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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint compost at Chevy in the Hole site out of compliance with state law
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
on January 29, 2013 at 7:00 AM, updated January 29, 2013 at 7:05 AM
A pile of new compost material is visible during the first public tour of the Chevy in the Hole site on Sunday, October 28, 2012 in Flint, Mich.Griffin Moores | MLive.com file photo
FLINT, MI -- The city of Flint's compost operation at the former Chevy in the Hole manufacturing site is having "some compliance issues," according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Among the problems are inconsistent record-keeping and too much compost accumulated at the site, said Bryan Grochowski, environmental quality analyst with the DEQ's waste management division.
The city is working on a plan to correct the problems after the site was found to be non-compliant at its last inspection in October, he said.
"The city is facing some challenges themselves, and they’ve got staff out there working on it," Grochowski said. "But it was clear additional staff would be necessary to do as good of a job as they would like."
All large-scale compost operations are required to register with the state to ensure their compliance with state law, he said. The city's site is registered, but still has to follow up with a management plan, Grochowski said.
"We've asked them to determine what's happening with the storm water (at the site)," he said. "It's unclear if it's being discharged to a sanitary sewer or other storm sewers. It's unclear if there's any getting into the (Flint) River."
The Flint site racks up about 60,000 to 70,000 cubic yards of compost each year and has nearly 100,000 yards on site now, Grochowski said. The city has been storing yard waste collected from residents at the site since fall 2009.
Beginning in its third year of operation, a compost operation must demonstrate that at least 75 percent of the compost is transferred off-site, according to state law.
The Flint site hasn't been able to meet that 75 percent threshold because of inadequate staffing, officials said.
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling confirmed the site was out of compliance, but said a plan is being developed.
"The city's compost isn't being processed fast enough because of finance problems in the sanitation department," he said.
Howard Croft, Flint's director of infrastructure and development under the emergency financial manager, said the city's move to outsourcing waste collection will address the compost issues.
"We didn't have the manpower before," Croft said.
Once the compost can be turned and screened on a regular basis, more of it can be used to back-fill demolition sites throughout the city, Croft said.
In addition, at least 11,000 yards has been committed by the city as part of a project to cover a portion of the old Chevy in the Hole site with a soil cap, he said. The compost will be combined with other material to create the cap.
The city will also have to construct a berm, or a barrier, around the compost as part of its storm water management plan, Walling said.
Looking forward, the compost piles will be confined to the area east of Stevenson Street, south of the Flint River, he said. Currently, compost piles are also located west of Stevenson. |
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Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:19 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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This is nearly February and we are just now hearing about non-compliance issues from last october?
Great transparency! |
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Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:20 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Hey, it's transparent; we can see right through them. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:38 am |
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