Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	Dave Corliss, Debbie Van Saun
FROM:	Kevin Doyle, PE Infrastructure & Development Coordinator
CC:	Lisa Patterson, John Miller, Mark Bradford, Rich Barr, Sheila Stogsdill, Lisa Pool, Lynne Zollner
Date:	September 28, 2006
RE:	TUPR-05-18-06, Amendment to allow the installation of a 1,000 gallon above ground storage tank at 838 Louisiana Street

Background:

TUPR-05-18-06, administratively approved on May 24, 2006, allowed the construction of a groundwater cut-off trench and the temporary placement of a water treatment building on site at 838 Louisiana Street.  The original TUPR allowed for the storage of up to 160 gallons of separated waste product (a flammable liquid) inside the water treatment building.  The 160 gallon volume was used because storage of less than 160 gallons of a flammable substance inside a building was not regulated by City Code and because the expected rate of free product separation was expected to be relatively low.

Present Conditions:

Currently, the water treatment operation is routinely able to separate in excess of 25 gallons of waste product per day, and the storage and removal processes are unable to maintain that rate of operation in a safe and effective manner.  As a consequence, the water treatment operation is routinely being shut down.  Although the current system does not constitute an unsafe condition, it does requires that the waste product be stored in single-walled drums, be handled multiple times per week, and cannot be continuously extracted, separated, and collected.

KDHE Request:

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is responsible for the remediation of the free product release into the local ground water.  In order to expedite the extraction and water treatment operations and in order to improve the safety and efficiency of the waste product storage, handling and removal operations, KDHE has requested permission from the City of Lawrence to place a temporary above ground storage tank (AST) adjacent to the existing, temporary water treatment building that was approved under TUPR-05-18-06.  The 1,000 gallon capacity storage tank will be a cylindrical, double-walled, carbon steel, fuel storage tank, approximately four and a half feet in diameter and approximately twelve feet in length.  It will be enclosed in a six foot wood privacy fence with a locking gate (See Figure 1, Site Base Map and Proposed AST Location).

Aquaterra Environmental Solutions (Aquaterra), Inc has submitted two letters on behalf of KDHE that explain the present conditions, describe proposed modifications to the collection and storage systems, and outline a number of the operational safeguards that will be put in place (See letters dated September 14, 2006 and September 26, 2006).

Staff Review:

Fire Marshall Rich Barr, on behalf of Fire Chief Mark Bradford, concurs with the KDHE request that the storage of waste product in an AST, minimizing the handling of the waste product, and expediting the overall removal of the waste product from the ground water constitutes safety improvements over the present operation.  Historic Resource Administrator Lynne Zollner notes that, if properly screened, the AST will not adversely affect the historic environs of the site.  Public Notice of the requested modification has been issued in the form of a regular KDHE Information Update, dated September 28, 2006, and distributed by door hanger to local residents (See KDHE Information Update).

Code Justification for Approval:

City Code 8-201 adopts the Uniform Fire Code (UFC) and gives the Fire Chief authority to administer and enforce the Code.  UFC Section 101.4 authorizes the Chief to “render interpretations of this code . . . in order to carry out the application and intent of its provisions.”  UFC Section 103.1.2 authorizes the Chief to “approve alternate . . . methods provided that . . . the proposed design, use or operation satisfactorily complies with the intent of this code.”  And UFC Section 103.2.1.1.6 authorizes the Chief to administer the code specifically as it pertains to “the elimination of fire hazards on land and in buildings, structures and other property.”

In so far as the intent of the code is to provide for public health, safety and welfare, and in so far as the AST is not permanent and is being used solely as a means of removing a fire hazard from the site (it is not being used for storage and distribution on site), the Chief has authority to approve the installation of the AST for the temporary use specified in the KDHE request.

Recommendation:

Staff recommends approval of the request to modify the TUPR to allow for the installation of the AST provided that it is installed in accordance with all manufacturers requirements, that it is completely screened from ground-level public view, and that it is properly secured at all times with a locking gate.  In addition, Staff recommends that the duration and termination of the TUPR be modified to state that it be renewed every 6 months upon receipt of a written request and following a technical review of the process that concludes the process continues to provide a reasonable benefit to the health, safety, and welfare of the neighboring properties.