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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.23.25 Manager's ReportJANUARY 23 SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING: MANAGER’S UPDATE Transfer Station Replacement Planning Process Please recall that the Task Force has closely scored two properties along the SR 104 corridor as most favorably advancing the Guiding Principles that were adopted in the Task Force’s charter. Staff is now working with the consultant on the materials for two public Open Houses, one in-person and one online, that will describe the need for a new facility and the 3 phases of the planning process completed to date. At the same time, the following work is underway in coordination with the consultant: • Tribal consultation on any archeological concerns and development of an inadvertent discovery plan • wetland/critical area delineation • test pits to determine soil suitability and depth to bedrock and review of the well log • PUD consultation on power extension • a 6-day noise survey at the transfer station so that we can estimate noise impacts on neighbors at the 2 selected sites • Review of the WSDOT geotechnical report and traffic studies conducted for the roundabout project on SR 104 • conduct a traffic study on Center Rd. near the #2 site As this is happening, at the 1/23 SWAC meeting staff will review the selection criteria used to narrow the list of 19 ancillary functions (those things other than solid waste processing) of a new transfer station that the Task Force identified early in the planning process down to a manageable 4 or 5 that best align with the goals of the Solid Waste Management Plan and which create the least burden on the tipping fee. (See spreadsheet in meeting packet) This short-list will help to determine the footprint of these additional services, their placement and traffic flow. Once all of this has been completed, staff will engage with a subconsultant for conceptual design and move into cost estimating. With a conceptual design and cost estimate in hand staff will return to SWAC for review and feedback. At that point staff will run a Request for Qualifications and develop a contract with another consultant to pull together options for financing the project. Then staff will coordinate with the consultant on a full report and recommendation that will be presented to SWAC and then likely at a joint City Council/Board of County Commissioners meeting. Regional Food Hub At the request of one of the Board of County Commissioners, staff met with the WSU Extension agents from Clallam and Jefferson Counties and the Port Angeles food bank manager and staff from the City of Sequim to look at the feasibility of a regional food storage and distribution center and the possibility for it to be co-located with a new transfer station. A feasibility study Clallam Extension did a few years ago shows that a food hub only pencils if property acquisition isn’t part of the start-up costs There is the possibility that federal funding for a food hub would be more readily available than financing for the new transfer station so this would make us want to reconsider which is the cart and which is the horse and instead of a food hub piggy backing onto transfer station infrastructure we would realize significant cost savings by developing off of the food hub’s infrastructure. Recycled Glass Roundtable and Bottle Bill Staff met with the Board of County Commissioners on November 12th to discuss the recent implosion of the regional market for recycled glass and the lack of a near-term solution. We also informed the BoCC that the $10K/month loss on continued acceptance of the material in the recycling program while landfilling the material was financially imprudent and that we would no longer accept it after Dec. 1. Staff also spoke about the glass issue on KPTZ with Commissioner Eisenhour on 12/13 and coordinated messaging with the City of Port Townsend Manager. The industry/government recycled glass roundtable meetings that staff has attended when available has not found any viable near-term solution nor has it gained a general consensus to support a bottle bill. This may not matter since no bottle bill has been pre-filed at the State Legislature so there’s nothing to disagree over supporting or opposing. The roundtable group appears to be focused on expanding rail service for glass for shipment to the nearest stable market which is Portland (a city in a state with a bottle bill). Staff has asked Waste Connections to estimate the transportation costs for delivering Jefferson County’s glass to Portland and staff will workshop with the BoCC on the cost of entering this market and the necessary increase to the tipping fee to support it. Recommended Recycling Program Revisions At the same November 12th workshop with the BoCC, staff discussed discontinuing the subsidy for the recycling program and transitioning to a curbside only mixed-material cart system in addition to the work underway to identify the rates for this service. A Letter of Intent was sent to Waste Connections which allows them to begin the process of developing rates for curbside collection. While Waste Connections is doing that, staff are drafting a Level of Service Ordinance that will define the types of carts and frequency of collection that Waste Connections would be required to provide. The Ordinance then establishes a new section of code within Title 8 of the Jefferson County code which is also in development. Waste Connections is also proposing a discounted curbside rate for low-income customers which SWAC will need to consider. (See memo in meeting packet) The LOS Ordinance will need to be reviewed by the Solid Waste Advisory committee as required by the Revised Code of Washington and then by the County Administrator and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office before being brought to the BoCC at a follow up workshop for further consideration. If the BoCC agrees to move forward then the next step is advertising a Public Hearing with at least one Public Hearing to follow. Skookum’s contract expires May 30, 2026 so this is the recommended date for ending the drop box program and transitioning to curbside-only recycling. Legislative Update The Solid Waste Managers workgroup of the Washington Association of Counties got an update on solid waste related bills being introduced this year at the State legislature. There are three of key interest for us that have been prefiled shown below: HB 1071 (SB 5058) This bill is being introduced by Jake Fey from the 27th who as the Transportation Chair is sitting on a $17 billion dollar transportation package. This could be called EPR Light or the Hauler’s Bill. It calls for more study of what ails recycling in WA and would kick the can down the littered road for a good 4 – 5 years. HB 1150 This bill is being introduced by our friend from the 36th, Liz Berry, who is on the Environment and Energy committee. This is an overhaul of the Re-WRAP act from last year that failed to gain traction. Re-WRAP was an extended producer responsibility bill aimed at the single-use container industry that would have put the cost obligation for post-consumer material management on the industry profiting from it. This 3rd version wouldn’t disrupt the existing recycling programs as the earlier versions would have and may have a better chance of passing. HB 1154 This bill is sponsored by Davina Duerr from the 1st District who is on both the Environment and Energy and Transportation committees. A problem company operating a few problem landfills in eastern WA has created the need for larger oversight of permit issuance from the Department of Ecology. The bill as introduced is muddy in that it doesn’t indicate whether it applies to transfer stations as well as landfills and doesn’t provide clarity on how Ecology would coordinate permit issuance with the local health jurisdictions who have always managed permitting of these facilities. There is concern among solid waste managers that the bill is treating a localized problem as a systemic one and will add a layer of unnecessary bureaucracy with attendant costs for additional permit oversight. HHW Collection Events/Kitsap County Interlocal Agreement Staff has been working with the contractor and partner agencies who provide us with the event locations to schedule the 2025 household hazardous waste collection events. The event dates and locations are as follows: 4/16 – Chimacum High School 5/17 – Jefferson Transit Park and Ride 9/16 – Chimacum High School 9/27 – Quilcene Roads Shop Demand for the Kitsap County option for HHW disposal is slowly increasing. In July there were only 2 Jefferson County customers that used the Bremerton facility compared to 9 in November. We can expect more use of this interlocal agreement when the new facility near Kingston comes on line later this year. Lower Lot Improvements Out of sight of our transfer station customers is the lower lot where the solid waste trailers are parked in the pit and then tarped and parked for pick-up from the contracted hauler for delivery to the trans- modal facility. Transfer station staff experience two seasons in this area with a brief transition between them: dust or mud. Staff is developing the bid specifications for an asphalt overlay to happen in 2025. Transfer Station Capital Improvements Capital improvements are funded through an account within the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund called the Equipment Reserve Fund. This fund has been spent down over the past two years with two large equipment purchases – an excavator and a telehandler – that were needed to more efficiently and safely manage materials in order to keep queueing times down at the transfer station. Both the transfer station tipping floor roof and at least the in-bound scale and the foundation for the scale house are in urgent need of major repair or replacement and are without adequate funding in the Equipment Reserve account. Staff is developing a plan for improving the fund balance and will be meeting with the BoCC to discuss shortly. Effect of Minimum Fee Increase The effect of the new minimum fee since adopted January 1, 2024 is shown below: Change in Minimum Fee Customer Counts After Fee Increase 2023 2024 % Difference Solid Waste 38,778 33,432 16% Yard Debris 8,189 5,352 53% Totals 46,967 38,784 21% The new minimum fee of $20 from transactions under 240 pounds has not had nearly the desired effect in reducing congestion at the transfer station or the attendant labor costs associated with managing small load traffic on the tipping floor. Future fee revisions should consider indexing the minimum fee to the rate charged for curbside collection. Insufficient Funds Transactions The tough love program we rolled out for our insufficient funds customers is working. Between signage at the scale shack, letters to customers in arrears, and the trespassing of two egregious violators we reduced the number of customers in arrears by 70% and the outstanding balance by 85% in a 3-month period. Solid Waste Management Plan Update The Department of Ecology requires SWMP’s to be kept current every 5 years. Ours dates to 2016 and Ecology has been patient in allowing the transfer station planning process to advance far enough along to know the new facility’s likely location which in turn will inform a lot of the plan updates. We don’t have the budget to hire a consultant as we have done in the past so staff will be leading SWAC through this process apace with staff workload. Staff recommends that SWAC revise the meeting schedule to quarterly 2-hour meetings to accommodate this process. Closed Landfill Monitoring Public Works is responsible for the post-closure care of the landfill – the County’s largest stranded asset in terms of both acreage and cost. Monitoring activities include groundwater sampling at a half dozen monitoring wells, measuring methane gas emissions, and taking elevation measurements to determine settling. A technical memorandum was developed by a consultant with statistical analysis showing that the landfill has reached functional stability and recommending that monitoring activities end. This memo has been sent to Jefferson County Public Health, as the Department of Ecology’s designee, for their consideration. If approved, we will be the first landfill in WA to end monitoring activity. As a side note, the passive methane gas filtration system that Public Works pioneered continues to draw inquiries from around the country with the latest one last week from a clean air agency in Colorado.