| ||||
COUNTY OF SAN MATEO Inter-Departmental Correspondence | ||||
Department of Public Works | ||||
DATE: |
December 22, 2003 | |||
BOARD MEETING DATE: |
January 13, 2004 | |||
TO: |
Honorable Board of Supervisors | |||
FROM: |
Neil R. Cullen, Department of Public Works | |||
SUBJECT: |
Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan Review | |||
Recommendation | ||||
Adopt a resolution approving the Five-Year Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan Review Report (Report) and authorizing the Director of Public Works to send the Report to the California Integrate Waste Management Board and the San Mateo County AB 939 Local Task Force (LTF), which is the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG). | ||||
Previous Board Action | ||||
Adopted the Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan (Plan) in 1999, which consists of individual Source Reduction and Recycling Elements, Household Hazardous Waste Elements (HHWE) and Non-disposal Facility Elements (NDFE) for each city and the County, and a Siting Element and a Summary Plan as prepared by the County; and submitted the Plan to the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) as provided by State statues. | ||||
Key Facts | ||||
1. |
The CIWMB, which approved the Plan in 1999, requires a five-year review of the Plan (the Report) which is due in 2004. | |||
2. |
The Report has been completed by Public Works with input from Environmental Health Services, and was submitted to the LTF (C/CAG) for their review and recommendation. | |||
3. |
The LTF reviewed the Report and made the following recommendations regarding the Plan: | |||
· |
The Household Hazardous Waste Elements (HHWE) need to be revised. | |||
· |
Some jurisdictions need to update their NDFE. | |||
· |
All other documents contained in the Plan continue to be useful and adequate as planning documents. | |||
4. |
Your Board, pursuant to the enabling legislation (AB 939), must consider the recommendations of the LTF and determine within 45 days if you agree or disagree with the findings in the Report and notify the LTF and the Integrated Waste Management Board of your determination. | |||
5. |
The Department of Health Services and Public Works agree with the LTF's recommendations. | |||
Discussion | ||||
The purpose of the Report is to document compliance with the regulations promulgated pursuant to State Legislation (AB 939) and identify the elements that need revision. | ||||
As stated under Key Facts, the LTF reviewed the Report and determined that the Household Hazardous Elements need to be revised and that some agencies (County, Pacifica, Woodside and Portola Valley) need to revise their NDFE's to identify new facilities (construction and demolition waste recycling at Ox Mountain and the listing of Pacifica's Recycling Yard) or to memorialize that their waste stream is being redirected to other facilities (i.e. Woodside and Portola Valley redirecting their waste to Green Waste Recovery). | ||||
The need for a revision in the HHW Plans is based in the growth in the amount of household hazardous waste. The original programs were based on the assumption that household hazardous waste would be easily handled through the drop-off HHW program that was established. However, the amount of HHW collected has grown from 168 tons in 1994/95 to 558 tons in 2002/03, and the current program limits the number of households that can use the program. | ||||
Vision Alignment | ||||
We believe our recommendation is consistent with the Shared Commitment to be a "responsive efficient and collaborative government" and Goal Number 22, "County and local government effectively communicate, collaborate and develop strategic approaches to issues affecting the entire County," as approving the Report will ultimately lead to a collaborative revision in how household hazardous wastes are handled in the entire County. | ||||
Fiscal Impact | ||||
The staff time of Public Works and Environmental Health used to produce the Report was paid for from existing program funds in the respective departments, and there is no additional fiscal impact directly associated with your Board approving the Report. | ||||
However, there will be a cost associated with updating the HHW elements once the State approves the Report. The County, in the past, has funded the development of a master HHWE as the HHW program has been a County run program that is available to the residents in all of the cities. We believe that cost of doing a revision to the HHWE for the unincorporated area will be roughly equivalent to the cost of revising a master HHWE, which a city could then accept or revise to better reflect their program. The cities would also be included in the process of revision, as any changes to the program in procedures, opportunities or funding will affect them. | ||||
It is our understanding that Environmental Health will retain a consultant to aid them in developing options that can be presented to your Board on revising the County HHWE and possibly a master HHWE. The revised HHWE will address the new regulations and requirements, investigate the ways in which other counties are handling their HHW, analyze what programs are needed in the County of San Mateo, determine how these programs can be adequately funded, and establish the basis for a program that can respond adequately to the new and broader regulations that may be established in the future. | ||||
Environmental Health will also coordinate the revision process with the cities and C/CAG as the Local Task Force. | ||||
We will send the Report, if approved by your Board, to the CIWMB and C/CAG. The CIWMB has 90 days in which to approve or disapprove the County's findings. | ||||
A form of resolution has been approved by County Counsel. | ||||
