05/18/2006: "SWAC & Consultants At Work On Solid Waste"

No Plans To Close Dump

No Plans To Close Dump
Taking a hard look at possible solutions, and coming up with some viable options, is the task the SWAC (Solid Waste Advisory Committee ) has now embarked on, and guiding and assisting them will be a team from Norton-Arnold & Company out of Seattle. Norton-Arnold describes itself as a company that "specializes in facilitation, conflict resolution, public involvement, and environmental mediation"; in other words, they are just what SJ County needs, if it is going to make any headway on dealing with solid waste problems in the county, and on San Juan island in particular.

While there has been some general opinion expressed that the existing transfer station on San Juan could be "closed at anytime", that opinion is not shared by the SJC Health Department if needed modifications and repairs are made to it. SJC Health is the lead agency that rules on approval of permitting and operation of landfills and transfer stations in SJ County. If Public Works, who runs the transfer station is unwilling, or unable, to maintain the facility at the level necessary to meet required standards, then while it is possible it would be closed, at the present time there are no plans or enforcement actions pending that are expected to close the dump. This gives SWAC time to come up with preferred options of dealing with garbage, and then forward those recommendations to the County Council for action.

The SWAC is a longstanding volunteer citizens group appointed by the County to review, plan and advise the County on all matters relating to solid waste -which most of us still refer to as "garbage". As the population of the county continues to grow, so does the amount of garbage, and as the number of regulations, and the enforcement of those regulations continue to increase, so then do the problems of solid waste disposal.

The first of six new meetings designed to come up with acceptable solutions was attended last week by all three members of the County Council, who, with the exception of Councilman Ranker, seemed content to observe and listen; a number of members of the public; Matt Zybas from Public Works; the SWAC members, and a new team of facilitators from Seattle. it quickly became obvious the team was very experienced and practiced in dealing with committees, and also with those pain-in-the-butt citizens that ask questions, point out contradictions in government policy, and challenge statements; all of which government officials would sometimes just as soon were not part of the discussion. What was equally obvious, and came as a bit of a surprise to some in the room, was the willingness of the facilitator to include those members of the public in the process, and as a result, topics important to the public were on the table for discussion.

Since the first of the scheduled six meetings was held on San Juan Island, the topic of the transfer station was a focal point of discussion, and the beginning of a listing of possible options was engaged in by the combined efforts of the group. While there was a fair amount of talk about what would happen if the SJ Transfer Station were to be closed, the main trust of the discussion was "what does the community want", and what are the truly viable options available, given the restraint of money and regulations.

Should the County build a new transfer station or not, and if not, does the community continue to use the existing one, or should garbage be shipped to one of the other islands, or taken directly to the mainland, by either public or private haulers, were some of areas the discussion drifted back-and-forth between, and are expected to be expanded on at the next meeting.