Toxics Cleanup Program

1
Toxics Cleanup Program
Spokane Junk Yard after the fire
Today -- Andrew Rypien Field

• Jim Pendowski
• Program Manager
• October 26, 2005

Photos by Dan Koroma
2
Toxics Cleanup Program

• Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP)
• By 1993, over 3,000 independent cleanup
• reports had been received by the program.
• Program response
• By 1997, the Voluntary
• Cleanup Program began.
• Today
• Of the programs nearly 10,000
• reported sites, VCP sites are nearly 25.

3
Toxics Cleanup Program

• Voluntary Cleanup (VCP) Site trends
• In the last several years, approximately 300
  new VCP sites each year have been reported to the
  program.
• Result
• The number of new sites coming into the program
  is significant.
• Source Program Quarterly Report

• Place Chart B here.

• Place Chart A here.

• The number of VCP sites that are completing
  cleanups and receiving a No Further Action
  (NFA) from the state averages 184 sites per year.
  
• Result
• The number of new VCP sites coming into the
  program exceeds the number of sites receiving
  NFAs.

Partial Year
4
Toxics Cleanup Program

• Voluntary Cleanup
• Sites increasing
• The programs VCP sites
• undergoing clean up is
• increasing by approximately
• 100 additional sites each year.
• Source Program Quarterly Report

• Place Chart B here.

• Result
• The Programs VCP work load is
• continuing to increase
• 300 new VCP site owners requesting
• assistance each year and the number
• undergoing cleanup also continues to
• increase.
• Approximately 200 VCP sites receive
• a No Further Action per year.

5
Toxics Cleanup Program

• Measure
• 90 of VCP applicants receive an assessment of
  their plan or report within 90 days of receipt.
• 100 of VCP applicants receive notice of receipt
  of their application within 10 days.
• Goal
• Provide timely service to those requesting
  assistance in cleaning up their contaminated
  site.

• M New Performance measure data.

• Result
• This is a new measure for the program
• and results were hand-counted.
• This result exceeded expectations.

• Program Steps
• Began investigating workload issues in the
  program last Spring.
• Implemented program survey and capacity analysis.
• Developed work models for implementing voluntary
  cleanups.
• Implementation steps in progress for voluntary
  cleanups.

6
Toxics Cleanup Program
7
c
Toxics Cleanup Program
How Long Does it Take to Clean Up a Site? The
program has wrestled with this question for some
years. We are more confident with how long it
takes to clean up a VCP site, though these
numbers dont account for how long a site may sit
before activity begins. Non-VCP sites are
prioritized and worst first are cleaned up. This
means a site will sit, from months to years,
until cleanup activities begin.
8
Toxics Cleanup Program

• How many sites does each person have?
• Quantifying the average number of
• sites managed by each staff person is
• like quantifying the number of
• raindrops It takes to fill a bucket.
• Each site is that different.
• A site can be a corner gas station, or a
• much larger facility with multiple areas
• of contamination.
• Survey Results
• Survey information on 52 staff indicates
• Low of 28 VCP sites per FTE (east side)
• High of 70 VCP sites per FTE (west side)
• Single Year Comparison
• Between 20 NFA determinations per FTE

Program Information shows
9
Toxics Cleanup Program

• Capacity Analysis
• Staff were surveyed to determine their
• current workload, practices, and capacity.
• The analysis would provide information for
• future operational and systemic changes.
• Goal
• Reconstruct the Voluntary Cleanup Program to
  normalize workloads for staff.
• Examples of Findings
• Significant operational intensity and work
  overload at NWRO and SWRO.
• Wide disparities in how VCPs are managed.
• Communication gaps have resulted in lack of
  consistency in operating procedures.
• Senior staff with significant knowledge, and no
  succession planning.
• Inadequate time charges.
• Source The Goodenough Company Capacity Analysis

• Action Plan
• View VCP workload as program-wide effort.
• Create surge-capacity to deal with overstressed
  regions.
• Dedicate staff to work only on VCP sites.
• Dedicate regional supervisors as single points of
  contact to ensure consistency.
• Separate VCP sites and processes from formal
  sites and processes.
• Initiate a program VCP Coordinator.
• Create VCP Coordinators Team.
• Develop training, mentoring program.
• Develop consistent operating procedures
  program-wide.
• Develop new billing system.

10
Economic Vitality Impacts Reuse Benefits,
Selected States
Source Charles Bartsch, Northeast-Midwest
Institute
11
Toxics Cleanup Program

• Program Resources/Investments
• 144 Program FTE total
• 10 Approximate number of dedicated
• full time VCP site managers
• Budget for VCP Site Managers
• 2,000,000 biennium

• Result
• An average of 184 VCP sites per year are cleaned
  up and receive a No Further Action.

• Contribution to State Toxics Control Account
• Cost recovery from these sites is forecast to be
  about 650,000 per biennium.
• This number has remained fairly consistent at
  approximately 600,000 per biennium for the last
  several years.