From: Dan Zinder
Sent: Wed Sep 16 11:32:21 2020
To: YELTON-BRAM Tiffany
Cc: Gerald Fisher; Dan Huff
Subject: RE: Voice message from WIRELESS CALLER (9717104385) to 5037590226
Importance: Normal
Thanks Tiffany,
I do not have evidence that washwater/wastes are being managed inappropriately. I do believe that this issue is with the transfer itself.
Is the technical advice piece you mentioned something that DEQ would provide to the City or to the company?
Best,
Dan Zinder
503.759.0226
From: YELTON-BRAM Tiffany <Tiffany.YELTON-BRAM@state.or.us>
Sent: Monday, September 14, 2020 1:25 PM
To: Dan Zinder <dzinder@cityofmolalla.com>
Subject: RE: Voice message from WIRELESS CALLER (9717104385) to 5037590226
Hello Dan
The Water Quality program investigated Clinkscales in 2013 after receiving a complaint about how they managed their washwater from cleaning the toilet enclosures. I was part of the investigation and we did not find that they were mismanaging the washwater (it did not go to the ground or run of the property). At the time, the way that they were managing the washwater (discharging it to the city’s sewer system) was appropriate and did not require a DEQ. Permit.
DEQ does require odor control when a facility is under a DEQ water quality permit. I don’t have a tool to use to control occasional odors from the transfer of wastes and wastewater that is otherwise being managed appropriately without need for a DEQ WQ permit. We might be able suggest some alternative techniques to reduce odors (such as investing in tighter fittings on the hoses used to transfer) but it can be very difficult to manage odors from this sort of material.
If they are not managing the washwater and wastes appropriately, I would like to know. Thank you for checking in with me.
Do feel free to call me if you have questions—503 975 0046.
Best wishes,
Tiffany
From: Dan Zinder <dzinder@cityofmolalla.com>
Sent: Monday, September 14, 2020 11:20 AM
To: YELTON-BRAM Tiffany <Tiffany.YELTON-BRAM@deq.state.or.us>
Subject: Re: Voice message from WIRELESS CALLER (9717104385) to 5037590226
I should say affecting the welfare. We haven't had health impact reports yet.
From: Dan Zinder
Sent: Monday, September 14, 2020 11:18:42 AM
To: Tiffany.YELTON-BRAM@deq.state.or.us
Subject: Fw: Voice message from WIRELESS CALLER (9717104385) to 5037590226
Hi Tiffany,
Hope this message finds you and yours well after another wild 2020 curveball.
There is a longer backstory to this inquiry, included in my conversation with Ingrid Gaffney below. The short of it is that there is a facility in Molalla located at 421 W Main Street that has been intermittently releasing strong odors affecting the health of nearby residents. The facility is "Clinkscales Portable Toilets." I believe that the odor are occurring when the facility either pumps in or out of an onsite storage vault.
We've received reports from community members on these odors and I have observed them several times recently. I also suspect that another community dispute has arisen from a citizen mistakenly thinking that these odors are coming from his neighboring properties.
I am currently home due to the fires (thankfully, Molalla's Level 3 evacuation order has been reduced to Level 2 in the past day) and do not have access to the reports but wanted to make initial contact to see if this is something that DEQ WW can mitigate/enforce. In coming days, the City will be making official contact with them regarding our nuisance code on odors as well and perhaps enforcing.
Best,
Dan Zinder
From: GAFFNEY Ingrid <Ingrid.Gaffney@state.or.us>
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2020 10:49 AM
To: Dan Zinder
Subject: RE: Voice message from WIRELESS CALLER (9717104385) to 5037590226
Dan
An update for you: I reached out to DEQ Waste Water manager Tiffany Yelton-Bram and she mentioned that if you should need to contact her about this site you’d be welcome to. DEQ has investigated this site before and Tiffany would have those details. Air Quality does not regulate that type of facility.
Tiffany Yelton-Bram: Tiffany.YELTON-BRAM@deq.state.or.us
Thank you!
Ingrid Gaffney
DEQ NWR Air Quality
Natural Resource Specialist
700 NE Multnomah St, Ste 600
Portland, OR 97232
https://www.oregon.gov/deq/Pages/index.aspx
From: Dan Zinder <dzinder@cityofmolalla.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2020 9:25 AM
To: GAFFNEY Ingrid <Ingrid.Gaffney@deq.state.or.us>
Subject: Re: Voice message from WIRELESS CALLER (9717104385) to 5037590226
Hi Ingrid,
Thanks so much for your call this morning. Gratefully, I am out of the office right now and safe up at home in Oak Grove. Fingers crossed that this change in weather patterns allows the fires to stop advancing. Hope you and yours are safe as well.
Regarding the situation on W 5th ST in Molalla - the other neighbor stopped in our office and vehemently denied burning anything other than debris. To spare a lot of the back and forth, suspect we have a number of unreliable narrators in this situation BUT his visit sparked a new theory.
I assured him that until we identify him as the source no action would come against him and that to date, Molalla Staff has not been able to smell anything actionable from Mr. Dickens' complaints when we arrive.
However, his visit gave rise to an alternate theory. Recently, There have been a number of incidents of strong intermittent smells from a nearby port-a-potty rental facility (see map below) and we have received a recent report regarding them. The events happen when they either pump to or from a vault on the property. I have also smelled events twice independent of this report recently. It is RIPE and could be smelled from as far as the Dickens property, wind pending.
https://goo.gl/maps/3YJ9CwrhCm9bAt3aA
We've discussed the issue with the company before when the same person reported and one of the things they proposed was doing their pumping at off hours, which corresponds with one of Mr. Dickens claims.
Regardless of whether this is what Mr. Dickens has been smelling, the smells from this facility would absolutely be a violation of our code. Is this a facility that would be regulated by DEQ? I do have some documentation at work that I could provide when I return and a more reliable reporter that I could get more data from and give direction to. Let me know what steps would be possible. The City is looking to take action as well and was going to discuss this week... but then this happened.
Stay safe out there!
Best,
Dan Z
From: tel: 9717104385 <non-mail-user@messages.molalla.net>
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2020 8:16:31 AM
To: Dan Zinder
Subject: Fwd: Voice message from WIRELESS CALLER (9717104385) to 5037590226
The attached message was recently left in your voicemail account for 5037590226. We are sending you this email because you have asked for your messages to be forwarded to this address.
The original message is still in your account.