Foul odor creeps back into Point Richmond

   POINT RICHMOND - Even as Republic Services was reporting Saturday that it was done cleaning up the compost-gone-sour at its Parr Road facility, Point Richmond residents were filing complaints of odors wafting over the village and out into the Brickyard Landing area.

     Saturday afternoon, Sunday and again this morning - Point residents have been reporting they were smelling an all-too-familiar odor that has plagued the area on and off since September. Longtime Point residents say it's actually been an on-again, off-again problem for several years.

     A Republic Services representative said this morning that while the original pile of composting material - believed to be the cause of the bad odor  - had been completely removed by 1:30 p.m. Saturday, it may take until Dec. 30 to haul the balance of other composting material still on the site to another location.

     That material - which is not considered 'sour' by Republic - had been scheduled for normal composting. But Republic opted to truck it out rather than chance any further odor incidents, the spokesman said. This morning the trucks began hauling off that material.

     This weekend and today's incidents of malodorous odors come after two back-to-back meetings about the problem earlier this month.

     In the first, held Tuesday. Dec. 6 at Kaleidoscope Coffee, Republic representatives made a presentation about a new, more efficient composting system the company will start using which it believes will result in virtually no odors.

Doser

     The following night at the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council meeting, Joe Doser, a supervising environmental health specialist with Contra Costa County gave the PRNC copies of a detailed 13-page report about county actions relative to Republic. The report talks about fires at the Republic facility, air pollution issues, citizen complaints and a history of the most recent odor problems.

     At that meeting Doser said in July the county discovered that Republic had amassed more than 360,000 cubic yards of composting material on site - more than 10 times the company's permitted volume of 32,000 cubic yards.

     The Contra Costa County report was also circulated over the weekend via the website Nextdoor by a Point Richmond resident.

Michael J. Fitzgerald

Smaller crowd at Sunday Craneway Fair

POINT RICHMOND - The Sunday edition of the weekend-long Craneway Crafts Fair - a benefit for KPFA radio - was a little less crowded than Saturday's opening.

But there were still hundreds of people attending, shopping, eating and listening to the music.

Parking was also appreciably easier Sunday, with spots very close to the entrance on the east side of the Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbor Way South.

The crafts fair is open until 5 p.m. today. Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, children can come in for free.

Below are some photos from today's fair of exhibits and exhibitors.

Junkyard fire grabs media coverage

     POINT RICHMOND - A fire at a vehicle wrecking yard broke out about 7 a.m. grabbing plenty of attention from Bay Area media as well as reports from local residents about the huge cloud of smoke, visible for miles.

     Fire officials reported that about 40 vehicles were involved in the blaze at Deal Auto Wrecking on West Gertrude.


     For about two hours, officials had a "shelter in place" order in effect, which essentially tells people to stay put - and indoors - for their safety.

     They were concerned about the health of people breathing whatever substances were being carried in the foul black plume.

     Richmond Parkway was shut down completely between West Gertrude and Pittsburg Avenues.

     Shortly after the fire broke out, a representative of Republic Services - the Richmond disposal company - contacted The Point to say that the blaze was not at the transfer station or its composting operation.

     The composting operation has been the center of residents' complaints and blamed for a foul odor that has wafted over the area on numerous occasions since early fall.

     Here's a link to the East Bay Times story, which is being updated as the fire and cleanup progress: WRECKING YARD FIRE.

And here are links to other media:

CBS local news

SFGate story, photo, and videos

ABC - KGO TV reports

STILL Christmas shopping? Check this out

POINT RICHMOND - Crafts, food and music.

What else do you need to shake yourself loose this weekend to come to the Craneway Crafts Fair Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - a benefit for KPFA radio

General admission is $12 for adults, seniors and disabled persons $8, children are free.

This is the 46th such fair in the Bay Area, with about 200 artists and craftspeople showing original work at the Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbor Way South.

Organizers promise a food court with different foods each day. Sunday will also feature a brunch.

Art glass by Shawn Tsai

Music will be provided by local musicians with a performance by the World Harmony Chorus at 10 a.m. Sunday.

If you're coming via BART to the fair, you can jump on a free shuttle.

And if you are driving? Parking is free.

Richmond-to-SF ferry coming in 2018

   POINT RICHMOND - The Hydrus is coming to Richmond in early 2018.

     That's the name of the under-construction, 400-plus passenger ferry that the San Francisco Bay Ferry company will be using to start its Richmond-to-San Francisco (and back, of course) service.

     That piece of news was delivered to the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council Wed. Dec. 7 by Ernest Sanchez, manager of public information and marketing for the company.

     Hydrus, by the way, means water snake.

      At the outset, the ferry service will run Monday-Friday with three morning departures and four afternoon return trips. Although the Hydrus is nominally the official Richmond ferry, because of scheduling other ferries will be providing service from the Richmond Ferry Landing, too.

     The ferry will leave and return from a pier near the Ford Craneway building, Sanchez said. Parking for about 360 vehicles in planned on the Richmond side. A shuttle to take passengers to-and-from the ferry terminal area is also possible.

     "For now, this will be a peak commute service," he said. "Initially, there won't be any weekend or midday service."

     The ferry will be landing on the San Francisco side at the SF Ferry Building, where construction is planned to make room for additional Bay Area ferries.

     In addition to 400 passengers, the ferry will also have room for 50 bicycles, offer food and beverage service and make the Richmond-to-SF run in about 30 minutes. The new ferry is one of seven under construction by the company for use in the Bay Area, all of which are scheduled to be in service by 2019.

    The Hydrus will initially be doing Vallejo-to-San Francisco trips - as well as other break-in voyages - before being put into service for the Richmond run.

PRNC hears less-rosy projections about Republic's compost-odor problems

POINT RICHMOND, Calif. - The Point Richmond Neighborhood Council learned Wednesday night that Contra Costa County Health officials aren't sure the noxious odors emanating from Republic Services composting will be gone as quickly as promised by the company.

Tuesday night a Republic spokesman said that by this Saturday - or Monday at the latest - a 22,000 cubic yard pile of compost-gone-sour would be hauled off to a Republic-owned landfill in Pittsburgh and buried.

But Joe Doser, a supervising environmental health specialist with the county said that estimate was overly optimistic.

"More likely it will be gone in the next couple of weeks," he said.

Joe Doser, Contra Costa County
environmental health specialist

Doser's comments came in a presentation made by officials from the county, Bay Area Air Quality Management and the City of Richmond. They talked about the ongoing odors from Republic wafting over the Point, often making people feel nauseous and sometimes prompting other symptoms like sore throats and headaches.

The decomposing material being trucked out is so foul, Doser said, it is being covered with regular garbage at Republic's Pittsburgh facility to cover up the smell.

Republic Services officials said they had a conflict and couldn't be at the PRNC meeting, opting instead to hold the Tuesday community presentation at Kaleidoscope Coffee.

In his PRNC presentation, Doser walked the council and about 30 Point Richmond-area residents through the history of the most recent odor problems from the composting operation at Republic's Parr Road facility.

In July, when the county inspected the composting operation, Doser said they discovered Republic had amassed more than 360,000 cubic yards of composting material - more than 10 times the company's permitted volume of 32,000 cubic yards.

Since then the county has inspected regularly, given Republic several cease and desist orders and is working with the company to clean up its composting operation. In an October visit, inspectors found significant quantities of plastic in the green waste being delivered to the Republic site for composting.

"We don't believe it (the odor) represents a health threat," Doser said. But he admitted some the smells were likely coming from several acidic compounds formed in the composting process.

City of Richmond code enforcement officer Nicole Ewing said the city was late in getting involved, mostly because Point residents were only calling to complain to Bay Area air quality officials - or Republic itself. But since the city joined efforts to clear the air, she said the city has sent out nuisance notices. And she is following up on complaints almost daily.

Ewing urged people to also alert the city anytime there is an odor problem.

Several members of the audience asked about the legal process for revoking Republic's permit to operate if the problem continues.

The officials said that process would likely involve the city planning commission, whatever local enforcement agencies hold the power to revoke and quite possibly the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors.

Written by Michael J. Fitzgerald

That bad smell could be history next week

POINT RICHMOND - Representatives of Republic Services - operators of the Parr Road transfer station and composting facility along Richmond Parkway - promised Tuesday night that within a week the odor that has been fouling the air in Point Richmond and environs should be gone.

Doug Brewer, an environmental manager with the company told a crowd of 30 people at Kaleidoscope Coffee that the company had trucked out nearly all of the sour (and bad-smelling) compost that was responsible for the gagging stench that prompted many dozens of complaints since October.

"We are committed to being good neighbors," Brewer said.

Audience at Kaleidoscope Coffee in Point Richmond

Brewer and Republic staff members said the combination of a wet winter last year and unusually warm fall temperatures combined to create the compost problem, prompting the company - and the urging of the Contra Costa County Health Department - to install an entirely new system of composting using forced air. The former system simply set up rows of composting material.

The new system is about 50 percent complete, he said. "And it knocks out about 90 percent of potential for bad smells."

Responding to complaints, the county had ordered Republic to get rid of the offensive-smelling compost. Most of it has been trucked to a Republic-owned landfill near Pittsburgh with the last of the material due to be trucked this week.

"Saturday, or no later than Monday, it should all be gone," Brewer said.

The audience asked numerous questions about air sampling, the permitting process, and who to complain to if foul odors occur again.

Several Point residents complained that the odor had given them sore throats and headaches.

A number of questions were also asked about the deodorizing agent that Republic has been spraying on the compost in the hopes it would alleviate some of the odor that has wafted across the Point. Several members of the audience were concerned that the deodorizer might be contributing to the odor - maybe making it worse.

The meeting Tuesday night was the second public session Republic sponsored in response to complaints. The first was held Nov. 15 at the Marriott in Hilltop but was attended by only a handful of local residents.

For more information about the Republic Services operation - or to call in a complaint directly to the company - call Bielle Moore, community affairs manager (510-205-4908) or Doug Brewer (510-970-7245). Moore can also be reached by email here: Bielle Moore.

Contra Costa County's Lori Braunesreither at the Department of Health, can be contacted via email here: Lori Braunesreither. 

Written by Michael J. Fitzgerald