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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.0 BOCC Staff Report 08.17.2004BOCC 8/ l 7 /04 MLB PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS REQUEST: A request for review of an amendment to a Special Use Permit to allow a change in operation of the existing facility. APPLICANT: American Soda, LLC LOCATION: 2717 County Road 215, about 3 miles northwest of the town of Parachute SITE DATA: Approximately 1,000 acre property ACCESS: I-70 to County Road 215 EXISTING ZONING: R/L Resource Lands: Gentle Slopes/Lower Valley Floor I. SITE DESCRIPTION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSAL A. Site Description: The Parachute site is an approximately 300 acre existing industrial facility enclosed by a chain link fence, that was originally used for the Unocal Oil Shale Upgrade facility. Within the 300 acres there is: • multi-track rail yard storage tank • three 4,500 ton storage silos • two 40,000 pound per hour • conveyor system steam boilers • 150,000 ton per year Soda ash • 800 gallon per minute crystal1izer water treatment plant • baking soda centrifuge • two 500,000 ton per year • Dryer soda ash crystallizers • screening system • two dryers, three soda ash • baking soda storage bins centrifuges • baking soda truck and rail car • soda ash screening system bulk load out • 70 ton per hour deca- • baking soda packaging facilities hydrate crystallizer.· • 120 ton capacity liquid C02 1 of7 Buildings on the property include: • 30,000 sq. ft. office building • 5,600 sq. ft. change room and firehouse • 26,000 sq. ft. shop and warehouse facility • two 3, 750 sq. ft. pump houses • 4,800 sq. ft. boiler house • 3,750 sq.ft. wter treatment and compressor building • 4,800 sq. ft. water filter and clarifier building • 2,400 sq. ft. soda ash rail car/truck load out building • 30,000 sq. ft. auxiliary warehouse storage building • 15,000 sq. ft. product storage warehouse • 80,000 sq. ft. processing building The remaining 700 acres of the site is agricultural and/or vacant, with limited residential and extractive uses. B. Development Proposal: American Soda proposes to change the operation of the industrial processing facility for soda ash. The existing process relies on liquid solution produced at a mine in the Piceance basin in Rio Blanco County. The liquid solution is presently transported to the processing facility via a pipeline from the mine. The facility produces Sodium Carbonate (Soda ash) and Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) from the liquid solution. The Sodium Bicarbonate is produced by combining the Soda ash with Carbon Dioxide that is produce and trucked in from the Piceance basin mine. The proposed change in operation is a change in the source of the Soda ash. The Soda ash will be shipped to the facility by rail car from out of the State and the C02 will be purchased from the adjoining Williams Production RMT Natural Gas processing plant site or purchased from other suppliers and trucked to the facility. The new feed stock will be placed in storage and then transported to a dissolver where the dry soda ash will be combined with water to create a liquid solution. This solution is fed to a crystallizer vessel where C02 is added to convert the soda ash into baking soda crystals. After further drying, the crystals are screened for size and either stored for rail car shipping or packaged in 80 lb. bags or one ton super sacks for shipment by truck. To accommodate the proposed change in feed stock supply, additional equipment has to be added to the processing facilities at the neighboring Williams Production RMT Natural Gas processing plant. An application will be made to modify the Williams Production facility in a future application from Williams Production, since the public notice for this application did not include the legal for this property. The new equipment to be installed 2 of7 at the American Soda facility is the following: ~ A new 100 ton rail car off loading hopper and conveyor beneath the existing tracks and housed in an enclosed steel structure 23' wide x 40' long x 30' high. ~ New screw conveyor connected to a new 100 ton per hour capacity bucket elevator, which moves soda ash to top of the existing 160' tall storage silos. );;.. New 55 ton surge bin, metering conveyor, dissolver tank and pump system in the existing processing building. );;.. 12,000 ft. of 6" High Density Polyethylene pipe, buried 4' deep, between the Williams facility and the applicant's processing facility. The modification and subsequent reduction in production will result in the moth balling of the two 500,000 ton per soda ash crystallizers, two 6,000 horse power steam compressors, the 1,000,000 ton per year soda ash dryer, three soda ash centrifuges, the soda ash screening system and 70 ton per hour deca-hydrate crystallizer. Additionally, the 230,000 volt transmission system will have the power reduced to 13,800 volts at the 25 megawatt transformer station. II. REVIEW AGENCIES AND PUBLIC COMMENT Th.is application was sent to the following review agencies/departments: Town of Parachute: Responded by saying that they were disappointed that the facility was going to produce less product, but supported the continued operation of the facility. III. MA.TOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS A. Zoning: The site lies in the R/L Resource Lands zone district. Section 3 .10 states that extraction on the gentle slopes/lower valley floor requires a special use permit. All industrial operations must meet the standards set forth in Section 5.03.07 and 5.03.08, as described below. Section 5.08.02.08 defines a "major project" as one which will employ 200 or more employees at any one point in time. This original project identified employment of 100 people. This modification will employ less than 30 people, thus, the proposed modification will not fall under the definition of a major project. B. Conditional and Special Uses: Conditional Uses are subject to the standards set forth in Section 5.03 of the Zoning Resolution: ( 1) Utilities adequate to provide water and sanitation service based 011 accepted engineering standards and approved by the Environmental Health officer shall either be in place or shall be constructed in conjunction with the proposed use,· 3 of7 Adequate utilities are in place. (2) Street improvements adequate to accommodate traffic volume generated by the proposed use and to provide safe, convenient access to the use shall either be in place or shall be constructed in conjunction with the proposed use. Commuter traffic and truck trips are expected to decrease as a result of the modification Rail traffic is expected to decrease too. The existing infrastructure is adequate to safely accommodate access to the proposed modification .. (3) Design of the proposed use is organized to minimize impact on and from adjacent uses of land through installation of screen fences or landscape materials on the periphery of the lot and by location of intensively utilized areas, access points, lighting and signs in such a manner as to protect established neighborhood character. The new additions will be painted the same unobtrusive exterior color as the existing building so that it will blend in the natural surroundings and reduce visual impacts. The site does not lie within an existing neighborhood. C. Industrial Operations: All industrial operations must meet the standards set forth in Section 5.03.07 and 5.03.08. Section 5.03.07 states the following: ( l) The applicant for a pemzit for industrial operations shall prepare and submit to the Planning Director ten ( 10) copies of an impact statement on the proposed use describing its location, scope, design and construction schedule, including an explanation of its operational characteristics. One ( 1) copy of the impact statement shall be filed with the County Commissioners by the Planning Director. The impact statement shall address: (A) Existing lawful use of water through depletion or pollution of surface run-off, stream flow or ground water; The projected maximum water use for the proposed modification are well within the volume of rights owned by American Soda. The impact statement shall address: (B) Impacts on adjacent land from the generation of vapor, dust, smoke, noise, glare or vibration, or other emanations; The modification will use electrically powered equipment and steam heat provided by existing boilers. No emissions of vapor, dust, smoke, glare or vibration, nor other emanations will occur. Any noise generated will occur inside the proposed new structures or 4of7 in the loadout area, which is relatively remote in tenns of adjoining uses .. The impact statement shall address: (C) Impacts on wildlife and domestic animals through the creation of hazardous attractions, alteration of existing native vegetation, blockade of migration routes, use patterns or other disruptions; The modification will not cause any of the above disruptions. Fencing prohibits the entry of certain wildlife. livestock, and other domestic animals. The impact statement shall address: ( D) Affirmatively show the impacts of truck and automobile traffic to and from such uses and their impacts to areas in the County; Neither commuter vehicle nor truck traffic is expected to increase. The impact statement shall address: (E) That sufficient distances shall separate such use from abutting property which might otherwise be damaged by operations of the proposed use(s); This is an existing facility which has already been determined to be separated by sufficient distances. The addition will also be sufficiently separated from other land uses. The impact statemelll shall address: ( F) Mitigation measures proposed for all of the foregoing impacts identified and for the standards identified in Section 5.03.08 of this Resolution No other impacts are expected to result from the modification. No other mitigation is proposed other than painting the facility an unobtrusive color. (2) Pennits may be granted for those uses with provisions that provide adequate mitigation for the following : (A) A plan for site rehabilitation must be approved by the County Commissioners before a pennit for conditional or special use will be issued,· Site rehabilitation is not expected to be necessary given the industrial nature of the site. and the relatively small size of the addition .. ( B) The County Commissioners may require security before a pennit for special or conditional use is issued, if required. The applicant shall furnish evidence of a bank commitment of credit, bond, certified check or other security deemed acceptable by the County Commissioners in the amount calculated by the County Commissioners to secure the execution of the site rehabilitation plan in workmanlike manner and in accordance with the specifications and construction schedule established or approved by the County Commissioners. Such commim1ellts, bonds or check shall be payable to and held by the County Commissioners; 5 of7 Since no additional site rehabilitation is necessary for the modification, a bond is not seen as necessary in this case. ( C )Impacts set forth in the impact statemem and compliance with the standards contained in Section 5.03.08 of this Resolution. (A. 93-061) Section 5.03.08 states the following: Industrial Performance Standards: All industrial operations in the County shall comply with applicable County, State, and Federal regulations regulating water, air and noise pollution and shall not be conducted in a manner constituting a public nuisance or hazard. Operations shall be conducted in such a manner as to minimize heat, dust, smoke, vibration, glare and odor and all other undesirable environmental effects beyond the boundaries of the property in which such uses are located, in accord with the following standards; (1) Volume of sound generated shall comply with the standards set forth in the Colorado Revised Statutes at the time any new application is made. (A. 93-061) Equipment generating noise will be located within buildings or enclosures. American Soda will comply with all relevant state and federal standards with respect to noise and emissions. (2) Vibration generated: every use shall be so operated that the ground vibration inherently and recurrently generated is not perceptible, without instruments, at any point of any boundary line of the property on which the use is located; The addition will not produce perceptible ground vibration at any point along the property boundary. ( 3) Emissions of smoke and particulate matter: every use shall be operated so as to comply with all Federal, State and County air quality laws, regulations and standards; These emissions will not be produced. (4) Emission of heat, glare, radiation and fumes: every use shall be so operated that it does not emit heat, glare, radiation or fumes which substantially inteifere with the existing use of adjoining property or which constitutes a public nuisance or hazard. Flaring of gases, aircraft warning signals, reflective painting of storage tanks, or other such operations which may be required by law as safety or air pollution control measures shall be exempted from this provision; 6 of7 The addition will have night lighting which complies with occupational safety standards. Neither radiation nor fumes will be emitted. Heat emitted will not be measurable in off site air or water resources. (5)(A) Storage of flammable or explosive solids or gasses shall be in accordance with accepted standards and laws and shall comply with the national, state, and local.fire codes and written comments/recommendations from the appropriate local protection district regarding compliance with the appropriate codes. Limited quantities of diesel fuel and other re~ulated materials are stored in a manner consistent with the National Fire Code requtrements and other applicable state and federal regulations. D. General Staff Comments: Staff finds that the modification will cause very little in the way of impacts and provides the benefit of being able to maintain a level of production that will keep the basic facility open. . If approved, the existing resolution will be replaced by a new resolution of approval containing all the original conditions found in the previous resolutions, plus any new conditions of approval deemed appropriate by the Board of County Commissioners. IV. SUGGESTED FINDINGS 1. That proper public notice was provided as required for the hearing before the Board of County Commissioners. 2. That the hearing before the Board of County Commissioners was extensive and complete, that all pertinent facts, matters and issues were submitted and that all interested parties were heard at that meeting. 3. That for the above stated and other reasons, the proposed special and conditional use permits have been shown to be in the best interest of the health, safety, morals, convenience, order, prosperity and welfare of the citizens of Garfield County. 4. That the application is in conformance with the Garfield County Zoning Resolution of 1978, as amended. V. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends APPROVAL of the application for a special use permit with the following conditions: 1. That the existing resolution shall be replaced by a new resolution of approval containing all the original conditions of approval, plus any new conditions of 7 of7 approval deemed appropriate by the Board of County Commissioners. 2. That all representations made by the applicant in the application for the modification, or at the public hearing, shall be conditions of approval, unless specified otherwise by the Board of County Commissioners. 8 of7