Office of the Superintendent of Schools MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Rockville, Maryland August 8, 2018 ‘MEMORANDUM To: Members ofthe Board of Education From: Jack R. Smith, Superintendent of Subject: Disposal of the Old Artificial Turf Field at Richard Montgomery High School Introduction to Board Member Ji o Superintendent of Schoo Ortman-Fouse’s July 24, 2018, memorandum lack R. Smith, [am following up on a number of social media posts and correspondence we have received regarding the removal of the Richard! Montgomery High School (Richard Montgomery) artificial turf field and its replacement. Several photos were posted that showed crumb rubber infill on lots and beside drains, as well as an uncovered turf system in a large dumpster and being hauled away by atruck, It seems that tere may be a lack of full understanding about what occured in this ease, and what should have occurred, whenever artificial turf fields are replaced, especially in terms of protecting the envirorment and contractor responsibility for earful handling of the materials \hich contains chemical | would appreciate your response tothe following questions related to the disposal of the artificial turf field at Richard Montgomery the week of July 16 to July 20,2018. Response ‘The artificial turf feld ct Richard Montgomery isthe first artificial turf field replacement that Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has conducted. We understand the community's interest in the project implementation, and we have added information about the field replacement to the information the MCPS Artifical Turf Fields Program wich page. Dr. Zuckerman made 1 statement regarding the artificial turf replacement project at Richard Montgomery during the July 30, 2018, Board meeting, ‘The following responses provide additional details. Question 1 ‘What was the composition ofthe old artificial turf field, and what is the composition of the new field? What isthe compestion ofthe Somerset Elementary School field that has started to split?‘Members ofthe Board of Education 2 August 8, 2018 Response 1 Information about field composition is available on the MCPS Allletics webpage, ‘The previous artificial turf field at Richard Montgomery High School was a FieldTurt system utilizing a crumb rubber infill mixture. The composition of the new field is a Sprinurt system utilizing a clinopiloite zeoltesand infill mixture. The Somerset Elementary School recess and outdoor play area is a FieldTurf installation utilizing @ cork/sand infill mixture. (Our review of the Somerset Flementary School play space indicates that the area is in good ‘condition. There are no reported problems. Question 2 ‘What are the exact steps involved inthe disposal of the above? Is there a written plan that controls the disposal process? Response 2 ‘The process to remove an artificial turf field begins with seam removal, continues with rolling the individual segments ofthe field into bundles, and then the materials are loaded onto a flatbed trailer for transport. Inthe case ofthe Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field, both ‘the carpet and the ingill mixture were removed together to accommodate the reuse and repurposing (of the overall system, Construction waste maragement plans are a requirement of all MCPS projects. Construction \waste management focuses both on minimizing the ereation of construction waste on job sites ‘and on minimizing the amount of waste sent to landfills through the identification of recyelable and salvageable materials. Contractors on MCPS construction sites are required to follow all guidelines and regulrions for managing sediment and runoff during construction. In addition to waste management plans, MCPS project documents also include requirements and standards {or cleanliness of project sites upon completion of projects, Question 3 It would appear that a Jot of the run off was ereated from the large rain events that occurred during the disposal process. What isthe plan for rain events that occur during disposal? Is there arain plan? IF thee is ain plan, was tis plan followed? How do we ensure that all of the pellets are captured and do not go into fields or waterways? How do we ensure that all the infill that went {nto the storm drains is retrieved? Response 3 ‘The plan for ran events during an active construction project includes protection of storm drains and outlets, isolating areas that may contribute to run off, and cleaning or sweeping any residueMembers of the Board of Education 3 August 8, 2018 and debris, These measares were followed at the Richard Montgomery High School project site prior to and following the significant rain event. At Richard Montgomery High School, contractors used a commercial street sweeper in tandem with a skid-steer sweeper to clean the atea surrounding the drains; installed filter socks placed in col around drains; and placed straw bales adjacent to the remaining rolls of turf surface. Staff inspected manholes and storm drain outfalls during the initial storm event to observe the system operation. There was no evidence that any remaining debris was circumventing the established protections The site also was inspected by the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE); a copy of the interim report is atached. This review confirmed that there was no evidence of erumb rubber in the drain system outfall ori the waterway. MDE will continue to monitor the site during the remainder ofthe project and a final review of the storm system will accu in coordination with local and state environmental agencies at the conclusion ofthe construction project. Question 4 ‘Staff shared tha the ston water management system under the surface at Richard Montgomery is designed to contain debris within the system to allow for thorough, periodic cleaning. In 2008, paper was writen, Evaluation of MASWRC Sample Collection, Sample Analysis, and Data ‘vals, ona new type of filtration system that was installed at Richard Montgomery: ‘The Mid-Atlantic Stormwater Research Center (MASWRO) also located in Mount ‘Airy, MD is coniueting the field testing of the BaySeparator™ and BayFilter™ 4a treatment train at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, MD (site). ‘The field data being collected will be used for approval of the BaySeparator™ and BayFilter™, as stormwater treatment devices, under the Tier II protocol developed by the Technology Acceptance and Reciprocity Partnership (TARP), ‘The University of Maryland (UMD) is serving as an independent third party, auditing laboratory analysis and sampling methods, and evaluating the accuracy ‘of the data reporting. In this project, UMD is evaluating the sampling, testing, ‘and data being reported on three water quality constituents, suspended sediment, total phosphorus, and turbidity. UMD involvement began in June 2008 and continued for aprroximately 6 months, encompassing 17 qualified storm events. Have there heen subsequent stidies that can confirm that this filtration system is sufficient to remove erumb rubber” Response 4 ‘The Richard Montgomery High School stormivater management system is known asthe BaySaver system, This system is intended to remove both sediment that sinks as well as sediment that floats. The BaySaver system is designed to remove oil and grease through the fundamental principles of hydrodynamic separation. To our knowledge, there ate no studies pertaining specifically