe on a really cold winter day. Inside, the ESP consists of metal plates 10 feet deep and 30 feet long spaced 12 inches apart with electrodes between them that electricity fires through. "We introduce DC voltages, which changes the polarity of the ash that's going through the chamber so it attracts to the plates. The ash becomes magnetic to the plates and it sticks to the plates," explained Gardner. "Then, we use what we call rappers, that shake the ash down to the hoppers and kick out the ash there. It's a very simple process and it works very well," said Gardner 4114 here's enough fly ash collected to fill one large truck every day. The ash from the mill is used by five or six companies as a soil amendment, according to mill officials. The mill does not operate a landfill in Grays Harbor County. Below the mammoth ESP is a smaller white building with another alphabet-soup title. It's called the CEMS building, CEMS standing for"continuous emission monitoring system." It monitors what is being released from the ESP, and that includes carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), NOx (gases formed during combustion) and "opacity." "Everyone that builds a boiler today has to have one," said Gardner of the CEMS unit. "It updates every 15 seconds. It has . reports that we print out and send to the EPA[Environmental Protection Agency]. "You have to have an access code to get into the data," said Gardner. "And if you go in and change data, it will flag it a different color, and so if authorities ever wanted to look at the raw data, it shows different colors where it's been modified." The mill manager—in this case, Taborski—could be held personally liable. Air quality The plant, which has both federal and state air permits, has been found out of compliance with the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) three times since it started, all three times related to exceeding ammonia levels, according to Robert Moody, compliance officer for ORCAA. But air quality out of that ESP— it's good. In fact, ORCAA data indicates the mill has not exceeded its air-quality permit, which allows it to emit 27 tons of particulates a year. "Ambient air quality is almost always good in Aberdeen," said Moody. "Sierra Pacific is actually well controlled. You have a permit for 27 tons (of particulates a year). They usually don't approach that." Gardner and Taborski said the out-of-compliance issues with the ammonia were because of what they call "upset conditions,"things such as equipment failure or when something goes off line. "We have limits. Before we get to that point, we have alarms that say we're getting close to the limits," Gardner said. The mill has since made changes to the ESP and emissions have dropped considerably. All computerized Watching over the entire system from the comfort of an air-conditioned room, the man who can tell when things are reaching the limit is operator no. 1, Les Spearian. He's served as cogeneration operator no. 1 in Aberdeen for eight years. Before the cogen job, he was a forester. Spearian sits in a second-floor office that overlooks the generator room, a room that is warm and squeaky clean in a concrete-and-heavy-metal-gear way. Television monitors above Spearian show the sawdust being dumped into the fuel box, which reaches 2,500 degrees inside. The action on the television screen looks like something a doctor might see probing a body part. It looks rough and gooey and hot. Computers in front of Spearian show numbers, fuel and ash system motors, drum levels, furnace pressure, airflow and steam temperature. And that brings up the electricity that's being generated in the big blue generator in the room below Spearian. The generator system is churning away, making electricity out of the steam from the burning sawdust, turning what was once waste into hot-flowing cold cash for the lumber mill. Sierra Pacific sells between 10 to 13 megawatts of power a day power to Grays Harbor Public Utility District and uses about 4 to 5 megawatts per hour in its own operation, says Nelson. The one generator can power about 9,000 homes in one hour, said Gardner. "You multiple that out by 24/7 for a year and that's a lot of electricity." "Producing our own power saves us a huge amount of money each year," said Nelson, without saying how much. "We used to have to pay people to take out our sawdust and bark and wood chips. By doing what we're doing now, we're utilizing our wood waste and saving truck traffic." Id if Grays Harbor PUD's system does fail— it's considered reliable—the 18-megawatt-capacity system relays will detect a line imbalance and "the relays will separate us from the PUD and they'll go black and we'll keep operating," said Gardner. Nelson joked that when Aberdeen is dark, she still has to go to work. Gardner, Taborski and Nelson said they aren't surprised by the controversy being generated by Port Townsend's biomass proposal. They don't see the biomass debate relating to them because the mill cogen operation is self-contained and not dependent on woody forest biomass that the PT mill would use. What they do question is the logic of opponents who don't see the value of burning waste to create energy people use for their daily needs and wants. "You can fight every industry that comes into play and shut everything down and what do you have left?" Gardner asked at the end of the tour. "Every person that fights one of these plants is at home with their TV on with electricity. Where does that come from? If we're not producing it, where is it going to come from? There has to be some kind of industry." Aberdeen cogeneration E a one -4' ,, Pero L m : 7 tarn irtieutattt t� l -"tsar itio,TANN,i3k41*,:41 tliVo ii4Urs'ild .,'„ '\ ":•:144,43,t46-itAttk ,„ 19 ,.; - '..w it 'L..R ,AA ay :r rII _ 's` qli. F07 w' . a • � a p r, Matt Taborski, division manager for Sierra Pacific, explains Sierra Pacific Industries' cogeneration facility in that power generated at the mill from burning sawdust and Aberdeen is regulated by the Olympic Region Clean other biomass is put on the grid at a power plant at the mill, Air Agency, and its permit limit is 27 tons of particulates a mere 100 yards from the generator that creates it. In the a year. It has not exceeded that permit, according to meantime, lumber from the operation, behind him, is piling ORCAA. Source: ORCAA up, unsold. Photo by Allison Arthur • Aberdeen's air quality good, despite being a `mill' town • By Allison Arthur of the Leader, July 4, 2012 • Although there have been three mills operating near Aberdeen off and on for decades- including a cogeneration facility operated by Sierra Pacific Industries—the air quality there has been, and still is, good, according to the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA). "Ambient air quality is almost always good," says Robert Moody, a compliance supervisor for the ORCAA. "Aberdeen has onshore winds coming off the Pacific Ocean that regularly bring clean air in. They rarely have stagnant conditions, so there's no chance of pollution levels to build up." Moody doesn't see any of the three mills having posed significant pollution problems, and ORCAA has been monitoring the air quality from four sites in Aberdeen for 18 years. One monitor is located between Sierra Pacific Industries and Grays Harbor Paper. "When the winds blow from the two predominant directions, it is always in the path of the mills,' Moody said of one monitor on Division Street in downtown Aberdeen. In addition to Sierra Pacific's lumber mill and cogeneration plant, there also was a pulp mill in Cosmopolis and Grays Harbor Paper in Hoquiam. Grays Harbor since has been shuttered. Still, the air quality in Aberdeen has historically been considered clean—a lot cleaner than, say, the Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater area where there are"100,000 people and they don't have any significant industry," says Moody. "So why is our air quality so bad in the winter[in Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater]?We frequently issue burn bans due to poor air quality," says Moody, who SE ys wood-burning stoves cause air-quality problems in that area. • Permits,violations While there are no permits for fireplaces or`woodstoves, mills, including Sierra Pacific, are required to have air-quality permits. Sierra Pacific's lumber mill and cogeneration facility are treated as separate sources, and they require separate permits. Since 2005, the lumber mill has had seven notices of violation from ORCAA, primarily from particulate matter fallout escaping its 46-acre riverfront property and landing on someone else's property. The penalties ranged from$43,000, of which $41,000 was suspended in 2005, to a $1,000 fine in October 2011, which the company paid, according to ORCAA records. • The cogen plant has had three violations noted by ORCAA between 2006 and 2011, all because it exceeded a limit on its use of ammonia,which is eased to reduce output of NOx gases. NOx gases are formed in combustion; ammonia is used to treat it and return it to nitrogen, which makes up about 80 percent of our atmosphere, Moody noted. Moody said Sierra Pacific has had problems with equipment and "with each failure they've learned new things ' • All three notice of violations for the cogen site we-e discovered as a result of smokestack tests, he said. Those tests are done by an independent company that samples what is coming out of the stack every year, Moody said. That company submits a report of its findings to the regulatory agency, he said. Particulate emissions • - Sierra Pacific also must adhere to a limit on total Particulate matter(PM) emissions. For the cogen plant, that's 27 tons of particulate matter a year put that amount of emission into perspective, ORCAA officials say th'& research indicates 27 tons of ticulate matter a year would be"the equivalent to the operation of 540 woodstoves for five months of the year." Sierra Pacific has not exceeded that limit since it started operationin 2003. Itcame closest to reaching it back in 2007 when it produced 19 tons of particulate matter a year, according to data obtained from the smokestack. Moody said the electrostatic precipitator(ESP), a fancy 85-foot-tall metal contraption that serves as an air filter, was damaged in a fire in 2007, and some equipment needed to be replaced. Since the repair of that equipment, the cogen plant has produced even fewer emissions than before the fire —2 tons in both 2010 and 2011, according to reports from ORCAA. Moody said mill operators are required to let him know within 24 hours if they are having a problem, or what mill officials call "an upset," that might cause them to approach the limits of their permits. "They send in quarterly reports of their emissions and they have to be certified by the general manager," said Moody of Matt Taborski, division manager for Sierra Pacific Industries. Taborski could be held liable if he falsified tests. An independent company does annual emission tests, which are announced and which are paid for by the company. "Typically, we would attend a source test as well to observe," said Moody. 1103 ody also says that the Aberdeen facility's ESP takes out tiny, tiny particles, "down to the PM 1 range." "It's very effective," Moody said of the ESP, noting that people use ESP systems in their homes, but call them electronic air filters. "The ESP is designed to remove particles. The terms of their permit are written to meet the regulations," Moody said of the permit that is written for PM 10. 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CD . - H ~ eo6> 0 0 .r'+> r= o .0 > c ' o G � o ya ' ar . - >C a) 0 3 ,W p m U yo .,, qI, 8 2, a°' 04 p O a r O r. m •Nii 1 . J _ mm t . 0, mRS Nt'D 3 ”' 05.4 "' o TS d 4. . ' ^C ao . f -, s= R.Nm o a) a. _ w G o a n. A . ti • — w 0.. r 'V y Cdoz�� c • s 4og ) oo ;ryao 0 08 o .o MIMIg _ -' Ccn - :- �i ooa,w 0 ',73 a cc:,--: ▪ y .^, •� = _ = ^ ,0 �' 'cJ)~ o .,-d 3 a 'd b0.", m ca R. R d ' qm m a oxw o c, o ? . p oa b)° �> ao o o xvcA-m • O U5o o mWma) Cm - 0E' 0 ;1 -.a= t% 7A c, ,4_,, 20 :,_7,' o5a E, 0, CyP,1 a Voo C .n o � z, o . d' o p a n, D u5..a, o w o o ) o m ' P5 `k 0 A ] ,-4', 7(� r.o '.:, y ., a c)w 4 0 P. nl m ,Z o CV c)x 0 0 ) z.C3 W.., f4 s, ., • 7/5/2012 11:29:00 AM,Port Townsend Leader Beaches closed to shellfish harvesting Marine biotoxins that cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning have been detected at concentrations above the closure level in shellfish samples collected from Discovery Bay, Quilcene Bay and Dabob Bay. As a result, the Washington State Department of Health has closed all beaches in Discovery, Quilcene and Dabob bays to the recreational harvest of shellfish. Commercially harvested shellfish are sampled separately and products on the market should be safe to eat, according to a press release from Jefferson County Public Health. The closure includes clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of molluscan shellfish. Warning signs have been posted. This is the first time a closure for DSP has happened in Jefferson County, according to the public health department. DSP was unknown in the U.S. until last year, when it was first detected in Sequim Bay. People can become ill from eating shellfish contaminated with the naturally occurring • marine algae, which can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and chills similar to gastrointestinal or stomach flu type symptoms. Symptoms can begin within a few hours and last up to three days. Any one experiencing these symptoms should contact a health care provider. Recreational shellfish harvesters should check the DOH website at doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/biotoxin.htm or call the DOH Biotoxin Hotline at 800-562-5632 before harvesting shellfish anywhere in Washington. • Recreational shellfish closures spread to Jefferson County • By Rob 011ikainen Peninsula Daily News, July 8`h, 2012 QUILCENE—A biotoxin that causes flu-like symptoms has prompted the closure of Quilcene, Dabob and Discovery bays to recreational shellfish harvesting. The recent discovery was the first time any toxin has been found in shellfish in either Quilcene Bay or Dabob Bay. The toxin, called diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, or DSP, closed Sequim Bay last year after three King County residents who ate mussels they harvested there fell ill in late June. DSP can causes nausea,vomiting,diarrhea, abdominal cramps and chills.The symptoms typically pass quickly. "It[Sequim Bay] is the first site that we had a confirmed illness for DSP in the United States,"said Greg Combs of the state Department of Health Office of Shellfish and Water Protection. "It's difficult to say whether or not it was toxic in other areas." Commercially harvested shellfish are sampled separately, and products on the market should be safe to eat,the Jefferson County Health Department said. Frank Cox, marine biotoxin coordinator with the state Department of Health,said a mussel containing 32 micrograms of DSP toxin recently was found at a mussel-monitoring site for Quilcene and Dabob bays. "We close it when it hits 16," Cox said. • Other samples of shellfish taken from Quilcene and Dabob bays are being tested at a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lab in Seattle and a Food and Drug Administration lab on Dauphin Island, Ala. The state Department of Health has purchased new lab equipment for DSP testing, but the equipment has not been calibrated. The results of the lab tests will be known later this week, perhaps Wednesday, Cox said. The cause of the latest DSP bloom is still unknown, but monitoring will continue. "We have not had any illnesses reported this year from anywhere," Cox said. Sequim Bay is also closed now because of DSP. Food contaminated with DSP biotoxins may not look or smell spoiled. Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing. The Jefferson County Public Health Department announced the closure of Discovery, Quilcene and Dabob bays Monday. Other beaches along the Strait of Juan de Fuca already were closed to recreational harvesting for elevated levels of potentially deadly paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP. Seasonal closures for shellfish harvesting are in effect for Pacific Ocean beaches. Kilisut Harbor, including Mystery Bay, is closed to butter clams only. Butter clams hold toxins for a longer period of • time than other shellfish. PSP, commonly known as"red tide," is a neurotoxin that can trigger paralysis at high concentrations. Its prevalence tends to rise in the summer, Cox said. Closures for DSP or PSP include the recreational harvest of clams, including geoducks, oysters, mussels and other invertebrates. The closures do not apply to shrimp or crab. "We've had three PSP deaths in Washington over the years,"Cox said. "And we've had a number of close calls with PSP. I think a lot of people have learned to pay attention to our website." DSP comes from a toxin produced by a type of plankton long known to live in high concentrations in Sequim Bay and around Puget Sound. Mussels tend to ingest higher amounts of DSP than other invertebrates. "Mussels are indiscriminate feeders,"Cox said. "They will feed on this kind of plankton and pick up the toxin more quickly and at higher levels." Health officials do not expect the lab results to show dangerous levels of DSP in the other species being tested. • Canada has seen"a whole slug of illnesses"attributed to biotoxins this year. "In Europe,there have been outbreaks that involved hundreds of people,"Cox added. Health officials are still learning about DSP's prevalence in the region. "We've got a lot more work,"Cox said. "That's the bottom line." The Health Department maintains a list of beaches affected by shellfish closures at ww4.doh.wa.gov/gis/mogifs/biotoxin.htm. More information also is available at the Marine Biotoxin Hotline at 800-562-5632. Reporter Rob 011ikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen anpeninsuladailynews.com. • Toxins increase in Gibbs Lake, knock out swimming By Leah Leach Peninsula Daily News, July 8th, 2012 • PORT TOWNSEND—Gibbs Lake is now off-limits for swimming. Warning signs went up Friday at the popular swimming hole south of Port Townsend after results of a water sample test discovered that the level of microcystin, a toxin created by blue-green algae, had risen above the safety threshold. "People should not swim in the lake now,"said Greg Thomason, Jefferson County environmental health specialist, on Friday just before he left his office to erect the new signs. "Stay out of the water." The level of microcystin jumped to 7.9 micrograms per liter of water last week after having been measured at only a trace the week earlier,Thomason said. The safety threshold is 6 micrograms per liter of water. The most severe effect of microcystin is long-term. Some people who have consumed water containing the toxin over a long period of time have developed liver failure. But the toxin has short-term effects,too,Thomason warned. Those effects can include nausea,vomiting, diarrhea, skin irritation and burning, abdominal pain, blistering in the mouth and sore throat, he said. Microcystin can enter the body through the skin—and through the lungs,"even breathing the mist from the shore,"Thomason said. Gibbs Lake is not closed.Although the warning sign counsels no swimming, it says boating and fishing can be done if boaters avoid • areas of scum and if fish are well-cleaned and guts discarded. Warning signs also say that"algae toxins may be present in fish tissue"and direct people to phone the Jefferson County Health Department at 360-385-9444 for more information." No anatoxin-a—another blue-green algae-produced toxin commonly seen in East Jefferson County lakes—was found in Gibbs Lake. High levels of anatoxin-a, a quick-acting nerve toxin, have kept Anderson Lake closed since May 3. Lake Leland north of Quilcene—the other lake tested last week—remains safe,Thomason said. Caution signs remain there and at Crocker Lake,which is near the U.S. Highway 101-state Highway 104 intersection, only because both contain algae known to sometimes produce toxins. Weekly tests are announced Fridays after samples are taken Mondays. No toxic blue-green algae has been reported in Clallam County,where health officers do not test for toxins; instead, they visually monitor lakes for signs of algae bloom. Report algae blooms in Clallam County by phoning 360-417-2258. Report algae blooms in Jefferson County by phoning 360-385-9444. For more information about lake quality in Jefferson County,visit the environmental health website at http://tinyurl.com/6z64ofy. • Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leak.leach@peninsuladailynews.com. Anderson Lake reaches highest level of toxicity • since. closure in May ANDERSON LAKE IS more poisonous now than it has been since it closed for the season May 3. "Anderson Lake is at the highest level it has been so far this year for anatoxin-a,". said Greg Thomason,Jefferson County environmental health specialist,on Friday. "It's going to stay closed for sure" The level of anatoxin-a,a quick-acting nerve poison created by blue-green algae,was measured at 619 micrograms per liter of water in test results received Friday. The safety threshold is 1 microgram per liter. The seasonal high before last week was in mid- June,when test results received June 15 found that the level of anatoxin-a had reached 534 micrograms per liter. Since then,the level had dropped for several weeks,but long,hot days—which encourage blue-green algae growth—apparently fueled a resurgence. • Only the lake in Anderson Lake State Park, which is between Port Townsend and Chimacum, is closed to recreational use. The 410-acre park surrounding the lake remains open.A Discover Pass is needed to park there. • Peninsula Daily News • itRb fv State heart Department detects West Nile virus for 1st time this year • THE ASSOCIATED PRESS became ill. a hat outdoors when mos- The Health Department quitoes are active — and OLYMPIA — The state said most people bitten by a get rid of standing water Health Department said mosquito carrying the virus around your home. West Nile virus has been won't become ill.Some may detected for the first time have a headache and fever. this year in Washington state. Could be deadly • The virus was found Wednesday in mosquitoes For about one in every collected near Mesa• in 150 people who are infected, Franklin County. the illness could be severe, The state began moni- even deadly. People older toring and testing mosqui- than 50 and those with toes and dead birds around weak immune systems are the state in June. at higher risk for serious Last year, the virus was illness. found in mosquitoes in To avoid mosquito bites, Franklin, Grant and use bug repellent and wear Yakima counties. No people long pants,long sleeves and • • New toxin disrupts shellfish harvest • Marine biotoxins that a health care provider. cause diarrhetic shell- Recreational shell- fish poisoning have been fish harvesters should detected at concentrations check the DOH website at above the closure level doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/ in shellfish samples col- biotoxin.htm or call the lected from Discovery Bay, DOH Biotoxin Hotline Quilcene Bay and Dabob at 800-562-5632 . before Bay. harvesting shellfish any- As a result, the where in Washington. Washington State Department of Health has closed all beaches in Discovery, Quilcene and Dabob bays to the recre- ational harvest of shell- fish. Commercially harvest- ed shellfish are sampled separately and products on the market should be safe to eat, according to a press release from Jefferson County Public Health. The state's sport crabbing season is not affected. The closure includes • clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of molluscan shellfish. Warning signs have been posted in affected areas. This is the first time a closure for DSP has happened in Jefferson County, according to the public health department. DSP was unknown in the U.S. until last year, when it was .first detected in Sequim Bay. People can become ill from eating shellfish con- taminated with the nat- urally occurring marine algae, which can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomit- ing, abdominal cramps and chills similar to gas- trointestinal or stomach flu symptoms. Symptoms can begin within a few hours of consumption and • last up to three days. Any one experiencing these • symptoms should contact /� �, ,e /2/7///d___, Y ► Blue-green algae bloom limits freshwater • swimming-hole options tions g . p Warm summer weather Gibbs Lake(with a county access is required. has finally arrived,but blue- park and swimming beach) Crocker Lake(not a swim- green algae again limits the merits a "Warning" rating, ming lake) has a "Caution" number of freshwater swim- meaning it is unsafe for people rating for algae. ming holes. and pets to enter or consume. Visit tinyurl.com/lak Jefferson County Public Consuming fish is OK; clean statuscheck for lake algae Health monitors the recur- well and discard guts. updates or call 385-1259. ring blue-green algae Lake Leland (with a problem in lowland East swimming beach and county SALTWATER CHOICES Jefferson County lakes. campground)has a"Caution" In terms of saltwater As of July 5, Sandy Shore level: Do not swim in areas swimming holes, the Port of Lake (located south of State of scum, do not consume Port Townsend has a float Route 104 between Center lake water; this applies to at the public swimming Road and S.R. 19)is the best humans, pets and livestock. beach next to the Herb Beck freshwater swimming hole Anderson Lake (not a Marina in Quilcene. option.The lake has no algae good swimming lake) is Going to the beach (with problem. closed to public access a vehicle) also means the Otherwise, the most -due to high algae levels, Discover Pass access fee accessible public freshwater although Anderson Lake applies at popular places such swimming holes are on the State Park trails are open; as Fort Flagler State Park and county's algae watch list. a Discover Pass for vehicle Fort Worden State Park. • • • ///e,2.- • Blue-green algae bloom limits freshwater swimming-hole options Warm summer weather Gibbs Lake(with a county access is required. has finally arrived,but blue- park and swimming beach) Crocker Lake(not a swim- green algae again limits the merits a "Warning" rating, ming lake) has a "Caution" number of freshwater swim- meaning it is unsafe for people rating for algae. ming holes. and pets to enter or consume. Visit tinyurl.com/lak Jefferson County Public Consuming fish is OK; clean statuscheck for lake algae Health monitors the recur- well and discard guts. updates or call 385-1259. ring blue-green algae Lake Leland (with a problem in lowland East swimming beach and county SALTWATER CHOICES Jefferson County lakes. campground)has a"Caution" In terms of saltwater As of July 5, Sandy Shore level: Do not swim in areas swimming holes, the Port of Lake (located south of State of scum, do not consume Port Townsend has a float Route 104 between Center lake water; this applies to at the public swimming Road and S.R. 19)is the best humans,pets and livestock. beach next to the Herb Beck freshwater swimming hole Anderson Lake (not a Marina in Quilcene. option.The lake has no algae good swimming lake) is Going to the beach (with problem. closed to public access a vehicle) also means the Otherwise, the most 'due to high algae levels, Discover Pass access fee accessible public freshwater although Anderson Lake applies at popular places such swimming holes are on the State Park trails are open; as Fort Flagler State Park and county's algae watch list. a Discover Pass for vehicle Fort Worden State Park. • • • • L7z20/6t New toxin disrupts • shellfish harvest • • Marine biotoxins that a health care provider. cause diarrhetic shell- Recreational shell- fish poisoning have been fish harvesters should detected at concentrations check the DOH website at above the closure level doh.wa. gov/ehp/sf/ in shellfish samples col- biotoxin.htm or call the lected from Discovery Bay, DOH Biotoxin Hotline Quilcene Bay and Dabob at 800-562-5632 before Bay. harvesting shellfish any- As a result, the where in Washington. Washington State Department of Health has closed all beaches in Discovery, Quilcene and Dabob bays to the recre- ational harvest of shell- fish. Commercially harvest- ed shellfish are sampled separately and products on the market should be safe to eat, according to a press release from Jefferson County Public Health. The state's sport crabbing season is not affected. The closure includes . clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of molluscan shellfish. Warning signs have been posted in affected areas. This is the first time a closure for DSP has happened in Jefferson County, according to the public health department. DSP was unknown in the U.S. until last year, when it was .first detected in Sequim Bay. People can become ill from eating shellfish con- taminated with the nat- urally occurring marine algae, which can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomit- ing, abdominal cramps and chills similar to gas- trointestinal or stomach flu symptoms. Symptoms can begin within a few hours of consumption and last up to three days. Any one experiencing these symptoms should contact • • ///// 7/11/2012 6:00:00 AM,Port Townsend Leader Ultrafine particles, sharp contrast of opinions Debates about smallest classification of particulate matter continue • By Tristan Hiegler of the Leader Ultrafine particles are everywhere. They are produced by wood burning in the fireplace, by bacon or scampi cooking in a frying pan and by a car backing down the driveway. Currently, both sides of the Port Townsend Paper Corp. biomass cogeneration issue are debating their impact on human health. The biomass plan's opponents claim the particles represent a serious enough threat to human health that the biomass proposal should be stopped. Mill officials, state regulators and local proponents say the new emission control technology to be implemented at the mill as part of the proposal should reduce the level of ultra-fine particulates (UFPs) from current emissions —even though the biomass plans call for additional burning of wood. UFPs are defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as particulate matter that is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. "Fine particles" are those that are 2.5 microns or less. Ultra-fine particles are those that are less than 0.1 micron in diameter. That's a fraction of a fraction of the width of a human hair. An average human hair is 70 microns across. Taking the comparison further, the average bacteria cell is 2 microns across while a red blood cell is 8 microns wide. The health concern with these incredibly small particles is their ability to bypass the human body's • defenses and enter the lungs and bloodstream. Health concerns Gretchen Brewer, director of PT AirWatchers, a local group that has opposed the mill's biomass plans in local forums and in the state courts, said the particles' small size and large quantities pose significant dangers to human health. "They're small enough that they can pass directly through the lungs into the bloodstream," Brewer said. "They can cross directly into your heart and lodge directly into your brain." She said high concentrations of UFPs in the body, especially in industrial areas, can lead to increased likelihood of strokes, heart attacks and higher rates of asthma. Dr. Kees Kolff, a retired physician and former Port Townsend mayor, agreed. He is also a leading opponent of the biomass plan, as chair of a committee connected with the Sierra Club. "These particles are so small they can get all the way into the bottom of the lungs and can go right into the blood stream," he said. "They can lead to cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer." Brewer asked of the proposed biomass expansion: "People are already having problems from the mill's pollution, so would you increase it?" State experts agree that UFPs pose special health risks. • Small particulates are of particular concern, said Gary Palcisko, air quality toxicologist with the state department of Ecology, because they "are a vehicle that carry pollutants or other things in the lungs, and e particulates themselves can cause problems in your lungs." He added, however, that the health impacts "depend on what they are made of." "They don't make up a whole lot of mass in the overall mixture," he said, "but they don't stay that size forever. There are atmospheric interactions that happen and they grow over time." Mixed science The science on the health risks of biomass particles is mixed. Larry Bonar, a retired biophysicist who lives in Port Townsend and who has spoken in favor of the biomass project, said that while tiny particulates of some kinds of chemical compositions, such as vehicle exhaust, have been shown to be dangerous to human health, no studies show that tiny particulates from biomass are dangerous. According to a 2008 report on the paper mill by the Washington State Department of Health, the department received a series of complaints about the mill pollution between 2004 and 2007. The report said area residents complained of chronic throat and lung irritation, persistent respiratory and cardiac problems, headaches and nausea and problems with the pungent smell associated with the mill's emission plume. "Because most of the health effects attributable to air pollutants can also be attributable to a wide variety of risk factors, the impact of air pollution on human health is further complicated by human exposure to a Aftmixture of substances at various concentrations present in the air," the report said. "The mixture is different inside and outside and may affect people in different ways." The report states particulate matter can be associated with an increase in mortality in those older than 65 who have pre-existing cardiopulmonary diseases, and infants. They are also associated with worsening asthma in children and other chronic lung diseases. "Most studies on [particulate matter] conclude that there is little information about the relative effects of [particulate matter] constituents less than 2.5 [microns] in diameter," the report said. "Despite the wealth of data supporting associations between health outcomes and [particulate matter] exposures, there are many gaps in our knowledge." Shifting standards Palcisko said federal scientists associated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are working today to provide a clearer picture of the health impacts of UFPs, but do not have clear conclusions yet. Palcisko said UFPs emitted by industry are not regulated independently from larger particles, although that is under study. "They are not separate animals," he said in an interview. "They are regulated together. There is some concern by advocates that they should be regulated separately, but the science isn't there 0 yet. There is not a consensus that it should be done yet." "There is suggestive evidence that there are health effects with UFPs, but not enough information to say for sure what those health effects might be and how to measure them," he added. The EPA has its eye on the problem and has established a top-level scientific panel to do research and draw conclusions. . "The EPA has their eye on it and is funding aresearch more toxic thanparticulate othe sS depending on said Palcisko. Initial results indicate that some UFPs are chemical composition, but the results are not consistent or complete yet, he said. Bill Wise, chairman of Team Jefferson, an economic development agency and a proponent of the mill's biomass expansion plan, said based on the data he has examined, UFPs are nothing new and humans have been living with them since time immemorial. He cited a study that monitors the sources of UFPs during a routine day. He said the study found 47 percent of ultrafine particles come from indoor sources, particularly cooking. Studies indicate that there is a higher level of UFPs inside the home, especially at meal time, than outside the home. "It seems to me ultrafine particles are kind of part of our living," he said. "[Ultrafine particles] from biomass have been around since before mankind existed," Wise added. He said forest fires and other natural events have been producing large concentrations of ultrafine particles without human intervention. Dr. Douwe Rienstra of Port Townsend has also weighed in on the debate over health impacts from particles. "At one point I telephoned a lung specialist in Bremerton to discover what I was missing about these nanoparticles," he wrote. "He said there's little to no evidence of harm. He and his colleagues have much bigger fish to fry." Particulate sources Larger and smaller particulates, including UFPs, come from dozens of sources. "Combustion creates air pollutants," said Palcisko. Forest fires, wood stoves, fire places and open burning of any kind produce the highst l of petroleum. Ts iny particf all les are releasedld. Internal by stoves, tion hair engines produce them fromburning p dryers, laser printers and electric appliances. DOE does not have a comprehensive air pollution study of the Port Townsend area, but Puget Sound Clean Air did a source apportionment study in Tacoma. "We found that in the winter in Tacoma, for the bad air quality days, 60-70 percent came from wood stoves," he said. "A smaller portion came from traffic and industry. A study in Shelton showed similar results, as reported by Gary Nelson, spokesperson for the Olympic Regional Clean Air Agency (ORCAA), which monitors air pollution in Jefferson County and throughout the Olympic Peninsula. "Our data shows that our number one source of problem air days comes from residential burning, indoor and outdoor," he said. "Last year, based on our Shelton monitor, our highest 4 i 4 spike of PM 2.5 came when local industrial facilities were all shut down, but wood stoves were active. Historically, it's always been the case." •Brewer argued there is a difference between forest fire particulates and the ones emitted by the mill. "Troublesome as wood fires are in other contexts or other locations which may be far from population centers (as in forest fires, controlled burns or slash burning) these are not all day, every day," Brewer said. "Except for periodic maintenance, the mill is and will be burning tons of fuel per second nearly continuously 24/7/365 regardless of season, near population centers and within a mile of a hospital, several schools and elder care facilities." P IV12.5 2.5 pm in diameter 0 HUMAN HAIR 70 pm average diameter PM10 enlarged PM10 ° 10 pm in diameter a • a r � FINE BEACH SAND 90 1.rm in diameter pm is 1 micron which equals 1 millionth of a meter The human hair is 70 microns across while fine particulate matter particles are 2.5 microns or less across. Ultrafine particles—the health effects of which are still being debated and studied — measure 0.1 microns across or less. Source: Environmental Protection Agency 7/11/2012, Port Townsend Leader Controlling emissions, by Tristan Hiegler of the Leader 411 While Port Townsend Paper Corp.'s biomass cogeneration plan calls for the burning of additional tons of biomass, new pollution controls are also part of the$55 million plan. Approximately $10 million of the total is expected to be invested in new cleaning technology, the largest component of which is an electrostatic precipitator(ESP)which would, according to mill and Department of Ecology (DOE) officials, remove the vast majority of particulates, both large and small. PT Paper's application for the biomass project, and the order accepting it from DOE, claim that the new air pollution controls would reduce the currently released particulates from power boiler No. 10 by 65 to 70 percent, based on weight. Today, more than 100 tons of particulates are released on an annual basis, according to Bill Wise, chairman of Team Jefferson and a proponent of the mill's proposed biomass expansion. After the new controls are in place, 36.4 tons would be released, Wise said. Opponents of the project point out, however, that by DOE rules PT Paper is allowed to choose any year within the past 10 years as its baseline for measuring the change in the capture of particulates. This allows the mill to choose a year when particulates emissions were low, as opposed to the most recent year, thus skewering the comparative data. The mill has not released its emission data. National trends, thanks to federal air pollution control regulations and technologies, are moving in the right direction, said Gary Palcisko, an air quality toxicologist with DOE. "There is good evidence over the past 30 years that by reducing particulates, we've seen an improvement in air quality and an improvement in the health issues that we measure," he said. He added that industrial particulates are "down across the country."That is especially true for the pulp and paper industry. Electric charges The EPA defines ESP as "a type of air pollution control system that uses high voltage fields to electrically charge and collect particulate matter. The charged particles approach an electrically grounded collection plate and accumulate as a dust layer, which is partially removed by mechanical rapping (hammers) on a routine basis." A similar ESP captures particulate matter at an operating biomass-burning plant in Aberdeen, and officials there said it is effective in removing particulate matter. Gretchen Brewer, director of PT AirWatchers, said the ESP technology is not sophisticated enough to capture ultrafine particles (UFPs). "The smaller ones though don't have enough mass and have enough momentum to go right past the precipitator to right on out the stack," she said. Wise countered that. He said the precipitator is an effective technology that should filter out 95 percent of the UFPs exiting the stack. "We've been told by the various experts that nanoparticles can't be filtered. That's just not true," he said. Eveleen Muehlethaler, vice president of environmental affairs for PT Paper, said the ESP is going to remove the bulk of the particles, and especially the ultrafines. "The particles that are going up into the air today are going to be reduced by 70 percent based on the new air pollution control equipment we're putting in," Muehlethaler said. Because the current air pollution control scrubbers are effective in capturing most of the larger particulates, she asserted that most of the particulates captured by the new ESP would be PM 2.5 and below. 1 1 Regulators with the state DOE seconded her opinion. She technology (of the ESP) is designed to take particulates and bring them out of the air stream," said Garin Shreve, DOE's manager of Technical Services, who oversees the engineers that monitor industries like PT Paper. "In some ways small particulates can be handled better than large ones. Our assessment is, based on the manufacture of equipment and what it can handle, that it would work on the smaller particulate fractions. But we can't quantify that in a real way for you." The pollution control equipment will include measurements of opacity of the air emissions after the ESP has done its work and before the wet scrubber that follows it, said DOE's Mark Heffner, the technical lead regulator on the PT Paper biomass project. That gives the state a handle on how well the ESP is removing particulate matter, he said. Something you can see "Particulates are something you can see," he said. "The mill is required to keep its opacity at a certain level. If the opacity is higher, it means something."The mill will be required to"have continuous opacity monitoring between the ESP and the scrubber," he said. Those tests can be independently monitored through spot checks. Heffner concluded that the new pollution controls that would be part of the process will leave PT Paper's air emissions cleaner than before. "It's going to be an improvement, and I would think it will still be an improvement across all the particulates," he said. • I p 7/11/2012 6:00:00 AM,Port Townsend Leader Letter: Mill's emission reduction overstated • The Leader headlined "a 70-percent reduction in today's particulate emissions is central to PT Paper's proposal," but that claim is contradicted by material in the article itself and public records. According to the June 20 article, "the law allowed the mill to pick any year in the last 10 as its baseline, and the mill picked a year with higher emissions ... PT Paper's emission data for other years is not publicly available." Actually, the DOE allows the mill to cherry-pick different baseline years for each hazardous pollutant to make its comparative emissions look as good as possible. But this kind of statistical manipulation has nothing to do with actual reduction in today's emissions. As an example of how this works, Nippon Paper Industries in Port Angeles claimed a 17 percent reduction of key pollutants in its 2010 Notice of Construction Application. However, this reduction was only achieved by cherry-picking comparisons with the 2001-2002 two-year average for some pollutants and the 2004-2005 two-year average for others. Comparing the new system to then-current 2009 emissions showed an actual 30 percent increase in emissions. Since PT Paper refuses to release its own emissions data, there is no way to evaluate what games were played with its 70 percent reduction figure. The mill claims in the article that new electrostatic precipitators "will be especially effective in grabbing the tiniest particulates that environmentalists say pose the biggest health risks... Over 90 percent of what is coming out now is PM 2.5 or smaller." But according to the EPA, "efficiency due to these [electrostatic] collection methods reaches negligible levels [as low as 25 percent] between 3 and 0.3 micrometers" (source: epa.gov/eogapti1/bces/module3/collect/collect.htm). • If the mill's process is only one-fourth as effective for more than 90 percent of its particulates, that completely undermines its 70 percent reduction claim. I appreciate the Leader's good-faith attempt to make sense of some very confusing numbers coming from the mill, but the result reads like a case study out of"How to Lie with Statistics." The Leader needs to run a front page retraction of its misleading headline and lead paragraphs to make clear that PT Paper's proposal would not simply reduce emissions by 70 percent, since the actual statistic cannot be known without further mill information disclosure. STEPHEN SCHUMACHER, Port Townsend (Leader publisher Scott Wilson replies: The figure of a 70 percent reduction in particulate matter by weight for Power Boiler 10 emissions has been asserted by PT Paper for its biomass proposal, and is contained in the written regulatory guidelines adopted by the Department of Ecology with the force of law. Caveats related to this figure, including that the mill is entitled to choose its comparative baseline year for emissions among the last 10 years, that PT Paper has not released its annual emission data, and that the emission reduction figure applies only to Power Boiler 10 and not the entire mill, were all part of the June 20 story. We will further investigate the effectiveness of emission controls on fine and ultra-fine particles through the source supplied by Mr. Schumacher, among other sources.) • a { + . WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK �M,L L �' r . .1. IF - dome -� 10,.. = ate ! - .. .cele i �' •- . . , 4 . , �,�, ip or it o LBringyour r 4.- r 4 ',..%Ii' f ti a r -✓' r r yrt. own lunch ! �� 0..11411 7 r .. • , . , . __ .tit .. .":"it,..k. le- ft k +4 y 1 L i a� r . 1. s . ` r - � r • 1} 'R 3 •R y .. . m ... ,,,v,„„, . i� 1 I III I 6 , , r� s .-i1 i 40-43 • tillt i '"f t.*/r , ' j "I f n .„0. �' Via .�^A r�-... ; s g 'tF_, ., i� 4 • - ----i , . , k ' s ciefool...„ ,.... . .,1 N. My , � r L de r .;F "^'^-�... ..e..•....-w--�.,. 7 i '.:./ - + rev lir �� �T, ., i ,�, L�,: .,... ..... ,,., z... .i...... (.1 mi,ov , ,,,,,,orep-- -,..- / , vrt, This FREE event is . sponsored by Jefferson County Public Health ;" WIC! PICNIC615 Sheridan Street �" Port Townsend, WA A C 98368 360.385.9400 , WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1st PUBLIC HEALTH , .__/ �WW CHETZAMOKA PARK Washington State WIC 1:00 M Nutrition Program Please call for more information: 385-9400 6/2012HS cdC J N J X = U too X 3 U 3 O .i O O II U_ II • Q K ,... K I i I N N ,-I .--1 O O N N \ \ In to a a CO C C .-1 {/I .X - , .. 0 o O NUill ;, 0 CO L v C t. a 2 a; a; • 5a. J CO CO p C I C 0 0 N Lin a) a) 73 C C a a O O 411. 11 0 N N I!1Ln '-I Tr 01 OO O O N N i \ \ Ln in O 0 O co -i ' . i .-1 O O 0 .'i .-1 —1 •-1 • 00 0 O O O 0 O O O .-1 mos Rol i/21 amus Sol"1/211 4 NJ C r' . J ` `n a X o U 4-, N-, 0 p t.0• u 2 cc Ti N N a-I n--I 0 0 N N 0 0 N N 'Cr a C H o N •O Orsi V O ++ a a tm CD I.) Q G • CUNCU Ca J J N N Rnet • me • o • ; o N o _ N O 0 N O N a a- •• • • • S m rn 0 0 0 0 N IIII o o o O o ,--I a--I r-1 N o • O O O '-i O o N O O o O .4.- O O O O V o + O O ei o i aims 201 1/211 mem 2o1:1/211 CO \J a-+ J e C 00T o O i--I 2 to fp I I U II 0 < cc I H 41) N N a-i O O N N 0 O N N Cr Cr \V ci ,i O N O X 0 U o a 0 N4.1 v (a U Q 2 • . 4.: D = % f fa J J Y fa fa J 1111) J 0 0 rI . 0 0 N o - N N NV 01 O O O O ___=:=411N N O 0 • O O d\' O O 0 0 O O .-i O O .--I 0 e aie3s 201'1/81 aie3s Bo!f1/2T1 JCPH Page 1 of 2 s Always working for a healthier Jefferson. Jefferson County Public Health • Port Townsend,Washington Home About JCPH Community Health Environmental Health/Water Quality Information News&Events Promoting healthy communities and their environments. ,_ "' s Welcome»Environmental Health/Water Quality»Water Quality»Lake Water Quality Search JCPH: IGo1 LAKE STATUS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH& TOXIC ALGAE MONITORING WATER QUALITY Some species of bluegreen algae(also known as cyanobacteria)can produce toxins harmful to human and Business Pollution Prevention animal health.The Jefferson County Water Quality Department monitors the following lakes for bluegreen Drinking water/wells algae: Anderson Lake,Gibbs Lake,and Lake Leland.These lakes are monitored weekly and sampled for toxins if bluegreen algae are suspected to be present.Other lakes are monitored as needed. Results are EH Fees&Payments generally obtained by Friday and lake status is updated on this page. For more information about toxic algae Food Safety blooms,click here.To see a map of the lake location,click the name of the lake in the table below. Septic Systems Solid Waste Date Last Water Quality Name of Lake Sampled Status Notes Lake Water Quality Anderson Lake 7/9/2012 DANGER • Heavy bloom Beach&Shellfish LAKE CLOSED •Toxic species dominant Monitoring •Anatoxin level high Clean water District Crocker Lake 5/7/2012 CAUTION • No bloom visible 7/2 Clean Water Projects TOXIC ALGAE MAY IPR*rely Toxic species present Pools&Spas ��~•~•M°•°�•�••pe` • Last sample 5/7 water Resources Gibbs Lake 7/9/2012 WARNING • Heavy bloom Conservation Futures TOXIC ALGAE PRESENT •Toxic species present Lake womb far people awl j"` •Toxin preset but low • QUICK LINKS Lake Leland 7/9/2012 CAUTION • Moderate bloom West Nile Virus News y..0 ..v.rr..sar •Toxic species present I"w~meek/pm*and nu •Toxin present but low West Nile Virus in Washington Sandy Shore 4/23/2012 CLEAR • No visible bloom Department of Health Lake • Last sample 2011 (NO SIGN AT SITE) p WA State Environmental Silent Lake 9/26/2011 CLEAR • Last sample 2011 Health&Safety p (NO SIGN AT SITE) • No recent observations State(DOH)Drinking water 0 Lake conditions can change rapidly and lake status may have changed since the last sample was taken. State(DOH)Food Safety& Regardless of what is posted here, if you observe a green paint-like scum or bloom on a lake follow the Shellfish Programs recommendations listed at the WARNING level. If you observe a bloom in a Jefferson County lake, please report it by calling (360) 385-9444. State(DOH)Waste Water Management O What the Status sign means: (click image to enlarge) WADe t f Statee D O)Ecology Lo No toxins detected in last sample,no toxic species present and no bloom State(DOE)Well Logs ���� visible. Note there is no sign posted when the lake is clear. (NO SIGN AT SITE) CAUTION WARNING DANGER TOXIC AIRES NAT U PESIONT TOXIC ALGAE MOUNT WM•ay LAKE CLOSED N week Iww.M•.w••. IONroof•for M pets • _ «.««•.:.:7 y#,... «� .«... due to taxk al we •"i'' Lit 11......r'.w., . ;,_ „ a» a KEEP OUT • """ OF LAKE Toxins detected at low levels, Toxins at or above state Lake closed by land toxic species may be present guidelines or extensive bloom manager's decision 0 or bloom visible. • Do not swim in areas of dominated by toxic species. • Do not swim • Keep out of/off lake scum • Do not drink lake water http://www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/index.php?lake-water-quality 7/19/2012 *JCPH Page 2 of 2 • Do not drink lake water • Keep pets and livestock • Keep pets and livestock away away • Clean fish well and discard • Clean fish well and discard guts guts • Avoid scum when boating • Avoid scum when boating • Warning-algae toxins may • Warning-algae toxins may be present in fish tissue, be present in fish tissue, please call your local health please call your local health department,Jefferson department,Jefferson County,at(360) 385-9444 County,at(360) 385-9444 for more information for more information Home I Previous Page Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan Street-Port Townsend,WA 98368 • Community Health:360.385.9400 I Environmental Health:360.385.9444 • info@jeffersoncountypublichealth.org JCPH Employee Resources • • http://www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/index.php?lake-water-quality 7/19/2012 (r. Washington Stale Depart±rreut of iHealth News Release For immediate release: July 19, 2012 (12-093) Contacts: Tim Church, Communications Office 360-236-4077 Donn Moyer, Communications Office 360-236-4076 Washington whooping cough epidemic highlights changing national trends Vaccination is best protection; key is keeping up-to-date on immunizations OLYMPIA—Washington's whooping cough epidemic passed 3,000 reported cases this week, just as research indicates vaccine protection doesn't last as long as expected. The fact that the protection wears off sooner than was previously thought is among the reasons that most cases in Washington are in school age children who are vaccinated. "Whooping cough vaccines work but don't seem to last as long as was expected," said Secretary of Health Mary Selecky. "Even so, vaccinated people who get whooping cough have milder symptoms, shorter illnesses, and are less likely to spread the disease to others. Our biggest concern is keeping babies from getting sick–and vaccination is still the best protection." A report on the Washington epidemic was published today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) weekly publication. The report highlights more reported cases among 13-14 year olds–a changing trend across the country that indicates a shorter duration for vaccine protection against whooping cough (pertussis). Whooping cough continues to be a very serious threat to infants who are at greatest risk of serious disease if they're infected; they're often hospitalized. Babies get the first dose of whooping cough vaccine at two months of age and need a series of five shots to be fully protected. So far this year 185 cases have been reported in children less than one year old; 39 have been hospitalized. "We've been working hard to slow the spread of disease and understand better what's going on," said Secretary Selecky. "CDC has been a huge help. Analyzing the details of the whooping 11111 cough epidemic in Washington could help CDC and other states learn some things that weren't known before, and see this changing trend–and that's public health in action." —More— Whooping cough epidemic illustrates national trend July 19, 2012 Page 2 IIIICDC is helping Washington's disease investigators analyze data as part of an"epi-aid"to the state; they have also helped with outreach. We will continue to work with CDC on a study of how long the Tdap vaccine lasts and how well it protects people. Information from a study done during the 2010 California whooping cough outbreak showed that the DTaP vaccine for children works very well for the first couple years after vaccination. The data from California also showed that the protection decreases to about 70 percent effectiveness five years after vaccination. That means kids are more at risk for getting the disease the longer it's been since they were vaccinated. The upcoming study in Washington will look into similar information for the Tdap booster vaccine for teens and adults. "The more we learn about whooping cough, the better we'll be able to fight this epidemic," said State Health Officer Dr. Maxine Hayes. "It's a miracle a baby hasn't died in our state yet this year—it has happened before and could happen again. Although vaccine protection wears off over time, vaccination remains the best tool we have to slow the spread of this serious disease. That's why we're asking everyone to get vaccinated." • Dr. Hayes adds that vaccination can reduce the severity of symptoms, shorten the illness, and make it less likely to be spread to others. More information on the whooping cough vaccines, including where to get vaccinated, can be found in our frequently asked questions. The CDC article on the Washington whooping cough epidemic is available online. The Department of Health website (www.doh.wa.gov) is your source for a healthy dose of information. Also, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ### r 12-092-RabiesinWABats :: Washington State Dept. of Health Page 1 of 2 0e. 14e me_ i:Vot cnaie Department J /1 Health News Release For immediate release: July 17, 2012 (12-092) Contacts: Julie Graham, Communications Office 360-236-4022 Rabies found in WA bats; recent incidents highlight the risk for rabies Anyone having contact with a bat should be evaluated for risk of rabies OLYMPIA - Bats in Washington often test positive for rabies, and this year already, three people had to be treated for exposure to rabid bats. The Department of Health tests bats that have been caught after coming in contact with people. Every year, people in the state require medical treatment following contact with bats that test positive for rabies. Rabid bats have been found in almost every county in Washington. Rabies virus is spread in the saliva of an infected animal, most commonly through a bite. There's a chance a person can catch the virus if infected saliva gets in the eyes, nose, or mouth, or gets in a scratch or wound in the skin. 0 Rabies is a fatal disease, but it can be prevented with prompt medical care following a bite or other exposure to rabies virus. Treatment is a series of shots given on a specific schedule over a 14-day period. If you are bitten by a bat, or another animal, clean the wound with soap and water and get medical attention. Any direct contact with a bat should be carefully evaluated. Likewise, when a bat is found indoors the situation should be evaluated. This is particularly important if a person wakes up and finds a bat in a room where they or another person were sleeping. Bat teeth are very small and sharp and a wound from a bat bite may not be visible; a bat bite might not even be felt by a sleeping person. Call your local health agency for help evaluating people or pets that may have been exposed to bats in the home. They can help arrange to test the bat for rabies, if needed. When an animal tests positive for rabies, people who were exposed to the animal must be vaccinated to protect them from the disease. Never touch a wild bat or any other wild animal. Healthy bats usually don't come near enough to be touched. A bat that is slow, lying on the ground, or that lands on a person could be showing signs of illness. If you can touch the animal, chances are it's sick. Important bat safety tips: Teach children that if they find a bat they should not touch it, or any wild animals, and that they should always immediately go tell an adult. • "Bat proof' your home by making sure open windows have screens and that other small entry points—such as cracks, crevices, or holes—are sealed. http://www.doh.wa.gov/Newsroom/2012NewsReleases/12092RabiesinWABats.aspx 7/19/2012 12-092-RabiesinWABats :: Washington State Dept. of Health Page 2 of 2 If a bat is in your home or cabin, wait until the bat lands on the floor or a wall. Wear leather or other thick gloves to capture the bat in a can or box without touching it. Close 0 the container and call your local health agency. Pets are a potential source of rabies exposure. Make sure pets are vaccinated against rabies, as required by state law. Although it's rare for a pet to contract rabies, it can happen. The virus can be transmitted from bats to pets as well as other wild animals. If you're traveling to a country where rabies is common, talk to your health care provider about receiving rabies prevention treatment before you go. The Department of Health website (doh.wa.gov) is your source for a healthy dose of information. Also, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ### Print Version PDF I I http://www.doh.wa.gov/Newsroom/2012NewsReleases/12092RabiesinWABats.aspx 7/19/2012 sl SI E R.RA North Olympic Group of the Sierra Club P. 0. Box 714 CLUB Carlsborg, WA 98324 FOUNDED 1892 Sent via email July 16, 2012 Dr. Tom Locke, Health Officer Jefferson Co. Re: Port Townsend Paper Mill's landfill Dear Dr. Locke, The North Olympic Group of the Sierra Club has more than 450 members residing in Jefferson County. Issues of clean water, air, and the health of residents and the local ecosystem are of great concern to our membership. Sierra Club has noted and is highly interested in recent reports of improper • permitting of the Port Townsend Paper Mill's landfill. This landfill —once properly permitted as a Limited Purpose Landfill —has been most recently classified as Inert. With published levels of PH at 12 and higher, this is clearly a classification totally out of line with state law. Sierra Club believes this is a very serious matter. Without proper functioning groundwater testing and real financial assurances (only two of the minimal standards for a Limited Purpose Landfill), this landfill would remain an unregulated and unmonitored liability to the County. The reports of construction and demolition waste burned by this company historically, presently, and in the future, high PH levels, an unmonitored old landfill, and the expected increase in ash that a proposed Biomass project would bring clearly send out alarms regarding the potential for grave damage to our waterways and surrounding environs. The Sierra Club recommends that the governing entity of the Jefferson County Board of Health respond to the imminent dangers of the present landfill, the "closed landfill" and the increased proposed ash/incineration waste of the Biomass project with an appropriate permitting level for this site. This landfill • 1 should be classified as a Limited Purpose Landfill. There should be no • exceptions to the laws of the state, and the fact that this is the only such landfill to be permitted as Inert in the entire State of Washington is a glaring and strange exception that cannot be allowed. Thank you for your consideration of this urgent recommendation. Robert Lynette, ra.A.41 't,cotrt_ Co-Chair, North Olympic Group of the Sierra Club • • 2 • July 17, 2012 Dr. Thomas Locke Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan St. Port Townsend WA 98368 Dear Dr. Locke, I am writing, as you requested during our conversation last Thursday, to detail the points we spoke of then. You indicated that you were not aware of the current high volume of construction and demolition(C&D)waste in the hog fuel burned by PTPC, expecting that such fuel would not be burned until the start of a cogen project. We have seen documentation for I believe the year 2006 by Hanam Canada, an industry monitor, which showed 60,000 tons delivered in that year. As a side note: PTPC protested of excessive amounts of plastic in the hog fuel, with their concern-not for health-but that the plastic interfered with their boiler operation. I would have thought ANY plastic was too much, as its combustion creates dioxin waste among other things. It is JCPH's obligation to know the types and proportions of fuel being burned, in order O to understand the consequences in the waste. It is doubtful that the 2004 designation of the waste as inert is correct, but in any case, a significant change in fuel should trigger a new characterization of the waste. The C&D fuel component is uncertain and potentially a health and environmental risk in its ash. JCPH needs to request from PTPC the volume and proportions data for C&D since 2004. Your earlier position this year in writing to the Department of Ecology(DOE)was to insist that this landfill could not be permitted as inert. DOE in their writing to you have insisted the same, when you proposed an"inert heavy" permit. Even after you changed your position, and after DOE agreed to allow this, DOE noted that if the issue goes to court,they could not back up the JCPH in its permitting of the landfill content as inert. The only admitted reasons for your change of position have been your effort to seek"low cost, high value" solutions to avoid any economic burden on PTPC, and your expressed wish to avoid litigation, which PTPC's lawyer Ms. Nellermoe has threatened. Neither reason is a valid consideration to support delay in enforcing solid waste statutes. Furthermore, your offer to PTPC to delay designation an unspecified amount of time, until the proposed congen project is operational, allows PTPC to avoid regulation in the present and future. Already PTPC has successfully delayed since the spring of 2011 the implementation of proper permitting. • As far as I can determine, this landfill has not had truly independent content testing since its beginning in 1973. In the early years, from Crown Zellerbach's statements, non-inert papermaking waste was dumped there. DOE states that groundwater monitoring has never been conducted in a way that shows legitimate results, because of dry wells and wells of inadequate depth. Additionally, the self sampling by PTPC of annual analysis samples, with no evidence of a sampling plan(until this year), no training of the employee sampler, and no assurance that the sample is representative of the landfill content, means that testing done for JCPH and DOE has been at best a charade. This landfill cannot be appropriately permitted under WAC 173-350-410. Characterization of the waste must be done without delay, for reasons DOE has presented to you. Ultimately, for issues of management and closure, even characterization by itself is not sufficient. Any regulation must consider that earlier landfill content, dumped without regulation for almost 20 years, means that the overall landfill cannot be assumed inert based solely on waste being added. A permit must also address risks from the historic cell. Given the considerable uncertainty in both present and historic waste, you should be erring on the side of being more protective of public and environmental health, rather than a plan of delay that is in effect the absence of proper regulation. Cordially • David McWethy Port Townsend CC: Ted Sturdevant, DOE Dominic Calabro, EPA • r • July 17, 2012 Dr. Thomas Locke Jefferson County Public Health 615 Sheridan St. Port Townsend WA 98368 Dear Dr. Locke, I am writing, as you requested during our conversation last Thursday, to detail the points we spoke of then. You indicated that you were not aware of the current high volume of construction and demolition(C&D)waste in the hog fuel burned by PTPC, expecting that such fuel would not be burned until the start of a cogen project. We have seen documentation for I believe the year 2006 by Hanam Canada, an industry monitor,which showed 60,000 tons delivered in that year. As a side note: PTPC protested of excessive amounts of plastic in the hog fuel, with their concern-not for health-but that the plastic interfered with their boiler operation. I would have thought ANY plastic was too much, as its combustion creates dioxin waste among other things. It is JCPH's obligation to know the types and proportions of fuel being burned, in order • to understand the consequences in the waste. It is doubtful that the 2004 designation of the waste as inert is correct, but in any case, a significant change in fuel should trigger a new characterization of the waste. The C&D fuel component is uncertain and potentially a health and environmental risk in its ash. JCPH needs to request from PTPC the volume and proportions data for C&D since 2004. Your earlier position this year in writing to the Department of Ecology(DOE) was to insist that this landfill could not be permitted as inert. DOE in their writing to you have insisted the same, when you proposed an"inert heavy" permit. Even after you changed your position, and after DOE agreed to allow this, DOE noted that if the issue goes to court,they could not back up the JCPH in its permitting of the landfill content as inert. The only admitted reasons for your change of position have been your effort to seek"low cost, high value" solutions to avoid any economic burden on PTPC, and your expressed wish to avoid litigation, which PTPC's lawyer Ms. Nellermoe has threatened. Neither reason is a valid consideration to support delay in enforcing solid waste statutes. Furthermore, your offer to PTPC to delay designation an unspecified amount of time, until the proposed congen project is operational, allows PTPC to avoid regulation in the present and future. Already PTPC has successfully delayed since the spring of 2011 the implementation of proper permitting. • J • As far as I can determine, this landfill has not had truly independent content testing since its beginning in 1973. In the early years, from Crown Zellerbach's statements, non-inert papermaking waste was dumped there. DOE states that groundwater monitoring has never been conducted in a way that shows legitimate results, because of dry wells and wells of inadequate depth. Additionally, the self sampling by PTPC of annual analysis samples, with no evidence of a sampling plan(until this year), no training of the employee sampler, and no assurance that the sample is representative of the landfill content, means that testing done for JCPH and DOE has been at best a charade. This landfill cannot be appropriately permitted under WAC 173-350-410. Characterization of the waste must be done without delay, for reasons DOE has presented to you. Ultimately, for issues of management and closure, even characterization by itself is not sufficient. Any regulation must consider that earlier landfill content, dumped without regulation for almost 20 years, means that the overall landfill cannot be assumed inert based solely on waste being added. A permit must also address risks from the historic cell. Given the considerable uncertainty in both present and historic waste, you should be erring on the side of being more protective of public and environmental health, rather than a plan of delay that is in effect the absence of proper regulation. Cordially • David McWethy Port Townsend CC: Ted Sturdevant, DOE Dominic Calabro,EPA •