Voices of the Valley
By Sarah Janicki Rutherford
On Aug. 13, an extraordinary thing happened in Sedro-Woolley. Nearly 200 people packed a City Council meeting including high school teachers, the president of the School Board, Spud Walley, Bill Stendal and Al Doorn; all were urging our City Council to listen to the people. The people do not want Deluxe Recycling and Garbage to locate its plant on Jameson Street across from Sedro-Woolley High School.
How did we get to this place where people feel betrayed by their elected officials?
Here is a brief history of the garbage issue. According to the text of a televised presentation before the Board of Skagit County Commissioners on May 22, 2007, Mayor Mike Anderson said of the proposed facility, “It looks like a win-win situation.”
At the same meeting, Commissioners Dahlstedt and Munks pointedly questioned the location of such a facility inside city limits and across from the high school. They also questioned the issue of bringing hazardous waste within the city. Larry McCarter of Deluxe replied that at his Ferndale operation, he just sends the toxic wastes down the road to the county facility. In other words, he will take the profitable part of the waste stream, and leave the expensive part for the county to handle.
The City Council then passed a resolution making a public expression of support of Deluxe locating across from the high school. This resolution was in conflict with a previous resolution made by the council that prohibited solid-waste processing within the city.
Next, the city gave Deluxe a Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance, stating that there were no adverse affects of having the facility across the street from the high school. Deluxe could now proceed with the permit process and did not have to do a full environmental impact statement.
The day after the city gave Deluxe its MDNS, it raised its appeal fee to $1,000. One citizen, Annie Janicki, paid the fee and appealed. The hearing examiner dismissed the evidence of the case as “out of the scope of the hearing” or that the concerns had no adverse effects.
Larry McCarter has been candid about his plans for this facility. He wants a regional facility that will bring in out-of-county waste to be processed. If this isn’t enough to raise red flags, a close reading of the documents shows that there is no limit to the amount of waste that can go in and out of the town. The number of large trucks alone would pollute our air and cause traffic congestion. How could the hearing examiner know that there would be no adverse effects when there is no limit to the number of trucks or tons of garbage processed?
At the Aug. 13 meeting, the council declined to take action on the county’s proposed settlement of the issue. Did council members ignore the pleas of their constituents because Supervisor and City Attorney Eron Berg advised the City Council that if they accepted the settlement, Deluxe would sue the councilmen and their wives personally? Instead of working to find a way out of this situation, Mayor Anderson and Mr. Berg have persistently said that there is nothing that the city can do to stop Deluxe.
Twenty-five years ago, when I played on the Sedro-Woolley High School tennis team, we regularly experienced clouds of sawdust wafting across the courts as it floated across the street from the lumber mill. I still remember the pungent, spicy smell of fresh cut wood and recall the way the dust covered the lines on the court, making it slick. We were used to this orange snow so we considered it a home court advantage.
The city has gone through a lot since then, but I think that it is a better place now. I cannot even imagine how horrible it would be to have the smells and particulate matter of a dump blowing over a high school campus.
I join the people in my town in refusing to allow a dump within city limits. Interviewed by this paper recently, Mr. McCarter said that he knows what is best for us. I beg to differ. We have lived in this town most of our lives. We have a vision of our town that includes hard-working people who want the best for their children and for one another.
Mr. McCarter, show us that you really do care about the people of Sedro-Woolley, and kindly place your garbage and recycling facility in a more appropriate place. Mayor Anderson and Mr. Berg, there is a way out of this quagmire. Please work together with the citizens, the county and your own counsel to help us settle this case.
n Sarah Janicki Rutherford is a teacher in Sedro-Woolley and is the daughter of Annie Janicki.
