02/28/1983 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e . Mr. Gleason introduced Doug Cook, Public Works Department. Mr. Cook used visual materials to explain the purposes of the pretreatment program: 1) to protect the City's sewage system and sewage treatment system; 2) to prevent the pass- through of pollutants into the Willamette River; and 3) to assure that sludge can be reused. Mr. Cook said that local industries had been involved in develop- ment of the program. He said that the City was required to have such a program in order to receive Federal grant funds and also to obtain a discharge permit. Mr. Cook discussed the effects of the program on local industries. He said that specific industries would be required to have discharge permits at a cost of $200 for a three-year permit. He said that the program would be self-monitoring and that this could cost firms from $100 to $800 per year. He said that there could also be pretreatment costs. Mr. Cook said that there are approximately 200 industries in the City and about 50 would need permits, and that about 5 of those would need to make major changes. He said that once the council adopts the program, industries would be given 90 days to apply for permits, which would enable the City to meet the July 1, 1983, compliance deadline. Mr. Cook said a number of industries had asked about the confidentiality of the information they provided to the City. He said that the City stresses protection of such infor- mation and will continue to do so. Councilor Wooten said that she had been contacted by two industries in her ward, Eugene Linen Service and Steiner Corporation, which were very concerned about the program. She asked if the costs of this pretreatment program would be greater than those of others in Oregon. She asked how the proposed program was related to the recent sewer user fee increases. Mr. Gleason responded that less than one-tenth of one percent of the increase in user fees was related to pretreatment. Mr. Hansen asked how the City could claim that information furnished by industries would be confidential when the ordinance says that all the information is public. Mr. Cook acknowledged that the information was public but said the City would not disseminate the information without a written request and demonstration of a need to know. Tim Sercombe, City Attorney.s Office, said that there are exceptions in the law regarding public records which protect trade secrets, including production data. He said that, therefore, some of the information provided to the City relative to the pretreatment program would not be discoverable by means of the public records law. Councilor Wooten said she believed it was important to make discharge information available in the public interest. She asked if the information was readily available to the public. Mr. Cook said that information on the content of sludge was available upon request for farmers who use the sludge. Mr. Gleason said that information on the City's overall process and system was readily available but that information relative to a particular industry's processes would probably not be discoverable. Councilor Wooten said that on behalf of the industries in her ward she was interested in keeping the costs of the program as low as possible. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 28, 1983 Page 8