RE: Letter from Mr. John Dmearee, M.S., Permit Asst. III of March 28, 2005, in reference to Best Septic Tank Cleaning & Transport, Inc.--MSW No. 40053TL : Registration Modification for Type V Transfer Staion at 1021 Cumings Rd., Rosenberg, TX 77471.

Four copies have been made of this modification request: this is the original plus one copy, one copy is being sent to Mr. Jason Ybarra of the Houston Regional Office, and the other copy I am keeping for my files.

Explanation Detailing Why The Change Is Necessary: On March 17, 2004, TCEQ Regional Investigator Jason Ybarra visited our Transfer Station. On June 4, 2004, we received from his office a Notice of Violations requiring a 30-day response. Twenty-four days later we mailed it to them. We heard nothing from that office until December 8, 2004, when we were told that our poposed solutions to two of the said violations had been mailed to Austin. Then in the third week of February, 2005 we got a phone call saying the papers had been "lost in the mail," and we'd have to send Austin copies of what we had submitted to Houston in June of 2004. A week later we recived a phone call from you saying this information needed to be reworked into a Modification format. The delay this time in getting the work back to you has been due to the engineer. I requested more detailed information from him and he was slow to respond. But here it is now. Please let me know if any more changes are required. What follows is in reference to Outstanding Alleged Violations #3 "30 TAC 330.66(d)(2)(Water Pollution Control)" and #4 "30 TAC 330.66(d)(6)(100-year Flood)" --we are required to change our Transfer Station storage system from the use of underground tanks to the use of an aboveground sysytem. When I visited with Jeff Holderread last May about this problem he assured me that my proposed solution of a frac-tank would get serious consideration from your department as long as the tank we acquired could be "fixed" in place. We are also aware that the contents of this tank cannot sit long on site: we will have it removed by 18-wheeler vacuum, a turnaround time of less than a week in most cases (refer to page 8 of our current Site Operating Plan).

 

Description of Proposed Change:

1. We have already purchased and have on site (not yet in use) a frac-tank that will become our above-ground temporary storage system.

2. Last year we raised the level of the ground prior to these latest diagrams from the engineer.

3. We have contracted with a construction company for the installagion of a concrete pand with berm that the frac-tank will be "fixed" within.

4. We have contracted with a paint company to epoxy seal the concrete pad and berm.

5. After reciving your acceptance of this plan, we will:

    a. Have the cement pad constructed;

    b. Wait for it to cure;

    c. Paint it with epoxy sealant;

    d. Place the tank on the pad;

    e. Berm the tank;

    f. Paint the berm with sealant;

    g. Open the new system for use;

    h. Close the old system from use (see details below);

    i. Revise and resubmit the Site Operation Plan to fit the new system.

6. Once the above-ground system is functiona, this is our proposed procedure for closing the existing underground system:

    a. Storage tanks will be emptied of sludge then washed with lime-powder and water;

    b. A licensed tank removal company will be contracted to excavete, remove, and dispose of the #1 and #2 underground storage tanks;

    c. The area will be filled in with clean dirt (a tree or two might be added), then the site will be covered with concrete wash-out material and brought up to nearly the same level as the adjacent circular driveway;

    d. The current "wash-down" tank will be wahsed with lime-powder and water then vacuumed out. A bag of lime will be poured into the bottom of the tank. After that, the tank will be filled in with clean dirt and topped with crushed concrete until flush with the same level as the rest of the property.

    e. The TECQ will be notified that the udnerground tanks have been properly removed from service.

 

Appropriate Revisions To All Applicable Narrative Pages and Drawings: See engineer's report for revisions to drawings. I do not wish to revise the Site Operating Plan until the new facilities, policies, and procedures are implemented (we cannot know what the specific details will be until we've interacted with the equipment first-hand), but I will forward these things promptly to you once the new system is functional.

 

A Reference To The Specific Provision Under Which The Modification Application is Being Made: Texas Administrative Code Title 30, Part I, Chapter 305, Subchapter D, Rule 305.70(L) "In case of an application for a permit or registration modification for a change not listed in subsection (j) or (k) of this section, the executive director shall make a determination asa to whether the change is eligible to be processed as a permit or registration modification and if the change requires public notice in accordance with subsection (i) of this section. In making this determination, the executive director shall consider if the requested change meets the criteria in subsections (d) and (e) of this section. Public notice shall be reserved for modification applications of imilar impact as modificaitons listed in subsection (k) of this section." If subsection (k) is determined, the updated landowners map is included in the engineer's attachment (B); and the current landowner remains Neil Bradley Heath (inherited from the deceased Neil Ellis Heath).