HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2002-03-27
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1CITY OF SEAL BEACH
Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of March 27, 2002
The Environmental Quality Control Board (EQCB) meeting of March 27, 2002 was
called to order by Chairperson Porter at 6:30 p.m. The meeting was held in the City
Manager's Conference Room.
Pledge of Allegiance
The pledge of allegiance was waived due to no flag being available.
II Roll Call
Present:
Absent:
Also
Present:
Chairperson Porter, Members Hurley, Unrath, and Voce
Member Jones
Department of Development Services
Lee Whittenberg, Director of Development Services
III Approval of Agenda
Vice-Chairperson Hurley noted that the numbering sequence for the items under
"Scheduled Matters" should be corrected to reflect the correct sequence from No. 2
through 5.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to approve the Agenda as amended.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0-1
Hurley, Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
IV Oral Communications
None.
1 These Minutes were transcribed from an audIotape of the meeting.
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City of Seal Beach EnVIronmental QualIty Control Board
Meeting Minutes of March 27, 2002
V Consent Calendar
1. RECEIVE AND FILE - Staff Report dated March 27, 2002 re: "Seal Beach
Weapons Support Facility Installation Restoration Program - Receipt of Final
Site Management Plan."
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to approve the Consent Calendar as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0-1
Hurley, Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
VI Scheduled Matters
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - January 30, 2002
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley noted that he would abstain from voting, as he was not present
during this meeting.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Porter to approve the Meeting Minutes of January 30,
2002, as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
3-0-1-1
Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
Hurley
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - February 27,2002
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Chairperson Porter and Member Voce noted that they would abstain from voting, as
they were not present during this meeting.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Unrath to approve the Meeting Minutes of February
27,2002, as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
2-0-1-2
Hurley and Unrath
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CIty of Seal Beach Envlfonmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of March 27, 2002
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
None
Jones
Porter and Voce
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - March 13, 2002
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Mr. Whittenberg noted that a revised copy of the minutes has been provided to each
member present tonight. Vice-Chairperson Hurley provided a list of corrections to be
made to the minutes by the Department Secretary.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Porter to approve the revised Meeting Minutes of
March13, 2002, as amended.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0-1
Hurley, Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
5. APPROVAL OF COMMENT LETTER - Haynes Generating Station
Repowering Project Draft EIR.
Recommendation: Instruct Chairperson to sign proposed Comment Letter,
and instruct Staff to forward to the City council for review and approval.
Forward Staff Report and approved Comment Letter to the Planning
Commission and the Golden Rain Foundation for information purposes.
RECEIVE AND FILE Staff Report.
Mr. Whittenberg reported that the City had received a copy of the Draft Environmental
Impact Report (DEIR) for a repowering project at the Department of Water and Power
(DWP) facility, which is directly west of Leisure World. He stated that after reviewing
the document Staff had a number of concerns, which were included in the comment
letter before the Board for consideration tonight. He said that once the letter is finalized
by the EQCB it will be forwarded to City Council for their final consideration on April 8,
2002, then it would be submitted to DWP. He reported that the deadline for submission
of comments is April 19, 2002. The Director of Development Services indicated that
Board members had been provided with a draft copy of the comment letter along with
those sections of the DEIR that were most relevant to the EQCB and which include the
Executive Summary, Project Description, Environmental Analysis, and the
Environmental Impact Summary. He stated that because this will be a 2-year project
and the construction phase is projected to continue for approximately 26 months with
weekend and double work shifts, Staff believes that the most important concern is the
impact to Leisure World. Mr. Whittenberg noted that language regarding noise issues
has been added to Page 9 of the Comment Letter under the section on Noise Mitigation.
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City of Seal Beach EnVIronmental Quality Control Board
Meetmg Minutes of March 27, 2002
He stated that the language states that before the City of Long Beach (CLB) determines
to grant authority for extended operating hours, they must contact the City of Seal
Beach (CSB) and the Golden Rain Foundation (GRF) in Leisure World, to receive any
comments on this issue to be appropriately addressed in the permit document. He also
noted that the comment letter indicates that the contractor for the project will be required
to implement a construction noise control program acceptable to the CLB, and the CSB
is suggesting that the CLB should confer with the CSB, the Golden Rain Foundation,
and Island Village to receive comments and concerns regarding the proposed noise
control program. Mr. Whittenberg continued by stating that Staff is requesting that a
new mitigation measure be added which would require DWP to complete a window
replacement program on a number of buildings in Leisure World that directly face
toward the construction area in an attempt to cut down on the noise level. He stated
that the DEIR does not address a number of comments made by the EQCB on the
Notice of Preparation (NOP) regarding ammonia slip issues and how they might be
resolved. He also reported that the DEIR did not address the issue of how the ammonia
is to be transported into and out of the facility. He stated that the City had made similar
comments for the AES Alamitos Plant, which is on the other side of the river further
west of the DWP facility. He noted that when the EIR was released on the AES
Alamitos project, they specified that all transportation of the material into and out of the
plant would be via the 22 Freeway, to th Street, to Studebaker Road and into the facility
from Westminster Avenue, bypassing Leisure World. Mr. Whittenberg reported that
completion of the project would have an overall substantial beneficial impact upon long-
term air quality.
Member Voce asked what the projections were for the kind of traffic this project would
generate beyond the transportation of hazardous materials. Mr. Whittenberg referred to
Pages 85-86 of the DEIR for a summary of AM/PM Peak-Hour Intersection Performance
and noted that the peak hour for construction would be from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.,
which is not the actual peak hour for street traffic. He noted that delivery of materials
would be during normal operating hours throughout the day. Member Voce confirmed
that there would not be a constant flow of vehicles to and from the construction site
throughout the day. Mr. Whittenberg stated that this was correct. Member Voce
expressed his concerns over construction traffic from this project and the Boeing Project
going on at the same time. Mr. Whittenberg stated that a copy of this DEJR was
forwarded to the EIR consultant for the Boeing Project to assist with their traffic
analysis. He noted that in all probability the projects would not be running concurrently.
Member Unrath asked how this project would phase in relation to the Hellman Project.
Mr. Whittenberg stated that grading for the Hellman Project would probably begin on
May 1, 2002, and the entire project should be complete in approximately 1 year.
Member Unrath asked if the Hellman Project would be complete before the DWP project
begins. Mr. Whittenberg stated that the Hellman Project would probably be 6 months
into completion at the onset of the DWP project, noting that by this time the work on the
Hellman Project would be in the final phases. Vice-Chairperson Hurley confirmed that
the EQCB had specified that construction activity was not to begin at 6:00 a.m. Mr.
Whittenberg stated that in the CSB work couldn't begin before 7:00 a.m. Vice-
Chairperson Hurley asked what the comment letter stated with regard to this issue. Mr.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meetmg Minutes of March 27, 2002
Whittenberg reported that the comment letter states that if the CLB determines to
consider granting extended work hours, they should allow the City and Leisure World to
comment on what conditions they would recommend. He noted that the City cannot
demand that they do as the CSB dictates, but the CSB can request that the CLB consult
with the CSB and the Golden Rain Foundation to address concerns.
Chairperson Porter noted a correction to his signature name as typed on Page 15,
stating that it should read Joseph E. Porter.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that the comment letter is very well organized and
asked what the deadline is for having the final letter completed. Mr. Whittenberg
reported that the final letter must be completed by April 4, 2002. Vice-Chairperson
Hurley proceeded to provide recommendations for changes to the comment letter
beginning on Page 10 to include the following text under the section titled "Comments
on Draft EIR Document"
'The City of Seal Beach requests that LADWP reconsider its rejection of
two of the proposed alternatives. The City of Seal Beach is of the opinion
that Alternative No. 6 summarized on pages 1-8 and 1-9 is clearly superior
to the proposed project. While technically feasible in obtaining all of the
objectives, the project by being located in the Playa del Reyarea would
eliminate all of the environmental impacts on the elderly population of
Leisure World next door to Haynes. The most serious of these would
occur during the 26 months of construction, which the DEIR calls short
range or temporary. For people in their upper 70s or 80s two years out of
their remaining years is not temporary. The City of Seal Beach disagrees
with the DEIR when it says that Alternative No. 6 would not eliminate or
substantially lessen any of the significant effects of the proposed project.
The City of Seal Beach believes Alternative No. 6 should be selected for
implementation by the LADWP. "
Mr. Whittenberg stated that the EQCB should carefully consider use of this statement as
there is a stipulated abatement agreement between the Air Quality Management District
(AQMD) and DWP that requires them to do certain things to meet certain air emission
levels at this facility. He noted that Alternative 6 really does not address how this
complies with the Abatement Order. He continued by stating that if no improvements
are made to this facility, there may be no short-term impacts to Leisure World, but there
would be long-term emission issues to deal with. Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that
the overall air quality in the basin would be improved in accordance with the agreement,
whether the work is done at Haynes or at Playa del Rey. Mr. Whittenberg stated that
assuming the equipment is the same, this would probably be the case. Vice-
Chairperson Hurley noted that with the extra megawatts from the new machinery, the
DWP could decomission the older generators at Haynes that are no longer efficient. He
stated that the abatement agreement dated December 4, 2001 is not "written in stone,"
but is simply an agreement between two organizations, neither of which paid any
attention to Leisure World. Mr. Whittenberg explained that this is an Abatement Order
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of March 27, 2002
based upon violations of air quality emissions at this facility. He stated that as such,
DWP must comply with the AQMD for the South Coast Air Basin. He said that he was
not sure whether the Abatement Order would allow transfer of the project to a different
facility or if it is site specific to this facility. Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that he is in
favor of "throwing in everything but the kitchen sink," and allowing the DWP to state why
they cannot accommodate the recommendations. Mr. Whittenberg determined that it
might be appropriate to include such a statement. Vice-Chairperson Hurley asked if the
Board wished to vote to determine if they favored adding this text. Mr. Whittenberg
recommended including a statement to the effect that "if it is possible to relocate the
project to the Playa del Rey location, and units 'blank' and 'blank' being taken off line to
prevent further emissions being generated at this facility." Vice-Chairperson Hurley
agreed that this was a good recommendation. Member Voce noted that this would help
in getting the basic concept across. Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that had he known
what the NOP was to include, he would have been working harder since December to
get the word out. Mr. Whittenberg recommended modifying the language of the
comment letter to include Vice-Chairperson Hurley's language and also to include a
reference to the Abatement Order and the fact that if this order allows the shut-down of
the generating facilities here and transfers service to Marina del Rey, this would be the
preferable alternative.
Member Voce noted that the Board members had not received a copy of the Abatement
Order and he asked if there were a deadline for compliance. Chairperson Porter stated
that he assumed the deadline was by the year 2004. Mr. Whittenberg stated that Staff
could make a public records request to AQMD for a copy of the Abatement Order. Vice-
Chairperson Hurley read the following text for inclusion in the comment letter:
"If LADWP does not select Alternative 6, the City of Seal Beach strongly
urges the LADWP to reconsider its rejection of Alternative 3 based
principally on the failure to meet the December 2004 deadline. This
deadline was set apparently either without knowledge or without
consideration of the needs of the elderly people in Leisure World. While
extension of the construction schedule would lengthen the time of
uncomfortable daytime noise by approximately 100 days, the 2-day
weekend relief and the assurance of nighttime quiet over the extended
construction schedule would more than make up for most of the affected
Leisure World residents. The City of Seal Beach strongly urges the
LADWP to request the SCAQMD to revise the SOA deadline for the
benefit of Leisure World residents. "
Vice-Chairperson Hurley noted that extending the release of toxic emissions by 100
days may not be good, but the relief to Leisure World residents makes sense. Mr.
Whittenberg clarified if Vice-Chairperson Hurley's concern was over the noise level
during a long construction period. Vice~Chairperson Hurley confirmed that this was
correct. Mr. Whittenberg asked Vice-Chairperson Hurley if the DWP were to provide a
construction and noise mitigation program with temporary noise barriers placed along
the property line and the installation of double paned windows in those units along the
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CIty of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meetmg Minutes of March 27, 2002
facility border, and this proves to keep noise levels equal to what is being experienced
now, would he still want to have the extended construction period? Vice-Chairperson
Hurley responded that there was no way that the noise level during the construction
phase could be the same as what Leisure World has now. He noted that the pile driving
alone was scheduled to last for six weeks. Mr. Whittenberg reported that there are
ways of mitigating even the noise from a pile driver. He emphasized that in his opinion,
it would be better to shorten the completion time rather than extending it, in particular if
specific noise mitigation measure are included. Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that he
would be amenable to this suggestion, but he asked that Staff still find a way of
including the above-noted text as an alternative. Chairperson Porter cautioned that an
extended construction schedule means that exposure to dust blowing around is also
extended. Vice-Chairperson Hurley agreed, but he noted that during weekdays free
transportation is available to residents so they can travel to other sections of Leisure
World to get away from the dust. Member Voce clarified whether the DWP was
proposing to carry on construction seven days a week. Mr. Whittenberg reported that
DWP has proposed this as a possibility. Vice-Chairperson Hurley interjected that his
impression was that DWP was proposing that on some weekends work would be
conducted on both Saturday and Sunday, but not every weekend. Mr. Whittenberg
noted that he was not sure what the acreage for this project is, but he stated that the
acreage for the Bixby Project was much greater, which would mean that the grading
should not go on as long as it did for the Bixby Project. He emphasized that it would be
best to address the noise mitigation issues first. Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that he
believed there to be a big difference between night and Saturday noise and Monday
through Friday daytime noise. Mr. Whittenberg agreed with this and stated that the
weekday traffic noise alone is not the same on weekends. Member Unrath commented
that he feels that weekend noise is getting just as bad as it is on weekdays.
Chairperson Porter suggested that perhaps Vice-Chairperson Hurley could meet at
another time with the Director of Development Services to complete his
recommendations for revisions to the comment letter. He moved that the spirit of Vice-
Chairperson Hurley's comments be incorporated into the recommended changes to the
comment letter.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley noted that the "Hazardous Materials" section of the letter
states that aqueous ammonia is used at the Haynes facility, however, although this
comment appears in the NOP, it does not appear in the EIR. Mr. Whittenberg stated
that hazards were not covered in the EIR because the DWP is saying there are no
impacts to hazards. He said that the comment letter states that the DWP has not done
enough evaluation to make this determination. He noted that although the NOP
contains a lot of information, Staff had requested that it be more specific to Seal Beach
and what would be happening around Leisure World as far as transportation routes are
concerned, but this was not done. Vice-Chairperson Hurley then suggested including
text to provide clarification as to the location of the new hazardous waste storage shed
as described in the NOP on pages 3-9,3-10, and 3-13. Chairperson Porter noted that
Figure 3.5-1 does reflect that the Hazardous Waste Shed is located between Tanks E
and F.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of March 27, 2002
Vice-Chairperson Hurley continued by noting several grammatical corrections to the
comment letter. Mr. Whittenberg requested that the motion to approve include the
statement that Staff would provide a copy of the final draft of the comment letter for
Vice-Chairperson Hurley's review.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Porter to Instruct Staff to provide a revised final draft to
Vice-Chairperson Hurley for final review. Authorize Chairperson to sign proposed
Comment Letter with board-approved amendments, and instruct Staff to forward to the
City Council for review and approval. Forward Staff Report and approved Comment
Letter to the Planning Commission and the Golden Rain Foundation for information
purposes. RECEIVE AND FILE Staff Report.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0-1
Hurley, Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
VII Staff Concerns
None.
VIII Board Concerns
Vice-Chairperson Hurley expressed his thanks to Staff for the good work done on the
comment letter. Mr. Whittenberg noted that a copy of the Staff Report has been
provided to the Golden Rain Foundation and is also available through the Leisure World
Library.
Chairperson Porter noted that he would not be present at the meeting of April 24, 2002.
Member Unrath reported that it was very likely that he also would be absent from this
meeting.
IX Adjournment
Chairperson Porter adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m. to the Meeting of Wednesday,
April 24, 2002.
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Respectfully Submitted,
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Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secr~ry
Department of Development Services
CIty of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Mmutes of March 27, 2002
The Board on June 26, 2002 approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality Control
Board of Wednesday, March 27,2002. ~ .
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