DEPARTMENT: Office of Sustainability
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Douglas Melnick, Chief Sustainability Officer AICP CNU-A
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-Wide
SUBJECT:
Coal Tar Sealants
SUMMARY:
Briefing and possible action on a request from District 8, Councilmember Ron Nirenberg to consider a prohibition on coal tar based sealants.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On November 18, 2014, Councilman Nirenberg submitted a Council Consideration Request to consider a prohibition on coal tar based sealants. Coal tar sealant is the black liquid sprayed or painted on many parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds. Coal tar contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are known cancer causing chemicals. Since 2005, fifteen municipalities and two counties within four states (Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin), the District of Columbia, the States of Washington and Minnesota all have enacted some type of ban, affecting almost 10.4 million people. Several national and regional hardware and home-improvement retailers have voluntarily ceased selling coal tar based driveway sealer products. The US Geological Survey conducted a study in 2007-2009 in San Antonio and PAHs were detected in samples from the Leon Creek and San Antonio watersheds. The November 2015 "San Antonio and Fair Oaks Ranch Water Policy Analysis" provided a sample of positive and negative references concerning a coal tar sealant ban and recommended the City of San Antonio review available research to determine if coal tar sealants provide a threat to water quality, and if regulating the use of such materials would minimize risk to contamination.
ISSUE:
This item is in response to a Council Consideration Request submitted by Councilman Nirenberg to consider a prohibition on coal tar sealants.
City staff from the Office of Sustainability, Health, Transportation & Capital Improvements, Development Services, in coordination with the San Antonio Water System, E...
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