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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 7280 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No.-7280 p.1 May 3, 1988 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council us Subject: COORDINATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL AND WASTE ISSUES In the 1970's and 80's there has been a virtual explosion of environmental laws, amendments and related regulations. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act which originated in 1948 has been revised eighteen times since 1972. In the last 15 years the Clean Air Act has been revised five times, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 has had eight revisions. The list goes on extending to laws related to the transportation of hazardous materials and occupational health and safety laws. Following the enactment of a law at the Federal level , each state then enacts legislation and develops regulations to implement the programs at the state level. Often the state regulations are more stringent than those at the national level , i .e. in Texas, the Federal law pertaining to asbestos in schools was extended to include all public buildings. Most of the federal and state regulations developed to implement such laws require an increased workload at the municipal level . In Fort Worth the impact of these regulations is readily apparent from our recent experiences with the Clean Air Regulations and the clean-up of the drums at the Southeast Landfill . Until recently, the City's efforts -to comply with regulations relating to hazardous materials and wastes have been fragmented or crisis oriented and at times probably more costly than necessary. The Fire Department has established an already acclaimed Hazardous Materials Squad to respond to emergencies, but it should not be dealing with the daily routine of hazardous materials and waste management. The HazMat Squad and the Health Department's Environmental Quality Section have made valiant and innovative attempts to respond effectively to "non-emergency" leaking underground storage tanks, abandoned drums, employee training and the ongoing recordkeeping and reporting requirements. The efforts of the Environmental Quality Section to identify the sources of pollutants in the City's waterways, to establish background documentation of non-point sources, and its cooperative efforts with NTCOG and the Tarrant County Health Department to identify local Small Quantity Generators have been exemplary in view of very limited staff and other resources. The Water Department's Industrial Waste Section also has worked with the EPA, the Texas Water Commission and local industry to control pollution and clean up existing sources of contamination of raw water supplies. To assist the City in addressing ever increasing environmental liabilities, an experienced professional has been employed to work with other city staff to develop a program to address the city's responsibilities in the area of hazardous materials and waste management. [ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No.. 7280 p.2 May 3, 1988 X44 foer To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Subject: COORDINATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL AND WASTE ISSUES rlTS A work session was held by the Environmental Compliance Coordinator on March 31 , 1988, with 30 representatives from 14 departments attending. A broad overview of environmental needs and concerns was developed, and a Hazardous Materials Waste Task Force was formed to address them. The Task Force prioritized the City's needs and chose first to address jointly the City's compliance with the Texas Hazard Communication Act which requires the identification of all hazardous materials used, waste generated, activity location and type, and methods of handling materials and waste. The attached questionnaire was developed and distributed to obtain the above information from all departments by May 13, 1988. The Task Force. . will continue to address the other prioritized concerns. The following is an outline of the primary concerns remaining to be addressed by the HM/W Task Force: 1 . Identify city-generted hazardous materials and waste. Develop policies and plans to ensure: a) proper storage to protect health and well-being of employees and other citizens; b) registration or permitting of wastes and facilities as necessary; c) safe transportation and proper disposal of wastes; d) proper training of employees in the hazards of materials, safe management routines, spill prevention and clean-up. 2. Develop policies and procedures for handling city-acquired hazardous materials and wastes from illegal dumping, spills, abandoned materials and police work which will include: a) identification of responsible parties; b) identification of the city's emergency and non-emergency costs; c) cost recovery methods; d) evaluation of need for city controlled hazardous materials storage facility. 3. Create an inspection and evaluation system for city property to include: a) checking property to be purchased, received as a gift, or leased prior to acquisition for prior hazardous material or waste contami nati on; b) checking lease tenants for proper use and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes to ensure they are not contaminating city property. [ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7280 p.3 'LOT I May 3, 1988 05 foRr To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Subject: COORDINATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL AND WASTE ISSUES 4. Coordinate environmental compliance efforts in a single location and assign reponsibilities for: a) implementation of task force developed pol i cy, regulations and ordinances; b) centralization of relevant regulations, registrations , pem-its, records and reports; c) centralized location of equipment and personnel for non-emergency response to eliminate duplication of effort; d) the provision of information and education of the public; e) development of resource recovery and waste minimization program; f) administration of a budget to implement these programs. In this report the progress made to date by the Task Force has been summarized. Much is yet to be done in the area of developing plans , policies and programs to insure that the City of Fort Worth is in compliance with all environmental laws and regulations. One of the most pressing needs identified is the proper management of both city-generated and dumped or abandoned material. Proper analytical identification and disposal of hazardous waste is necessary and can be expensive. The Task Force, Office of Management -Services and the City Manager's Office currently are developing a proposal to address this need and estimating potential costs. A detailed proposal with funding reuirements will be presented to you for action within the next thirty days. N d City Manage Ha a City Manage A discussion on this issue is scheduled for Tuesday's Work Session and additional information will be provided at any time upon request. [ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS