County tightens dumping rules

TWIN LAKES, Idaho – Conversation at the Twin Lakes dump started out polite Tuesday afternoon but ended up with Kootenai County Commissioner Gus Johnson possibly losing a vote for office and getting stung by a yellow jacket.

“Who are you?” a man in a Cobra roofing truck with Washington plates yelled after Johnson scolded him for illegally tossing out-of-state garbage from a business in the Twin Lakes dump.

The man waved an Idaho driver’s license at Johnson, arguing that he was dumping household trash from his Coeur d’Alene home. Johnson stuck his head in the green Dumpster and saw a clear garbage bag filled with roofing remains.

“From now on you aren’t going to be able to do this,” Johnson said.

The man slammed his truck door. “You aren’t going to get my vote,” he said out the window.

Starting Sept. 2, Kootenai County will stop every person who visits the Twin Lakes, Garwood and Athol dumps to make sure they are Kootenai County residents and that their garbage is acceptable. Out-of-staters who don’t have proof they own a home in Kootenai County and pay the $84 annual landfill fee will be sent away. People with appliances, brush, chemicals and other things not allowed in the rural dumps must go to the Ramsey Road transfer station.

Spending $85,000 plus benefits to hire five new employees to guard the three rural dumps is just the beginning of the county’s new plan for managing dumping.

The commission said too many people are abusing the county’s 17 rural dump sites by dumping appliances, brush or hazardous chemicals, all things county residents can dispose of for free at the Ramsey Road transfer site. Local businesses are charged $61 per ton.

Washington companies dumping at Kootenai County’s rural sites to avoid Spokane’s commercial fees for waste disposal also are a large problem, as are Bonner County residents who often drive south to dump in Kootenai County. That means Kootenai County taxpayers are footing the bill for these folks.

The three northern dump sites will be gated and open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Surveillance cameras will tape people who toss trash outside the fence when the sites are closed and the county plans to track down violators.

The county also plans to close the Cougar Gulch dump about four miles south of Coeur d’Alene in September. Eventually Solid Waste Director Roger Saterfiel said the county will consolidate the 17 rural sites and may leave only five dumps open.

“We’re hoping this is a wake-up call,” Saterfiel said, while swatting at bees.

He said people should be upset at the illegal dumpers, not the county’s new rules.

“You should be mad you are paying for Washington businesses,” Saterfiel said. “We are just trying to help. We aren’t the enemy.”

Johnson, Commissioner Rick Currie and Spirit Lake Mayor Roxy Martin spent an hour at the dump between Rathdrum and Spirit Lake with solid waste officials to see the extent of the abuse.

Most of the cars and trucks that pulled into the Twin Lakes site had Washington plates.

One Washington woman proudly handed Currie the tax bill for her Kootenai County lake home.

“I’m ready for you,” she said.

Currie said most people aren’t that prepared.

Out-of-state residents who own homes in Kootenai County will have to get a tag from the Ramsey Road transfer station to show dump attendants at the three rural sites.

The county also plans to open a new transfer station north of Post Falls in two years. The county recently bought 67 acres near the corner of Pleasantview Road and Prairie Avenue. Saterfiel said it’s unknown how much it will cost to develop the transfer station but that taxes won’t go up because the money comes from the county landfill fee.

With Kootenai County’s population growth, Saterfiel said, there’s been an 18 percent growth in the amount of waste coming through the system. The county needs to manage garbage collection better, by making sure things are recycled, so the landfill near Fighting Creek doesn’t fill up too soon. The county is planning a landfill expansion that would extent its life span to 2018.

For more information about the county’s new management policy, call 446-1430.