Solid Waste Advisory Commission

Athens-Clarke County Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting of the Solid Waste Citizens Advisory Committee Wednesday, September 2, 2020 via WebEx Present at Meeting: Commissioner Andy Herod, Commissioner Patrick Davenport, Larry Dendy, Michael Brugger, Jared Harper, Abbie Dillion, Suki Janssen, Joe Dunlop, and Susan Lyon (minutes). I. Welcome Commissioner Davenport called the meeting to order. (Due to technical difficulties, the official meeting began at 5:52 pm.) II. Approval of Minutes: May 20, 2020 Andy made a motion to approve minutes; seconded by Larry, approved unanimously. III. Public Comments - None IV. Division Reports (ATTACHMENT I & II) The Solid Waste reports were sent electronically to committee members. Due to time constraints, the reports will not be read during the meeting; however, any questions or concerns should be emailed to Suki. One addition is the MRF celebrated their 25th anniversary. Celebratory masks were sent to members via mail. UGA report – Abbie Dillion, President of UGA Bag to Bag  According to Office of Sustainability – no composting in dining halls. No student composting at the Tate Center, only back of house composting. Before COVID, 80 buildings were voluntarily composting and now there are only 30.  A small bin with recycling/trash combo has been offered for staff to use. The staff person is responsible for emptying their bin which allows for custodial staff to have more time to sanitize offices and buildings. V. Other Business Black Lives Matter Resolution Suki: ACC M&C adopted Black Lives Matter Resolution on July 7, 2020. Dunlop Road concerns are listed in the resolution and should be discussed by the committee.  Environmental Justice Concerns expressed in the Resolution. When the landfill started in 1970’s, we had unlined cells which are closed but still monitored today. Contamination was found onsite by the caretaker at the time (who lived onsite). SW went through a remediation plan to close the well and put everyone surrounding the landfill on public water, including Dunlap Rd residents and Billups Grove Baptist Church. The Landfill Enterprise Fund plus SPLOST dollars paid for the pipes to be installed. When a public health assessment was completed, no leachate was found in the wells before closing them down permanently. The only contamination was on the landfill proper. Suki will forward the powerpoint that was used last year to present the history of the landfill to the Mayor and Commission. The landfill was expanded into Oglethorpe County. During the time Gwen O’Looney was serving as Mayor, the Mayor and Commission did have an agreement with the Dunlap Rd community that stated ACC would not expand the landfill. Bill Berryman, former ACC Attorney, reviewed the agreement and found that it was not legal or binding. The agreement was amended in 2008 by the Mayor and Commission at that time and the landfill was expanded after an analysis that found it was the least expense way to continue trash service in ACC.  Commissioner Herod: To follow-up, two important issues to bring up. In regards to the legal interpretation, the attorney would have found the agreement illegal because one Mayor and Commission cannot bind a subsequent Mayor and Commission to a legal agreement. When that agreement to not expand the landfill was made, it was made under the context that a regional landfill would be developed. When the regional landfill did not happen, all agreements were void.  Three other issues that should be addressed: o Composting and bio-solids – any complaints are logged. A fact sheet on bio-solids is being updated with data from Public Utilities. o Odors – primarily bio based. On the compost pad, all bio-solids are covered with leaf and limb material (natural carbon filter) within 20 minutes of being delivered to the pad. There is an odor complaint form on the SW website for anyone to report an issue 24/7. The landfill has a weather station to monitor wind speeds and biometric pressure. A nasal ranger is used daily at different points around the landfill by an employee who works indoors and is not desensitized to the odors. o Old Schoolhouse – listed on the Athens Historic Places in Peril. SW staff would like to see it off-site. The department has invested $7,000 for roof repair to stop water damage. The structure continues to deteriorate as it sits. Suki – Are there other issues that the committee believes that need to be addressed? A report will be prepared to address the issues in the resolution and sent to Mayor and Commission. Commissioner Davenport:  Would like to see this report in paper form  Billups Grove Baptist makes the decision on the schoolhouse and would like to purchase the small piece of land where it sits.  Suki: When the question of purchase was presented to EPD in the past, the answer was no because the schoolhouse sits in the landfill buffer zone and because of security concerns. Suki will address the issue again with the EPD.  A stream wraps around the landfill on the western side. How often is the creek tested for contamination? Suki will send out power point that was presented in Fall, 2019. The answer is in the power point along with a list of everyone who has public water access around the landfill. SW staff do not test anything off landfill property unless it is requested. If someone would like a soil test, SW would pay for the test through the Cooperative Extension to indicate any heavy metals that may be of concern. Suki will updated the report with a timeline, per Commissioner Davenport’s request and will send out the report for committee review before it is forwarded to Mayor and Commission. Commissioner Herod: It is very important for the current Commissioners to learn and understand the correct history of the landfill. Larry: Would like to have this issue continue on future meeting agendas and it is very important that the community be involved in future decisions. Commissioner Davenport: Any other concerns can be emailed to Suki. VI. Next meeting is scheduled for November 18, 2020. Patrick made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Andy seconded; and the meeting was adjourned at 6:32 pm. Respectfully submitted by Susan Lyon: 11.18.20 Approved by SWCAC on 11.18.20