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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - May 6, 1987 (47)i _ :�.• rlTV pr. 1 . nni � � � v � �v v � COUNCIL COMMUNICATION PUBLI,Z WORKS DEPARTMENT 111 City Council FROM: City Manager MEETING DATE: May 6, 1987 AGENDA TITLE: Approve Hiring of Consultant for Development of Wastewater Discharge Requirements for Petroleum Hydrocarbons RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the City Council authorize the Public Works Department to retain the firm of Black & Veatch for the development of petroleum hydrocarbon discharge standards. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: At the present time, there are a number of locations within the City's service area Lhat have known groundwater contamination due to leaky underground fuel tanks. One of the most economical methods of cleaning up this type of contamination includes the removal of the groundwater from the immediate area, performing on-site filtering and clean up, and then discharging into the City's wastewater system. The City has been approached by one `irm requesting discharge into the City's wastewater system and we anticipate L t we will receive additional requests in the near future. The City should have standards which cover this type of discharge. The present City Code only vaguely addressee hydrocarbon discharges which could have a major impact on the City's collection system, the treatment plant operatior, and the usability of waste sludges. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was sent to three consulting firms and included the following three major tasks: ° Recommendation on acceptable limits which would not impact the collection system (explosive atmosphere), the treatment system (effects on biochemical process), and the disposal system (sludge contamination). ° Recommendation on safeguards to ensure limits are not exceeded. ° Recommendation on methods of determining actual flows. We received proposals from the three firms, all of which met the requirements of the RFP and all were qualified to do this project. Listed below is a breakdown of the fees for the proposals submitted: Black & Veatch $4,500 Environmental Science and Engineering, Inc. $5,442 Environmental Resource Management - West $8,000 APPROVED: (;WASTEWA/TXTW.02M . PLILK)UN, liry mana FILE N0. April 17, 1987 City Council May 6, 1987 Page 2 it is recommended that Black & Veatch be retained by the City to do this work and that the City Council authorize the allocation of $5,000 for this study. The additional $500 is for minor work which will have to be done by City personnel which will also be charged to the project. d nsko ks Director JLR/ma Enclosure cc: Water/Wastewater Superintendent City Attorney CWASTEWA/TXTW.02M April 17, 1987 BLACK & V E A T C H ENGINEERS—ARCHITECTS Hydrocarbon Ordinance City of Lodi 221 West Pine street Lodi, CA 95240 Attention: Mr. Fran Forkas Water/Wastewater Superintendent Gentlemen: Ufjo i -1-11 MAR TEL. (415) 945-5770 (� -�FF-� DI 3170'- K A�'�Zl` S OE PLEASANT HILL. CALIFORNIA 9423 MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. BOX 4247 WALNUT CREEK. CALIFORNIA 94596 B&V Project 90245.012 March 13, 1987 In response to your request for proposal dated February 25, 1987, Black 6 Veatch is pleased to submit our proposal for technical assistance with the formation of City ordinance amendments which would regulate the discharge of hydrocarboui and petroleum products to the wastewater collection system. While the City is currently faced with a decision regarding gasoline contaminated ground water, the scope of ordinance should be broad enough to encompass all hydrocarbons and petroleum products. Black 5 Veatch has assisted numerous municipalities and sewerage agencies throughout the nation with the formation of wastewater ordinances including the City of Lodi. An example of an applicable industrial waste ordinance for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSLSD) and an EPA model ordinance have been attached for your review. Concerns over the presence of hydrocarbons and petroleum products in waste- water are well founded and include: • Public and city employee safety with regards to explosive, flammable, and/or toxic conditions: • Costly collection system explosions or fires. • Compatibility with biological treatment systems. • Treatability and impacts on receiving waters and reclamation opportunities. • Effects on residuals quality and loss of residuals management opportunities. BLACK B V EAT . City of Lodi Mr. Fran Forkas 2 8&V Project 90245.012 larch 13, 1987 As a result of these concerns most municipalities and sewerage agencies prohibit the discharge of hydrocarbons and petroleum products when possible. Such is the case with the City's current prohibition in Article II, Section 20-3.1. With certain industrial wastes and in special circumstances, the presence of hydrocarbons and petroleum products cannot be avoided. In such cases their discharge must be strictly regulated to ensure that the public, City employees, and the collection system are protected by prevention of explosive or toxic conditions within the collection system; and that the environment is protected by the prevention of waste concentrations that would have an adverse impact on the treatment plant, receiving waters, and residuals quality. Examples of regulations to prevent the occurrence of explosive conditions within the collection system are contained in Article IV, Section 1, No. 1 of the MSLSD ordinance and in Section 2, No. 2.1-a of the EPA model ordinance. These ordinances provide restrictions on the levels of combus- tibles in the sewer atmosphere. Direct incorporation of one of these examples or modified version into Article II, Section 20.3 of the existing ordinance would be relatively straightforward. The problem %ith this type of ordinance is that it does not permit a critical review of the wastewater prior to discharge. An alternative approach to the prevention of an explosive condition may be to prohibit the discharge of the volatile hydrocarbons which could produce an explosive atmosphere in the sewer environment. Given the complex nature of the sewer environment and the number of potential hydrocarbons, many simplifying assumptions would have to be made to determine which hydrocarbons would be prohibited. Another drawback to this approach is that it may unnecessarily prohibit the discharge of very dilute wastestreams such as the contaminated ground water. We propose to meet with the City and fire marshall early on to determine which approach best meets the requirements of the City. The current ordinance prohibits the discharge of wastewaters which are a danger to life or -safety of personnel in Article II, Section 20-3, No. 3. This regulation should be amended to specifically include the emission of chemical contaminants into the atmosphere which exceeds threshold limit values. Such a prohibition is included in Article IV, Section 1, No. 7 of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District ordinance. The prohibition of wastes that adversely affect the treatment process and receiving water quality is currently regulated ander Article II, Section 20-3, Nos. 6 and 7; and Article II, Section 20-11, No. 9. While these regulations protect the plant and receiving water, they should be reviewed and amended to incl,.;de prohibition of wastes that affect wastewater reclamation. BLACK @ P E A T City of Lodi Mr. Fran Forkas 3 BBV Project 90245.012 March 13, 1987 The ease with which hydrocarbons are degraded in the activated sludge process depends upon its chemical structure. Aliphatic and simple compounds in the paraffin and olefin series are readily decomposed, unsaturated and branched chains of higher molecular weight compounds require more time and aromatic compounds such as benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and zylein- are the most resistant. In all likelihood, regulations to prevent the occurrance of explosive conditions in the sewer will limit the hydrocarbons to concentrations which will not adversely affect the treatment process or receiving water quality. The current ordinance does not specifically prohibit the discharge of wastes that adversely impact the quality of treatment residuals (sludge and scuti rendering them unsuitable for disposal or reuse. Such a prohibition should be added. An example of such a restriction is contained in Section 2, No. 2.1-f of the EPA model. As with the previous regulations, prohibition does not lend itself to critical review prior to discharge. An alternative approach would be to imposk- restrictions on the discharge of those compounds judged most likely to accumulate in the sludge (high molecular weight and aeromatic hydrocarbons) to levels which would prevent the contamination of the sludge produced by an equivalent volume of domestic sewage..: The City is rightly concerned about safeguards and monitoring of the discharge. Instrumentation used to detect the relative explosion hazard of sewer atmospheres consists of standard equipment items similar in nature to the hazardous gas detector located in the treatment plant headworks. Both stationary and hand-held units are available, and options would include alarm points and recorders. We would propose to develop specific atmos- pheric and wastewater quality monitoring requirements to ensure compliance with the amended ordinance. Flow monitoring would depend on the nature of the discharge. For the proposer contaminated ground water discharge, a stand and displacement or turbo type water meter would be appropriate. The scope of services developed for this work is presented in Attachment lio. 1. We have estimated that the cost of these services and our expenses would total $4,500. This scope and budget assume that the ordinance amendments would be generic in nature and similar to the attached examples. A more definitive ordinance which would set specific limits on hydrocarbon concentrations could be developed at approximately twice the cost. CLACK a Y CA i t City of Lodi 4 BBV Project 90245.012 Mr. Fran Forkas March 13, 1987 We are pleased to have had the opportunity to provide you with our proposal and look forward to the opportunity to assist the City in this matter. Should you have any questions or require a-3ditional information, please feel free to call. Very truly yours, KBH:mit Enclosures ArTACBY= NO. 1 SCOPE OF SERVICES PM PE SE Task 1 Review and evaluate ordinances including: — 6 1 current city ordinance, EPA model ordinance, and ordinances from solicited municipalities and agencies. Task 2 Meet with City and fire marshall to 4 6 -- determine best regulatory strategy. Task 3 Develop draft of ordinance amendments. -- 12 4 Task 4 Analyze ground water contamination data in 1 4 -- light of effects and fate of hydrocarbon and petroleum products in the activated sludge process. a Task 5 Develop discharge monitoring and reporting -- 4 -- i requirements. Task 6 Prepare letter report' including recom- 4 16 6 i G mendations regarding the proposed contaminated ground water discharge and s { 4 amendments to the existing ordinance. Task 7 Meet with city sraf'_ and council as 4 6 --% b necessary to review and enact the n y ordinance amendment. 13 54 11 CITY OF LOLDI) SPECIAL ALLOCATICN REQUEST ° E iflY' 1 3 '87 ' • AdanaQPj�S OffirP TO: Finance Director City Manager FROM: Public Works Director Date: 5/11/87 Account Number: 17.1-4,00.4-(4,-500 Request is made for funds to accomplish the following which was not included in 4 -he current budget: PROJECT DESCRIPTION 8 JUSTIFICATION ESTIMATED COST Retain the firm of Black & Veatch for development of .51000.00 petroleum hydrocarbon discharge standards per Council action on 5/6/87 ($4,500). Additional $500 covers possible City lab staff work. FUND OR ACCOUNT TO BE CHARGE Current Budget $ Prior Year Reserve $ Contingent Fund $ General Fund Surplus S Capital Outlay Reserve S Reimbursable Account S .56AUKe U 7, L 17- Y Utility Outlay Reserve S Cv ., L OvTL4y Fv" S SOdd other APPROVALS _ Ft.nd Verification W- ll " I a f F Submit this form in triplicate. Approval 7- City ML1l4onoger //7 date Co � y�.$�/ eG Amount Approved S Oa0 CITY COUNCIL THOMAS A. PETERSON C,ty Manager EVELYN M. OLSON, Mayor CITY OF L O D I JOHN R. (Randy) SNIDER R F'ACjf REIMC it v f �C [ it_jI City Clerk Mayor Pro Tempore CITY HALL, 221 WEST PINE STREET DAVID M. HINCHMAN CALL BOX 3006 19PC.� s;ti �+ gpNg1 M�$T W JAMES W. PINKERTON, Jr. LODI. CALIFORNIA 95241-1910 F �f it `tit-t:it�-Attorney FRED M. REID (209) 334-5634 ALICE MI. REIMCHE TELECOPIER:(M)333.67% CITY CLERK May 8, 1987 CITY OF Lail Black & Veatch P.O. Box 4247 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 SUBJECT: Development of Discharge Requirements for Petroleum Hydrocarbons Enclosed is a purchase order to accomplish the work outlined under your proposal dated March 13, 1987. Billing is to be on a time and material basis to the maximum of $4,500. The billing for this work should be sent to my attention and should include project name, purchase order number, total amount authorized, amount previously billed, amount of current billing, and amount remaining under the contract. Jack L. Ronsko Public Works Div -actor JLR/ma Enclosure cc: :ity Clerk_. Water/Wastewater Superintendent