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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM072012JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday, July 20, 2012 2:30 PM — 4:30 PM Masonic Hall, 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 2:35 PM. A quorum was present. Members Present: Phil Johnson, David Sullivan, John Austin, Jill Buhler, Catharine Robinson, Roberta Frissell, Sheila Westerman Staff Present: Dr. Thomas Locke, Veronica Shaw, Julia Danskin, Jared Keefer, Cathy Avery APPROVAL OF AGENDA Member Austin moved to approve the agenda for the July 20, 2012 BOH meeting; Member Buhler seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Member Sullivan requested on page 3 under Public Comment Peter Lauritze be changed to Peter Lauritzen. Member Robinson requested that all JCPH staff present at the BOH meeting be listed under Staff Present. She also requested on page 2 under Northwest Public Health Journal "Dean of Public Health, Dr. Howard Frumkin" be changed to "Dean of University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Dr. Howard Frumkin". Member Frissell moved to approve the minutes of the June 21, 2012 BOH meeting as amended; Member Robinson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS and INFORMATIONAL ITEMS JC-WQ Award Puget Sound Champion Jared Keefer announced the JCPH water quality department received an award from the Puget Sound Partnership for their efforts and coordination in partnering with Kitsap County, the tribes and Mason County on the Hood Canal Regional Pollution Identification and Control Program. Whooping cough vaccine and rates Dr. Locke updated the Board on the current status of the Washington State Whooping Cough epidemic. There are currently more than 3,000 confirmed cases of Whooping Cough statewide, which Dr. Locke pointed out likely under represents the true number of cases. Not people with positive pertussis tests meet the strict criteria to be counted as a confirmed case and many adults with pertussis have mild symptoms and are not tested. Dr. Locke stated the number of infants affected is monitored very closely. There have been 173 confirmed cases in infants, 38 of whom were hospitalized. Dr. Locke also discussed new research that suggests immunity induced by the childhood version of the acellular pertussis vaccine does not last as long as previously thought. He stated this makes it all the more important for children to receive all of their booster doses and for adolescents and adults to receive the TdaP (Tetanus, diphtheria, acellular Petussis) vaccine. Local Health Boards Alliance Dr. Locke reviewed the draft charter of the newly formed Local Health Boards Alliance. The purpose of the Alliance is to exchange information among Washington State Local Boards of Health and coordinate policies and programs activities. The Alliance members also intend to work with Washington State Association of Counties and the Washington State Association of Public Health Official to work collectively to maintain and improve the public health system in Washington State. JCPH web page FAQ's to answer public questions Jared Keefer reviewed a press release, which was included in the agenda packet, that states JCPH has posted a new link on their website to key documents regarding the history of the Port Townsend Paper Company's inert waste landfill, a link to Frequently Asked Questions, and relevant public documents. The site will be updated periodically by JCPH. County Budget Schedule Veronica Shaw stated the County Budget Schedule was included for the Boards information and she hopes to have budget projections available by the August 2012 BOH meeting. Letters from Citizens Jared Keefer stated the correspondence received by JCPH has been included in the agenda packet in order to keep the Board informed of what is being received. THRIVE Grant Award to Bridge Partnership for NFP Veronica Shaw informed the Board that JCPH has been awarded the THRIVE by FIVE Grant, which will support a partnership with Kitsap and the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe and will also help fund a replacement of the former nurse position, which was held by Quen Zorrah. NEW BUSINESS Electronic Health Records — JCPH Moves Forward Veronica Shaw announced a staff team has reviewed several Electronic Health Records Systems and have chosen a bid from the e -MDs system. Funding for this system is being provided through a federal grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Sampling County Lakes, Health Risks See Press Release Greg Thomason, Environmental Health Specialist, gave a presentation on the lake toxin monitoring program which began in 2006 after 2 dogs died at Anderson Lake from Anatoxin poisoning. Mr. Thomason explained the 2 different toxins being tested are Anatoxin -A and Mycrocystin and the effects the 2 toxins have on people and animals. Mr. Thomason also explained the life cycle of the algae blooms that cause of toxins to be released in the lakes. Since 2007 the program has been running on about 75% grant money from DOE and 25% from county funds. Mr. Thomason described the process of monitoring each lake, the time frame of receiving the testing results, who is notified, recommendations that are made from the testing results, and the cost of sampling the lakes. Mr. Thomason also discussed methods of cleaning up the toxins from the lakes. Local Shellfish Closures — Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning Alison Petty, Environmental Health Specialist, gave a presentation on shellfish safety and the marine biotoxins that affect the safety of shellfish in Jefferson County. She explained the newest biotoxin to be found in Washington State is Okadaic Acid which causes Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP). She described the symptoms of DSP and the process for testing for DSP. Beginning in 2010, the Department of Health started testing water and mussel samples for the presence of the toxins. In 2011 they found trace amounts of toxin. When people began to get sick from DSP, DSP testing was added to Department of Health's regular testing. Alison explained how the State uses the Sentinel Mussel Program to test for rising toxin levels. She also described Environmental Health's role in collecting specimens, notifying the public of closures when toxins are detected, and responding to the public's concerns about shellfish safety. Affordability Care Act — State Impacts Dr. Locke informed the Board that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to the Supreme Court's decision, several state agencies prepared reports on the impacts that repeal of the ACA would have on Washington State. Copies of these reports are included in the agenda packet. Dr. Locke outlined the positive outcomes of the bill such as expanding the Medicaid system, making private sector insurance more affordable, giving small businesses tax incentives for purchasing insurance and restricting insurance company's ability to disqualify people for insurance. Dr. Locke pointed out the summary prepared by the Washington State Insurance Commissioner details the projected impacts of the Affordable Care Act on each county. Dr. Locke described that in Jefferson County by the end of 2013 about 4500 residents will be uninsured and about 71 % of those residents will be eligible for subsidized insurance under the ACA. Dr. Locke next reviewed the Prevention and Public Health Fund. This fund is authorized by the Affordable Care Act and appropriated 15 billion dollars over 10 years for funding a wide range of programs such as substance abuse, public health capacity building, and expansion of visiting nurse programs. These funds have become a target of members of Congress who wanted to spend this money on non-public health related issues. As a result, how much funding will be available over the next 8-9 years is uncertain. Potential positive impacts of Prevention and Public Health fund authorized programs in Jefferson County include improve public health capacity, environmental Health tracking capabilities, increased funding for the visiting nurse program. He also explained how the health insurance reform has public health benefits such as guaranteed preventative health services and annual wellness visits. He concluded by stating that making sure everyone has access to effective basic health services an important part of achieving the goal of improving community health. None ACTIVITY UPDATE PUBLIC COMMENT Gene Brandon asked if within the 1St year assessment there will be an independent firm to give accurate data. Dave McWethy thanked JCPH for responding to the public and putting access to the public records on line. He also addressed the issue of pH in the mill landfill. Monica Fletcher read a letter from the North Olympic Sierra Club which addressed the permitting of the landfill at the mill, pH levels of the landfill and recommended issuing a limited purpose permit for the landfill. Kevin Clark questioned the authority of issuing the permit for the mill landfill being held by one individual and asked for the current and historical waste to be analyzed to determine the designation of the landfill. Gretchen Brewer thanked the Board for continuing to consider the issue of the mill landfill and expressed concern over the toxins being leached into the land from the landfill and the non -inert waste that is dumped in to the mill and urged the decision to be based on the historic and present waste that has been deposited in to the dump. Lyle expressed concern over the ground water testing and drilling not being in appropriate places and urged the board to change their principles to be precautionary principles when evaluating waste. He also addressed the electronic public health records and housing first. Mike Phimister asked the Board what considerations they have given in regard to potential tourism, business development, and property values. Valerie Phimister supports the decision to move toward a limited purpose permit for the mill's landfill and expressed her concern over the mill using a bait and switch tactic. Kees Kolff thanked the Board for the time they have taken on concerns of the burning of biomass at the mill and urged Dr. Locke to make the decision to issue a Limited Purpose Landfill Permit. Helen Kolff urged Dr. Locke and the Board to look at the quality of what is being put in to the landfill and the environmental and financial implications and to issue a Limited Purpose Permit. Steven Schumacher is concerned about the monitoring of the effects of the biomass project and that monitoring data is not accurate. O'Neill Louchard expressed concern over toxins being leached to the shellfish and spoke in favor of issuing a Limited Purpose Permit for the mill landfill. Pam McWethy expressed concern over the financial implications of proper clean up of the toxic ash pile at the mill and who would be responsible for the cleanup. Ted Shoulberg asked why if the regulations and RCW's allow for 2 classifications, then what statutory or discretionary authority does Dr. Locke grant waivers from those 2 classifications. Dr. Locke responded to the public comment. He expressed his appreciation for the e-mails, letters, technical data and documents that have been received from the public. Dr. Locke addressed the issue of the notion of the power of the decision for the mill permit resting solely with the health officer. He stated that the solid waste code assigns the responsibility to the local health officer to make the initial decision to approve or deny a landfill permit. That decision is subject to appeal to the local board of health with can affirm or reverse the health officer's decision. Further appeals can be filed with the Superior Court, Appellate Court and State Supreme Court. Dr. Locke summarized his official actions to date. In October he reviewed the mill's permit and determined that it failed to addresses significant public health concerns. He notified the mill that their landfill was inappropriately classified and an inert waste landfill and needed to be reclassified as a limited purpose landfill designation. Port Townsend Paper Corporation challenged this decision and felt they could effectively address the identified public health (i.e. groundwater monitoring, financial assurance, and waste stream characterization) within the existing inert permit structure. Port Townsend Paper Corporation is responsible for submitting an application for renewal of their permit. Jefferson County has the responsibility to review this application and, with concurrence from the Department of Ecology, either approve or deny this permit application. No application has yet been received and no decisions regarding approval or denial have been made. AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR Adjourned at 4:54 pm ADJOURNMENT Chair Johnson adjourned the BOH meeting at 4:30 PM JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH Phil Johnson, Chair Roberta Frissell, Member ql 6-�`' -- Buhler, Vice Chair Davi ullivan,Mem er C "--,; a � -J-� L Catharine Robinson, Member Jo Austin, Member Sheila Westerman, Member Respectfully Submitted: Stacie Reid