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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-01-11 City Council (10)TO: City of Palo Alto Ma ager’ Repor HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: Public Works DATE: SUBJECT: January 11, 1996 CMR:118:96 Regional Water Quality Control Board Administrative Civil Liability Complaint for Leachate Release at the Palo Alto Landf’fll RECOMMENDATION This is an informational report and no action is requested of Council. BACKGROUND The Palo Alto Landfill has a leachate extraction system (LES) that was installed to control and remove leachate from the landfill. Leachate is the fluid generated within landfills from natural decomposition processes and the infiltration of rain and groundwater into the landfill mass. The LES consists of a series of extraction wells, that pump leachate out of the landfill into piping that transports the fluid to the sanitary sewer for treatment at the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant. POLICY IMPLICATIONS There are no policy implications related to this report. DISCUSSION On Friday, August 11, 1995, a contractor was performing maintenance activities on the LES. On Saturday, August 12, 1995 at approximately 11:00 a.m., landfill staff discovered that a joint in the LES piping had become disconnected; and leachate was being pumped directly onto the landfill surface and flowing into the slough west of the facility. The LES was immediately shut down and measures, including the construction of a temporary berm, were implemented to stop the offsite discharge. Investigation of the incident indicated that the connection that the maintenance contractor had worked on the previous day had been incorrectly assembled. Because the incident involved an offsite release, staff notified the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and other regulatory agencies of the incident by telephone on Monday, August 13, and followed up later that week with a written report (See Attachment 1). On October 12, 1995 staff from the RWQCB visited the Palo Alto Landfill to conduct a site inspection and to review the leachate release incident. During this inspection, City CMR:118:96 Page 1 of 3 staff was advised that the RWQCB may pursue some formal action against the City because the incident involved an offsite release. A copy of an Administrative Civil Liability Complaint was received from RWQCB staff on December 15, 1995, which recommends to the RWQCB that a penalty in the amount of $8,400 be assessed against the Palo Alto Landfill (See Attachment 2). Three options were advanced in the Complaint: 1)Contest the matter before the RWQCB. Because there is no question as to the release, there is no matter to contest and this option was eliminated from consideration. 2)Waive the City’s right to a hearing and agree to pay the penalty. After discussing this option with RWQCB staff, there are several reasons for not paying the penalty via this option: If the penalty were to be paid directly, the funds would go to the State Water Resources Control Board. The RWQCB and any local group would not realize any benefits from the penalty funds. Develop an environmental enhancement project in lieu of payment of part of the. penalty. This option provides the benefit of a majority of the penalty going to an environmental enhancement project, and the ability to select a project that returns the funds locally. For this reason, staff has pursued this option. It should be noted that the selected project receives a portion of the penalty funds, as the RWQCB would be reimbursed for staff costs related to the Complaint. For small penalties (under $25,000), the RWQCB prefers that penalty funds be used for public education programs. Staff received a list of projects that had been reviewed and approved by the RWQCB for receipt of funds from Administrative Civil Liability Complaints. There were no programs on the list that were in the Palo Alto area, so staff contacted the Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation to see if they would be interested in receiving a portion of the penalty. After discussing this with RWQCB staff, it was felt that the Foundation should have little trouble being approved for receipt of a portion of the penalty funds for the San Francisquito Creek Watershed Project. The Foundation will be sending information to the RWQCB for approval of their project to receive the funds. At this point, the Complaint is agendized for the RWQCB at their meeting on January 17, 1995. Board staff will request a continuance on this matter until their February meeting, to allow sufficient time for approval of the request to pay a portion of the penalty to the Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation. After the February 21 Board meeting, the City will have 30 days to disburse funds to the approved envirovmaental enhancement project and the RWQCB. CMR:118:96 Page 2 of 3 When staff received the Administrative Civil Liability Complaint in December, a letter was sent to the LES maintenance contractor asking that they reimburse the City for the amount of the RWQCB’s penalty, since the release was caused by their activities. Staff-has received written assurance from the contractor that they will reimburse the City for the penalty being assessed by the RWQCB. The leachate from the Palo Alto Landfill is not regulated as a hazardous or special waste and is relatively low-strength, when compared to many of the waste streams managed by the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant. There appears to be no adverse environmental effects from the release. As noted in the RWQCB’s Complaint, due to the immediate actions taken by landfill staff and the proactive operating and compliance record for the Palo Alto Landfill, RWQCB staff recommended a penalty equal to 15 percent of the Board’s assessment authority. FISCAL IMPACT The fiscal impact from this is neutral, as the LES maintenance contractor has agreed to reimburse the City for the amount of the penalty assessed by the RWQCB. ATTACHMENTS/EXHIBITS Attachment 1:Leachate Release Report Attachment 2:Administrative Civil Liability Complaint No. 95-215 PREPARED BY:Chad Centola, Manager, Environmental Control Programs DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: GLENN S. 15,OBERTS Director of Public Works CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: BERNARD M. Assistant City Manager CMR:118:96 Page 3 of 3 Ad_ .~J_nistration 4i 5.329.9_373 4 !5.329. w99 Fax _,i -~. 329.2151 4!5.329.9_2099 Fax ~.!ronmen~J Compliance 4i5.329.2598 4!5.494.3531 Fax Eq~spment :,. [mqagement 4 i 5.496.69 4i5.496.6958 C~emdops 4!5.496.6974 Re~onai Wate.~ 4i 5.329.2598 4!5.494.353! Fax Self-Monitoring Section Regional Water Quality Control Board 2101 Webster street, Suite 500 Oakland, CA 94612 August 17, 1995 Subject: Leachate Release Report Dear Sir or Madam: Enclosed please find a copy of the Leachate Release Report that has been prepared to document an off-site release of leachate from the Palo Alto Landfill. The incident occurred on Saturday, August12, 1995 and was attributed to the incorrect assembly of a coupling in the facilky’s leachate collection system. A verbal notification to Mr. John Rober~son of your offices was made on Monday, August 14 via his voice mailbox. The leachate collection line has been repaired and procedures have been reviewed to minimize future problems of this type. No apparent impacts from the release have been observed at this time. Should you have any questions or need additional information regarding this incident, please feel free to cal! me at (415) 496-6980. Respectfully submitted, CHAD CENTOLA Manager, Environmental Control Programs CC:M. Miller R. Le S. Kennedy C. Akatiff ,. R. Reiserer A. Pacheco; County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health P.O. tx~\ 10L:0 Palo Alto, CA 94~’~3 LEACHATE RELEASE REPORT This report summarizes the details regarding a failure in a leachate collection line and the subsequent off-site release of leachate from the Palo Alto Landfill which occurred on Saturday, August 12, 1995. Presented below is information detailing the incident including discovery, location, actions taken, quantity, sampling and impacts. Incident Discovery On Friday, August 11, the Paio Alto Landfill leachate extraction system (L,ES) underwent maintenance servicing which included the rodding of several of the high density polyethylene (HDPE) collection lines to clear solids that had accumulated in the lines. After this work was completed, the system was turned on at approximately 7:00 pm and no problems were observed at that time. On Saturday, August 12 at approximately 11:00 am, landfill personnel discovered that a mechanical joint connecting a section of the HDPE collection line had separated and was leaking leachate onto the surface of the landfill and down one of the surface drainage swales. The cause of the connection failure was determined to be improper assembly of the mechanical joint (the joint had been disassembled to access the line for rodding). Locatioh The approximate location of the failure in the LKS and the direction of flow of l~chate across the site and into the slough west of the landfill is shown on the attached map. The slough is part of a man-made marsh that receives salt water from San Francisco Bay at high tide via a pipeline northwest of the landfill. Bay water entering the marsh is flushed out and maint~ned at a set level by a pump which transfers water frorn the marsh to the Palo Alto flood basin south of the landfill. Actions Taken Immediately after discovery of the. release, the following steps were taken: 1) The leachate extraction system was turned off (approximately 11:05 am) 2)An earthen berm was constructe~l downstream of the joint failure. The flow was completely contained within 30 minutes of discovery of the release. 3)Material from the landfill’s compost operation was used to absorb fluid in the drainage channel downstream of the temporary berm to prevent further off site discharge. 4)The affected area was surveyed and photographed. Copies of the photographs are attached. 5) The failed com~ection was repaired. Quantity An exact quantification of the volume of leachate released is not possible. An estimate of the amount of leachate involved in the failure was developed as follows: Based on recent operation, the LES has been pumping at an average rate of 10 gallons per minute. Considering the fact that the LES was turned on after maintenance at 7:00 pm on Friday, August 11 and the leak was noted at 11:00 am on Saturday, Atigust 12, the LES could have pumped 9,600 gallons during that period. Although unlikely, for estimation purposes, it is assumed that the mechanical joint failed when the LES was turned on at 7:00 pm on Friday. Another broad assumption is that all extracted teachate collected throughout the LES leaked out at the failed connection, even though the failure was on a secondary line feeding to the primary collection trunk line. It is difficult to determine how much of the leachate was actually involved in the off site retease when on-site infiltration, evaporation and fluid remaining on site in the drainage swale are considered. For these reasons, no reliable estimate of the off site discharge volume has been developed but it is likely substantially less than the 9,600 gallons total extraction volume advance above. Samolins No samples of the leachate were taken in relation to this incident. Routine monitoring of leachate quality is conducted as part of the Industrial Waste Discharge Permit issued to the Pa!o Alto Landfill which allows leachate to be disposed of via the Palo Alto sanitary sewer for treatment at the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant. Based on analytical results on leachate from the Palo Alto Landfill, the leachate has been considered non-hazardous as defined by Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations (22CCR). Impact We have concluded that the environmental impact of the leachate release was minimal. Characterization of leachate from the Palo Alto landfill indicates relatively low levels of metals and occasional detection of organic compounds close to method detection limits and the leachate is not considered hazardous as defined in 22CCR. Considering the relative low strength of the leachate, its dilution upon entry into the salt water slough and the tidal flushing of the s!ough any impacts from the release were minimized. No vegetation stress or adverse affects to waterfowl or aquatic animals have been observed since the release occurred. The LES has been repaired and is operational at this time. Procedures have been reviewed in an effort to avoid improper assembly of the type of mechanical joint involved in this incident. Should any additional information regarding this incident develop, a follow-up report will be prepared and submitted. L--,~=ND. L.EACHATE PIPING DIRECTION OF FLOW PHOTOGRAPH LEACHATE EXTRACTION WELL SCALE 1" = 100’ October 31, 1995 Mr. John Robenaon Regional Water Quality Control Board 210! Webster Street, Suite 500 Oakland, CA 94612 City ot l alo A to Public Wor] Subject: Modification of leachate release quantity from 8/12/95 incident Div%ions A &minis~a-ation 4!5.329.2373 4i5.329.2299 Fax E<~_2,neering 4!5.329.2151 4! 5.329.22999 Fax Comp ~tiance 415.329.9.Z~98 4i5.494.353! Fax Equipmmt L [emagement 4i 5.496.69~ 4! 5.496.6958 Fax 415.496.6%% 4i5.496.695~ Fax Re~ona!Water 4i5.329.2598 4!5.494.353i Fax Dear Mr. Robertson: In the leachate release report that was sent to your offices on August 17, 1995 reporting the leachate release incident that had occurred on August 12, 1995, .a worse case estimate of the volume of leachate that was released off site had been advanced. After review of the circumstances surrounding th_e incident, we have found reason to modify the estimated release volume. The current configuration of the leachate collection system at the Paio Alto Landfill essentially divides the collection piping into two secondary trunk lines. The line that was affected by the connection failure on August 12 transports leachate from 7 of the 12 wells that were operating at.the time of the release. Due to the configuration of the leachate piping and topographic conditions, it is unlikely that fluid extracted from the 5 wells on the southern portion of the landfill could have contributed to the release. Based on this information, the estimated quantity of fluid released at the connection failure is actuatly 5,600 gallons (58% of the original 9,600 gallon volume estimate). In order to estimate and account for on site infiltration of leachate back into the landfill, the 5,600 gallon fluid release at the failure, the physical size of the affected swale area, and the duration of the release were used to convert the release to an equivalent rainfall. The equivalent rainfall was applied to a Soit Conservation Service runoff curve to estimate runoff (See attached, calculation sheet). Based on this approach, a total of 4,400 gallons may have been released off site. As with the original estimate, a worse case scenario has been developed and it is likely that the actual volume of the release was something less than the 4,400 gai!ons estimated. It is always the City of Paio Alto’s intention to provide the most accurate and verifiable information available in all aspects of our environmental programs. It is hoped that this revised information is of some value to you, Should you have any questions or require additiona!, information, please feel free to contact me at (415) 496-6980. Sincerely, Chad Centola Manager, Environmental Control Programs co:M. Miller S. Kennedy R. Le R. Reiserer c. A -1~tiff A. Pacheco; County, of Santa Clara P.O. Fox 10259 P~Jo A!to, C~ 942-0,3 CALCULATION SHEE, Client: ("..’, Project Name: Project No.: Prepared by: Reviewed by: Approved by: Sheet Date: Date: Date: I I I I I t I i I ! t ! ! I I I t I . I ! I t I ,I I i I I I , I C_AI_IFORNL~_ REGIONAL %TIER QUAL1XY CONTROL BOARP SAN FtL~NCISCO BAY twdION Phone: (510) 286-1255 2101 \VEBSTER STREET, SUITE 500 Fax: (510) 286-1380 OAKI~ND 94612 BBS (5t0) 286- a0404 C-ERTEIED lvlAIL NO. RETUKN RECEIPT REQUESTED Mr. Chad Centola, Manager Environmental Control Progams City. of Palo Alto P.O. Box 10250 Palo Alto, CA 94303 Date: DEC 1 3 199. File No. 2179.8070 (JMR) Fti e"a_’,’m e :"a’n_,m’mI 1.azl C~T’," OF PALO ALTO PUBLIC ’~40 RKS’O PERATIO[’{S i SXJIKJECT: ADMIN1STR&TIVE CIVIL IdABg21T COMPL4h-NT NO. 95-215, FOR DISCE4RGE OF LEACHATE AT THE PALO ALTO LANDFEI, PAID ALTO, SANTA CL4R& COUNTY Dear Mr. Centota: The enclosed Complaint No. 95-215 alleges that discharge of an estimated 5600 ~!ons of leachate occurred on August 1!, 1995 at the Palo .Alto Landfill. The source of the leachate release ,aas a pipe joint alofig a main line of the Leachate EScraction System (’LES); the joint v, as-reassembled improperly following system maintenance on Auxi!!st 11. The LES was then turned on and leachate fi-om the system ~as discharged t_h’ou~ the krp@roperly assembled joint across the surface of the laridfill and into the salt x~iter slou=ai adjacent to the landfill. Personnel at the landfill shut dov,n the LES immediately upon discovering the leak on Au~ !2 and bermed the disd-iarge to minimize flow into the sloug2~ Corrections to the LES were made irnrnediatelv to remedy, the problem. Verbal notification of the discharge was made to the Board on Au_~ 14 and a thor~ui event report v, as submitted three days later. Because of immediate actions taken a}" the site and the bijou of proactive compliance at this landfill, the recommendation is made for penalties equal to fift~n percent of the r%milatoU stated value of $10 dollars per gallon of discharge. For the reasons stated above, I am isaling the attached Compiaint, x~ch proposes an Administrative Civil Liabiliv of $8,400. I plan to bring this matter to the Re~onal Board at its Janua0, 17, 1996 meeting. You have three options: !)You can appear before the Board at that meetin~ to contest the matter. Written comments aredue by December 28, 1995. ~t the meeting, th$Board may imrx)se administrative civil liability in the amount proposed or for a di~erent amount; decl~e to seek civil liability’; or refer the case to the Attorney General to have a Superior Court consider imposition of administrative liability. 2)You can waive the ri~t to a hearing by si~m’kng the last page of the Complaint in the appropriate location. By doing so, you agee to pay, the liabiliE. Ci~’ of" Palo Alto: Pato Alto Landfill Page 2 3)K you would like to develop an environmental enhancement project in lieu of pa?rnent of part of the liabilibz, do no__2t sip the v~aiver. Instead,, state your intent in a letter addressed to me by December 28, 1995. The staffw,i!l assist you in identifying and developing such a project. Please contact the Board’s Legal Comsel Gary Grin~ at (5!0) 286-0889 or Richard IC McMurtry at (510) 286-0432 if you have questions. SiEerely, Loretta IC Barsamian Executive Officer Enclosed:Complaint No. 95-215 cc:John Dufresne, Santa Clara County-LEA Susan M Markie, !SVMB STATE OF CALI!FOtLNZA REGIONAL \VATER QUALITY CONTROL ~0ARD S.A~ FEANCISCO BAY t~GION IN THE NLA.TTER OF: CITY OF PALO ALTO, PALO ALTO LANDFILL NON-COMPLLANCE WITH BOARD WASTE DISCHARGE REQUIREMENT ORDER NO. 88-038 PALO ALTO, SANTA CLAK& C0b.,~TY ) COMPLAINT NO. 95-2!5 ) FOR ) ADMINISTRATIVE ) CML LIABILITY ) ) ) YOU ARE HEREBY GIVEN NOTICE THAT: 1.You are alleged to have violated provisions of law ~or which the Re~onal Board may im~se civi! liability.’ under sections 1_~_-,.~ aa’ld b26~ of the California Water (7ode. Unless waived, a hearing on this matter will be held before the Board on January 17.. 1996. in the meeting Room, Second Floor, BART Headquarters BuildLng, located at 800 N,~dison Street in (Y’~dand,. California. You,. or ,,our representatives, will have the opportuniD’ to be heard &’-:d to contest the alle~tions in this Complaint and the imposition of civil liabiliw b\ the Re~op.a! Board. An agenda shov,,ing the time set for the hearing will be mailed to you not less tbmq 10 o_avs before the hearin~ ’ "~ o.aLe. You m’~t submk copies of any xxri~en evidence concenKqg. Compla~t to the Re~onal Boa-d by’ December 28, !995. :&n.v xxritten evidence not so submi~ed rpa?’ no~ be considered by’ the Board. 3.At the hearing, the Board will consider v, hether ~o afTmm rejec~ or modif, the proposed admini~a~ive tiabili% or v, hether to refer the matter to the Attorney Genera! for r~ove~, judicial civil liabitiD’. ALLEGATIONS You are alleged to have violated \Vater Code Sections ~-v"~-¯ .~.~., and 13263 for dischargb.g teachate to an offsite surface v~ter body. An estima;~ed volume of 5600 ~llons xxas discharged at the Pa!o Alto landfill on August 11, 1995 due to a failure in the Leachate E_x~action System (LES) piping. ]-he leachate discharge flowed across the landfill surface and an unkmoxxn quanti), entered into a salt water slou~ adjacent to the land.fill property,. The leak v~ discovered and corrected on August 12, 1995, however no recover~ ofleachate v~ possible. 2his discharge is in violation of Prohibition 6 of Waste Discharge Requirement 0,VI)R) No. 88-038. PROPOSED Cin,:IL LIAB17LITY The mm~mum civil liabiliD’ for such violations x~i~ch can be administraive!F imposed by the Re~onal Water QualiD, Control Board under Sections 13243 and 13263 is $10 per gallon of leachate discharged in -dolation of the \\©P,.s. The Palo Alto Landfill discharged an estimated 5600 galtons during the above sited event amotmting to a maximum tota! potential civil tiabilirr for this discharge of $56,000. The Executive Officer of the Re~onal Water Qualib’ Control Board proposes that the administrative civil liabiliD’ be imposed by the Re~onal Board be in the amour of $8,400 for the above mentioned violations, v,~ch inchides $2..400 for the reimbursement of s’taft costs incurred by," Re~onal Board stuff in preparing the complaint and supporting information. WAFv_’ER OF HEkRD~G You ..may waive the fi~t to a h ~earing. If you %sh to waive that ri>ht, an aumhorized person must check and sign the x~,aiver below and remm it to the Re~onal Water Qualib Contro! Board:. San Francisco Bay Re,on, at 210! Webster Strut, Suite 500, C)aklan< CA 94612. Pay.rnent of the civil liability, is due ~x,ithin 30 days after an Order assessing civil liability is adopted by the Board. K you have any," questions., please contact the Richard tC McMurtry, Chief.. @ou.’nd,azter Dotection and Waste Containment Division at (510) 286-04.32 or the Re~onal Board Co~a’~el at (510) 286-0889. E>~te Loretta tC Bars~mJa". Ex,.,.utn,. l__ By; checkino_~ this box.. I asr~ to x~ive my ri~ to a hearing before the ~,~,...~d~,n~! Board %th repn:d to the violations alleged in Complaint No. 95-215. I understand that I am Wing up my ri~t to ~ heard,, and to argue agai~ the alle~tions made by’ the Executive O~cer in th.is Complain~. and a~inst the imposition of or the amount of.. civil liabiliD, proposed. I fur&er ag~ to remit pa3~ent for the civi! liabiliD" irrgx)sed within 30 days aker the Order assessing civil tiabi!irv is adopted by the Boa-d. Date Discharger