Loading...
CC 01-12-10 (Lehigh SS)CUPERTINO APPROVED MINUTES CUPERTINO (;ITY COUNCIL Regular Adjourned Meeting Tuesday, January 12, 2010 ROLL CALL At 3:00 p.m. Mayor Kris Wang called the regular meeting to order in the Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California, and led the P (edge of Allegiance. Present: Mayor Kris Wang, Vice-Mayor Gilbert Wong, and Council members Barry Chang, Orrin Mahoney, and Mark Santoro. Absent: none. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS The Deputy City Clerk distributed an email from Susan Sievert regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's failure to control mercury pollution from cement kilns. STUDY SESSION 1. Conduct a study session to learn about regl~lation of the Lehigh Cement Plant (formerly Kaiser and Hanson). A. Introduction of speakers and presentations by regulatory agencies. • US Environmental Protection Agency -Shaheera Kelly, EPA Region 9, Lehigh Title V Permits Ofc Lead • Regional Water Quality Control Board Bruce Wolfe, Executive Director • Bay Area Air Quality Control District Jack Broadbent, Chief Executivf; Officer Brian Bateman, Director of Engineering • County of Santa Clara Jody Hall Esser, Director, Department of Planning and Development Gary Rudholm, Senior Planner Shaheera Kelly, Environmental Engineer for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), gave a PowerPoint presentation on the EPA's role in regulating the Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant. Her presentation covered regulatory mechanisms; air permits including Title V review, New So~~rce Review (NSR), and Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) construction permits; EPA's national rules; New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) for cement plants; National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAI?) for cement plants as well as proposed limits and January 12, 2010 Cupertino city Council Page 2 projected reductions, and potential requirements for Lehigh; Greenhouse Gas (GHG) regulations; compliance/enforceme~lt; the Federal Clean Water Act; and air toxics monitoring at Stevens Creek Elementary School. Jack Broadbent, Chief Executive Officer for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), introduced Brian Bateman, Director of Engineering for the District; Jeff McKay, Deputy Executive Officer in charge of operations; and Sue Gardner, the City of Monte Sereno's representative on the BAAQMD's Governing Board. Mr. Bateman gave a PowerPoint presentation on the District's regulation of the Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant. His presentation covered the California air pollution control agencies; sources of air erriissions, air pollution regulatory requirements, and upcoming regulatory requirements far Lehigh; and concerns expressed by the public. Shin-Roei Lee, Watershed Management Division Chief for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, gave a PowerPoint presentation. Her presentation covered an overview of the Board's existing permits, orders, and policy; water reclamation requirements; sl:ormwater general permit; cleanup and abatement order; water quality certification fc~r waste discharge requirements; and mercury total maximum daily load for the San Francisco Bay. Gary Rudholm, Senior Planner with the Santa Clara County Planning Office introduced Jim Pompy from the Office of Mine Reclamation, and Santa Clara County Counsel Lizanne Reynolds. He also later discussed an overview of how the County implements the requirements as the lead agency regarding the Lehigh Cement Plant. Jim Pompy from the Office of Mine Reclamation gave a PowerPoint presentation. His presentation covered the intent of tl-e Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA); the agencies to which it applies; key elements of the Act; vested rights; who administers the agency and the lead agency's responsibilities. He also explained reclamation plans, requirements, phased mining and reclamation, and provided information about the agency's website. B. Council questions The City Council asked questions of the various regulatory agency representatives. Council member Chang asked Mr. Broadbent to require the cement plant to put in a central stack for better air disbursement and monitoring. Council member Chang also asked Mr. Broadbent if the District can have stricter requirements than the EPA. Mr. Broadbent responded that yes, the District does have the opportunity and the ability to go further than the Federal NESH~~P standard. He noted that the District wants to be able to see what the EPA comes ~~ut with first before deciding whether to be more stringent with the requirements. January 12, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 3 C. Public comments Robina Vandersteen said that she was concerned about the proximity of the quarry when she originally bought her home but was assured that it would be gone soon and the hillside restored to its original ~ippearance. She noted that since then, she has only seen expansion of the quarry and more trucks, and wants more regulation. Bruce Woolpert, president of Granite Rock Company and resident of Cupertino, said that limestone is very rare in California. He noted that Granite Rock Company supplies concrete to businesses from King City to San Francisco and that Lehigh makes the best quality cement because the product made in this area doesn't deteriorate. Dennis West asked if benzene wa:; being monitored, if the dredge material from the ponds was being checked for mercury and other pollutants, and where is it being disposed. He noted that the cement plants are needed but that they also need to be healthy for people who live around them. John Morrison said he has been a Lehigh employee for 32 years as a Maintenance Associate and works with the equipment and lubricants. He noted that many of the lubricants used now are dedicated toward protecting the environment. Barbara West encouraged Council t~~ continue efforts to monitor Lehigh and asked how long the plant could operate under the current permit. She said that the additional mobile monitors should monitor all toxic air contaminants including mercury, arsenic, and especially benzene. Victoria McCarthy said that she works for Lehigh and that the company commits to its employees and to making an investment for the future. She noted that her job entails quality control by sampling the product in the field and bringing it back to the lab for testing. Cathy Helgerson showed a photo o f the storage area from the quarry and said that the mountain is being pulled down. She expressed her concern about debris blowing around and asked Council to develop a task force to talk about all the issues. She noted that the discharge from the plant is going into the pond and poisoning the drinking water. Ralph Otte said that seniors can't investigate what's going on at the cement plant and he thanked Council for looking into the issue. He also thanked the members of Ad Hoc, a volunteer organization who is an oversight committee for the Lehigh cement plant to urge compliance. Al Silva said he was a resident of ~~upertino and employee of the plant working as an inspector. He noted that in the 80 ~~ears his family has worked for the plant, the plant has always complied with all the regulatory agencies, has been a good neighbor, and doesn't impose any health issues to the surrounding community. January 12, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 4 Michael Gottwald said that he was ~:oncerned about air quality and finding a solution to the pollution from the cement plant. He added that he wouldn't want to close the facility since there are too many har~3working people there. Bill Almon said he is the founder c-f a group called Quarry No and that they have 200 residents of Cupertino as members. He thanked the representatives of the agencies for trying to solve the problem but said the community has lost trust because of the dust and arsenic. He explained that the group continues to take samples along Foothill Blvd. and knows that the product of the dust comes from the cement plant. He noted that the cement has 20-SO times the trigger level for arsenic in the state of California and that action should be taken to remove what is there and stop further releases. Joyce Eden from the West Valley Citizens Air Watch said that the mercury coming from the stack comes from the lime:stone which volatilizes the mercury. She noted that it's one of the highest contents of~ mercury limestone that there is and produces an average of 415 pounds of mercury :per year. She said she is supportive of the proposed EPA rule to reduce this toxin by using a single stack and putting the continuous emission monitors on the stack. She urged the Air District to make stronger rules. Ken Smythe, speaking behalf of Judy Harrison, talked about a study from the University of Texas Health Science Center ;in San Antonio correlating the rate of autism to mercury emitting sources. He noted that low-dose exposure to environmental toxins, especially mercury, are a particularly high risk for pregnant women. Tim Brand said he lives a mile from the kiln and that there have been no substantive changes to the kiln, which has been burning the same limestone in the same kiln, with the same emissions equipment since the 80's. He said he was excited about talk to improve the emission control at the plant. Ignatius Ding said that it's irrespon~;ible for officials from the agencies to say they don't know where the dust is coming from. He explained that he has spent his own money and time in doing studies in Cuperi:ino and knows that the dust is actually cement that contains lethal mercury poison. He noted that 580 pounds of mercury is produced every year and he wondered where it goes and that it is a health hazard. Deborah Jamison, speaking on beh~ilf of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, said they looked into what is known about the toxicity levels in Permanente Creek in conjunction with a flood control project and found that in February, 2009, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Control Board approved a proposed clean water act listing for Permanente Creek for t~~xicity, general toxicity and selenium in the creek water. She noted that water sam~-les in the upper creek consistently exceeded the national toxicity rule of continuous total selenium concentration objectives of 5.0 micrograms per liter and that one water sample tested over 12 micrograms per liter. She said that the creek water goes in~:o the South Bay water and affects water quality because the toxins accumulate. January 12, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 5 Julie Lin, speaking on behalf of I~ rank and Karen Geefay, showed a picture of the Lehigh area from Google Earth noting how big the quarry is and its position relative to the Stevens Creek Reservoir about ~~ .5 miles away. She noted an article about toxic fish in the reservoir and a sign to not eat the fish at the reservoir because of mercury poisoning. She said that no other mining activity takes place in the area so the mercury must be coming from the cement plant. She noted that according to the Cupertino General Plan, Cupertino gets about half of its water from ground water and runoff and in order to make the environment sustainable, the mercury pollution must stop as soon as possible. Donna Cotner from West Valley ~~itizens Air Watch asked why the County wasn't cleaning up and addressing the damage that has already been done before issuing the permit for more quarrying. She alsc- asked if there was a legal reason to not separating the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the reclamation plan from the new quarry reclamation plan. John Bartas said that he lives less than a mile from the plant and noted that if the plant were to close down, many people would lose their jobs, but that jobs aren't more important than the right to clean air. He said that a lot of industries start with the best intentions and end up being toxic anal dangerous to the community. Ken Smyth said that mercury is the second most toxic element on the planet, since it is a neurotoxin that causes brain degE-neration. He talked more about the study from the University of Texas mentioned earlier. Craig Lee addressed effects from the plant including speeding trucks, debris falling from trucks, and noise from trucks. He encouraged the City to publicize the steps that can be taken to report debris damage and how to provide feedback to law enforcement. He said he knows both the cement plant and the quarry profess to be good neighbors and he hoped they will help to address the speed, debris and noise problems. Yuh-Ning Chen said that the County has the largest increase of autism from 2001-2007 due to mercury. She encouraged Council to ask the County to monitor the Lehigh plant operations and put out a reclamation plan for review. She said she was concerned about lack of regulatory oversight. Dave McLeroy said that he doesn't want to get rid of the plant but is concerned about not being given all the information. He noted that ten years ago he attended a hearing with the District and the EPA and an inspector told him confidentially that when he went to inspect the Kaiser Permanerrte plant, they wouldn't let him in the gate until they had solved the issue. He also said that he saw first-hand that Kaiser didn't do the mitigations that they were supposed to do. He noted that he did his own personal mitigation of water purification and air filtration and would like to see better compliance from the plant. January 12, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 6 Kurt Takara said that he lives within a mile of Lehigh and that all the toxins talked about makes him nervous for the safety of the children he works with. He noted that historically the plant has had violations and in response are then given even more area to mine on. He said this can't be good for Cupertino. Karen Del Compare said that in March, 2008, she noticed a large pile of material east of the main pit and notified the Count; and the State Geology and Mining Board. She said the County determined that it was an illegal storage pile of mining waste and that a violation was issued but no fine was given, and it was included in the reclamation plan to not move it. She listed violatio~ls from the Sept. 2007 State Mining and Geology Board Executive Officer report including encroachment, over steeping slopes, un- engineered fill, inadequate topsoil management, inadequate soil erosion, and inadequate drainage measures impacting the a~~jacent watersheds. She said that another issue for Cupertino residents is a large amou~lt of diesel trucks polluting the air and that this type of pollution is associated with increased cancer risk, respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease. Henrik Wesseling, Lehigh Plant Manager, said he is responsible for the cement plant operation for the quarry and for futL~re improvements, and he was proud to celebrate the plant's 70th anniversary in Cuper~:ino. He said he is aware of the concerns of the neighbors and the responsibility the plant has to the community, and they are continuously improving the operation and environmental aspect of the plant. He noted that the plant operates one of the most fuel efficient kilns in California as well as the entire United States, and they are ~~omplying with stringent rules and regulations. He said that all emission testing is dons; by engineers from the Bay Area or by independent certified stack testing companies. Tim Matz, Corporate Director of E~ivironmental Affairs for Lehigh stationed in Dallas, TX, said that Lehigh is currently iri compliance with all of its air environmental rules and regulations and feels that since the plant is a member of the community, it's their obligation to continuously approve upon and, where possible, to go above and beyond compliance. He offered some examples of where the plant could improve or go above compliance including mercury reduction and pilot studies to learn how to reduce mercury emissions by using different technologies including activated carbon injection. Marvin Howell, Director of Land Use Planning and Permitting for Lehigh, said that the plant has played an historic role in the development of the community because the cement that came from the facility built the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, Shasta Dam, and San Jose International Airport, and also supplies 70% of the cement used in Santa Clara County and 50% in I3ay Area overall. He noted that cement produced locally and used locally benefits everyone, including the environment and explained that the Green Building Council c;onsiders the use of locally produced cement and limestone in granting LEED certification in new building projects. He said that California is able to supply 80% of ~~ts need for cement and the rest is imported from off shore. Many plants elsewhere are not subject to the same stringent requirements as California, and importing adds 20% of carbon imprint just from the transportation. January 12, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 7 D. Council comments Council member Orrin Mahoney said that he learned a lot about the Lehigh issue from the regulatory representatives and tl-at the Council will continue to take an active role in pulling the right resources together. He said that he was glad to hear from the experts that there is no current health risk, that there are new rules to reduce any potential risk, and that Lehigh states they have pl,~ns to implement those new rules. He said it would be good to work through the disagreements to come to a truthful conclusion as much as possible. Vice Mayor Gilbert Wong said th,~t it was very educational to learn about what the different agencies do and that because of the public's concerns he felt that the right regulatory agencies were being addressed. He said he is glad that Lehigh wants to work with the community and the regulat~~ry agencies regarding their reclamation plans. Council member Mark Santoro said that even though Cupertino doesn't have jurisdiction, he believes in transparency of government to learn what is really going on and see if there is a problem. He suggested establishing a hotline for complaints and to look into the issue of trucks dumping debris on the roads. He said he was concerned that some answers weren't right at hand from the representatives and wanted to make sure the regulatory agencies were dc-ing their job and verifying compliance. Council member Barry Chang said that he would like to look into having the City provide a mobile source of testing in Cupertino to gather our own data and to also look into the hours of the trucks, how much they can load, and the road impact fee. He said he was glad Lehigh was willing to reduce the mercury emissions and noted that his goal was not to shut down the plant b~rt to make sure it was in compliance in order for residents to have clean air to breathe. He said it was important for everyone to work together. Mayor Kris Wang thanked staff for getting all the key agencies available to speak at the study session and thanked the agen~~ies for coming. She said that she knows this won't be the only meeting and that Council cares what the residents feel, but noted that the plant is not in the City's jurisdiction. Mayor Wang noted that Cupertino residents may contact the various regulatory agencies directly if they have further concerns or questions about the Lehigh Quarry and Cement Plant. (Those agencies are listed in the following paragraphs). Regional Agencies Bay Area Air Quality Management District -attains and maintains air quality standards, increases public awareness of positive air quality choices. General Site: http://www.baagmd.gov/ Public Notices: http://www.baagmd.gov/pmt/title_v/public notices.htm#santaclara January 12, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 8 Santa Clara County Planning - plans and regulates land use and development within the unincorporated portions of Santa Clara County. The following is the link to County web site. Search for Lehigh. General Site: http://www.scc og v.org SF Regional Water Quality Control Board -develops and enforces water quality objectives and implementation plans that will best protect the State's waters. General Site: http://www.swrcb.ca. ov~/rwgcb2/ Public Notices: http://www.swrcb.ca. o~v/s_~~infranciscobay/public_notices/public_notice.shtml Public Records: http://www.swrcb.ca.~ov/sanfranciscobay/about us/public request.shtml Santa Clara Valley Water District -acts as thE; county's water wholesaler, but also as its flood protection agency and is the steward for its stream; and creeks, underground aquifers and district-built reservoirs. General Site: http://www.scvwd.dst.ca.us/ Permanente Creek Info: http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Watersheds_ _streams and floods/Watershed info & protects/Lower Peninsula/Permanente_Creek/index. shtm State Agencies Office of Mine Reclamation (OMR) -Created in 1991 to administer the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (SMARA). Established to meet the Act's requirement, OMR provides assistance to cities, counties, state agencies and mine operators for reclamation planning and promotes cost-effective reclamation. General Site: http://www.conservation.ca.g~~v/OMR/Pa~es/Index.aspx Reclamation: http://www.conservation.ca.gov/omr/reclamation/Pages/index.aspx Notices: http://www.conservation.ca. ov/ornr/official notices/Pages/index.aspx California Air Resources Board -Attains and maiirtains healthy air quality, conducts research into the causes of and solutions to air pollution. General Site: http://www.arb.ca.gov/homepa_~e.htm Public Records: http://www.arb.ca. ovg_ /html/pubrecsguidelines.htm Online Services: http://www.arb.ca. og_ v/html/databases.htm Water Resources Control Board -preserves, enhances, and restores the quality of California's water resources, and ensures their proper allocation and efficient use for the benefit of present and future generations. General Site: http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/ CAL-OSHA -protects workers and the public frorri safety hazards through its Cal/OSHA General Site: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/ Federal Agencies January 12, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 9 Environmental Protection Agency -leads the nati~~n's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts. General Site: http://www.epa.gov/ U.S. Fish & Wildlife -works with others to cons~~rve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the ~~merican people. General Site: http://www.fws.gov/ Mine Safety and Health Agency -enforces compli~~nce with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents; to reduce th~~ frequency and severity of nonfatal accidents; to minimize health hazards; and to promote improved. safety and health conditions in the Nation's mines. General Site: http://www.msha.~ov/ U.S. Geological Survey -provides reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimizes loss of life and property from natural disasters; manages water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhances and protect our quality of life. General site: http://www.usgs. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Robin Claassen said he is a De Anza College student involved with the statewide student movement to oppose further budget cuts to California higher education institutions. He asked for Council support by approving a resolution opposing budget cuts to California higher education institutions. He noted that in September there was a general assembly of stu~~ents all over California to make March 4 a day of action. De Anza will bring a busload of student, to Sacramento for a march. He said his group is working to cooperate with faculty and administrators at De Anza College and hopes to have the support of local government as well. ADJOURNMENT At 6:30 p.m., the meeting was adjourned to Tue:~day, January 19, at 3:00 p.m., for a study session regarding the Mary Avenue housing proposal by th.e Cupertino Rotary Club. The study session will be held in the Council Chambers, 10300 Torre Avenue, and the regular Council business session will follow at 6:45 p.m. ~ ~ ~'~ ~ ~_ ~ Grace Schmidt, Deputy City Clerk Staff reports, backup materials, and items distributed at the City Council meeting are available for review at the City Clerk's Office, 777-3223, and ~ilso on the Internet at www.cupertino.org. Click on Agendas & Minutes, then click on the appropriate Packet. January 12, 2010 Cupertino City Council .Page 10 Most Council meetings are shown live on Comca.st Channel 26 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 and are available at your convenience at www.cupertino~or~. Click on Agendas & Minutes, then click Archived Webcast. Videotapes are available at th.e Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777-2364.