STATE OF FLORIDA DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

ORCHID LAKE VILLAGE CIVIC )

ASSOCIATION, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

v. ) CASE NO. 83-2155

) WASTE AIDES SYSTEMS, INC., and ) STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT ) OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION, )

)

Respondents. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a formal hearing was held in this matter before Marvin

1. Chavis, duly designated Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings, in New Port Richey, Florida, on November 4, 1983.

   
   

   APPEARANCES

   
   

   For Petitioner: Harvey v. Delzer, Esquire

   Post Office Box 279 Port Richey, Florida

   
   

   For Respondent Douglas H. MacLaughlin, Esquire Department of Assistant General Counsel Environmental 2600 Blair Stone Road Regulation: Tallahassee, Florida 32301

   
   

   Waste Aides John C. Hubbard, Esquire Systems, Inc.: Post Office Box 1178

   Dunedin, Florida 33528 ISSUES AND BACKGROUND

   This case concerns the issue of whether the Department of Environmental Regulation should issue a permit to Waste Aides Systems, Inc., for the construction and operation of a garbage transfer station to be located off Landfill Road, South of Ridgewood, New Port Richey, Florida. At the formal hearing, Mr. William Peterson and Mr. Donald Crane testified on behalf of Waste Aides Systems, Inc.: and Patrick Lewis testified on behalf of the Department of Environmental Regulation. The Petitioner called as witnesses Mr. Dennis Leak, Mrs. Frances Cronin, Ms. Bonita Jacobs, Mr. Frank Ruggiero, Mr. John Nicolazzi, Mr. Kenneth Donovan, Jr., and Mr. Kenneth Donovan. The Petitioner offered and had admitted into evidence five exhibits, and Respondent Waste Aides Systems, Inc., offered and had admitted in evidence six exhibits. Public testimony was received from six witnesses.

   Counsel for the Petitioner and counsel for each of the Respondents submitted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law for consideration by the Hearing Officer. To the extent that those proposed findings and conclusions are inconsistent with the findings and conclusions in this order, they were considered by the Hearing Officer and rejected as being not supported by the evidence or unnecessary to the resolution of this cause.

   
   

   FINDINGS OF FACT

   
   

   1. On April 29, 1983, the Respondent Waste Aides Systems, Inc. (hereafter referred to as Waste Aides), filed with the Department of Environmental Regulation (Hereafter referred to as DER) an application to construct and operate a solid waste transfer station. The proposed transfer station would be located at the site of an existing solid waste landfill at Ridge Road and Landfill Road, New Port Richey, Florida.

      
      

   2. On May 24, 1983, DER, by letter to Waste Aides, requested additional information concerning the permit application and seeking further assurances with regard to control of wash down water and storm water runoff. On June 7, 1993, Waste Aides, by letter provided the additional information, and on June 14, 1983, DEP issued a letter of intent to issue the permit to Waste Aides.

      
      

   3. The proposed facility is to be located on a parcel of land previously used as a solid waste landfill, but the area where the facility is to be built is not a previously filled solid waste area. The proposed facility will utilize a building which is enclosed on the south, east, and west, and open to the north. The building will be approximately 120 feet wide, 48 feet deep, and 31 to 34 feet high.

      
      

   4. The general operation of the facility will be to transfer residential and commercial solid waste from garbage trucks to large tractor-trailer trucks for transport to a more isolated solid waste landfill. The facility will not accept hazardous waste or heavy industrial waste. The solid waste will be transported to the facility in garbage trucks. The solid waste will be dumped on a concrete floor inside the building and will then be pushed into a loading chute which sits directly above a waiting trailer. Once the trailer is filled, the solid waste is then transported to an offsite landfill where it is ultimately disposed of.

      
      

   5. Security at the facility will be accomplished through fencing and gates. The entire property is surrounded by a fence. A gate will be placed at Ridge Road, and a second gate will be installed at the entrance to the property itself. No unauthorized vehicles will be permitted to enter the property or unload solid waste at the facility.

      
      

   6. The facility will be equipped with two fire control hoses located on the east and west walls of the building. Potable water will be provided to the facility through a hookup to a 16-inch water main at Ridge Road. The facility will have impact sprinklers and spray bars inside the loading chute. Each vehicle on site will be equipped with a fire extinguisher, and two portable fir extinguishers will be located inside the building at appropriate locations. The impact sprinklers will also be utilized for dust control.

      
      

   7. Each vehicle on site will be equipped with a two-way radio which provides contact with the administrative office and maintenance area of the applicant. The phone in the cardboard recycling facility located on the same property of the proposed facility will be available for use by the operator of

      other employees of the transfer facility. The recycling facility is owned and operated by the applicant and is directly adjacent to the proposed transfer facility.

      
      

   8. The operator will be responsible for keeping records of materials handled by the facility. A recordation of volume will be measured and entered as collection trucks discharge their contents at the facility. A scale will be built into the loading area of the transfer trailers, and the weight of all refuse transferred will be recorded by load on a daily basis. These records will be open during normal business hours for inspection by DER representatives, health inspectors, and other authorized regulatory and enforcement agencies.

      
      

   9. The transfer station operator will be the foreman of the facility and will be present during all hours of operation. The tractor-trailer operator and the operators of the garbage trucks will be present at the facility during unloading and loading. Two or three other employees will also be present on the grounds at varying times for cleanup, grounds work, and other duties at the facility. The facility will be visited and checked approximately twice daily by William R. Peterson and his brother, the owners and operators of the proposed facility. The applicant has available personnel presently in the employment of the applicant, who is a certified driving instructor and who is skilled in the instruction of safe and efficient operating procedures. Additionally, Waste Aides will provide instructions in first-Aides procedures by a person presently employed who is a trained emergency medical technician.

      
      

   10. Debris will be controlled by certain mechanisms built into the design of the building and by certain operational procedures that will be observed by the transfer station operator. The tipping floor where solid waste is discharged will be enclosed on three sides. When the solid waste is discharged onto the tipping floor, it is immediately pushed into a chute which allows it to fall into the waiting transfer trailer. There is approximately an 8-inch tolerance between the chute and the top of the trailer, and the chute has been designed to angle in toward the trailer so that solid waste will be directed into the trailer to avoid spillage. Additionally, a rubber or fabric membrane will encircle the chute so that when the transfer trailer drives beneath it, the membrane will be inside the transfer trailer, thus directing all solid waste into the trailer itself. An additional benefit of this design is that it will avoid the possibility of drafts of air blowing refuse in the trailer over its sides. The trailer area itself is depressed and thus out of the direct wind stream. Drafts are further buffered by vegetation windbreaks consisting of trees and shrubs located on the west and south sides of the building and by the topographical nature of the surrounding lands on the other two sides. The entire area of the transfer station is fenced as a final barrier to debris escaping the transfer station site. The refuse will normally be on the tipping floor a very short period of time because of the fact that it will be pushed into the transfer trailer immediately upon discharged from the collection vehicle. The refuse, as it is discharged from the collection vehicle, does not lend itself to a debris problem in that it is in a compressed state and tends to remain in a semifragmented mass until it is moved into the trailer. The entire transfer station and surrounding grounds will be cleaned at the end of each day by the station operator.

       
       

   11. The station will be operated at all times to be in compliance with the applicable noise regulation and ordinances of Pasco County. For noise abatement, Waste Aides has designed the building with noise control in mind.

       The tipping floor will be constructed with steel rails imbedded in the concrete to eliminate the noise of the front-loading metal bucket scraping on the

       concrete surface. Six-foot walls buffet all sides of the tipping floor except the north side. The north side is open to an approximate 10-acre tract which was the previous landfill site and will be unoccupied. The tipping floor is enclosed by a building which will provide a significant amount of noise control in a and of itself. There are vegetation screening barriers and earthen berms on the north, west, and south boundaries of the site. The berms will be covered with mature vegetation and will act a both a noise and visual barrier for the site. All equipment used in the operation will meet all county, state, and federal operational decible standards.

       
       

   12. Odor control will be provided primarily by operational standards which will emphasize the rapid removal of refuse from the site. All refuse will be removed daily except for the possibility of partially filled trailers remaining overnight on site. Should a transfer trailer be required to remain on the site overnight, it will be driven inside the building not less than every 48 hours or in accordance with an approved DER schedule. The tipping floor will be completely cleaned at the end of each workday by being swept broom-clean and then washed down with hoses. When the floor is washed down, the water and debris will flow along the sloped floor to a grid system which will direct the flow into a sand trap and a grease trap and then into a septic tank. The traps will be checked each day after wash down and will be cleaned periodically. The building has been designed in such a manner that no square corner will exist for the possible buildup of refuse. These same operational procedures and design features will discourage any attraction to vermin or birds. Similar transfer station operations in Florida have not experienced the vermin and odor problems typically associated with landfill site operations.

       
       

   13. The prosed facility will have electric service available. Shelter as well as hand-washing and toilet facilities are available for employees for the facility at the adjacent recycling building. Maintenance on trucks and other equipment will be performed at the applicant's maintenance area located on Osteen Road, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 miles from the proposed facility.

       
       

   14. Although the proposed facility is surrounded by developed residential areas, the property which is directly contiguous to the property where the proposed facility will be located remains undeveloped. The objectors' travel- trailer park is the closest developed area, and the distance from the nearest trailer to the proposed facility is approximately 950 feet.

       
       

   15. The design and proposed operation of the transfer station meets or exceeds the criteria contained in Rule 17-7.09, Florida Adminstative Code.

       
       

   16. Numerous residents in the area object to the location of a garbage transfer station. Their objections are based upon their experience with odor, vermin, birds, and litter experienced in connection with the landfill operation. However, the uncontradicted evidence established that those problems will not exist to any substantial degree in connection with the operation of the proposed garbage transfer station.

       
       

       CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

       
       

   17. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of this action. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes (1981).

       
       

   18. Section 403.707, Florida Statutes (1982 Supp.), provides that no resource recovery and management facility of site shall be operated, maintained,

       constructed, expanded, or modified without an appropriate and currently valid permit issued by the Department.

       
       

   19. Rule 17-7.091, Florida Administrative Code, provides that transfer station shall not be constructed or operated without a permit and also establishes the following criteria for the construction and operation of those stations:

       
       

       1. The transfer station shall be provided with operational appurtenances necessary to maintain a clean and orderly operation. These minimum features are:

          1. An effective barrier designed to prevent unauthorized entry and dumping into the transfer station.

          2. Fire protection and fire fighting equipment to insure the safety of employees, and provisions to deal with accidental burning of solid waste within the transfer station.

          3. Communication facilities for use in emergencies.

          4. The transfer station operator shall keep accurate records of materials handled at the station. Such records shall include weights or volumes of waste handled in a manner and form approved by the department. Accurate records shall be kept for operational control and resource recovery planning. The records shall be open for inspection by department representatives, health

             inspectors and other authorized regulatory and enforcement agencies during normal business hours.

          5. The transfer station shall be properly staffed to deal with all aspects of the station operation and to insure that health, fire or safety problems are not inflicted upon or caused by the public.

          6. Transfer stations shall be operated and maintained to comply with all applicable regulations. Proper operation shall include unloading of wastes to prevent them from becoming a hazard or nuisance; cleaning of loose materials or litter daily or on a cleaning schedule approved by the department; removal of all solid wastes every 48 hours or in accordance with an approved schedule.

          7. Salvaging in a controlled manner is allowed provided it does not interfere with other aspects of the transfer station operation. Uncontrolled scavenging is prohibited.

          8. Equipment sufficient for operational needs.

          9. The department recommends but does not

require:

1. a potable water supply

2. a suitable employee shelter

3. hand washing and toilet facilities

4. equipment washout facilities

5. electric service for operation

6. equipment shelter for maintenance

   and storage of parts, equipment and tools

7. emergency first Aides equipment to provide adequate treatment of an injured person in case of an accident.

8. that employees be trained in the

proper and safe operation of all equipment and first Aides procedures.

Having considered all the evidence presented and in view of the above findings of fact, it is concluded as a matter of law that the applicant, Waste Aides Systems, Inc., has provided reasonable assurances based on plans, proposed operating procedures, and other information in evidence, that the proposed transfer station will not cause pollution in violation of applicable DER regulations. In this regard, unrefuted, competent, substantial evidence has been presented which demonstrates that the proposed transfer stations meets or exceeds each of the criteria set forth in Rule 17-7.091, Florida Administrative Code.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is RECOMMENDED

That the Department of Environmental Regulation issue a permit to Waste Aides Systems, Inc., for the construction and operation of the proposed transfer station, subject to the specific conditions contained in DER's Notice of Intent.

RECOMMENDED this 4th day of January, 1984, in Tallahassee, Florida.

MARVIN E. CHAVIS

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings 2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 4th day of January, 1984.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Harvey v. Delzer, Esquire Post Office Box 279

Port Richey, Florida

Douglas H. MacLaughlin, Esquire Assistant General Counsel

2600 Blair Stone Road Tallahassee, Florida 32301

John G. Hubbard, Esquire Post Office Box 1170 Dunedin, Florida 33528

Ms. Victorai Tschinkel Secretary

Department of Environmental Regulation

2600 Blair Stone Road Tallahassee, Florida 32301

================================================================= AGENCY FINAL ORDER

================================================================= DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION

ORCHID LAKE VILLAGE CIVIC ASSOCIATION, et al.,

Petitioners,

v. OGC Case No. 83-0363

DOAH Case No. 83-2155

WASTE AIDES SYSTEMS, INC., and STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT

OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION,

Respondents.

/

FINAL ORDER

On January 4, 1984, the Division of Administrative Hearings' Hearing Officer in the above styled case submitted his Recommended Order to the Department of Environmental Regulation ("Department") in the above styled case. A copy of the Recommended Order is attached as Exhibit A. On January 16, 1984, the Department received Petitioners' Objections to Recommended Order, attached as Exhibit B. The Petitioners' Objections will be treated as exceptions to the Recommended Order pursuant to Section 120.57 (1)(b)8., Florida Statutes, and Florida Administrative Code Rule 17-1.68(1). Neither Waste Aides Systems, Inc., nor the Department submitted exceptions to the Recommended Order.

RULING ON EXCEPTIONS

Both of Petitioners' exceptions challenged the Findings of Facts submitted by the Hearing Officer. However, the Petitioner has not secured and submitted

with the exceptions a transcript of the hearings or a complete record of the proceedings. Therefore, I am without authority to modify or reject any of the Findings of Fact. Booker Creek Preservation, Inc., v. State of Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, 415 So.2d 750 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982).

Petitioners' exceptions are rejected.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and exact copy of the foregoing "Objections to Recommended Order" was mailed to Douglas H. MacLaughlin, Esquire, State of Florida, Department of Environmental Regulation, Twin Towers Office Building, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32301, the Attorney for the Respondent, STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION, and to

John G. Hubbard, Esquire, Frazer and Hubbard, P.A., P.O. Box 1178, Dunedin, Florida 33528, the Attorney for the Respondent, WASTE AIDES SYSTEMS, Inc., and to Mr. Marvin E. Chavis, Hearing Officer, Division of Administrative Hearings, The Oakland Building, 2009 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. I further certify that the original of said Objections to Recommended Order was mailed to Ms. Victoria Tschinkel, Secretary, Department of Environmental Regulation, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. The original and said copies all being mailed on this 30th day of January, 1984.

Harvey V. Delzer Exhibit B

STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

ORCHID LAKE VILLAGE CIVIC ASSOCIATION, et al.,

Petitioners,

1. Case No. 83-2155

   
   

   WASTE AIDES SYSTEMS, INC., and STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT

   OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION,

   
   

   Respondents.

   /

   
   

   OBJECTIONS TO RECOMMENDED ORDER

   
   

   COMES NOW the Petitioner, KENNETH K. DONOVAN, as Trustee, and files this, his objections to Recommended Order of the Hearing Officer, Marvin E. Chavis, Division of Administrative Hearings, dated January 4, 1984, and says:

   1. That the Recommended Order ignores the adverse impact that the proposed garbage transfer station will have on the surrounding community, which the evidence clearly establishes is an area of may residential homes.

      
      

   2. That the Recommended Order ignores the past violations of the Respondent, Waste Aide Systems, Inc., as was testified to by the public witnesses on behalf of the Petitioner, as well as being acknowledged by Patrick Lewis who testified on behalf of the Department of Environmental Regulation.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing objections, the Petitioner requests that the Department of Environmental Regulation requests that the Department of Environmental Regulation deny the permit to Waste Aide Systems, Inc., for the construction and operation of the proposed transfer station.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

DELZER, COULTER, PARKER & CARTER

By: Harvey V. Delzer, Esquire

P.O. Box 279

Port Richey, Florida 33568 (813) 848-3404

Attorney for Petitioners

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and exact copy of the foregoing "Objections to Recommended Order" was mailed to Douglas H. MacLaughlin, Esquire, State of Florida, Department of Environmental Regulation, Twin Towers Office Building, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32301, the Attorney for the Respondent, STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION, and to

John G. Hubbard, Esquire, Frazer and Hubbard, P.A., P.O. Box 1178, Dunedin, Florida 33528, the Attorney for the Respondent, WASTE AIDES SYSTEMS, Inc., and to Mr. Marvin E. Chavis, Hearing Officer, Division of Administrative Hearings, The Oakland Building, 2009 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. I further certify that the original of said Objections to Recommended Order was mailed to Ms. Victoria Tschinkel, Secretary, Department of Environmental Regulation, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. The original and said copies all being mailed on this (day unreadable) day of January, 1984.

Harvey V. Delzer

Docket for Case No: 83-002155

Orders for Case No: 83-002155