HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-05-20-PBTOWN OF ULYSSES
PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES
05/20/14
APPROVED 6/17/14
Present: Acting Chairperson John Wertis, Board Members: Sarah Adams, David Blake,
Brian Cutler, Richard Garner, Andy Rice, Environmental Planner: Darby Kiley, Town
Board Member: Rich Goldman
Excused: Rod Hawkes, Rebecca Schneider
Applicant: Jim Proctor, Scott Nostrand (B&L)
Call to Order:
Mr. Wertis called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. He stated Mr. Blake would be serving
as the alternate and voting in place of Ms. Schneider.
Agenda:
Mr. Hawkes asked for changes to the agenda; none offered.
Minutes:
Not available
Privilege of the Floor:
No member of the public present
Town Board:
Mr. Goldman reported the Town Board is keenly interested in the development of this
application.
Cayuga Compost Site Plan
Mr. Wertis stated this is a continuation of the Cayuga Compost site plan. The Board put
together items to review based on their questions and concerns. They have to take action
by June 17th; this is a negotiated date with the applicant. They have another meeting
scheduled June 3rd to further discuss. The members visited onsite and found some
surprises maybe they should not have been but were. They noted surface water runoff;
channeled leachate had been compromised on the site. The pattern of runoff had water
flowing into an astute hole (scour from running water) tiles noted further away.
Underground water movement was noted. Comments from the Board were shocked and
disturbed, something wrong with the original plan, management and inspection were
lacking. Distrust from not getting the whole picture; additional water testing done. He
empowered the members to draft letters with their concerns to the DEC. A letter was
drafted and sent to DEC, a second letter was sent to Cornell Waste Management
requesting they provide or identify an expert in compost/SSOW. The letter was sent to
DEC, B&L, CC, and Barb Eckstrom (Tompkins County Solid Waste). To date they have
not received a response from the DEC. May 22nd is the closing date for public comment
for the DEC. If they use a consultant it would be for an advisory role and not at our
expense.
He stated they had received correspondence from Mr. McBride at Cornell; he advised he
is not the person to speak with. They should speak to Jean Bonhotal the Director of
Waste Management Institute. Barb Eckstrom corresponded with them and while
discussing the site visit and concerns also mentioned Ms. Bonhotal. Ms. Kiley spoke to
Ms. Bonhotal regarding questions to DEC; she stated she would be comfortable
answering these questions for the Board. She could not attend tonight's meeting as she
would be out of Town at a conference. It was discovered Ms. Eckstrom would be at the
same conference; suggested a conference call with this Board and the two woman
tonight. They agreed and have scheduled this call for 7:45pm. He provided the
background information on Ms. Bonhotal; Ms. Eckstrom controls the purse strings for
this project; he felt including her would be beneficial to express the Board's concerns.
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May 20, 2014
The call was made and the parties were advised this was being recorded and part of a
public meeting. They were accepting of this being recorded and documented.
Ms. Eckstrom advised the group Ms. Bonhotal is the consultant for Waste Management
for the County. She served as an advisor for this project. She felt Ms. Bonhotal could
work independently and trusted her to work directly with the Town as a consultant. She
had seen the letter directed to DEC and spoke to B&L with her responses. B&L
incorporated her responses in their letter to the Board. She stated the County is prepared
to fund this project and assured the Board Quality Assurance is a high priority. They have
a contract for the DEC to provide ongoing monitoring and testing on the site. She agreed
the DEC had not kept up with visits. The new application will have new requirements in
place to be followed. County has the contract and the permit will be conditioned these
requirements be continually met. Ms. Bonhotal could be an independent voice for the
Town.
Ms. Bonhotal acknowledged she would remain independent in her reviews and
suggestions for the Town. She stated Cayuga Compost is processing correctly; the mix is
properly done; the Carbon and Nitrogen work together to create steam vs. leachate. This
also kills the pathogens. She has used this method to compost most everything e.g. dead
animals, food waste. The leachate from compost is not a pollutant. The manure used is
under 10% of the total volume. The manure is stockpiled briefly in a contained area; thus
not an impact to the site. The tiles are not within the compost pad area. The tiles are
further down in the field. They have looked at aerial drainage patterns to determine this.
The pad is not releasing water into the field. She noted they are using the 2 to 3" rain
events when reviewing these plans. The organic windrows are long and narrow, the piles
are hot thus hard to wet. The rainfall hitting the pad does not absorb into the piles but is
caught in a runoff swale. She stated this process does work in winter or summer as well.
She stated Cornell uses a similar system; they are within a close proximity to a Class 1
stream. They have 2 leachate collection ponds with a berm around the pad. At the bottom
of the hill the water goes around this and into the stream. They test regularly and have
had not impact on this stream. The collection pond water has been used to irrigate fields
around Cornell. They use a cloth and gravel pad, they removed the topsoil and dug 12" to
18" and layered with gravel over the cloth. The cloth acts as a scrubby. It is a good hard
surface for the compost.
Ms. Adams questioned the law that if they take no action if is an automatic approval in
the zoning. She questioned how they could determine where the tiles are. She has
concerns with Ms. Eckstrom being an advocate for Ms. Bonhotal. She discussed the 1"
rain events being used as standards for the DEC. The climate changes include 2 to 3"
events happening more frequently in this area. She questioned the pad at Cornell and
what it is composed off. She stated after the site visit they realized the system was not
working property. These concerns are addressed in the application; however, it is
apparent site monitoring had not been done. Much larger facility is a big concern. She
questioned the change made by B&L; would this constitute a new timeline. She stated in
a perfect world she would prefer they not have an alliance with the County as an advisor
for the Town; however, understands time constraints. She would request Ms. Bonhotal
review the changes made to the plan by B&L.
Ms. Kiley noted the applicants had discussed the failed system and mitigation in the
Executive Summary that was distributed prior to the January meeting. It was the 10 to 20
page document distributed. She spoke to Jim Gruppe (DEC) who stated they would have
their comments to us by the 1St part of next week. She stated this is not a substantial
change thus the timeline is intact with the 1 day extension to June 17th
Mr. Cutler stated he could not get to the site visit. He cannot make meeting earlier than
7pm. He questioned if the testing was adequate as well as how they get testing done on
the water. He felt an evaluation on this project is helpful as this is over this Board's
heads. He asked if the SWPP and engineer report had been sent to Ms. Bonhotal. He read
an article that stated the DEC is not monitoring sites like these. He would like to have site
visits and testing done in lieu of the DEC. Additional quality assurance measures after the
site is opened. He understands they do testing every 7 days while construction is
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May 20, 2014
happening. He appreciated Ms. Bonhotal suggesting this be done and at the County's
expense; would they have input into this process. He questioned the increase in truck
traffic; he noted mud tracking at the site visit, has this been addressed. There are also
diesel tanks near a stream course. Is this good practice management. He suggested they
go through the checklist prior to the June 3rd meeting to determine all items have been
received.
Mr. Blake agreed an exploratory phone call to Ms. Bonhotal would be beneficial. He
questioned a timeline change based on the changes to the plan. He suggested questions be
sent to Ms. Kiley for presentation to Ms. Bonhotal; invite her to the June 3rd meeting.
Mr. Nostrand stated the DEC had come onsite Friday during the heavy rainstorm. They
did take samples; as did CSI at the same time. These samples are not back yet. He is
working on the SWPPP as a result of the last meeting. He will also provide an erosion
and sediment plan; it is not required but is drafting per Ms. Kiley's request. Mr. Nostrand
provided details on changes he is making; level spreader over a wide area vs. channelized
release. Due to failure of the 2009 system; they have embellished the changes even more.
He will provide details at the June 3rd meeting. They will mitigate the drain tile issue as
well as design for the 2" rainfall events. The system is being designed using the worst
case scenarios.
Mr. Goldman questioned the Board if they ran out of time to obtain information what
would they do.
Mr. Rice stated they would like to have this site be a model for other municipalities to
visit.
Mr. Proctor stated the DEC was onsite for an inspection on Friday; again, no citations
were issued. He stated the DEC has used his site as a model several times. He has had
buses come from Albany County and other parts of the state to look and speak to him.
Resolution on Cayuga Compost Site Plan Review Status
Resolved that at this point in the Ulysses Planning Board's site plan review of the
proposed expansion of the Cayuga Compost operation, and after review and discussion of
the B&L Engineering report (11/13), the B&L prepared SWPPP (3/14), the DEC "Notice
of Complete Application" (5/2/14), and a site visit (5/6/14), we find and agree on the
following:
For the project to move forward with any form of Ulysses Planning Board approval
would require the satisfaction of the following conditions (but not specifically limited to
these conditions):
1. That we receive an evaluation from an independent authority on composting and water
management relative to the efficacy of the proposed SWPPP and Engineering Report for
the expanded Cayuga Compost operation (moved by Wertis, seconded by Blake, all
members voted in favor);
2. That a plan for testing water leaving the site be developed for our approval by a
consulting "expert" and implemented by an independent testing organization (moved by
Wertis, seconded by Blake, all members voted in favor);
3. That a plan for on-site, regular inspections of the composting operation be developed
for our approval by a consulting authority (that goes above and beyond the current
requirements of the DEC) and that such a plan be managed by an independent
organization (moved by Wertis, seconded by Adams, all members voted in favor).
Mr. Wertis adjourned the meeting at 9:50.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Carlisle Peck
Administrative Assistant