As it stands, local health districts can issue and revoke operating permits for landfills, but they cannot issue fines to enforce the rules.
A bill in the Legislature would give the state Department of Ecology more say over local permits and allow Ecology and local health districts to issue fines when landfills operate outside their permits.
House Bill 1154 would require the Department of Ecology to approve all landfill permits before being issued or renewed by a local health district.
It would also allow Ecology to suspend a permit and impose civil penalties for a solid waste handling facility that is operating in violation of any solid waste management requirements. Ecology and local districts could impose fines of up to $5,000 for a day that a landfill is operating in violation of its permit, and up to $10,000 a day if the issues are not resolved within 14 days.
It would also require each local health district to provide Ecology with a list of violations of the requirements for solid waste handling facilities for each facility.
Yakima County
In June 2023, two private landfills in Yakima County did not have their solid waste permits renewed by the Yakima Health District: DTG’s Rocky Top Environmental and the Caton Landfill near Naches.
DTG reopened the landfill in December after shutting down operations and working to come into compliance. The health district approved a solid waste permit for a new, lined landfill cell at Rocky Top.
The Caton family has continued to operate its landfill as it appealed to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board, which has yet to issue a decision. Yakima Health District officials have said that their continued operation during appeal is illegal. Neither the health district nor Ecology can impose fines for violating a permit.
Rep. Davina Duerr, D-Bothell, who is a sponsor of the bill, told a House Environmental and Energy Committee hearing in January there are quite a few landfills in the state that are out of compliance.
“There are a couple in Yakima that are on fire and have been for over a year. A lot of that is because of a lack of ability to follow through on pulling permits,” she said.
Operators of both the DTG and Caton facilities said they have been taking steps to stop and prevent fires at their landfills.
Concerns raised
Nancy Lust, a member of the Friends of Rocky Top, said the group has raised issues with legislators for years about the lack of enforcement abilities. The group was formed by neighbors near the Rocky Top landfill.
The group appealed the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency’s March 2024 approval of an air permit for DTG’s landfill. The state Pollution Control Hearings Board will hear the case starting on April 14.
“This is huge. Health districts have no ability to fine, and this has been a major frustration,” Lust said.
Lust said that FORT was not involved in the drafting of the legislation. She said she would have liked to see increased setbacks and a decrease in landfill slopes in addition to what is being proposed.
She told the committee that any landfill that is following regulations shouldn’t have to worry about fines or any additional cost.
Carole DeGrave, a neighbor of the DTG landfill and FORT member, said she supports the bill.
“I think that anything that will affect a business’ pocketbook, they will listen,” she said.
“We had nothing, she added. “They couldn’t do anything, just write a letter or an email. A fine helps. Regulators need to regulate, not just permit.”
Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney told the Yakima Herald-Republic that she isn’t against ensuring that landfills are safe and healthy, but was concerned about the significant penalties proposed in the bill and how they would affect county-run landfills.
McKinney said the the Washington State Association of Counties also has concerns with the bill.
Yakima County runs two landfills, one in Terrace Heights and one near Zillah. She said that the budget to operate them comes from user fees. If one of them were to incur steep penalties, user fees would have to go up, she said.
Whenever user fees go up, illegal dumping goes up too, she said.
McKinney said she thinks that the penalties outlined in the bill are too steep and are too easily triggered. She would rather the Legislature clarify which agency is in charge of shutting down a landfill in violation of its permits and what the process would be.
Another hearing on the bill is planned in the House Committee on Appropriations on Feb. 13.
