Kansas
Department of Health and EnvironmentKDHE Home - Division of Environment
Kansas
Department of Health and Environment
Secretary's Corner
As Acting Secretary of Health and Environment , I arrived at my Topeka office in mid-January and was greeted with a stack of work and a calendar full of meetings and appointments. The pace has not slowed, and I can only assume that there is never an "off season" at KDHE.
I must take a moment to thank the dedicated staff at KDHE for helping to bring me up to speed on the many important issues requiring the attention of this agency. I will admit that I did not fully appreciate the scope of duties assigned to KDHE. When you start evaluating all of the possible regulatory and advocacy roles we might play in the areas of public health and the environment, the workload seems almost endless.
There are a couple of things that especially impressed me as I worked my way through the Division of Environment. The first feature that caught my eye was the well-woven web of services provided across Kansas in the KDHE district offices. KDHE dedicates staff and resources beyond the Topeka "central office" and moves services closer to the regulated entities and citizens of Kansas. This provides more efficiency and responsiveness and helps provide better customer service.
The key to successful government has always been, and always will be, good customer service. This customer service approach extends beyond staff, salaries, and office space in every corner of Kansas. It is also embodied in the attitudes and approach taken by staff members as they deal with customers day-in and day-out. For example, the new Kansas swine facility law and regulations created a huge amount of work for KDHE and a lot of change for swine producers across this state. In my first few months on the job, I have watched Division of Environment staff work with lawmakers, pork producers, environmental groups and the general public. KDHE has done an excellent job of explaining this issue on every level, while at the same time, developing and implementing the regulations and procedures that will make the new system work.
I encourage all Kansans to become familiar with the KDHE agency structure. Our first goal should always be quality customer service, and that starts with giving the customer the ability find us and ask questions. Once someone asks us a question, it's our job to provide an answer. That answer should be a fair answer, the right answer, and a timely answer.
I am doing my part to make sure KDHE staff members are proficient at answering questions. In my short tenure here, I have spent most of my time asking questions. KDHE may never have all the answers, but we can constantly strive to improve our level of service and responsiveness.
Clyde D. Graeber, Acting Secretary of Health & Environment
Over 300 Attend 1999 Recycling & Composting Works ConferenceThe 1999 Recycling & Composting Works Conference held on March 16-18, 1999 in Lindsborg was again a great success. Over 300 people attended some or all of this three-day event featuring nationally recognized solid waste experts and impressive demonstrations of composting and recycling equipment. As in past years, this fifth annual conference combined an excellent technical program with the pleasant environment of Lindsborg and the Bethany College campus. A major reason why this conference has experienced success and continual growth is the small town atmosphere which facilitates networking among participants.
A major feature of this year's conference was the keynote address by Dr. William Rathje, the original "garbologist" from the University of Arizona. Dr. Rathje spoke to over 400 enthusiastic listeners including about 100 high school students with interests in environmental issues. His presentation provided a unique perspective on solid waste. He has studied the materials that we throw away and what that information can tell us about ourselves. Dr. Rathje is trained as an archeologist and he has dug into landfills as other archeologists dig into ancient ruins from past civilizations. He has written numerous published articles and two popular books: "Rubbish" and "Use Less Stuff."
Nearly 150 people attended the technical workshops on Day One of the conference. These workshops are designed for recycling and composting facility operators. The recycling workshop was divided into "beginners," "advanced," and "business & industry issues." These concurrent composting and recycling tracks continued into the main conference on Days Two and Three, except for some general sessions for all participants. On the final morning of the conference, Dr. Ron Hammerschmidt, Director, KDHE Division of Environment, presented KDHE's annual recycling and composting awards. Dean Frankenbury of Wood Recycle and Composting (Wichita) and Howard Wilson of Howie's Recycling (Manhattan) received composting and recycling recognition awards. Chiquita Cornelius, Executive Director, Kansas Business and Industry Recycling Program (BIRP), received a special governor's recognition award for a lifetime of service to recycling in Kansas.
Many co-sponsors worked with KDHE to make this even successful. They included the Kansas Recyclers Association (KRA), Kansas BIRP, the Kansas Sunflower Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, the Kansas Urban Forestry Council, and the Kansas Association of Counties. KRA held a special banquet the evening of March 17, 1999 during which their annual recycling awards were presented. In addition, a very special award was presented by the Can Manufacturing Institute to the Wheat Belt Girl Scout Council for recycling more aluminum cans than any other scouting organization in 1998. These Kansas Girl Scouts recycled nearly one million cans last year to take first place nationwide - quite an accomplishment.
If you would like more information about how to become involved in the conference next year, please contact the Bureau of Waste Management at (800) 282-9790 or (785) 296-1600. We would like to have you as an exhibitor, equipment demonstrator, or simply an attendee.
Bill Bider, Bureau of Waste Management
| KDHE REGULATIONS IN PROCESS | ||||||
| Prepared 3/24/99 | ||||||
| REGULATION | DIV. DRAFT | EPA REVIEW | DOA REVIEW | AG REVIEW | PUBLIC HEARING | EFFECTIVE |
| Waste Water Control: | ||||||
| Livestock Waste | In Process | N/A | Completed | Completed | 10/26,10/28 | 1/15/99 |
| Surface Water Quality Standards | Completed | Continuous | 2/99 | 2/99 | 5/11,5/12,5/13 | *7/99 |
| Solid Waste | ||||||
| Livestock Composting(N) | Completed | N/A | 8/98 | 8/98 | 10/98 | 1/99 |
| Composting (N) | Completed | N/A | 8/98 | 8/98 | 10/98 | *6/99 |
| Monofill Definition(N) | Completed | N/A | 8/98 | 8/98 | 10/98 | *6/99 |
| Hsehld Haz.Waste(N) | *4/99 | N/A | *5/99 | *6/99 | *8/99 | *10/99 |
| Groundwater(A) | *4/99 | *5/99 | *6/99 | *8/99 | *8/99 | *10/99 |
| Vertical Expansions | *4/99 | *5/99 | *5/99 | *6/99 | *8/99 | *10/99 |
| Permit Fees(A) | *4/99 | *5/99 | *5/99 | *6/99 | *8/99 | *10/99 |
| Medical Waste | *7/99 | *8/99 | *8/99 | *9/99 | *11/99 | *1/00 |
| Financial Assurance | *5/99 | *6/99 | *7/99 | *8/99 | *10/99 | *2/00 |
| Hazardous Waste | ||||||
| Update(A) | Completed | 5/98 | 11/98 | 11/98 | 1/99 | *5/99 |
| Transfer Facilities(N) | Completed | 5/98 | 11/98 | 11/98 | 1/99 | *5/99 |
| Universal Waste(N) | Completed | 5/98 | 11/98 | 11/98 | 1/99 | *5/99 |
| Used OIl (N) | Completed | 5/98 | 11/98 | 11/98 | 1/99 | *5/99 |
| Permit Fees(N) | *6/99 | N/A | *7/99 | *8/99 | *10/99 | *12/99 |
| Air and Radiation: | ||||||
| Bakery Facility RACT | ||||||
| Rule - KC area (N) | 6/98 | *4/99 | *4/99 | *7/99 | *9/99 | |
| Wy. Co. Opacity Rule(N,R) | 6/98 | Completed | 11/98 | 11/98 | 12/9/98 | 1/99 |
| NESHAP'112'(g) | ||||||
| Case by Case | ||||||
| MACT Determination(N) | Completed | Completed | 8/98 | 8/98 | 6/99 | *8/99 |
| Hospital/Medical/Infectious | ||||||
| Waste Incinerator Emission | ||||||
| Guidelines (N) | 6/98 | *4/99 | *4/99 | *7/99 | *9/99 | |
| Update EmissionsStnds(A) | Completed | 12/98 | 1/99 | |||
| UpdateList of VOC's(A) | Completed | 12/9/98 | 1/99 | |||
| PSDUpdatePackage(A) | Completed | *4/99 | *4/99 | *7/99 | *9/99 | |
| *projected New(N), Amended(A), Revoked(R) |
||||||
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Storage Tank Section has included Methyl tert Butyl Ether (MTBE) as a chemical of concern for UST sites since 1991.
At that time, MTBE was not considered to be a chemical of concern by EPA because little was known about its health effects. The decision to require analyses for MTBE resulted from the compound being frequently discovered in groundwater samples obtained from UST sites which were analyzed by KDHE's laboratory. As data was collected, it became clear that MTBE plumes were very common and were usually found further down-gradient of the typical Benzene toluene ethyl benzene xylene (BTEX) plume. The philosophy of the Kansas UST program has been that all water consumed by the public should be below detection levels for all petroleum constituents, regardless of what data was available about the health effects of the compound. As a result, KDHE has considerable data related to the occurrence of MTBE at over 900 UST sites, sixty of which are in active remediation.
Until recently, many believed that the use of MTBE-enhanced gasoline was limited to air quality non-attainment areas, so few expected to find MTBE contamination to be widespread. The data from Kansas confirms that the compound has been used as an octane booster for many years. Analytical data from 818 of the sites, being monitored in Kansas, revealed that MTBE contamination was present at 88% of the sites. A survey of data confirms that MTBE is present at sites where fuel has not been stored since before 1989.
The Question of False Positives
Several articles have raised the question of false positives with GC methods for detecting MTBE. The initial review of the Kansas data does not reveal an appreciable difference in the percentage of sites where MTBE was discovered using method 8021, a GC method, as compared to sites where method 8260,
a GC/MS method, was used. KDHE is currently working on additional confirmation of the 8021 results, however, our data indicates that MTBE was detected at over 90% of the 161 sites where samples were analyzed by method 8260.
Database Survey Results
A survey of 700 sites where MTBE was initially detected, revealed that 27% of the sites have decreased to non-detect levels over the sampling period without active remediation.
An evaluation of 60 MTBE remedial sites reveals that most of the traditional technologies are somewhat effective in reducing MTBE concentrations. Kansas has observed many different types of remedial efforts involving soil vapor extraction, air sparging, pump and treat, and Oxygen Release Compound with varying levels of success. A reduction of MTBE to non-detect was achieved at 43% of the sites, with a 90% reduction attained at 23% of the sites. MTBE concentration reductions ranging between 50% and 90% were observed at 12% of the sites and 10% of the sites demonstrated less than a 50% reduction. The concentration of MTBE actually increased at 12% of the sites. The increased MTBE concentration could be the result of an unidentified source.
Sixty six percent of the sites undergoing site remediation experienced a MTBE reduction of greater than 90%. Of sites utilizing a combination of AS/SVE technology, 80% of the sites had a greater than 90% reduction. These preliminary statistics are based on limited evaluation of the technologies and the duration of remediation was not considered. However, when compared to a 27% reduction in monitored only sites, it appears that conventional remedial technologies are successful in reducing MTBE concentrations. KDHE will continue to evaluate efforts to perform MTBE remediation to determine which methods are most effective.
Kansas Case Incident Studies
The Kansas Storage Tank Program has always considered protecting public and private water supply wells as the primary driving force for most remediation at UST sites. Despite these efforts, several public wells have been impacted by MTBE. Significant levels of MTBE were recently discovered in two public water supply wells serving a small western Kansas community. The sources of the contamination were gasoline releases which occurred from three service stations located nearby. The MTBE spread over eight tenths of a mile down-gradient to impact the public wells. Despite the fact that the contaminant plume was well defined by a series of zero line monitoring wells, MTBE had migrated under those wells and reached the public wells at a concentration of 1050 ug/l. A 250 gpm tray air stripper was installed at the City's water treatment plant as a temporary measure to reduce MTBE concentrations. Even though no MCL had been established for MTBE, a treatment goal for the temporary system was set at less than 40 ug/l.
The next phase of the MTBE remediation project consisted of the design and installation of a permanent long term treatment system at the public water plant. Two packed air stripping towers, six feet in diameter and 33 feet tall were selected for the project. The manufacturer indicated that each tower would be capable of reducing the highest anticipated contaminant concentrations to non-detect levels to provide redundancy for long term operation. The water treatment demand was 300 gpm during colder months and 450 gpm during the summer. The system successfully treats the influent concentrations of 200-800 ug/l MTBE to below 5 ug/l.
Active source remediation has been underway since 1997 with limited success. MTBE concentrations ranging up to 77,000 ug/l had been encountered in the groundwater near the source. The leading edge of the BTEX and MTBE plume has been
defined with a series of down gradient monitoring wells. Additional investigation involved installation of several deeper (70 foot) monitoring wells between the source areas and the public wells. Groundwater data confirmed an extensive MTBE plume. The deeper monitoring wells also confirmed that MTBE had migrated at depths below the shallow wells across the base of the aquifer. A deep monitoring well encountered an MTBE concentration of 1600 ug/l located near a shallow monitoring well which produced a MTBE concentration of 5 ug/l.
In order to minimize the treatment period for the Public Water Supply wells, a more aggressive remedial approach was taken at the sites. Remediation consisting of soil removal and land farm treatment of the contaminated soil was performed within the source areas. After the existing soils of limited permeability were removed, the remaining excavations were filled with washed sorted rock. A cap of clean, low permeability soil was installed to allow a combination of AS/SVE to be utilized. The previous remedial efforts had been hampered by a confining layer which was present immediately above the groundwater which prevented SVE/AS from being effective. Additionally, ORC was installed across the toe of the plume in an attempt enhance bioremediation of the MTBE near the impacted public wells. The ORC treatment has not been evaluated to determine its effectiveness in the treatment of MTBE.
"Diving Plumes"
With a specific gravity of 0.740, MTBE contamination should be found near the top of the aquifer. Although MTBE is found at the top of the aquifer near the source, it has also penetrated to the base of the aquifer where the higher permeability materials are located. Since observing this phenomena, several other instances where MTBE has been observed to migrate to the base of the aquifer have been documented. The high solubility of MTBE has enabled it to move rapidly through the groundwater, resulting in large plumes that follow the natural or induced groundwater gradient. Unlike BTEX plumes that radiate down-gradient from the source area and stabilize within a few hundred feet, MTBE has been documented to extend over one mile down-gradient from the source area. An important factor to consider when addressing MTBE sites is not to rely too heavily on shallow monitoring wells especially where deeper, more permeable zones could act as a migration pathway. Since this portion of the aquifer is typically utilized for public and private water wells, there should be increased concern.
Conclusions
It is evident that there is more to learn about the behavior of MTBE in the environment and its effects on human health. The data collected by KDHE indicates that MTBE is likely to be discovered in any region even though fuel oxygenates may not have been required. Staff at KDHE are continuing to collect data and to evaluate which remedial methods are effective in remediating MTBE sites.
Greg Hattan & Gary Blackburn - Bureau of Environmental Remediation
Kansas Unified Watershed Assessment on the InternetThe Kansas Unified Watershed Assessment has been placed on the KDHE web site at http://www.kdheks.gov/nps. This is one of KDHE's first interactive applications and the site allows the user to look up information on individual watersheds. The user may also register to be a member of a watershed planning team.
The Kansas Unified Watershed Assessment was prepared in response to the Clean Water Action Plan, initiated by Vice President Gore who directed federal agencies to work together to develop a plan which charts a course towards achieving the original goal of the Clean Water Act - "fishable and swimmable" waters for all Americans. The Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture were assigned leadership roles.
The resulting Clean Water Action Plan, published February 14, 1998, set out 111 key action items for restoring and protecting the nation's water resources. The Unified Watershed Assessment was one of the key action items. The Clean Water Action Plan requested the state environmental agency and the State Conservationists of the Natural Resources Conservation Service to work together to assess the water resources of the state. Individual state unified watershed assessments were to be completed and submitted to the national Clean Water Action Plan work group on October 1, 1998. The Unified Watershed Assessment brings the variety of water quality and natural resource condition assessment tools now used by federal and state agencies into a single unified assessment. The assessment classifies watersheds into four categories:
In addition to classifying the state's watersheds into four categories, the Category I watersheds are to be assigned a restoration action priority.
The Clean Water Action Plan also proposed the federal fiscal year (ffy) 1999 budget be increased by $568 million to begin addressing the 111 key action items. The President proposed increased appropriations to address Category I watershed needs. This proposal was partially successful. An additional $95 million was appropriated for the Section 319 nonpoint source pollution control program. While an additional $100 million was proposed for the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the actual ffy 99 appropriation was less than the ffy 98 appropriation. Kansas will receive about $3.6 million Section 319 funds. Under EPA grant rules, half of this amount must be targeted towards Category I watersheds.
The unified watershed assessment preparation guidance recommended the assessment be prepared for HUC 8 watersheds. HUC means "hydrologic unit code" established by the United States Geologic Survey. In Kansas, there are a total of 92 different HUC 8 watersheds ranging in size from 4 to 2,306 square miles with an average of 885 square miles. The smaller watersheds lie at the edge of Kansas with the majority of the watershed being in an adjacent state.
Kansas has seventy-one Category I watersheds comprising about 83% of the state's area. There are nine Category II watersheds comprising a little more than 10% of the state's area. The twelve Category IV watersheds comprise about 7% of the state's area. There are no Category III watersheds in Kansas. The Kansas Unified Watershed Assessment is available through the Internet or in a booklet.
The Category I watersheds are also assigned a "restoration action priority score". The watershed restoration action score is based on TMDL (total maximum daily loads), Kansas nonpoint source pollution control program commitments, Kansas water quality action target score (KATS), severity of water quality impairment, local conservation leadership, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service priority watersheds, watershed sheet and rill erosion and economic, social and environmental justice considerations. The Lower Kansas - HUC 10270104 received a total of 24 priority points and is the highest ranking watershed for watershed restoration and priority action planning.
The next step is to develop "watershed restoration and protection strategies" for each of the category I watersheds. The Kansas Unified Watershed Assessment priority list has divided the total work load into three groups. In years one and two (federal fiscal year 1999 and 2000) we anticipate completing restoration and protection strategies for forty of the seventy-one watersheds. The remaining thirty-one watersheds would be addressed in year three.
We are now working on guidelines and procedures to prepare a Watershed Restoration and Action Strategy for each of the Category I watersheds. We envision this to be partnership effort between state, federal and local government organizations as well as individuals and private sector organizations. Individuals and organizations wishing to participate in the process may register their interest through the Internet or by returning a postage free mailer KDHE. Copies of the Kansas Unified Watershed Assessment my be obtained from KDHE (785-296-4915) or the Natural Resources Conservation Service (785-823-4568).
Don Snethen, Bureau of Water
Kansas Environment: Future Directions
The 1999 environmental conference, Kansas Environment: Future Directions, will be held at the Wichita Marriott, September 29-30, 1999. The conference planning committees have suggested a variety of topics for concurrent sessions and seminars. The format this year will include 20 different 50-minute sessions and eight (8) two-hour seminars to provide you with the information you have requested. The final agenda will be mailed in July.
This year's keynote address will be provided by Dr. Peter Bishop, a "Futurist" from the University of Houston. Dr. Bishop's presentation is titled "Waves of Creative Destruction" and promises to be enlightening and thought provoking.
Following Dr. Bishop will be a series of concurrent sessions including topics regarding water issues (TMDL, Water Quality Standards, new regulations, wetlands), pollution prevention case studies (businesses with successful P2 programs), financial resources, voluntary programs for communities, harnessing solar and wind power, and a wide variety of other topics. Seminar topics include environmental ethics, "Air Quality 101," "Hazardous Waste 101" and new technologies for the next century.
The 1999 Pollution Prevention Awards will be presented at the luncheon on Wednesday, September 29, by the Secretary of KDHE. If you are interested in applying for an award, or signing the P2 Pledge, please call us at (800) 357-6087 to request the awards application brochure. This year's deadline for applications is July 1, 1999 at 5:00 p.m.
We will again have exhibits to provide you with current resources, technologies and services. If your company has not exhibited in the past, but would like to be added to the list, please call us.
A special thanks to those on the program planning committees - Jim Wolf, Toni Dringman, Susie Anderson, Bill Elliott, Alan Kettle, Ryan Green, Vern Silvers, Tony Randall, Nancy Larson, Mitch Kinworthy, Debbie Hazelbeck, George Bronson, Michelle Crank, Debbie McRill, Alan Gremmel, Glenn Gill, and everyone who provided suggestions on last year's conference evaluations.
Please plan to attend the 1999 conference. We are making every effort to provide you with the information you have asked for, and the Marriott staff promise to provide us with an excellent menu and accommodations.
Janet Neff, Planning and Prevention Section
Bureau of Environmental Field Services
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Forbes Field, Building 283
Topeka, KS 66620-0001
264-23
Earth Day, 1999
The first Earth Day was celebrated 29 years ago on April 22, 1970 and began with 2000 colleges and universities organizing "teach ins" to increase awareness of environmental issues. As word spread, thousands of high schools and elementary schools took the opportunity to focus on the issues affecting the community and Earth that year. Today, Earth Day is celebrated internationally by an estimated 200 million people in 141 countries.
Although Earth Day began 29 years ago, environmental awareness really began with public health efforts in the late 1800's. In Kansas in 1904, Dr. Samuel Crumbine, noted for his public health efforts, urged legislation that placed municipal water supplies and sewerage systems under the jurisdiction of a responsible department of state government. The number of reported diphtheria cases had reached 1000 with 300 deaths. In March, 1907, water and sewerage bills were passed by the legislature and field sanitation work began. Subsequently, amendments to water and sewage laws gave the State Board of Health jurisdiction over operation of all water plants and sewage systems in the state regardless of their date of construction, and authorized investigation of stream pollution by industrial wastes. Most importantly to many of us, in 1939 a statewide program for construction of sanitary toilets began with more than 46,500 constructed. In 1985, the Kansas Legislature passed a law banning the in-ground burial of hazardous waste in the state.
So as Earth Day approaches, use the day to reflect on the past, and to begin that new Pollution Prevention effort, to focus on the importance of P2 efforts, to provide employees, students or friends with environmental information, and remind them to be aware that their activities really do impact their community.
Janet Neff - Planning and Prevention Section