Loading...
EAC Minutes 04/01/2009 R April 1, 2009 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Naples, Florida, April I, 2009 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Collier County Environmental Advisory Council in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:00 AM in REGULAR SESSION at Building "F" of the Government Complex, Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: William Hughes VICE CHAIRMAN: Dr. Judith Hushon Noah Standridge (Excused) David Bishof Nick Penniman Michael V. Sorrell Dr. Llew Williams Ninon Rynerson Quin Kurth ALSO PRESENT: Steve Williams, Assistant County Attorney Stan Chrzanowski, PE, Engineering Manager Summer Araque, Sr. Environmentalist Specialist ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCil AGENDA - amended 3/19/09 April 1 , 2009 9:00 A.M. Commission Boardroom W. Harmon Turner Building (Building "F") - Third Floor I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of Agenda IV. Approval of January 29, 2009; February 5, 2009; February 27, 2009; March 4, 2009 meeting minutes V. Upcoming Environmental Advisory Council Absences VI. land Use Petitions A. Conditional Use CU-2008-13245 Collier County Resource Recovery Park Section 25, Township 49 South, Range 26 East VII. New Business (Item VII. A. to be heard prior to Item VI.) A. Comprehensive Planning Department request to schedule public hearing dates for Growth Management Plan amendments VIII. Old Business (Item VIII. A. to be heard prior to Item VI.) A. Rural lands Stewardship Area Discussion (final approval of document voted on March 10, 2009 to approve correction regarding Panther study) B. Proposing EAC Initiatives - to be discussed to send recommendation to BCC C. Update members on projects IX. Subcommittee Reports X. Council Member Comments XI. Staff Comments A. E-mail addresses B. Other, if any XII. Public Comments XIII. Adjournment ******************************************************************* Council Members: Please notify Summer Araaue. Environmental Services Senior Environmental Specialist no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 26. 2009 if vou cannot attend this meetina or if YOU have a conflict and will abstain from votina on a petition 1252-62901. General Public: Any person who decides to appeal a decision of this Board will need a record of the proceedings pertaining thereto; and therefore may need to ensure that a verbatim record of proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. April 1, 2009 I. Call to Order Chairman Hughes called the meeting to order at 9:00AM. II. Roll Call Roll call was taken and a quorum was established. Ill. Approval of Agenda Dr. Hushon moved to approve the agenda subject to the following: Item VII. A. to be heard prior to Item VIlLA Item VIII. a. to be heard prior to Item VI. Second by Mr. Penniman. Carried unanimously 8-0. IV. Approval of January 29, 2009; February 5, 2009; February 27, 2009; March 4, 2009 meeting minutes Mr. Penniman moved to approve the minutes of the January 29, 2009 meeting. Second by Dr. Williams. Carried unanimously 8-0. Mr. Penniman moved to approve the minutes of the February 5, 2009 meeting. Second by Mr. Bishof Carried unanimously 8-0. Mr. Penniman moved to amend the approval of the minutes of the February 5, 2009 meeting to the following: Page I - Head sheet - Addition of Mr. Sorrell as "present." Second by Mr. Bishof Carried unanimously 8-0. Dr. Williams moved to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2009 meeting. Second by Mr. Penniman. Carried unanimously 8-0. Dr. Hushon moved to approve the minutes of the March 4, 2009 meeting. Second by Dr. Williams. Carried unanimously 8-0. V. Upcoming Environmental Advisory Council Absences Mr. Penniman noted his term expires in April and he will not be re-applying Dr. Williams noted his term expires in April and he will not be re-applying. VII. New Business A. Comprehensive Planning Department request to schedule public Hearing dates for Growth Management Plan amendments David Weeks of Comprehensive Planning requested the Council schedule reviews for upcoming Growth Management Plan Amendments. There are two private requests in the cycle, one for sending lands in the rural fringe and the other for the Miami Dade Jet Port site. In addition, there will be a review of the Immokalee Master Plan. 2 April 1, 2009 Dr. Hushon moved to schedule the review of the two GMP amendments at a regular meeting and the review of the Immokalee Master Plan be scheduled for Tuesday, December IS, 2009. Second by Dr. Williams. Carried unanimously 8-0. David Weeks requested the Council schedule the Adoption Hearing for the Immokalee Master Plan. Mr. Sorrell moved to schedule the hearing for the adoption of the Immokalee Master Plan for September 22, 2010. Second by Dr. Williams. Carried unanimously 8-0. VIII. Old Business a. Rural Lands Stewardship Area Discussion (final approval of document voted on March 10, 2009 to approve correction regarding Panther study) Tom Greenwood, Principal Planner presented the document "Comments by the Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) of Collier County Related to Their Review of the January, 2009 Report of the RLSA Advisory Committee Report entitled "Five Year Review of the Rural Lands Stewardship Program." The document was approved by the EAC on March 10, 2009. Subsequent to the approval it was submitted to various parties and Elizabeth Fleming of Defenders of Wildlife recommended a revision in the first paragraph on Page 1, The suggested revision is highlighted in yellow on lines 8-11 and reads ", . ,including the Florida Panther Protection Program T echllical Review Team Panther study established jointly by the conservation organizatiolls and landowners to evaluate the conceptual plan and make recommendations; the USFWS Habitat Conservation Plan." ," He requested the EAC approve the revised document. Discussion occurred on the exact wording of the revision, and if the term "conservation organizations" should be substituted with "wildlife organizations," Mr. Penniman moved to accept the change proposed by Elizabeth Fleming of Defenders of Wildlife subject to the term "conservation organizations" being substituted with the term "wildlife organizations." Second by Mr. Sorrell. Carried unanimously 8-0. VI. Land Use Petitions A. Conditional Use CU-2008-13245 Collier County Resource Recovery Park Section 25, Township 49 South, Range 26 East The presenters were sworn in Dr. Hushon stated she had visited the site with Staff present. Dr. Bishof stated he had visited the site with Staff present. 3 April 1, 2009 Chairman Hughes noted he had visited the site in past years. Dan Rodriguez Collier County Solid Waste Director and Dayne Atkinson, Project Manager provided an overview of the application highlighting the following: . The plan presented is a "conceptual plan," . The County strategy in dealing with waste created within the County, . The application involves construction of a solid waste recovery facility for handling and/or processing materials such as tires, glass, paper, plastics, storm debris, construction debris, construction demolition debris, biomass, etc, . There is currently 25 years of life span projected for the existing landfill. . Construction and operation of the proposed facility will extend the projected life span of the operation to at least 50 years. . The County currently diverts some solid waste to alternative sites outside the County through subcontracts. . Over 50 percent of the existing materials generated within the County are included in the category of "recyclable," . The site accepts hazardous waste for disposal in appropriate areas. . The proposal is consistent with the direction provided by the Board of County Commissioners, . Existing materials collected in the County that qualify for recycling are currently shipped to Pembroke Pines for processing, Ramon Mendeta, of PBS&J continued the presentation: . The site is 341 acres in size containing 197 acres of upland and 144 acres of wetlands, . The site was historically a slough, but the hydrology has been altered due to development in close proximity to the site (Golden Gate Canal, etc.) . The project will impact 39 acres of low quality wetlands . The site is within the Primary Focus Area (Panther Primary Zone), however no Panthers were observed on site. . No Red Cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) or RCW foraging areas cavity nests were observed on site, however there is the presence of RCW in the area, . Two protected species were identified on site, Bald Eagle and Hand Fern. . A Wildlife Corridor and a formal RCW Management Plan will be established for the affected areas, . Mitigation will be finalized during the permit process and is anticipated to consist of off-site mitigation or purchase of mitigation bank credits. . Panther Mitigation will also be finalized during the permitting process, 4 April 1, 2009 Discussion ensued on the location of the facility that accepts hazardous waste and concern it is proposed to be located in the middle of a potable well source, It was noted the operation will consist of collection and packaging of the materials for disposal in appropriate locations, not on-site disposal. Dayne Atkinson noted the facility contains floor drains with containment designs and all safeguards will be ensured. Discussion occurred whether the facility will be constructed utilizing primary and secondary containment systems. In addition, accidents creating spills may occur with vehicles entering and exiting the site. A hurricane event may also create the condition of stormwater entering the structure and/or containment system creating possible contamination issues, Phil Gramatges, Public Utilities noted the following: . The well is on the north side of the property and there is a large buffer zone between the well and the facility, . Traffic entering and exiting the site will not be "anywhere close" to the well field. . The well in question is source water for the wastewater treatment plant, not potable water. . If any contamination occurs, it will be cleaned up at the facility, . The concerns of the well field have been and will continue to be completely addressed. . There are wells in the surrounding area, but there are no wells located in the Resource Recovery Park Discussion occurred on the exact location and depths of wells on, or in the vicinity of the site, and are they "monitoring wells" or "production wells." Concerns were expressed by the Council that cross contaminations could occur. Mr. Gramatges noted that after further consideration, he is not certain of the status of the wells; however he believes they are not "production wells," He re-iterated the plan is a "conceptual plan" with many aspects yet to be determined before finalizing the plan. All proper engineering planning practices will be undertaken in protecting "wells". Chairman Hughes noted if this is a "conceptual plan" and not the final design, the review by the EAC may be pre-mature, Discussion occurred regarding the storm water detention basins and it was noted they will be either dry detention basins or wet detention areas for discharge, The final design has not yet been completed and they may be used for mining of fill, 5 April 1, 2009 The Council noted the entire concept for developing the area for Resource Recovery is acceptable; however the hazardous waste component requires further investigation as the final plans become available. Mr. Bishofmoved to approve the Petition (Conditional Use CU-2008-13245 Collier County Resource Recovery Park Section 25, Township 49 South, Range 26 East) with the conditions the eventual site plan provide the storm water treatment ponds be limited to a depth not to exceed 5 feet and the hazardous waste processing facility be located outside of this area, somewhere else within the landfill facility (the facility be removed from the location showll). Without a second, the motion was not considered. Mr. Penniman moved to approve the Petition (Conditional Use CU-2008-13245 Collier County Resource Recovery Park Section 25, Township 49 South, Rallge 26 East) with the following conditions: 1. The recommendations contained in the Staff Report ("Environmental Advisory Council Staff Report Meeting of Aprill, 2009, Petition # CU- 2008-AR-13245). 2. The final designed site development plan be returned to the Environmental Advisory Council for review. Second by Dr. Williams. Motion carried 7 'yes" -I "no." Mr. Bishofvoted "no." Mr. Bishof stated he voted "no" as it is not appropriate to locate a hazardous waste processing facility in a well field and he was concerned the stormwater ponds may be borrow pits and excavated to a depth which may facilitate dissolved toxic compounds entering into groundwater which is in close proximity to well fields. Break: 10:29AM Reconvened: 10:41AM It was determined Mr. Sorrell was not present for the February 5,2009 meeting, Dr. Hushon moved to amend the approval of the February 5,2009 meeting subject to the following correction: Page I - Head sheet - Removal ofMr. Sorrell as "present." Second by Mr. Penniman. Carried unanimously 8-0. VII. Old Business (continued) b. Proposing EAC Initiatives - to be discussed to send recommendation to BCC Summer Araque noted in the past the EAC requested presentations from individuals or a Group representative on various topics, She informed the Council, based on policy, the presentations need to be in relation to EAR amendments or a particular initiative, study or Master Plan, etc, the Council is 6 April 1, 2009 undertaking. The latter cases require the approval of the Board of County Commissioners. Chairman Hughes noted the Council had requested Dr. Michael Bauer of the City of Naples report on water quality issues within their Estuaries. The purpose of his report is to coordinate efforts between the County and the City of Naples to improve water quality of the Estuaries, The issue is within the purview of the EAC, who bears the responsibility of ensuring water quality within the County is not being negatively affected by various activities occurring within the region. He noted before an initiative Of study could be requested to be undertaken, the Council needs pertinent information to determine the scope of an initiative or study to be undertaken. This endeavor should include review of applicable reports prepared by Ray Smith (or others) of the Collier County Pollution Control Department, Summer Araque noted the provision of existing information or reports is acceptable, however arranging meetings with speakers, etc. is outside the policy direction the Staffliaisons have been given by their superiors. Chairman Hughes disagreed with scope of the direction given to the Staff liaisons, The information or presentations requested afe necessary to assist the Council in conducting their assigned duties such as reviewing Environmental Impact Statements, etc, Summer Araque requested clarification if the EAC wished to create any initiatives at this time, Chairman Hughes re-iterated the Council is requesting the necessary information to determine any initiatives that may be necessary, Summer Araque will supply the members with any available Reports (from Ray Smith, etc,) for their consideration, c. Update members on projects Summer Araque noted the Board of County Commissioners denied the "Keewaydin project." Summer Araque noted the Board of County Commissionefs has requested all members of the EAC apply for re-appointment, until such time ofre-appointment; the EAC will remain "intact." Chairman Hughes expressed concern over the recent BCC meeting in which that decision was made. Many of the issues arose over the Council's review of the Rural Lands Stewardship Area Review Committee Phase II Report. He disagreed with the assertions and/or perceptions the members on the EAC are bias. He noted Council members at times, may be members of various organizations; however, members serve with a genuine concern for environmental issues affecting all residents of Collier County, It is the fesponsibility of Council members to raise concerns on issues related to the duties of the EAC as they see fit. He fequested all members apply for re-appointment to the Environmental Advisory Council. 7 April 1, 2009 Summer Araque requested clarification if the current members are to resign, and apply for appointment or to apply for re-appointment. Steve Williams, Assistant County Attorney noted it is his understanding the members are requested to apply for re-appointment. Dr. Hushon requested clarification on her inquiry; specificall y does the Ordinance governing the EAC limit a member's participation or membership in any identified organizations? May members be employed by developers or consultants employed by developers, etc,? Assistant County Attorney Steve Williams noted the Office of the County Attorney received the inquiry, but did not reply to it, as the County Attorney's Office does not want to intervene in the policy issues occurring between the Board of County Commissioners and the Environmental Advisory Council. VIII. Sub-Committee Reports None IX. Staff Comments d. E-Mail addresses Summer Araque stated she will send new e-mail instructions to all Council members, e. Other, if any None X. Council Member Comments Mr. Penniman commended the Staff members who work diligently on their service to the Council. Dr. Williams noted he enjoyed his time on the Council and it has been a tremendous educational experience. Chairman Hughes recognized Mr. Penniman, Dr. Williams and all members' service to the Council. XI. Public Comments None There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by the order of the Chair at 11 :25 AM. 8 April 1, 2009 COLLIER COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Chairman William Hughes These Minutes were approved by the Board/Chairman on as presented , or as amended 9