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Private entrepreneur pitches composting operation at county transfer site; commissioners raise permitting, liability questions
Summary
A private applicant proposed using county transfer-station property and county-owned screening equipment to process green waste and compost; commissioners and staff discussed permits, insurance, Ecology rules and operational concerns and took no formal action.
A private entrepreneur asked commissioners for permission to use county property and some county-owned equipment at the transfer station to demonstrate and potentially operate a small-scale composting operation.
The applicant described plans to clean existing brush piles, operate a small screening unit on the county slab and process green waste and food scraps. He said state rules allow small operations under a 250-cubic-yard threshold without a specific permit and offered to demonstrate processes and cleanup at no long-term cost to the county during a pilot phase.
Public-works and planning staff cautioned the board that any formal arrangement would trigger permits, health and Ecology review, insurance requirements and possibly conditional-use permitting. Commissioners and staff emphasized the county would need a thorough permitting and contract process, noting past uses and the need to verify who holds equipment title and how prior grants or site slabs were funded.
No formal lease, permit or county commitment was approved at the meeting; staff and commissioners asked the applicant to provide documentation of the state regulation cited, a clearer business plan and to meet with public works, planning and the health department for a feasibility review. Commissioners said any future agreement would require insurance, permitted operations and likely community and regulatory review before county approval.
