Skagit County is taking Skagit Hill Recycling to court Friday in an attempt to shut down the operations of the construction-debris recycling business north of Sedro-Woolley on Highway 9.

The hearing in Snohomish County Superior Court follows the $46,000 fine the state Department of Ecology imposed on Skagit Hill last week for what the state alleged is an illegally stored 70-foot-high pile of ash and other material.

Friday’s hearing will determine whether the facility can continue to operate while the court resolves permit disputes between Skagit Hill and Skagit County.

The County alleges that owner Scott Waldal does not have a permit to handle the construction material he is storing there, only inert material considered to be non-toxic.

The Skagit County Department of Health has conducted several inspections and found that the material is leaching heavy metals into the ground and water.

The recycling facility has been at odds with the state, the county, its neighbors and the former owner of the property.

A central issue in the dispute is the pile of ash that originated at Sierra Pacific’s Burlington mill. Ecology had the material tested and found that ash contains arsenic, lead, zinc and other heavy metals.

The facility’s closest neighbor have complained of layers of ash that have been accumulating on their cars and house, and even inside their home.

Justin Martinez, who lives with his wife and child in the house about 50 yards from the ash pile, said he realized the problems of living so close to the facility this summer.

On particularly warm days, the couple has noticed their child would have black smudges on his face and all over his clothes, Martinez said. They also found the wind had blown soot into the house.

“It was completely black,” Martinez said. “His (the boy’s) socks were black. It came in so thick, it was piled up in the windows.”

Martinez said Waldal has been unresponsive to his requests to cover or wet the pile of ash to keep it from blowing onto his property.

Among the aggrieved parties is John Diamond, who has been Waldal’s mortgage holder and landlord.

Diamond said Waldal has missed mortgage and rent payments and damaged his rental property extensively. Diamond said he once believed Waldal was the man to start a recycling facility for construction debris in Skagit County.

“This is somebody I thought I could trust,” Diamond said. “We need a really good recycle center. He has the potential to do it.”

During an interview Wednesday, Diamond walked around the land he once rented to Skagit Hill. Diamond has evicted Waldal from the rental property for missing payments.

Friday’s litigation encompasses unpaid fines, permit violations and the pile of ash, said Arne Denny, a prosecutor for Skagit County.

The county is asking for a judge to halt activity at the site until Skagit Hill obtains the proper permits to handle non-inert material.

Denny said Skagit Hill bought property where the handling of non-toxic material was permissible, but the ash and some construction materials found on the site contain chemicals that can leach into the water table.

He said the property had a permit allowing recycling of non-toxic materials when Waldal bought the land in 2006.

“It’s an inert waste landfill permit,” Denny said. “It’s kind of hard to have some sympathy for Skagit Hill Recycling. They should have checked to see what the allowed use of the property is.”

Denny explained these various issues have Skagit Hill tangled in multiple legal cases with Skagit County, Ecology, Diamond and multiple banks.

Diamond said Waldal has continued operating by multiple appeals of county or state orders.

He said this is standard practice for Waldal. He said the owner never returns calls and responds to any complaints with counter-complaints and appeals.

“This thing is just getting out of hand,” Diamond said.

n Aaron Burkhalter can be reached at 360-416-2141 or aburkhalter@skagitpub lishing.com.