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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 08-17-1999 - 9dORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 17, 1999 Action Agenda Item No. C~ - d SUBJECT: Proposed Board of County Commissioners' Policy to Require Alternatives to Open Burning for County Funded Projects DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/1~ No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Draft Letter to OCS w/attachments Barry Jacobs, County Commissioner, 732-4941 Draft Elements of Proposed Policy John Link, County Manager, ext 2300 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider approving: (1) a letter to the Orange County School Superintendent regarding open burning of wood debris; and (2) elements of a proposed BOCC policy to require a disposal plan that uses burning as a last resort for any project that uses funds appropriated by the BOCC. BACKGROUND: The Board of Commissioners expressed concerns in June 1999 with regard to open burning ofright-of--way wood debris by Piedmont Electric Membership Corp. The Board subsequently received correspondence and a positive response regarding that situation from Randy Brecheisen, General Manager of Piedmont Electric. The draft letter (see page 2) to Randy Bridges, Orange County School Superintendent, expresses the Board's concerns regarding the plan to burn wood debris resulting from clearing the site for the new OCS elementary school. In addition, Commissioner Barry Jacobs has suggested that the BOCC consider a policy that requires a disposal plan that uses burning as a last resort for any project that uses funds appropriated by the BOCC. The list on page 7 includes initial staff recommendations for elements that would be included in such a policy. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None at this time. If the Board should subsequently adopt a policy along the lines noted, there could be budgetary implications for agencies which receive County funding. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the BOCC provide direction on the proposed letter to Superintendent Bridges and on the proposal for a policy as referenced above. Orange County Hillsborough North Carolina 7~faaagaa c O~iee August 12, 1999 Mr. Randy Bridges, Superintendent Orange County Board of Education 200 E King Street Hillsborough, NC 27278 Dear Randy: $ata6ftoled t?52 Recently, I read in a newspaper article (Attachment 1), the decision of the Orange County Board of Education to burn the wood debris resulting from clearing the new Elementary School site. I wanted to strongly affirm along-standing concern of the Orange County Commissioners regarding the practice of open burning as a method of disposing of wood debris. In fact the Commissioners are pursuing legislation that would allow counties to have the same authority that is now available to towns and cities to control emission of pollutants and contaminants. The County's Commission for the Environment is exploring alternatives to improve air quality as well. In this context, I am sure you will understand the Commissioners' expression of great concern to the School System's open burning as part of clearing the new Elementary School site. As you may know, we are now in a season where air quality is affected by higher ozone levels and is impacted by activities such as outdoor burning (Attachment 2). Therefore, on behalf of the Orange County Commissioners, I am requesting that you pursue an alternative to open burning of the wood debris. As we all learned from Hurricane Fran, chipping is an environmentally sound alternative to burning. Though more costly, I believe that all local jurisdictions understand the important advantages of chipping and remain committed to it as the method of choice for disposing of wood debris. In that regard, I understand that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Grounds Division has a tub grinder that the school system maybe able to lease. Kirk Pelland is the contact person. Other companies that specialize in mulching or topsoil mining also exist. I know that you and the Board of Education will carefully consider these concerns and ideas; and we look forward to your positive response. Sincerely, John M. Link, Jr. County Manager DppffV 2 cc: Orange County Commissioners Legislative Delegates [7/21/1999] Contract OK'd for new school wysiwyg://30/http://search.news-observer....%20AND%2019990701%3C%3Ddate%3C%3D19990731 Attachment 1 ~• ~~~~~ ~ ~~ ,. ~~~ ,~ . ~~~~~~ 3 Contract OK'd for new school The school board also will allow burning to clear the land instead of hauling the debris to a landfill. By SUMATHI REDDY, Staff Writer HILLSBOROUGH -- It was a step forward for one set of Orange County school construction plans and a step back for another Monday night. The Orange County school. board members approved a contract for site work at its new elementary school site and postponed action on several other construction projects. The board rejected five bids for the construction of a 5,000-square-foot fieldhouse at Orange High School at the request of Steve Halkiotis, director of auxiliary services. All the bids came in $200,000 or more over the projected cost of $500,000, Halkiotis noted. "I can't recommend construction bids that are greater than $150 per square foot," Halkiotis said. Rather, Halkiotis said, he would come back to the board with scaled back plans for the fieldhouse in a few months. The fieldhouse will be built at Orange High School's stadium as a meeting area and shower/locker room for athletic teams. Plans for athletic additions at the high school and A.L. Stanback Middle School were also postponed because all three projects are going out to bid as one package. Minutes later, school board members awarded a $875,676 contract to Coates Grading & Hauling Co., to conduct site work for the new elementary school. The county's seventh elementary school, scheduled to open in the fall of 2000, will be located on a site in central Orange County that's bordered by N.C. 86 and N.C. 57. Coates' was the lowest of four bidders and was recommended by Ray DeBruhl, president of the The Public Facilities Group, and construction consultant for the district. Although the contract is $875,676, it will cost the county's taxpayers $707,726. That's because Apex Northwest Partnership, the developer that donated the land for the school, is reimbursing the school system for half the cost of a state bypass that will cut through the property. The contract was approved by a 6-1 vote with Board Chairwoman 1 of 2 08/10/99 11:57:42 7/21/1999] Contract OK'd for new school wysiwyg://30/http://search.news-observer...%20AND%2019990701%3C%3Ddate%3C%3D19990731 Susan Dovenbarger dissenting. 4 Moments earlier, Dovenbarger's motion to approve a contract that also called for hauling all cleared material to the landfill failed. The approved motion allows burning as a method of clearing the land. DeBruhl noted that he received the required approval from the state forest services and that the site is more than 1,000 feet away from any residential home. Dovenbarger objected to the burning because of the inconvenience it may cause neighbors, noting that she lives near a burning site and is sensitive to such complaints. "I think it's going be resented," Dovenbarger said. "I think you're going to hear from people. I don't think it's responsible ... to burn. It's a matter of conscience." But DeBruhl persuaded the rest of the school board, pointing out that he never had a problem with burning on Johnston County school sites. Also, the alternative would cost $101,737 more. In other matters, at least one A.L. Stanback Middle School parent complained about the school's new backpack policy. The school, which opened for its year-round students last week, has a new policy prohibiting students from carrying traditional backpacks. Instead, they must buy plastic or mesh backpacks. The aim is to improve school security. Bill Wolford, who briefly served on the school board, said he was "deeply concerned" that he was not informed of the new policy. Wolford has children who attend the school during the regular school year, which begins next month. He also complained that board members he contacted were not aware of the policy and that school administrators were giving him conflicting information on the particulars. "It's very disconcerting to have one school do it versus another one," Wolford said. He urged board members to seek public input if they debate implementing the policy districtwide. Sumathi Reddy can be reached at 932-2004 or at sreddv@nando.com [ PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ~ EMAIL THIS TO A FRIEND ] [ TOP ~ NEXT STORY» ~ TRIANGLE ~ HOME PAGE ] NEWS: BUSINESS ~ E ITORIA ~ N_C. ~ SPORTS ~ TRIANGLE 24HR NEWS: TOP ~ BIZ ~ INFOTECH ~ NATION ~ OPINIO ~ POLITI S ~ SPORTS ~ WORL FEATURES: ~&E ~ DAY ~ FAITH ~ FOOD ~ NOME ~ MOVIES ~ g ~ TRAVEL ~ TRIANGLE GUIDE ~ 24HR ENTERTAINMENT ~ 24HR HEALTH MARKETPLACE: YELLOW PAGES ~ CLASSIFIED ~ AUTO ~ REAL ESTATE ~ EMPLOYMENT ~ MERCHANDISE ~ SUBSCRIBE ~ BOOKSTORE ~ TRIANGLE MARKETPLACE 2 of 2 08/10/99 11:57:43 ~\$~~zone alerts mount as state ranks 4th-worst in nation ~~t1'angle has back-to-back `Code Red' warnings BY MAxY CAxNttcxAEl. STAFF WRITER The heat wave has cooled, but something else is in the air: ozone. For two days in a row, including today, the Triangle has been on "Code Red" alert, with officials warning that ozone levels are dan- gerously high. t~vo Code Reds in a row are extremely unusual; the Triangle has had only six such alerts this summer. The one-two punch coincides with a report released Thursday by the Clean Air Network naming North Carolina the fourth worst state in the country for ozone levels, behind Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia. According to the report, North Carolina had 26 "dirty days" exceeding federal ozone lim- its between April i and July 25. And the situation is only getting worse. Almost every day since the report's conclu- Sion has exceeded the limit -the number of "dirty days" this summer is now up to 38. Ozone -the noxious smog produced by a mix of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and sunlight = can cause sore throats, chest pain and even long-term lung damage. But this week's deceptively cool weather has lured Triangle residents out of their homes and into the smog-soaked air.. Meanwhile, the environmentally minded are battling the smog as best they can. Chapel Hill offers free bus rides on Code Red days to keep cars off the road, and some local restaurants give discounts~`to cus- tomers who walk instead of drive. And two weeks ago, Gov Jim Hunt signed into law a package that regulates vehicle emissions, which account for 50 percent to 70 percent of ozone pollution. Butenvironmentalistssay itwilltake a mas- siveeffort tocombatthe blanket of ozone cov Bring the state. Last year, a study ranked North Carolina second only to California for high ozone levels. OZONE CONTINUED FROM PAGE ~ B "You guys got stomped on -you even beat out Texas," said Jane Mardock, a Clean Air Network rep- resentative who co-authored the new report. "This is better than last year, so you can take comfort in that. ... But personally, I don't think this is something to claim as a victory." Mardock also said last year's summer heat wave -mostly due to a massive high-pressure system that hovered over the triangle all season -would have influenced the previous numbers. "This year, that system is hanging over Ohio," she said. "So now they're the ones who are off the charts." But with six Code Reds and 51 Code Oranges -lower-level days that still exceed federal limits - North Carolina is cloaked in smog again this year. The state has the right. mix of fac- torsfor high ozone levels, Mardock said: humid weather, interstate highways, mountains, power plants and dirty neighbors. Eastern states often get ozone-saturated air dumped on them from the west, intensifying the problem. Some areas of the state, espe- cially developed areas like the Triangle and Charlotte, naturally have high levels. But the new study also found that rural areas, includ- ing tiny Flying Pan, a town on the outskirts of Asheville, might have levels as high as the cities. George Murray, who tracks ozone levels for the state Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, said that wss easy to explain, given that most of those small towns are nes- fled in the mountains. "High elevation ozone does not decrease in the nighttime like it does on flat land," he said. "And most of this is probably transported ozone" - gases swept into the mountains from neighboring cities. The large number of monitors at high eleva- tions would push up the state's overall ozone statistics, he said. Other parts of the state, especially the coast, have very few monitors. But overall, North Carolina has the second-best ozone monitoring sys-. tem in the country, with 43 func- tioningmonitors spread across the state. That might seem environ- mentallyconscious, but it can actu- allybolster the number of record- ed days over the ozone limit. "Because we have a lot of moni- tors, we ended up with a lot of mon- itored days exceeding the stan- dards," said John White, a meteorologist with the DENR Still, the numbers in the Clean Air Network study are based on eight- hourday averages of all the sites, and Murray said counting eight hour averages instead of momentary recordings over the limit is abetter way of measuring ozone levels. "We definitely need to be wor- ried," he said. "We don't have the highest numbers, but we have a lot of them.... People who are sus- ceptibleneed to be protected." Mary Cnnnichael cnn be reached at 956.4426 or mcarmich@nando.com SEE OZONE, PAGE 7B a rr r'* w p rt N 6 Points for Consideration Development of an Open Burning Policy for Governmental Entities and Non-Profits Receiving County Funds The N.C. Division of Air Quality enforces open burning rules outside of municipal limits (and inside those without burning rules of their own), but does not require permits for burning. The NC Division of Forest Resources issues permits for open burning more than 100 feet from a home and within 500 feet of a woodland. All local governments could be asked to adopt the same open burning policy. Non-profit organizations receiving funding from Orange County would be expected to adhere to a policy regarding open burning. The following are points for consideration for discussion of such a policy. The Orange County Commission for the Environment is currently considering alternatives to address open burning as part of an overall air pollution plan. One option could be requesting limited delegation of the statelEs air pollution authority through a memorandum of agreement. A program for Orange County could allow the County to have local review and assume enforcement and permitting authority for open burning. Such a program, if implemented, could later supersede many of the ideas below. Require full exploration of alternatives to burning of leaves, branches and other plant growth discarded through construction. Alternatives to burning include mulching, composting, and topsoil mining. Create a list of companies and organizations that offer alternative services (similar to that provided by Environmental Health for well•drilling), for use as a guide. The list would be comprehensive of all known companies and would not recommend any firm. Include a provision that only as a last resort, in the case of undue financial hardship, should burning of the material occur. Cost estimates for at least one alternatative method must be obtained. If burning is still pursued, the organization should notify (in writing) the government in whose jurisidiction the activity will occur with an explanation of why an alternative was not selected. Note: Under North Carolina law, no logs or stumps over 6 inches in diameter may be burned in any case. Ask the Division of Forest Resources to ensure that burning permits for governmental entities are not issued until a good faith effort to pursue an alternative is demonstrated. This arrangement could serve until such time as the County pursues local standards or a local program. Any burning accomplished as a last resort should not occur on days where ozone levels are projected to reach code oorangeb or code oredS. These projections are posted daily at 3:00 p.m. on the Division of Air Quality web site, and through the N.C. Air Awareness Program. Provide that any burning accomplished as a last resort should be located at least 100 feet from any roadway for traffic safety reasons. ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SUGGESTED ELEMENTS OF A PROPOSED POLICY GOVERNING OPEN BURNING OF WOOD DEBRIS BY AGENCIES/ENTITIES WHICH RECEIVE ORANGE COUNTY FUNDING August 17, 1999 The N. C. Division of Air Quality enforces open burning rules outside of municipal limits (and inside those without burning rules of their own), but does not require permits for burning. The NC Division of Forest Resources issues permits for open burning more than 100 feet from a home and within SDO feet of a woodland. All local governments could be asked to adopt the same open burning policy. Schools and non profit organizations receiving funding from Orange County would be expected to adhere to the policy regarding open burning. The following are points for consideration for discussion of such a policy. The Orange County Commission for the Environment is currently considering alternatives to address open burning as part of an overall air pollution plan. One option could be requesting limited delegation of the state 's air pollution authority through a memorandum of agreement. A program for Orange County could allow the County to have local review and assume enforcement and permitting authority for open burning. Such a program, if implemented, could later supersede many of the ideas below. Ideas for Consideration - Requiring full exploration of alternatives to burning of leaves, branches and other plant growth discarded through construction. Alternatives to burning include mulchinglchipping, composting, and topsoil mining; - The County's willingness to pay any cost difference between clearing with burning and without burning; - For County projects, bidding the project and writing the contract for the project expressly prohibiting burning as a part of clearing; - For school projects, the County could include a burning prohibition in the project ordinance; - For school projects not involving project ordinances, the County policy could express a prohibition against burning for any project using County funds; - For outside agencies, the County could include a prohibition against burning in any contract with the agency. If the outside agency burns in opposition to the County policy, the County could or would cease to fund that agency. 8 - To assist the above organizations, the County could create a list of companies and organizations that offer alternative services (similar to that provided by Environmental Health for well drilling), for use as a guide. The list would be comprehensive of all known companies and would not recommend any firm. - Include a provision for outside agencies that receive County funds that only as a last resort, in the case of undue financial hardship, should burning of the material occur. Cost estimates for at least one alternative method should be obtained. If burning is still pursued, the organization should notify (in writing) the government in whose jurisdiction the activity will occur with an explanation of why an alternative was not selected. Note: Under North Carolina law, no logs or stumps over 6 inches in diameter may be burned in any case. - The County could ask the Division of Forest Resources to ensure that burning permits for governmental entities are not issued until a good faith effort to pursue an alternative is demonstrated, through a memorandum of agreement. This arrangement could serve until such time as the County pursues local standards or a local program. It is not known whether the Division would be willing to enter into such an agreement. - Provide that any burning accomplished as a last resort should not occur on days where ozone. levels are projected to reach code "orange" or code "red". These projections are posted daily at 3:00 p.m. on the Division of Air Quality web site, and through the N.C. Air Awareness Program. - Provide that any burning accomplished as a last resort should be located at least 100 feet from any roadway for traffic safety reasons.