05/21/2007: "New SJI Transfer Station Or Fix Existing?"

Having reviewed a possible list of criteria to be used in selecting a new site for a transfer station on San Juan Island, the SWAC (Solid Waste Advisory Committee) will meet Monday, May 21, (Mullis Fire Station, 11:45 to 1:45) to determine the final list of criterion for the selection process.

Once this “check list” has been established, and with the start of a “scoping” process by the County, the rating and -perhaps- selection of the best site for a transfer station will begin. This is the next step in what may be a long, and perhaps legally contested, attempt by the County to build a new transfer station in a new location.

The contested part may result not from building a new dump, but from any proposal to move it to some location other than where it is, and has been, for decades. Needless to say, property owners are unlikely to have purchased property in a neighborhood if they had known the County would decide to place a garbage and recycling center next to them; hence the forecast of possible legal action from those who live near sites that have already been looked at as potential locations for development into a transfer station.

With respect to environment questions, the planning and permitting process has two start-up parts: the Determination of Significance (DS) by the County that an environmental review or the project is required, and the content of the draft statement of what the environment impacts (the EIS) of the project will be, and how, or if, impacts of the proposal can be mitigated. The purpose of the EIS is to attempt to avoid negative impacts before they occur, so that potential impacts can be avoided. A current example of the need for such reviews is land currently owned by Public Works that has been investigated by both CD&PD and DOE to determine if storm water permits were required to store uncovered earth and material on the site. The site is one that has been identified as a possible site for a transfer station.

The so called “scoping” process is simply a thirty day period within which public comment is solicited on what are the potential, or real, impacts to the environment if a proposal is allowed to be developed on a particular site. The input from the public and from the County will be used in drafting the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) that will, in turn, be available for public comment.

There are five basic areas that are required to be addressed by the EIS:

1) Are there potential adverse significant environmental impacts?
2) Are there insignificant environmental impacts that can be removed from the EIS?
3) Are there reasonable alternatives to the proposal?
4) Are there adverse impacts that can be mitigate?
5) Are there permits, licenses or other approvals required for the project?

The period to submit comments will begin on May 23, and will run for thirty days. On Wednesday, The Island Guardian will run the notice, and additional background information, about the proposal, and the Determination Of Significance that has been made by the CD&PD (Community Development & Planning Department).

The schedule of events and the relevant dates are as follows:

May 23, 2007 -- Determination of Significance (DS) and Scoping Notice officially opened
21-day public comment period on the DS starts
30-day public comment period on the scope of the EIS starts

June 13, 2007 -- The public comment period on the DS closes

June 14, 2007 – The appeals period on the DS opens

June 19, 2007 -- Public Scoping meeting from 6-8 pm at the Mullis Community Center

June 22, 2007 – The public comment period on the scope of the EIS closes

July 5, 2007 – The appeals period on the DS closes