02-27-08 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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The City's insurance carrier and attorney representing us on the backup claim have advised that we not renew the Disposal Site Use Permit due to the inappropriate risk associated with permitting the site. (They have also said it is ultimately the City's decision.) The only way to be 100 percent sure that there will not be any more problems is to close the site and have On -Site Sanitation dump at Metropolitan Council sites that empty into large diameter interceptors that can handle the types of objects that can he collected from portable toilets. The twelve -inch main is much more susceptible to blockages than an eighty -inch interceptor. It should be noted that On -Site is the only business in the metropolitan area. that has been permitted to dump into a city sewer system rather than at Metropolitan Council - designated sites located throughout the metropolitan area. A representative of the Metropolitan Council also informed me that they would not grant any more private disposal site use permits. They have honored the permit with On -Site because it has been in existence for so long, and they would continue to honor it if the City were to authorize a renewal. Mr. Holm claims that dumping his trucks at Met Council sites will result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the extra travel time required to get to the available sites. Part of his reasoning is that the rest of the portable toilet companies in the metropolitan area are within a mile of Met Council dumpsites. Staff has done some research on this issue and learned that the Metropolitan Council is building a new dumpsite in Fridley. Once that site is opened the rest of the interceptor dumpsites in the northern part of the metropolitan area will be closed. The only sites that will be available for dumping will he the Fridley site, the Metropolitan Plant site in St. Paul, The Empire Plant in Farmington, a site in Chanhassen, and a site at the Blue Lake Plant in Shakopee. The only portable toilet company within two miles of a dumpsite will be Biff's Sanitation in Shakopee. On -Site Sanitation will be roughly 12 miles from both the Metropolitan Plant and the new Fridley dumpsite. The other portable toilet companies will have similar distances or will be further if they remain at their current locations. Mr. Mark Pierson of the Metropolitan Council informed me that they are closing all of their sites at interceptors and using only the Fridley site and the sites at treatrnent facilities because they have found large amounts of sediment downstream of the dumpsites. It has necessitated extra maintenance and they did not want to deal with it any longer. He also mentioned that very few other wastewater agencies allow dumping into interceptors around the country. Mr. Holm has also inquired about dumping into a Met Council interceptor near his current location. Mr. Pierson has indicated that the Metropolitan Council would not allow an interceptor dumpsite in Little Canada and would require On -Site obtaining Disposal Site Use Permits for the available Met Council dumpsites it would plan to use. The City has attempted to work with On -Site Sanitation since it first began its operation in Little Canada in the early 1990s. On -Site had a unique situation that wasn't afforded to other portable toilet businesses in the area. But after more than twelve years of allowing the dumpsite, it has become apparent that the City's sewer system is not built to accept the type of waste generated by On -Site and the proposed grinder pump does not give the City a 100 percent guarantee that there will not be any more problems 3