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Community Development Agency, Environmental Management Division, recommending the Board consider the following:
1) Approve the El Dorado County Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan 2015 Five-Year Review Report (Report); and
2) Authorize the Community Development Agency, Environmental Management Division Director to sign and forward the Report to the California State Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery.
FUNDING: Garbage Franchise Fees. (No Federal Funds)
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DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Board of Supervisors (Board) approve the Report and authorize the Division Director to sign and forward the Report (Attachment A) to CalRecycle.
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
CIWMP vs SWMP
Please note: The CIWMP Report is a regulatory requirement that is separate and distinct from the County’s Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) that was approved by the Board in January, 2012. The SWMP contains an Action Plan that detailed priority strategies that the Community Development Agency, Environmental Management Division (EMD) is currently in the process of implementing. The Action Plan strategies are designed to assist the County in achieving its goal of seventy-five percent (75%) diversion by the year 2020. While the El Dorado Solid Waste Advisory Committee (EDSWAC) agrees that the CIWMP does not require a revision at this time and is meeting current regulatory requirements, EMD and EDSWAC believe that the SWMP provides more effective direction to guide the County to meet the 75% diversion goal by the year 2020. EMD will be providing a SWMP implementation update to the Board in January 2016.
CIWMP
The California Integrated Waste Management Act (AB 939) was passed in 1989 and required all California jurisdictions to reduce the amount of solid waste sent to landfill by fifty percent (50%) by the year 2000 through source reduction, recycling and composting activities. In order to meet this goal, jurisdictions were required to develop a CIWMP that included a Source Reduction and Recycling Element (SRRE), Household Hazardous Waste Element (HHWE), Non-Disposal Facilities Element (NDFE), and a countywide Siting Element. The County submitted the aforementioned documents to the Integrated Waste Management Board (now CalRecycle) in the early 1990’s, which were later incorporated by reference into the County’s Summary Plan in 1995.
CalRecycle requires each jurisdiction to submit annual reports detailing progress on diversion efforts through existing and new programs. CalRecycle considers these annual reports updates to the CIWMP; however, Public Resources Code Sections 41770 and 41822, and the California Code of Regulations Section 18788 require that the CIWMP be reviewed, and revised if necessary, every five (5) years. CalRecycle provides a Five-Year Review Report Template (Template) for use by jurisdictions. The purpose of the Template is to document compliance with CalRecycle’s regulatory review and reporting requirements, including review and comment by the local solid waste task force. The County of El Dorado’s current Report is due to CalRecycle by November, 2015.
EMD completed the five-year review of the CIWMP and provided the draft Report and supporting documentation to the local solid waste task force, EDSWAC, for review and comment on July 13, 2015. The Report was discussed and approved by EDSWAC at the September 14, 2015 EDSWAC meeting. EDSWAC provided a letter to EMD detailing approval of the Report (Attachment B).
EMD and EDSWAC concur that the CIWMP does not require revision at this time. The diversion programs implemented throughout the County have proven effective to meet diversion requirements. The County and the cities of Placerville and South Lake Tahoe are meeting, and in fact, exceeding the state mandate of 50% diversion of solid waste from landfilling.
Progress Towards 75% Diversion Goal
In 2006, the County’s CalRecycle approved diversion was fifty-four percent (54%) for the unincorporated areas. Effective for the 2007 reporting year, CalRecycle discontinued measuring diversion in terms of percent and moved to a new reporting method; pounds per person per day (PPD). Under this new methodology, each jurisdiction is provided a target PPD that is equivalent to the former 50% diversion goal. The County (unincorporated) target PPD is five and three-tenths (5.3) for residential solid waste and twenty-three and two-tenths (23.2) for commercial solid waste. The County (unincorporated) has exceeded the target PPD every year since 2007. In 2013, the unincorporated PPD diversion rate was three and four-tenths (3.4) and seventeen and six-tenths (17.6), respectively, for residential and commercial solid waste. Data for 2014 is not yet available. While it is clear that the County is far exceeding its target PPD for the residential and commercial sectors, unfortunately CalRecycle has not yet provided jurisdictions with target PPD values equivalent to 75% diversion in order for jurisdictions to meaningfully measure progress toward this goal. In addition, CalRecycle has not provided a method of converting the PPD value to percent diversion. EMD and EDSWAC have made CalRecycle aware of the need for this information.
ALTERNATIVES
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OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
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CAO RECOMMENDATION
Chief Administrative Office recommends moving staff's recommendations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
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CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
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STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
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CONTACT
Greg Stanton, REHS, Director
Environmental Management Division
Community Development Agency