CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Adopt the resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the intergovernmental agreement between the City of Naperville and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to continue the operation and management of a long term household hazardous waste facility
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DEPARTMENT: Department of Public Works
SUBMITTED BY: Richard Dublinski, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
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BACKGROUND:
The City currently has funding agreements in place with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), DuPage County, Will County, Kane County and the City of Aurora for the regional Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) program. The HHW program is operated at the Environmental Campus on Fort Hill Drive in Naperville. The facility was originally permitted in 1992, at a different location, in cooperation with the IEPA as the first permanent Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off in the State of Illinois. The City and its funding partners (DuPage County, Will County, Kane County, and the City of Aurora) are responsible for facility operational costs, the City is responsible for capital costs, and the IEPA is responsible for hiring a contractor to pick up, transport, and dispose of the HHW collected.
On June 22, 2018 the City of Naperville and the IEPA entered into a new five-year Intergovernmental Agreement effective from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023. On August 15, 2023 the City Council approved an Interim Intergovernmental Agreement. As provided for in the Interim Agreement, the City Manager approved an extension to extend the Agreement to September 4, 2024 since the IEPA was in the process of bidding for a new contractor agreement for the disposal of HHW.
At the same time the 2018 Intergovernmental Agreement began, the IEPA began assigning a funding cap for how much they would spend for the collection and disposal of HHW at each of the HHW facilities within the state, including the Naperville facility. This was the first time that the IEPA imposed a cap on the amount of funds that it would provide for household hazardous waste collection and disposal. Staff worked with the IEPA to monitor disposal costs at the facility to ensure we stayed within the cap. After the 2018 state fiscal year, the funding cap was not discussed again until negotiations for the current Intergovernmental Agreement began at which time the IEPA formally introduced a provision in the Agreement providing for a Maximum Payment Amount (“MPA”) that the IEPA will fund to hire a contractor to collect and dispose of HHW from the Naperville facility. The IEPA has advised that all permanent HHW facilities in the state will be subject to an assigned MPA. The Agreement gives the City the means, if needed, to control how much HHW is collected at the Naperville HHW facility so we can stay within the MPA.
DISCUSSION:
The proposed 5-year HHW Intergovernmental Agreement with the IEPA, which will be in effect from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029, is substantially similar to the existing agreement with the following notable changes:
Maximum Payment Amount: According to IEPA records, the amount the IEPA paid for collection and disposal of HHW waste from the Naperville HHW facility for state FY 2024 was $480,238. Due to the significantly increased cost of disposal under the IEPA’s new disposal contract, the IEPA has assigned a Maximum Payment Amount for the Naperville HHW facility of $950,871 which it anticipates will be enough to collect the same amount of HHW from the facility for state FY 2025 as was collected from the facility in state FY 2024.
City staff will continue to monitor disposal expenses at the HHW facility and will work closely with its funding partners and the IEPA to continue to look for ways to control costs at the facility to ensure that the Maximum Payment Amount established by the IEPA is not exceeded.
Collection of Pharmaceuticals. With the IEPA’s new contractor agreement for the collection and disposal of HHW, the IEPA is no longer including pharmaceuticals in the list of materials for which it provides disposal services given that the pharmaceutical industry is now required by law to operate an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for drug takebacks. While the HHW site is no longer permitted to accept pharmaceuticals for disposal, individuals may continue to take their unused pharmaceutical medications to any Naperville Fire Station or the Police Station for disposal.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The City’s 2024 annual budget for household hazardous waste (HHW) operations is approximately $250,000 for staffing the HHW program and maintenance of the HHW facility. The City’s funding partners contribute $160,000 annually toward operational costs of the Facility.