Identifying and Visiting Small Businesses for Water Pollution Prevention Presented by: Richard Hoiland - City of Vancouver, WA NAHMMA Conference – Tacoma 2005 NAHMMA Conference – Tacoma 2005

What have been the problems?  Contaminated surface and groundwater.  Impacts to community health, welfare and quality of life.  Millions of $$$ spent to cleanup sites.

How are contaminants getting into the environment? Illicit Behavior  Un-permitted Discharge  Dumping  Abandonment Accidental Releases  Poor Design or Construction  Leaks  Operator Error

Roots of the Clean Water Act Cuyahoga River, Ohio: 1900, 1950, Today “Burn on, big river”

Regulatory Programs Industrial Pretreatment (Vancouver delegated in 1987) Sanitary sewer - industrial discharges Sanitary sewer - industrial discharges Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act Hazardous/toxic materials - EPCRA Tier II facilities NPDES Phase I and II Permits Surface water/Stormwater - minimum control measures Surface water/Stormwater - minimum control measures Water Resources Protection Ordinance (2003) Groundwater, stormwater, rivers, lakes and streams Groundwater, stormwater, rivers, lakes and streams

Industrial Pretreatment 40 CFR 403: An Industrial User may NOT discharge pollutants to Sanitary which

Cause an upset in the Treatment Plant or pass through Vancouver, WA Somewhere, USA

Louisville, KY February 1981 Cause structural damage or create a fire or explosion

Water Resources Protection Ordinance  Maintain stormwater systems  Manage hazardous materials  Classify operations Class I = Moderate Risk Class II = Higher Risk Structural BMP’s, Spill Plans  Wellhead protections

Water Resources Protection Ordinance ‘03 Public Opinion Survey Question: “In your opinion, should the City of Vancouver reduce, maintain, or increase their involvement in environmental affairs and enforcement?” Maintain 32% Increase 51% Don't know 11% Reduce 6%

Inside Outside

Water Resources Protection Inspections Total Number of Inspections and Complaints = 190 Anticipated Number of Classified Businesses = Significant Action Items for Classified Facilities As of June 2005 Improve Secondary Containment 8 Prepare Spill Response Plan 18 Plug Floor Drains, Seal Floors 15

Inspection Program Handling Misinformation MATERIAL SAFETY DATADATE: JAN 95 SECTION I - PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION TRADE NAME: BEE BOPPER SECTION II - MATERIAL ANALYSIS COMPONENT OR MATERIAL % OF MIXTURE CAS# TLV CHEMICAL NAME TRICHLOROETHANE PPM SECTION VII - SPILL OR LEAK PROCEDURES STEPS TO BE TAKEN IF MATERIAL IS RELEASED OR SPILLED : SECTION VII - SPILL OR LEAK PROCEDURES STEPS TO BE TAKEN IF MATERIAL IS RELEASED OR SPILLED : NEUTRALIZE CHEMICAL. SOAK UP WITH ABSORBENT MATERIAL WASTE DISPOSAL METHOD: BURY IN A PLACE WHICH WILL NOT NEUTRALIZE CHEMICAL. SOAK UP WITH ABSORBENT MATERIAL WASTE DISPOSAL METHOD: BURY IN A PLACE WHICH WILL NOT REACH POTABLE OR FISH BEARING WATER.

GIS Site Mapping Tool

GIS Layers

Tier II Sites

“Working with employees of the City of Vancouver, Piesch (Ecology) tracked the spill through stormwater drains to Dabney's Wheel Alignment” from The Columbian, 1/28/05

Conclusions For better community water protection  Gain regulatory authority  Initiate onsite inspections  Create a database  Provide GIS displays Vancouver’s Water Resources Protection program, database, and GIS Site Atlas were made possible by a Centennial Clean Water Grant from the WA Dept. of Ecology.

Photograph by Claudia Howell

Special Wellhead Protection Areas  No New Bulk Oil/ Fuel Operations  No New Class II Operations  No New Septic or Infiltration Systems

Inspection Program WRPO Fills a Regulatory Gap Above Ground Storage Tanks Above Ground Storage Tanks Not Underground Storage Tanks (UST’s) Not “Hazardous Waste”

Stormwater - NPDES Phase II Permit Minimum Control Measures Illicit Discharge Detection & Elimination Develop a plan to detect, address, and effectively prohibit, through ordinance, non-stormwater discharges into your storm sewer system Other Control Measures: Public Education And Outreach Public Involvement/Participation Construction Site Runoff Control Post-construction Stormwater Management Pollution Prevention Good Housekeeping

Groundwater Concerns

“…pollution from industries is decreasing while pollution from individual citizens and urban runoff is growing," Ecology Director Jay Manning (8/05)