By John Henderer, The Chronicle , 10/6/98
A nine-member citizen subcommittee will study whether Lewis County could feasibly assume regulation and permitting of biosolids application in the county.
Biosolids, also called sludge, consist of treated human sewage from municipal wastewater plants.
The Lewis County Board of Health, which is made up of the county commission, voted 2-0 Monday to create the group, a subcommittee to the county Public Health Advisory Committee.
Commissioner Richard Graham was absent. Commissioners Glenn Aldrich and Russ Wigley favored the review.
Each commissioner will appoint three members to the subcommittee.
Those members may come from anywhere in the county.
The subcommittee must report back to the county by Dec. 7 with a recommendation.
A Cinebar biosolids operator, Fire Mountain Farms, avoided the potential revocation of its county permit last month by applying to the state Department of Ecology for a permit.
Fire Mountain owner Bob Thode's request effectively ended a public hearing before a hearings examiner to review complaints regarding his application site near Highway 508, about a mile east of Interstate 5.
Thode and opponents of the operation expressed frustration over not having the opportunity to explain their side of the story before the hearings examiner.
Jim Goode, county environmental services manager, said the county can regulate biosolids more strictly than Ecology.
Goode characterized the county's concerns as a public health issue.
"There's still a risk to human health," he said of treated sewage, sometimes called sludge. "It's still a product of sewage."
Goode said the county has discovered E. coli bacteria present at Thode's biosolids site.
"When I can go to a site and find E. coli, I have a concern;' he said.
Citizens attending the meeting urged commissioners to have greater resolve to address concerns about biosolids.
In other action Monday, commissioners:
- Approved property transfers from classified forest into open space timber classification for 17 property owners, comprising 255 acres, and three transfers of property from open space farm and agriculture to forest land classification for three owners comprising 16 acres.
- Accepted an $8,000 bid for modifications to the cold mix bin at the county's Ethel shop.
- Accepted an $86,600 bid from Dulin Construction Inc. of Centralia to provide road maintenance sand at various locations in the county. Dulin was the lowest among five bidders.
John Henderer covers county government and environmental issues for The Chronicle. He can be reached by E-mail at jhenderer@chronline.com or by calling 807-8239.
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