Letter to the Editor: Sutton Road choice "reprehensible"

Dear Editor and County Commissioners,

I am incredulous and dismayed to learn of the County Council’s recent vote to site the San Juan transfer station on inadequate and contaminated property.  While most Orcas residents may be unaware of the situation, this siting decision affects us all.

We funded a lengthy (2 year) and expensive ($500,000) research process to determine which transfer site best meets our present and future needs, and the choice became clear. The Solid Waste Citizen Advisory Committee and our Public Works Department recommended that the transfer station be located on the Beaverton Valley Road site.

But last week the County Council (with Gene Knapp as the deciding vote in favor, Richard Fralick the sole dissenting vote and Bob Myhr absent) ignored all research and recommendations, and voted to site the new transfer station and county workers on the Sutton Road site.

This site is owned by the town of Friday Harbor, which has been ordered by our County (!) Health Department to place it on the Department of Ecology’s Confirmed or Suspected Hazardous Sites List.

That’s because the Sutton site has an unlined landfill leaking vinyl chloride, a carcinogen. The DOE listing will trigger an investigation into the extent of contamination at the site.

Knowing all this, Commissioners voted last week to attempt to negotiate the lease or purchase of the Sutton property within the month. The County, against all recommendations and expert advice, is rushing to buy this inadequate, contaminated site, which severely limits future waste reduction programs and eliminates any future co-siting efficiencies with Public Works.

“Wait a minute!” you say?  Me too!  County Commissioners, please stop now, before you actually take this reprehensible action in our names and with our money.  Citizens, speak up!

Susan Malins