Agenda

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County Administrator's Report 12. 11.

BCC Regular Meeting

Technical/Public Service Consent

Meeting Date:	08/17/2017
Issue: Memorandum of Agreement with FDEP for the Escambia Treating Company Superfund Site
From:	Amy Lovoy
Department:	Asst County Administrator
CAO Approval:

RECOMMENDATION:

Recommendation Concerning the Memorandum of Agreement with Florida Department of Environmental Protection Regarding the Operations and Maintenance of the Escambia Treating Company Superfund Site - Amy Lovoy, Assistant County Administrator

That the Board approve and authorize the Chairman to sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Escambia Country and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) regarding the operations and maintenance of the Escambia Treating Company Superfund Site (ETC) located at or near 3910 North Palafox Street.

The County Attorney warns that the acquisition of this site comes with the potential for both regulatory and tort liability. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has refused to limit the amount the County may have to spend to comply with environmental laws and regulations. Additionally, federal and state agencies cannot prevent third party claims against the County if it is the owner of the property. Thus, the County could be subject to claims for personal injury, death or property damage if brought by third parties.

[Acceptance of these properties will require the County to perform regular operations and maintenance in an estimated amount of about $50,000 annually but could require additional funds to remain in compliance with the operations and maintenance plan.]

BACKGROUND:

The ETC Superfund Site at 3910 Palafox Street is the location of an abandoned wood preserving facility that operated in the area until 1982. Due to the contamination caused by these operations, the site was listed on the National Priorities List in 1994. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has remediated the site to both federal and State cleanup target levels consistent with commercial/industrial standards.

The EPA has placed restrictive convenants on all federally-owned properties. These covenants include the following:
For All Properties -

The property shall not be used for residential purposes, day care centers, schools, playgrounds, athletic fields, camps, mining, agricultural purposes including community gardens or forestry.
EPA will have a permanent right of access at reasonable times.
Groundwater on the site shall not be used for any purpose until state groundwater standards are met.

For the Rosewood parcels and parcels located on or near the cap -

There shall be no drilling for water conducted on the property including monitoring wells unless pre-approved by FDEP.
Existing surface water and storm water management systems may not be altered without prior approval from the FDEP. There can be no new construction of new storm water systems without prior approval of FDEP. Construction of storm water infiltration structures or ponds is prohibited. Any storm water ditch must be lined to minimize infiltration into the soil cover or containment cell. No storm water control systems shall tie into or interfere with the containment cell subsurface drainage system.
Deep foundations such as pilings or piers.
A minimum of two feet of must be maintained between the bottom of the building foundation and the top of the engineered containment cell.
The foundation design shall restrict the load on the underlying geosynthetics of the engineered cap to no greater than 3,500 pound per square foot.
Sand fill materials used below all foundations for the cover soils must be compacted to a minimum density of 95% of maximum density in accordance with ASTM D1557.
Deep rooted vegetation (root depth greater than 4 feet) is prohibited.
For the purposes of road construction 18 inches of the existing sand cover soil must be left between the road base material and the top of the engineered containment cell. A minimum of 3 feet must be left over the containment cell such that there is always a minimum of 3 feet between the final surface of a roadway and the containment cell.
For the purposes of railroad construction 24 inches of the existing sand cover soil must be left between the railroad base material and the top of the engineered containment cell. A minimum of 3 feet must be left over the containment cell such that there is always a minimum of 3 feet between the final surface of a railroad and the containment cell.
For the purpose of underground utilities a minimum of 18 inches must be left between the bottom of the utility or storm water drainage pipe trench and the top of the containment cell. The utilities shall not tie into or interfere with the engineered containment cell subsurface drainage system.
As part of any grading operations including parking areas and roads, minimum of 3 feet of total cover must be left between the final surface and engineered containment cell.

BUDGETARY IMPACT:

Acceptance of these properties will require the County to perform regular operations and maintenance in an estimated amount of about $50,000 annually but could require additional funds to remain in compliance with the operations and maintenance plan.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF:

County Attorney Alison Rogers reviewed the MOA and approved as to form and legal sufficiency. Also, the County Attorney warns that the acquisition of this site comes with the potential for both regulatory and tort liability. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has refused to limit the amount the County may have to spend to comply with environmental laws and regulations. Additionally, federal and state agencies cannot prevent third party claims against the County if it is the owner of the property. Thus, the County could be subject to claims for personal injury, death or property damage if brought by third parties.

PERSONNEL:

N/A

POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION:

N/A

IMPLEMENTATION/COORDINATION:

Once this MOA has been executed, EPA and the State will amend their agreements to allow the federal government to convey the parcels comprising the ETC Superfund Site directly to the County. The Board will then be required to accept the deed(s) for the parcels from the federal government.

Attachments
Memorandum of Agreement with FDEP for ETC