The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Cold Creek Compost Inc. (CCCI) was prepared and made available to the Planning Commission and the public for review and comment. At the end of the comment period a site tour and planning commission hearing were scheduled.
Site Visit
On June 5, 1997, 9:30 AM, approximately 20 concerned Potter Valley citizens joined the planning commission for a tour of the ridge top site of Cold Creek Compost Inc. on Guntley Ranch. We were greeted by the Guntley men, CCCI owner-operator Martin Melick, and general manager, CCCI mouthpiece, Eric Anderson.
Mr. Anderson called us together to set the "rules" for the tour. He immediately alienated the neighbors by stating that in the interest of time, no questions from the public would be answered on site. Public comment would be accepted at the appropriate time, later that day, in Ukiah at the Planning Commission meeting. The citizens, many of whom took time from work, had expected to be heard on the site; they had specific questions that they wanted answered in front of the commissioners. Many were unable to drive to Ukiah to give only comments. Some tempers began to flare as the stifled public was once again ignored.
A few were unable to contain their anger or questions, which for the most part were disregarded by Anderson. According to the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) the pad was to be fenced [before CCCI commenced operations] to keep range animals and wild critters from gaining access to the pad. I happened to mention this fact to some of my neighbors.
Several people began to loudly ask, "Where's the fence?" but no answer was given.
Someone asked, "How do you keep animals out?"
Exasperated, Anderson answered,"We don't." [CCCI was cited in violation (1786a5), i.e. cattle gaining access to the compost area, by John Morley, Mendocino County Dept. of Environmental Health, in his inspection report of 1-15-96.] We observed a few cattle drinking from a brown, leachate-looking puddle below the pad.
Questions about this puddle went unanswered. Throughout the tour, neighbors asked questions about water quality, testing, storing of feedstocks and Masonite ash. We noticed hunks of pressure treated wood in a pile of wood scrap waiting to be ground before composting and questioned the sanity of mixing pressure-treated wood with compost.
As before, all questions were ignored as they came from "the public." Anderson stated that the compost was regularly tested for pesticides and herbicides. I asked, "Don't you test for heavy me-tals also?"
Before he could stop himself Anderson answered, "No, we don't test for heavy metals." My follow-up question, "Why?" went unanswered.
Near the N.E. corner of the compost pad Anderson motioned and said, "Our water storage tanks are down there if you want to walk out to see them." In the presence of a few planning commission members and several neighbors, I said, "Yes, we should walk out there; the Draft Environmental Impact Report proposes that area be used as auxiliary storage for amendments and additives. They want to store Masonite ash in a flat area out there." Many neighbors began insisting that we walk down and look at this area. With exaggerated patience Anderson asked, "Would any members of the planning commission care to walk down there?"
No one from the planning commission answered, so we passed it by. We passed many windrows of tarped, not quite contained, Masonite ash. I was struck with the fullness of the pad. It seems to me that in the future CCCI will run out of room and need a place to stash the ash.
The tour took about an hour, allowing the commissioners to savor the full compost experience and receive much food for thought from the muzzled public.
Planning Commission Meeting
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for CCCI was an agenda item for discussion and public comment. There were so few members of the public able to attend that all who wanted to speak were given three minutes to do so. Comments expressed concerns about noise, smell, traffic, water and air quality, masonite ash, heavy metals, lack of monitoring, violations, dripping trucks, a suggestion to relocate the access road to Highway 20 away from McKee Park, and issues of trust.
Pano Stevens, attorney for the neighbors, made several comments, including that Guntley Ranch is range land, RL zoning, which allows only animal waste processing, not sewage sludge as proposed in the DEIR. He also mentioned that any riparian rights to the Russian River and Cold Creek are held by Guntley Ranch and questioned if they could be transferred to industrial use, i.e. CCCI. Eric Anderson was condescending to the neighbors, dismissing them as quacks and NIMBYs. He stated that according to Condition #6 of the DEIR all operations must be conducted under the roof in winter, but CCCI would like to conduct screening and grinding out on the pad during the winter. He answered two questions from Commissioner Alice Thomas. How much Masonite ash is actually used in compost? In agri-blend plus they add 10 percent ash by weight, he said. Her second question was what's dripping out of the dripping trucks witnessed by the neighbors? In effect he answered, "Dripping trucks? I don't know what could be dripping. I haven't personally seen a dripping truck. I would have to see it to know what it is."
Commissioner Nancy Barth had several concerns and comments. She wondered what agency a concerned citizen could contact to receive alleviation. She wants monitoring for heavy metals. She has concerns about Masonite's fly ash and scrubber ash. She thought that relocation of the access road should be looked into. She said that the proposed use of sewage sludge constituted a major increase in use and could be more hazardous.
Commissioner Alice Thomas wondered about the wisdom of importing wastes from other counties into Potter Valley.
Commissioner John McCowen suggested they create a buffer zone under the roof to avoid rain blow in on the windrows. At a second meeting, June 19, 1997, he questioned if the court ordered DEIR met with the judge's intent.
Commissioner Karen Calvert made many corrections in wording. She also questioned the proposed night time deliveries of one to two round trips per hour and wondered if lighting would be used.
Commissioner Steve Heckeroth stated that CCCI was an industrial facility, placed in a zoned agriculture area. He said it was not in our best interest to import wastes into an area that doesn't generate them. He questioned the amount of energy used to transport waste into Potter Valley. He was very concerned about Masonite ash and bio-accumulation of dioxin and heavy metals. He felt that there has not been enough testing and said regular testing of the ash is necessary. He said that Masonite and all companies should be responsible for the waste they create.
On June 19, the Planning Commission reconvened and discussed CCCI again. They raised many of the same concerns and sent the DEIR back to the consultants with their comments and public comments included. On a personal note, I commend this commission for studying the issue, voicing intelligent concerns, and listening to the public. For me, it was a refreshing change to feel that the opinions of the citizens were really being considered. Our Board of Supervisors could learn from these commissioners.
Concerns
Since the spring of 1994 I have witnessed and commented with dismayed interest the development of Cold Creek Compost Inc. I have seen mitigations mitigated, more feedstocks added, restrictions relaxed, terms changed, traffic increased, public ignored, violations committed and lies told resulting only in slapped hands. The DEIR seems to have been used as an excuse to expand and change the project to benefit the owner operator. It does not meet with the judge's intent. It is a true piece of compost, used to add sewage-sludge, more traffic, and additional storage space for ash to one of the largest industrial composting facilities in the state.
In my opinion there are several issues inadequately addressed in the Draft Environmental Impact Report. Most important is the toxicity, use, storage and land spreading of boiler and scrubber ash from International Paper's Masonite division.
There have been many concerns from Potter Valley residents about importing IP/Masonite ash into the valley and storing it above the Russian River. First classified as a feedstock, the ash has been reclassified as an amendment or additive at the request of CCCI. The reason being, feedstock can't be stored on site and has to be processed into windrows within 72 hours as a mitigation for odors and vectors. Also, the facility is limited to 50,000 tons of incoming feedstock a year. CCCI is proposing to receive up to 10,000 cubic yards of amendments and additives annually, which can be stockpiled indefinitely.
According to the Ukiah Landfill Logs, IP/Masonite generates about 6,000 tons of ash per year (TPY). Excess ash that can't be sold or mixed with compost can be applied directly to the soil on 400 acres of Guntley Ranch and 200 acres of M&M Ranch. Some land spreading of ash has already occurred on Guntley Ranch. The DEIR [Public Health and Safety Section, Impact 3.5.1 pp. 3-52] states, "Both fly ash and scrubber ash are derived from wood used to fire Masonite's generator."
According to Citizens for a Healthy Ukiah, in addition to burning redwood bark and wood scrap, IP/Masonite is permitted to burn Fuel Oil #6, trim waste from finished products and quality control rejects. IP/Masonite has four boilers with Boiler #4 being the dirtiest, burning the most fuel oil and generating the most ash. According to the Air Toxic Emission report for IP/Masonite, 1991, the last year of public record (IP/Masonite considers what they burn for co-generation proprietary information), IP/Masonite burned 3,480,409 gallons of Fuel Oil #6 combined with recycled oil. Fuel Oil #6 is a waste product and among the dirtiest of fuels. According to the emissions study (Acurex Corp. 1991), Benzene, EDC, Toluene, and Xylenes are emitted from burning Fuel Oil #6. [Benzene and Toluene have been found in the Ukiah landfill.] The emissions report states that the greatest emissions come from Boiler #4. Along with thousands of pounds of formaldehyde, IP/Masonite emits into the air annually an assortment of heavy metals as well as dioxins, furans and PCBs. All the heavy metal emissions, e.g., "hexavalent chromium, arsenic, cadmium, lead, beryllium, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium and zinc," came from the boilers, chiefly boiler #4. The primary sources of formaldehyde were the waste water ponds, where the scrubber ash settles.These same heavy metals, dioxins and furans have been found in the ash. It will be argued that yes, the ash does contain these toxins, but in insignificant amounts. Dioxin and many heavy metals are bio-accumulated, which should be considered before using ash on food crops or spreading it on watershed land (Guntley Ranch).
According to the DEIR, [section 2.1.3 CHANGES TO PREVIOUS PROJECT, #11 pp. 2-9] "Auxiliary Storage Areas have been identified for the storage of amendments and additives. The applicant proposes to store these materials on the compost pad or on flat areas near the three water storage tanks." On pp. 3-11 of the DEIR it states, "If storm water were to contact lime or ash, or if stockpiled materials were otherwise saturated, they would have the potential to contaminate run off from the site. The run off would have a high pH, which would be hazardous to humans, wildlife, and aquatic organisms." How could anyone who cares about water contamination even suggest IP/Masonite ash be stored off pad and or land spread in a watershed. IP/Masonite ash should not be allowed as an amendment or imported into a watershed. The responsibility of fly ash disposal is that of the ash generator, IP/Masonite. They should be making glass bricks, to seal in fly ash toxins, rather than further spreading them into the environment.
McKee County Park wasn't even mentioned in the siting studies, Negative Declaration or the Conditional Use Permit for CCCI. It was addressed in the DEIR as a traffic issue only. The nuisance factor of CCCI's traffic, noise and smell needs to be addressed.
McKee County Park was donated to the county Dec. 17, 1969 by McKee and sons. This beautiful riparian corridor is two miles in length. Unfortunately, the new and originally unpermitted road servicing Cold Creek Compost runs the length of this once peaceful parkway. County Parks established a nature study and portaging trail along the river. This area of the Russian River has a beautiful stretch of rapids. It is a favorite spot for kayakers, tube riders, and just plain floaters who make day trips from McKee to Lake Mendocino. It is also a very popular trout fishing area regularly stocked by Fish & Game. Wild berries, oaks, poplars, alders and a multitude wild flowers shade and cool the many visitors seeking respite from the scorching summer heat. This area provides habitat for snowy egret, blue heron, and osprey. Bald Eagles have been sited eating fish on nearby power poles. Seasonal visitors include mallard, merganser and canvas back ducks as well as Canadian Geese. In the hills of Potter Valley live mountain lion, bob cat, black bear, wild turkey, wild pig, raccoon, opposum, deer, cooper's hawk, red tail hawk and golden eagle. Many if not all of these creatures drink, hunt and fish in this area. The students of Potter Valley Elementary School use McKee Park as a field study area in the Adopt A Watershed Program. At peak times (Summer) there will be up to 40 round trips (every 7 min.) of foul smelling, noisy trucks traveling along and above this once peaceful area. CCCI would like the neighbors to trust that they are acting in good faith.
The project started by operating without a permit and constructing the road and compost pad without a permit. In the beginning they denied that they were considering IP/Masonite ash or the importing of biosolids. They have had various violations during their operations: feedstock and amendments stored off the pad, cattle gaining access to the pad, and run off from pad reaching stockpiled finished product. CCCI has a reputation in our community of doing what they want, and considering violation fines the price of doing business. CCCI cannot be trusted to handle biosolids and their toxins.
According to the RCSI, "weight and volume records relating to incoming and out going material will be recorded in units of pounds or tons." I have seen copies of CCCI's incoming materials log from Oct. 30, 1995Jan. 30, 1996. Under the heading Quantity (in tons) the weight recorded for incoming materials was logged as "1 load" 54 different times. How much does "1 load" weigh? How can we trust that incoming materials won't exceed 400 TPD or 50,000 TPY?
Monitoring of CCCI needs to be frequent and unexpected. Violations should be very expensive. The entire Guntley ranch should be inspected for hidden stockpiles of feedstock and amendments.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
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