Spokane Local Source Control (LSC) Program Urban Waters Initiative (UWI) EnviroStars SRRTTF Meeting June 22, 2016 Protecting the Spokane River & Spokane Valley- Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer 1
Washington State Local Source Control Program 2006 Legislature recognizes distressed urban waters (Commencement Bay, Duwamish River & Spokane River): 75,000 Small businesses in Washington • Urban Waters Initiative • Local Source Control Program
Statewide LSC Program Profile 3
Statewide LSC Program Profile 2007-09 2009-11 2011-13 2013-15 2015-17 Local Partners 15 14 25 21 23 LSC Specialists 18 24 37 35 35 FTE 15.5 13.2 19.9 22.1 23 $2.3 million $2.3 million $3.7 million $4.7 million $4.9 million Budget
LSC Program Focus – Pollution Prevention LSC Specialists help small businesses understand and implement practices that help them comply with regulations, and protect employee health and the environment. • Improve urban water quality – Puget Sound & Spokane River watershed (supports Clean Water Act) • No-charge, voluntary Technical Assistance to Small Quantity Waste Generator (SQG) businesses (<220 lbs HW/month) – a first for many typically not visited by Ecology • Multi-media : Hazardous Waste with spill prevention, Stormwater, Industrial Wastewater, Solid waste, Air Quality Local solutions to local pollutants through Local Source Control
What is Source Control? • Identifies pollution at the source • Implements Best Management Practices (BMP’s) – required and recommended • Provides access to dangerous waste handling and disposal expertise • Ensures businesses have permits Summary: Prevents, controls, treats contaminants
How Source Control Works: How pollution gets into urban waterways • Prevents contamination or re- contamination of urban waters (eg. Duwamish River) • Challenge: large number of pollution sources
Why Local Source Control in Spokane? • Spokane River • Riverfront Park • The Spokane River is spectacular, flowing 112 miles from Post Falls, Idaho to Lake Roosevelt (the upper Columbia River) in Washington. However, it also contains hazardous pollutants.
Spokane River Pollutants: Contaminants of Concern (COC) Ecology River Assessment: - fish monitoring studies 2005 (regular re-evaluation) - river stormwater discharge sampling 2004 & 2007 PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) - transformers, pigments • River 303(d) listed exceeding WQ criteria for PCBs & Dioxins • Fish consumption advisories PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) - flame retardants in furniture, carpet, electronics, etc. • Highest level measured in fish in the state • Use now banned by Ecology Dioxin/Furans – combustion byproducts Metals – lead, cadmium, zinc (toxic to fish) 9
Spokane Valley – Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Need to protect our sole source drinking water aquifer: • >500,000 people • 10 trillion gallons water Susceptible to contamination: • Mostly unconfined • Highly permeable gravel deposits • Thin topsoil layers • Spokane River /Aquifer Losing Reach Gaining Reach interchange 10
Spokane Partnership 2008 to Current: Urban Waters Initiative & Local Source Control HWTRH WQ HWTR Prevent Harm Prevent Toxic From Contamination Stormwater Local Source event Toxic Runoff Urban Control Contamination Waters nt Harm From Specialist HWTR Initiative Stormwater Partnership Prevent Toxic Runoff Contamination TCP Cleanup Contaminated Sites and Sediment TCP Cleanup
Spokane LSC / UWI Collaboration: Goal: 1. Protect River & Aquifer Water Quality 2. Identify sources of contaminants Strategy: 1. Sample street storm water catch basins (water & sediment) 2. Sample sewer systems 3. GIS map systems 4. Trace back to properties 5. Conduct business inspections: • Ecology UWI specialists → MQG & LQG businesses • SRHD LSC → SQG businesses 12
Liberty Lake Source Trace Study 2010 (revised 2012) • Sampled residential & commercial areas • Stormwater and wastewater systems • LSC visits to most businesses Conclusions: • All CoC found in all media • PCBs found everywhere at low levels • PCBs similar in wastewater and stormwater • PCBs higher in residential wastewater than mixed industrial wastewater • PCBs higher in older residential wastewater than new residential 13
LSC Multi-sector Business Visits in High Priority Stormwater Basins 2009 - 2016: Basins with higher levels of storm water contaminants - PCBs, PBDEs, Dioxin/Furans, Metals • Union - orange • Erie Basin - blue • CSO 34 – purple 2013 – 2016: Largest City of Spokane stormwater basin) • Cochran – green 14
Spokane River Urban Waters Source Tracing Progress Report 2009-2011 Sampled Union Basin & CSO34 • Stormwater & wastewater Conclusions: • PCB Sources to the Spokane River are more diffuse than originally suspected • Basin field observation, past activity historical research & homologue pattern work can be useful for PCB source tracing 15
LSC Voluntary Technical Assistance Visits • Select CESQG businesses to visit (by geographical area, sector, complaints, SRRTTF objectives ) • Initial contact visit → Complete checklist or make follow-up appointment • May consult with Ecology, WWTP & Stormwater Utilities, SRCAA, Fire Department, etc. • Send report → requirements & recommendations • Follow-up visit to evaluate changes • Can send referral to Ecology HWTR & WQ programs
What is Evaluated? Wastes generated – Hazardous, Solid, Waste Water: • What wastes? • Where/how stored? Inside-outside? • How disposed (as hazardous waste, solid waste, down floor drain)? • Waste water? Spill prevention: • Written plan? • Training? • Clean-up materials available? • Secondary containment? Stormwater: • Contaminants entering storm drains? Vehicle washing? • Ecology Industrial Stormwater Permit needed? “Conditional no Exposure Exemption”? • Drywells need registering? Maintenance? 17
Underground Injection Control (UIC) Well Importance UIC Drywells: • Reduce the depth of soil filtration above the aquifer – direct path to groundwater • Prone to contamination - collect stormwater from large impervious surfaces • Can be improperly used for disposal of wastewater (eg. outdoor washing vehicles) • Business misconception that drywells are connected to sanitary sewer • Rarely if ever cleaned out • Many are not registered (requirement January 2009) • 20,000+ commercial parcels in Spokane County LSC Drywell Registration Project: • Mailer to 1500 property owners encouraging/incentives to register drywells • Website splash page www.Spokanewellwell.org for registration/information • Magnets 18
LSC Technical Assistance Results • 1000+ site visits • High participation rate (95+%) Hazardous waste handling: • Universal wastes (lamps, batteries) recycled – not disposed in dumpster • Discharge of hazardous wastes to WWTP curtailed (eg. dry cleaning separator water solvent) Before Before • Floor drain oil-water separator sludge cleaned out Spill prevention: • 160+ Spill kits distributed • Spill plans written/posted • Secondary containment added • Storage sheds installed or wastes moved indoors Stormwater protection: • Outdoor vehicle washing & discharges to drywells/storm drains curtailed After After • UIC (drywells) registered & cleaned
Changes to Business Practices Before B efore After After
Changes to Business Practices Before Before Before Before After After After After
Changes to Business Practices Before Before Before After Before Before After After
Changes to Business Practices Before Before After After
Changes to Business Practices Before Before Before Before Before Before After After After After
LSC Benefits & Incentives for Businesses Benefits to businesses: • Voluntary, non-regulatory visits • Provides access to dangerous waste handling and disposal expertise • Reduce liability - protect value of property • Comply with laws – drywell (UIC) registration • Healthier working environment for staff • Reduce waste & conserve resources • Recycling resource assistance Incentives to improve: • No-charge spill kits & drain covers • Posters, handouts, waste labels • Disposal & recycling resources – SpokaneWasteDirectory.org • EnviroStars certification offered 25
Spokane EnviroStars Multi-agency Steering Committee www.spokaneenvirostars.org Business Benefits: • Good practices recognized & promoted • Improved practices – may reduce costs LSC Program Benefits: • Incentive for businesses to make changes • Exceeds minimum Ecology CESQG requirements • Set goals for storm water protection (install covered/indoor storage, drywell cleaning, etc.) • Other agency priorities included (Clean Air, Waste Water Pre-treatment, etc.) 26
Spokane LSC support of SRRTTF • Participate Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force (SRRTTF) to reduce PCB’s www.srrttf.org • Assist UW Specialists in sampling (eg. Confidence sampling) • Visit SQG businesses in SRRTTF priority areas • Maintain Spokane River Fish Advisory • Promote Low Impact Development • Educate property owners to register & maintain drywells
Recommend
More recommend
