CORRESPONDENCE_1982-1983 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

HONORABLE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS May 5, 1982 Page Thirteen However, no closing is necessary to alleviate the concerns of the Farm Bureau. The Forward, Inc. site was permitted by the State Regional Water Quality Board (#5) , in 1972 , for use in resource recovery activities and residual waste disposal. It has been legally operated for those purposes since that time. Our plan has always been to in- tensify the recycling portion of the operation and minimize the disposal operation. In order to dispel the confusion about the true nature of our operations, we have prepared a brief summary of business activities being conducted and planned for the Forward, Inc. , site. The Governor' s Office of Appropriate Technology has prepared a comprehensive report on alternatives to land disposal of wastes. The report discusses many different types of wastes from our everyday activities that are classi- fied as hazardous by California regulations. The report defines a need for alternative treatment facilities to treat California' s high-priority wastes. The Forward, Inc. , site has been developed from the beginning as a potential specialized treatment and recycling facility. Until recently, the economics of placing advanced treatment processes to handle a few specific streams into operation at the Forward, Inc. , site, was not feasible. Now the cost of hazardous waste landfill in California has in- creased to the point that initial treatment and resource recovery is a safe and affordable business to pursue at the Forward, Inc. , site. Selected regional waste materials will be received at this alternative treatment facility for neutralization, stabilization, and resource recovery as soon as the regulatory agencies approve the design concept and provide final discharge requirements for residuals. The new discharge requirements will be based on the concept of land loading capacity. This means that the amount of any individual material landfarmed at the Forward, Inc. , site, shall not exceed the loading capacity of the soil for that element and shall be continuously monitored to determine what percentage of the total soil loading capacity for that constituent has been utilized. For example, there is an optimum beneficial amount of nitrogen containing material that can be applied to farmland to maximize crop yields, and if the loading capacity for nitrogen for that crop is exceeded, then damage would occur.