07/28/2008: "SJI Transfer Station EIS Released"

The 266 page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the San Juan Island Transfer Station Replacement Project will be released -drum roll please- at approximately 11 a.m. at the regular Monday Council/Staff Work Session Meeting of the San Juan County Council.

The release is being called “a landmark in the process begun by the County Council in 2006 when it tasked the Public Works Department and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, a citizen’s committee appointed by the Council, with studying the replacement of the current transfer station.”

The existing site currently does not meet health and safety codes after the cover over the dumping area was removed, and not replaced.

Beginning at 11 a.m. on July 28th the DEIS document will publicly available for download in “pdf” format from the County’s website at: www.sanjuanco.com/deis.aspx . Beginning at approximately noon, the electronic file will also be available free of charge on compact disk at the front desk of the Community Development and Planning Office (CDP) , 135 Rhone St. in Friday Harbor. Hard copies may be purchased at the CDP office for the $39.90 cost of printing and binding (15 cents per page).

Review copies will be available in Friday Harbor at:
• San Juan Island Public Library, 1010 Guard Street
• SJC Public Works Department, 915 Spring Street
• SJC Community Deveopment & Planning Dept, 135 Rhone St.

The draft document contains the results of studies on the potential impacts of locating an expanded solid waste transfer facility on each of five potential sites on San Juan Island, including the current site on Sutton Road and of taking no action at all. Because of the size of the project, said Utility Manager Ed Hale, state law required that alternative sites be considered. (More information is available on the County Website www.sanjuanco.com.)

The County has scheduled two Informational meetings, August 7 and August 28, to answer questions about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. A Public Hearing to receive oral comments on the DEIS will be held on September 4. Written comments may be submitted at any time prior to September 12.

The San Juan County Public Works Department and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee -a citizens committee- will utilize the DEIS and citizen input to make its site recommendation to the County Council. The Council is expected to make the final site selection decision in January 2009.

Complete information on the informational events, and how and where to submit comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, is attached and also available on the Transfer Station Project’s section of the County’s web site.