Central District Health steps back; DEQ poised to assume inspections of transfer sites, legislation expected
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Summary
Commissioners heard a Central District Health update that the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality will take on inspections of municipal and nonmunicipal solid-waste transfer sites after Central District Health declined to continue inspections; the shift may be formalized by pending legislation and raises questions about inspection capacity.
A county official attending Central District Health reported Oct. 22 that Central District Health has issued a notice that it will stop inspecting certain solid-waste transfer sites after the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) indicated it must assume inspection responsibility statewide.
The presenter told commissioners that DEQ sought Central District Health to inspect both municipal and nonmunicipal solid-waste transfer sites but that the local agency lacked the technical expertise for specialized waste types such as petroleum sludge and some composting operations. Central District Health responded with a cease letter that ended its inspections of county transfer sites. The Idaho solid-waste industry group has since moved forward with legislation that would place sole inspection authority for these transfer sites with DEQ.
Staff said that at present no single agency is consistently inspecting some of the specialized transfer-site operations because DEQ has told local partners it lacks the staff or funding to cover all inspections. The county representative said they are tracking the situation and will monitor the legislative session to see whether the proposed statutory changes proceed and how inspection frequency and funding will be resolved.
Commissioners raised questions about whether DEQ will have sufficient staff and funding to implement statewide inspections and whether technical inspection requirements will be met for specialized waste streams. The county representative said they have been in contact with DEQ staff and expect the issue to be clarified during the legislative season.
No formal county action was taken; commissioners flagged this as a matter requiring follow-up and coordination with state agencies and regional partners.