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Washington County seeks $4 million to build regional wood‑waste facility as ash‑borer volumes surge
Summary
Washington County commissioners told the House Capital Investment Committee they are requesting $4 million in bonding to acquire a site and build a replicable wood recovery program to handle exploding volumes of wood waste from emerald ash borer and other removals; county officials expect to match funds locally and to produce usable products such
Chair Hansen and Washington County officials told the Capital Investment Committee on April 8 that metro municipalities generated an estimated 550,000 tons of wood waste in 2024 and that the volume is increasing as emerald ash borer kills urban trees.
Commissioner Bethany Cox said counties are running out of disposal options and that tipping fees have risen sharply, forcing tree services and residents to seek alternatives, sometimes including open‑air burning. "Tree service costs are increasing due to this issue and are expected to only continue with the volumes of emerald ash borer waste as the representative shared," Cox said. She said the county’s $4,000,000 bonding request would buy and develop property, secure equipment and stand up a wood recovery program that could be replicated elsewhere.
Why it matters: witnesses said the program would divert wood from burning and landfills, reclaim logs for lumber and convert other material to biochar and soil amendments that can support water‑quality and soil health projects. The county plans to match the state request with $5.5 million in local funds and to make capacity available to neighboring jurisdictions.
Caleb Johnson, from Washington County Public Health and Environment, said the planned site would process more than 30,000 tons of wood and free District Energy capacity for other communities. He said some end products would be used in county water‑quality projects and could be made available for public benefit. "We're planning on going beyond our own county's wood waste footprint to solve this problem to protect our communities and our neighbors," Johnson said.
Ending: Supporters asked for state bonding to act quickly, saying the volume of wood waste is already straining private and public disposal options and that a replicated model would reduce open‑air burning and create beneficial products.
