2021-11-24 EMC draft minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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We dont allow trailers now, Director Mansour said. So the idea is since April 2021 we stopped taking trailers and we cannot change that human behavior. But he hopes people do not act irresponsibly by doing something illegal. We havent seen it. Weve had no trailers at the sites since April. We havent seen any changes, but they will continue functioning the way theyve been functioning since April. What we have been saying to Council members since our last meeting, the last few meetings, is safety is number one. We have two safety reports that were done on these sites and determined that there are safety issues, especially the other sites. But they were able to focus on these five sites with minor modifications, a traffic plan, staff training, one day a week just for trailers to be able to maneuver a bigger site than the others. So with a traffic plan on hand, we figure we could accommodate the public. But like he said, its going to be up to further analysis as we do. Thats what the proposed rule says. If we feel that safety is still an issue after we do that, were going to cease those operations again. So, the idea is were going to try it. Were going to do some recommendations, and if it works, thats good for everybody. If it becomes another safety hazard, we need to rethink it. We cannot control peoples behavior, but he hopes they act responsibly. Commissioner Burns said those are all fair comments because he shares the concerns. Obviously, when you restrict times or places that people can dump waste, you always run that risk of increasing illegal activity. But its also important to think on all ends of the spectrum. And if you look at the distribution of people and how theyre going to behave with the landfills, its still a small portion on those extremes that are likely going to be breaking the rules and dumping illegally, because they cant bring a trailer for certain size or multiple trailers a day. He does think its a good way to go about these rule changes by making it and then seeing what the outcome is before being too concerned and changing a lot of things and adjusting until we know it does indeed, in fact, result in that. Sometimes the best approach is to hope that people will act responsibly. And from a distribution perspective, most will. And time will tell if it really is a problem or not. But he does think the efforts are worth trying. Vice Chair Gaffney asked why the Waimea Transfer Station seems to be included in the list of those that are not safe for trailers. Its a circular transfer station that trailers can drive in forward and drive out forward with no backing involved. Director Mansour said while it is one of the largest sites, when the Safety and Risk Management Team took its trailer in, the other traffic coming in became a hazard. He went there himself to watch the traffic, and saw a white Tesla come in, and it reversed toward the chute, and this truck came in and cut it right off, and both drivers got out and tried to fight. At this point, that kind of gives you an idea. He was just standing there, and within 15-20 minutes, he witnessed with his own eyes almost a fistfight between a Tesla driver and a truck driver. So it gives you an idea that with these vehicles, you create the potential. So imagine the trailers, because the way the chutes are designed, and the way you have to come in and reverse back in. And some people are just not patient enough to wait for the next vehicle. Thats why with traffic control and just only allowing the trailers, maybe we could control that. 11