Caton Landfill appeals operating permit denial, refuses to shut down

Despite being denied an operating permit, owners of the Caton Landfill north of Naches refuse to shut down.

Landfill Manager Randy Caton said he’s appealing the decision and that state law allows him to continue to operate during the appeal process.

“This is a dispute over documents and there is absolutely no concern about any adverse impact from the operation of the landfill,” Caton said in a statement.

But the lead permitting agency, the Yakima County Health District, disagrees, saying the landfill is not protected by the Washington Administrative Code that Caton is citing.

This isn’t the only private landfill denied a permit renewal recently. DTG Recycle on Rocky Top west of Yakima also was denied a renewal of its landfill operating permit. Permits for both companies expired June 30.

The health district cited several regulatory compliance issues for the denials.

Caton, however, is the only one refusing to shut down until permitting issues are resolved.

Caton said his landfill accepts much waste from areas outside Yakima County and that it’s been recycling material at its facility for years.

The law, WAC 173-350-710(7)(c), says solid waste recycling facilities that accept waste from communities outside the county in which they are located can remain open during an appeal process unless they “pose a very probable threat to human health or the environment.”

Caton says there are no threats to public health or the environment.

“None of their documents show a threat to human life or health,” he said. “We tried to sit down with them and go over it item by item. The health district doesn’t know anything about solid waste.”

Shawn Magee, the health district’s director of environmental health, said the landfill is in violation of other permitting agency regulations and that Caton is recycling without a permit.

“They do not qualify as a solid waste recycling facility,” Magee said. “They are a limited-purpose landfill.”

Limited-purpose landfills typically are allowed to accept construction and demolition waste among other items, but not municipal waste.

Magee said his office will have discussions with other regulators involved — the state Department of Ecology and the Yakima Clean Air Agency — to see what steps to take next. The goal is to get the companies back in operation and following the rules.

The health district expects to hold a hearing for Caton’s appeal within the next three weeks, Magee said.

Caton’s denial

This isn’t the first time Caton has faced a shutdown. In December, the facility’s operating permit was suspended after a series of fires in a disposal cell.

Air monitors were set up and a landfill fire consultant was brought in to investigate the cause. About a month later, the landfill was allowed to resume operations.

The landfill was required to develop a safety and fire response plan.

The plan was cited as one of the reasons for the renewal denial. The health district said the plan lacked standard operating procedures for emission monitoring when smoke and steam are detected and a requirement to contact the health district within 30 minutes of such an event.

“YHD must assure that if these procedures are approved that the data provided can be relied on with quality control assurance. The safety and fire plan is not approved,” the letter said.

The health district also took issue with the landfill’s clean air permit with the Yakima Clean Air Agency, which says the landfill is out of compliance.

The denial letter said gas monitoring sites are not shown in a site plan, and quarterly report requirements and a list of specific pollutants are not described in the air-monitoring plan.

Caton said a fire consultant blamed the fire on his landfill’s operating manual that was devised by regulators.

Additionally, the landfill has a fill area located outside the area defined by its conditional use permit issued by the county’s planning department, the denial letter said.

Caton said “the county’s land use is out of whack.”

Caton in his two-page statement said it was strange that the health district denied permit renewals for two private landfills after the county’s landfill has increased tipping fees by nearly 10%.

In his statement, he said the cost of disposing concrete is $12 a cubic yard at Caton Landfill while it costs $85.50 at the county landfill.

County Solid Waste Manager Karma Suchan said the county would rather see construction and demolition waste go to the private landfills rather than the county-operated landfills.

The shutdowns place heavier disposal fees on local contractors and are hard on the county’s landfills, which focus on municipal waste.

“It’s not something we want to see,” Suchan said. “It’s harder for us to bury, harder to compact. We don’t want it out here.”

The shutdowns will place more work on county landfill administrators, who will have to verify that construction waste loads are from local projects, she said.

The county landfills do not accept out-of-county waste.

Suchan said her department had contacted local contractors and will track current projects to assure waste brought to county landfills are generated locally.

“We can confirm it through demolition permits,” she said.

DTG’s denial

In a three-page letter to DTG, the health district cited several reason for denying the company a permit renewal.

The health district said DTG failed to obtain a permit from the Yakima Clean Air Agency as well as a sand and gravel permit from the state Department of Ecology.

Ecology also has concerns about needed clarifications and updates to the operation plan submitted by the company, the denial letter said.

Concerns about stormwater impacting neighboring properties at the facility’s north boundary were also cited as reason for the denial, the letter said.

DTG officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but in an earlier statement said the company was working with regulators to resolve the matter.

DTG — which has been monitoring an underground fire at a closed disposal cell — also operates a recycling facility known as a materials recovery facility at the site. The MRF operates under a separate permit and was not affected by the renewal denial.

Magee said the health district isn’t trying to force either company out of business.

“Our intention isn’t to shut them down or run them out of business,” he said. “It’s to get them in compliance with the WAC.”