Thurston County environmental health staff announced that more than 6,700,000 pounds of construction and demolition debris were removed this year from wetlands and riverbank areas along the Shalice River after county investigators found contractors had deposited material to attempt to mitigate on-site flooding.

The finding matters because the material — described by program staff as asphalt, concrete and waste soils — had been placed in critical areas where such disposal is not permitted. Kimberly Graham, solid and hazardous waste program supervisor for Thurston County Public Health and Social Services, told the Solid Waste Advisory Committee that the county identified material from three separate construction and demolition projects and that the removal and proper disposal followed enforcement action.

County staff said the incident required multiple regulatory reviews, including critical areas assessments and aquatic permits, and that the permitting process delayed cleanup work. “These were in critical areas,” Graham said. “There had to be critical areas reviews, aquatic permits and all that. Those are very time consuming.”

Investigators documented trucks actively dumping on site during inspections and identified large “barn piles” of asphalt and soils, Graham said. Photos shown to the committee included large mounds of mixed debris and aerial views used to gauge the scale of the problem. Graham said the property owner and contractors were required to remove the material and restore damaged wetlands and riverbank habitat.

Graham told the committee penalties were assessed against responsible contractors. She said the county’s enforcement team had the authority to require removal and to pursue penalties, though she noted property owners sometimes lack funds to cover combined cleanup and permit costs and that contractors often bear those charges in practice. “They all face penalties,” Graham said.

Committee members asked about who pays for cleanup and how frequently the department conducts proactive inspections. Graham said compliance work is primarily complaint-driven and that the solid and hazardous waste unit has roughly four full-time compliance staff. She described the case as unusually complex and said it highlighted the need for both contractor education on proper disposal and potentially expedited permitting assistance for compliance-driven restoration projects.

County staff said the incident also demonstrated a gap in contractor oversight: contracts that required proper waste disposal were not followed. Graham urged contractors and hiring entities to audit work to ensure contractual and environmental protections are followed.

The county indicated the property is in the process of restoring wetlands and riverbank vegetation, and that staff continue to evaluate ways to reduce delays in future cleanup work, including outreach to construction and demolition haulers and exploring options to assist landowners with required permits in enforcement situations.

Ending: Environmental health staff said they will follow up with additional education for haulers and contractors, and they are weighing options to streamline permitting and restoration steps when enforcement cases involve critical areas.