BitterrootValley Hazardous Waste Disposal
II. Background Information
A. INTRODUCTION
In 2008, with funding provided by DEQ and EPA, as well citizens and organizations within RavalliCounty,the Ravalli County Environmental Health Department (RCEH) held two different collection events that dramatically proved the need for regular collection and disposal of hazardous materials. In May, we collected 24 tons of hazardous waste, including solvents, paints, pesticides and used petroleum products. And in September we gathered another 24 tons of electronic waste. In each event, the amount collected far exceeded the estimate of the contractor, a fact that strongly points to the need to hold additionalhazardous waste collection events.
In addition to organizing these collection events, RCEH worked with local businesses to develop more long-term, year-round options for disposing of hazardous waste. A local hardware store in Hamilton now takes fluorescent lightbulbs, and two local quick-lube businesses accept used motor oil and antifreeze. Ravalli Services, Inc. accepts a wide array of recyclables, including car batteries, and another business accepts scrap metal year-round.
Ravalli County Environmental Health is sponsoring this project to hold one combined household hazardous and electronic waste collection event in 2009 or 2010. This second-year HHW collection event will be a key component of our effort to develop a comprehensive, year-round HHW collection program in RavalliCounty. RCEH will also continue to facilitate year-round hazardous waste disposal with local businesses.
Because of the documented success of these inaugural collection events and the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the citizens of RavalliCounty, we believe a majority of voters might soon see the need to create a local water quality district (LWQD) so such events could be funded on an annual basis. Holding another collection event in 2009 or 2010 is essential for us to assess how much hazardous waste is out there and how best to expand HHW collection opportunities in our valley. If the amount collected remains high (as we expect it will), a strong case can be made for regular annual HHW collection events (as well as year-round collection of used petroleum products, fluorescent light bulbs, etc.). Likewise, if the amount collected is significantly less than what we took in the first year, we can alter our plan for future collection events – perhaps by opting to hold them every other year and focus more on business-based community disposal efforts.
Drawing on319 funds to help pay for one more hazardous material collection event is critical in our effort to assess the need and plan for future events. Furthermore, the knowledge and information we will glean from this event may provide the impetus for the creation of a local water quality district, either by our commissioners or by voters. Holding another centralized collection event will allow us to further disseminate information about water quality and safe hazardous waste disposal, and will help us expand HHW collection and disposal opportunities in our county.
A Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP) was completed in 2002 for three municipalities in RavalliCounty – Hamilton, Stevensville and Darby, and last year’s 319 grant focused on updating Hamilton’s part of the SWPP, as well as well monitoring, septic tank pumping and education in Hamilton’s recharge area. As a result of this project, the City of Hamilton updated its SWPP in 2008.
This year’s project is more streamlined, focusing on HHW collection, disposal and education. It addresses a number of issuesstated in the newly updated SWPP:
1)Septic systems are used abundantly to the east and south of Hamilton and may pose a significant threat to groundwater quality. An area designated as high septic hazard exists within the Inventory Regions of well Nos. 1 and 2 (p. 18 SWPP 2008).
2)The hazard level for septic systems is high, and combined with an absence of barriers, the susceptibility is very high. Well Nos. 1,2 and 6 are at the greatest risk from this source type, this can lead to elevated nitrate and pathogens in groundwater (p. 26 SWPP 2008).
3) The goal of the source water protection plan is to 1) protect the source water by keeping potentially polluting materials and activities out of the control zone and 2) to manage the inventory region and recharge region to ensure that susceptibility to land use activities and potential contaminant sources is the lowest possible (p. 29).
4)The BitterrootValley basin holds a huge reservoir of water in shallow and deep aquifers. Test results of this water continue to display very high quality water. A water resource must be reliable and sustainable for any community to survive. Maintaining this quality requires involvement of all stakeholders and source water protection is one way of achieving that goal (p. 29).
5)All city and county staff, councilpersons and commissioners are eager to work on these new issues, improve old management policies and join together resources to reach the common goal of source water protection (p. 29).
6)New areas undergoing development in RavalliCounty are being designed with septic systems. Older septic systems also border the city limits of a Hamilton. Septic density continues to increase and raises the importance of source water protection (p. 31).
7)Continued efforts between the City and County are very important to carry the message to the public that these treatment systems impact the community water system (p. 31).
8)Understanding the impacts from septic systems within the county and in turn their effect on the city’s SWP areas through the 2008 SWPP will be an important key element in developing the county’s zoning work plan (p. 31).
Many households in the SWPA, and in the entire county, have stored solvents and other hazardous chemicals. Also many of the agriculture operations which dominate the upland recharge area of Hamilton’s wells possess chemicals that are a danger to the aquifer. In fact, the entire BitterrootValley has a dangerously high quantity of pesticides, since no Dept. of Agriculture pesticide collection event has ever been held in the valley. This fact was dramatized by the unexpectedly high amount of pesticides collected at our event last May.
By initiating a hazardous materials collection event with an education campaign directed at safe handling of hazardous materials, this project conforms to Goal 10 of the “Montana Nonpoint Source Management Plan”: “Urban and suburban nonpoint source pollution is reduced through public and private initiatives.” Specifically, “10.1m – Promote recycling and hazardous waste collection.”
Clearly, the incredible amount of toxic and hazardous material collected at RavalliCounty’s first hazardous materials collection event demonstrated the need for more such events. A Local Water Quality District would fund such annual events, but voters did not approve a LWQD in June 2007. Current commissioners have stated that they intend to create a LWQD, but they believe the public first should be educated on its merit. We believe holding at least one more successful HHW collection event would prompt public interest and support for a LWQD. Particularly in light of the successful yet divisive campaign to repeal the Ravalli County Growth Policy, this project offers a positive, non-controversial event that people from the entire valley can rally around.
Additionally, this project helps meet the goals of the MontanaNon-point source Management Plan Goals 3.1a, 3.1b, 3.1f, 3.1h, 3.1i, 3.2a, 3.2b, 3.3e:
- Protect high quality aquifers on state, federal, and private lands using science-based land management policies.
- Encourage and support voluntary application of BMPs to protect ground water from NPS pollution.
- Continue to provide public education on the value and importance of protecting ground-water resources from NPS pollution (i.e. general awareness of ground water, identification of recharge areas and limitation of activities that pose threats to ground-water contamination in recharge areas, and proper well installation and decommissioning).
- Collaborate with local entities on education and outreach activities that will fit the unique community needs within their watersheds.
- Assist counties with formation of Local Water Quality Districts through outreach and education efforts, when there is citizen interest and local expertise available to manage a district.
B. STATEMENT OF NEED AND INTENT
RavalliCounty’s 40,000 people are served by a single aquifer fed entirely by the Bitterroot River watershed. This precious source of drinking water faces several potential compromises, including the fact that no secure funding exists to hold an annual coordinated event within the county for the collection and safe disposal of hazardous materials and electronic waste. Without a means to safely dispose of used motor oil, gasoline, antifreeze, paints, solvents, strong acids and bases, and pesticides,there’s a potential risk that these toxic chemicals may reach ground water.
Furthermore, the difficulty in safely and legally getting rid of electronic waste such as computers, monitors, televisions, cell phones, etc. poses another potential threat to the valley’s groundwater. These items contain dangerous heavy metals such as lead and mercury and, when improperly disposed of, these metals can easily end up in the valley’s soil and ground water. On more than one occasion RCEH has received complaints of computers and monitors being dumped in the Bitterroot River.
In 2002, in a project funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a Source Water Protection Plan was completed in RavalliCountyby Western Groundwater Services for the communities of Hamilton, Stevensville and Darby. The project evaluated the potential for contamination of ground and surface water and determined comprehensive management strategies necessary to ensure future protection. In 2008, the Hamilton portion of the SWPP was updated.
Currently, RavalliCounty has no secure funding to pay for collection events. In June 2007, voters narrowly rejected an attempt to create a local water quality district (LWQD), which would have provided a means to fund an annual hazardous materials collection event.
The Ravalli County Environmental Health Departmentwill work in collaboration with a number of state, county and private entities to create and oversee a countywide hazardous waste and electronic waste collection day to keep hazardous chemicals from entering the ground water.
The outcomes from this action will be:
- A cleaner, less threatened watershed for RavalliCountyby removing tons of hazardous materials and electronic waste from the community and disposing of the materials in approved locations.
- A more comprehensive and informed program of dealing with hazardous waste (both household and commercial) year-round in RavalliCounty.
- Continued community education regarding the importance of water quality and water quality protection which may lead to the creation of a local water quality district.
C. COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
This project has proven collaboration from the Ravalli County community and relies on further cooperation and collaboration: Just like last year, the HHW collection event will be organized and staffed by RCEH and numerous community volunteers, who will direct people, collect money, hand out educational literature and handle used motor oil and antifreeze;a hazardous materials collection contractor will handle and sort the more dangerous chemicals (strong acids and bases, paints and solvents,and pesticides; Bitter Root Disposal will provide garbage receptacles, and the Hamilton Police and Ravalli County Sheriff will provide traffic control. The e-waste portion of the event will also rely on volunteer labor from local computer consultants.
The project already is gathering the necessary momentum to ensure long-term success. In 2008, approximately $12,000 was donated from the community including $3,500 from the City of Hamilton, $3,000 from the Rapp Family Foundation and $1,500 from GlaxoSmithKline. A small fee was also charged for the disposal of electronic waste, and that event raised approximately $2,000.
We have already received $4,000 from the City of Hamilton and $3,500 from GSK for the 2009/2010 HHW collection event, and the Rapp Family Foundation verbally committed to donating $3,000. In keeping with this trend and because of the overwhelming success of last year’s event, we expect to receive at least as much as we did last year form within the community.
Letters of Support – See supporting documentation
See Supporting Documents
D.PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
The project draft budget table details the cost and planning associated this project. The approximate total cost of this project is $92,340.00 of which $41,900.00 is 319 funding and $50,440.00 is non-federal match. Of the non-federal match, approximately $35,440 is in-kind match, and approximately $15,000.00is expected cash match from the community.
The estimate for the contract for HHW disposal is based on the cost ofRavalliCounty’s 2008 collection events. The advertising costs are based on what we spent in 2008 for advertising.
Staff time and volunteer hours (community and students) are estimated based on a rate of $25/hr for staff (state employee rate - includes benefits), $18/hr for adult volunteers, and $6/hr for students.
Because of recent revelations of illegal and immoral handling of e-waste, mostly in China, we will make sure the contractor for our event uses an EPA-approved subcontractor for all electronic waste and hazardous waste collected at our event. And we will insist to have, as part of our contract, a letter from our contractor listing the eventual fate of all materials collected and taken from our county.
III. Project Components
- REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
RCEH will comply with all 319 reporting requirements including format, tracking of budgets, match summaries and administrative reports. RCEH will submit billing statements, annual and final grant administration reports. RCEH will work closely with Montana DEQ to ensure all reports are submitted in the proper format, including electronic submissions.
RCEH will report tonnage of waste collected and include all advertising templates and photos of events in reports.
- EDUCATION AND OUTREACH COMPONENTS
Educating RavalliCounty citizens about issues relating to water quality is a necessary and integral component of this project. Water quality and other environmental health issues are already being discussed in a bi-weekly newspaper article, “Environmental Health Talk,” written by RCEH staff for the Ravalli Republic and reaching thousands of readers each month (daily circulation is more than 5,000).That article will continue to be an information conduit to the public for the duration of this project.
In addition, a wide array of educational tools will be employed to get the word out about groundwater issues:
See Scope of Work: Task 2 below.
Ravalli County is fortunate to have one daily newspaper, the Ravalli Republic, one weekly newspaper, the Bitterroot Star, and one monthly newspaper,the Clark Fork Journal, all of which will cover this project in the weeks leading up to the event. With prodding from RCEH and others, we expect the media to be a willing partner in our education and outreach, featuring articles focusing on groundwater protection and water quality issues, as well as coverage of the event itself.
- AQUIFER RELATIONSHIP TO SURFACE WATER
In the BitterrootValley, groundwater occurs within loose soils, consisting of clay, silt, sand and gravel mixtures. Most wells in the valley center will penetrate groundwater within 10 to 25 feet of the ground surface. This groundwater occurs in an unconfined aquifer that does not have a protective cover. Spills and waste disposal onto the land surface have the potential to be washed down to the aquifer.
In the Hamilton Source Water Protection Area, numerous creeks and irrigation ditches, including Skalkaho Creek, Bitter Root Irrigation Canal, and Republican and Hedge ditches infiltrate the aquifer and contribute to a dangerously high water table during summer months. Septic systems are used abundantly to the east and south of Hamilton in this area of high groundwater, and not surprisingly, much of the area has been designated as a high septic hazard (SWPP 2002).
The main stem of the Bitterroot River TMDL has not been completed; however, data has been collected and meetings have been conducted with the Technical Advisory Committee to begin the TMDL process. The Bitterroot River between Skalkaho Creek south of Hamilton and Eight Mile Creek near Florence is impaired. It is listed as impaired for aquatic life, coldwater fisheries and recreation. Impairments are due to nitrates, phosphorus, sediment and temperature. Causes of impairment are likely urban development and agriculture.
The aquifer that provides over 90% of drinking water for residents in the BitterrootValley is a Class I aquifer as defined in ARM 17.30.1006 CLASSIFICATIONS, BENEFICIAL USES, AND SPECIFIC STANDARDS FOR GROUND WATERS:
(1) Class I ground waters are those ground waters with a natural specific conductance less than or equal to 1,000 microSiemens/cm at 25ºC.
a)The quality of Class I ground water must be maintained so that these waters are suitable for the following beneficial uses with little or no treatment: