Neighbors fear potential waste site will harm area
KITTITAS COUNTY, Wash. -- Breathing fresh air is what neighbors love here in Kittitas County. Being able to enjoy the beautiful scenery is what pulled Douglas Philbrick to the area.
"One of the reason why I moved here was so I can go out in the middle of the night on my porch and see all the milky way and constellations," said Douglas.
But neighbors fear if a facility, PacifiClean gets their permit approved to process organic wastes, it will harm the area. If the permit is approved, 160,000 tons of organic waste and 64,000 tons of finished compost will be processed a year at a site located on Thorp Prairie Road. Some of the wastes include yard debris, food waste, and bio-solids.
Neighbors that live just two miles away from the potential waste site were worried about hazardous conditions and health conditions that could affect them.
"When they're turning these piles they have the potential to spontaneously combust and if they do, just over the till there won't be any time for response for fire people to get here," said Douglas.
KIMA asked Larry Condon from PacifiClean what they had to say about residents concerned about health issues.
"There's regulations we have to abide by state and county which of course this facility will abide by all of those," said Larry.
80 percent of the organic wastes would come from King and Snohomish Counties. Larry said the climate in Kittitas County made controlling the input on compost easier.
“There is organics being produced no matter what, where it goes,” said Larry. “The key is to figure out how to process it in a beneficial manner."
The County is reviewing the application to approve the land-use permit which could take months.
"One of the reason why I moved here was so I can go out in the middle of the night on my porch and see all the milky way and constellations," said Douglas.
But neighbors fear if a facility, PacifiClean gets their permit approved to process organic wastes, it will harm the area. If the permit is approved, 160,000 tons of organic waste and 64,000 tons of finished compost will be processed a year at a site located on Thorp Prairie Road. Some of the wastes include yard debris, food waste, and bio-solids.
Neighbors that live just two miles away from the potential waste site were worried about hazardous conditions and health conditions that could affect them.
"When they're turning these piles they have the potential to spontaneously combust and if they do, just over the till there won't be any time for response for fire people to get here," said Douglas.
KIMA asked Larry Condon from PacifiClean what they had to say about residents concerned about health issues.
"There's regulations we have to abide by state and county which of course this facility will abide by all of those," said Larry.
80 percent of the organic wastes would come from King and Snohomish Counties. Larry said the climate in Kittitas County made controlling the input on compost easier.
“There is organics being produced no matter what, where it goes,” said Larry. “The key is to figure out how to process it in a beneficial manner."
The County is reviewing the application to approve the land-use permit which could take months.
The community of Sunlight Waters is a MILE AND A HALF, NOT TWO, downwind from the proposed site. We can actually see part of it, and the wind normally blows from there to here.
Let's be clear when talking about the proposed content of the "feed stock" they intend using: BIO SOLIDS is a nice name for SEWAGE. ORGANIC WASTE is a nice name for GARBAGE. Would you like to smell 50 to 140 truck loads of this per day at your house?Â
I also moved here for the quality of the air, because I have a medical condition called Sarcoidosis which is similar to Emphysema. Dust and strong odors make my lungs "close down". If this proposed garbage/sewage composting plant is built here, everyone who lives here will be forced out.
PACIFICLEAN, YOU ARE NOT WANTED AT ELK HEIGHTS!!!Â
We live about a mile (as the crow flies) from the proposed site. Â Our concern... that our special needs daughter who had her Make A Wish granted last June will not be able to use her Swim Spa due to the toxic smells and health risks of her inhaling them. Â In the article in the Ellensburg Daily record Pacificlean stated they didn't want to be where they weren't wanted... well...... YOU ARE NOT WANTED AT ELK HEIGHTS!!! Â
https://www.facebook.com/groups/StopPacificleanElkHeights/
The rules mean nothing. They can not compost out :hormones, antibiotics,prions, heavy metals, chemotheraphy drugs, . They just need a place to dump their junk. King County says they will dump 210,000 tons of human waste in Yakima and Douglas County this year. It is not safe. Yakima County is already the "Toilet bowl of the state with 215,000 cows polluting the land, air and water. Now lets add human poop.