SU0007861 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Draft Environmental Impact Report Page IV.E-I Forward Inc. Landfill Expansion Project E. PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY This section provides an overview of existing conditions with regard to public health and safety associated with the proposed expanded Forward Landfill. Included are reviews of the hazardous materials regulatory framework, worker health and safety/environmental protection requirements, hazardous materials screening programs and procedures, and the cogeneration plant operation and waste solidification facility. In addition, this section evaluates the human health risk assessment (SCS, 2008)completed for the applicant, which focuses on the potential pathway of exposure to onsite and offsite human receptors. This section also summarizes and updates hazardous materials issues described in the Forward Landfill–Austin Road landfill consolidation EIR (2002) and addresses other potential impacts to human health and safety within the study area. The numerous special handling operations and programs that Forward landfill currently operates—such as the ash disposal,electricity generation plant, asbestos disposal, treated wood waste, landfill gas management, etc, are described in the Project Description, and are proposed to be continued by the proposed expanded Forward landfill. Settin Regulatory Setting The use, production, and disposal of hazardous materials and waste are regulated extensively by federal, State, regional, and local regulations and guidance, with major objectives of protecting the public health and the environment. These regulations and guidance were developed primarily for application in industrial and manufacturing environments where worker health and safety and waste production as a byproduct of manufacturing occurs. A myriad of laws and regulations at the federal,State, and local levels affect the management of hazardous materials. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)is the lead agency responsible for enforcing federal regulations that affect public health and the environment. The EPA designates much of its regulatory authority to the individual states. In California,the EPA has granted most enforcement authority over federal hazardous materials regulations to the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA). Cal-EPA serves as the umbrella agency for six boards/departments:the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Department of Pesticide Regulation(DPR),the Department of Toxic Substances Control(DTSC), the California Integrated Waste Management Board (IWMB), the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment(OEHHA), and the State Water Resource Control Board (WRCB)—and associated Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB). Special treatment programs at the proposed expanded landfill, such as the sludge solidification, have controls,testing, procedures and protocols that are reviewed and approved by the regulators. The DTSC is generally charged with oversight of hazardous materials and waste. The Regional Water Quality Control Board (Central Coast region) is the lead regulatory agencies for the protection of the waters of California potentially endangered by pollution. In turn, local jurisdictions such as the San Joaquin County Certified Unified Programs Agency (CUPA)may take the lead agency role as a Local Oversight Program entity, implementing State as well as local policies. At the project site, the lead agencies for hazardous materials and any associated potential contamination to the environment are the DTSC and RWQCB