The San Juan County Solid Waste Advisory Committee may recommend to the County Council that a new solid waste transfer station be built on Beaverton Valley Road.

A 20-acre site on Daniel Lane, next to the new San Juan Business Park, was rated second; the current site on Sutton Road was voted least favorable.

For more information about the sites, CLICK HERE.

There was no unanimity on the committee. Without a last-minute change in course, six of nine members will list the Sutton Road site as their least favorite. Conversely, five are expected to rank the county-owned property on Beaverton Valley Road as the top choice.

Members Mike MacDonald and Jack Yelverton raised concerns that the committee was acting too quickly and that more information is needed about cost and safety issues. They and committee member Calvin Den Hartog of San Juan Sanitation believe that the Sutton Road site is the best choice for a solid waste transfer station.

Committee member Carrie Lacher responded that enough time and money has already been spent in the siting process and the committee should make its recommendation and let the County Council decide whether more studies need to be done.

“We can’t spend more money on this process in this room,” she said.

The committee will convene again on Jan. 12 to do final work on its recommendation. Members will also have an opportunity to submit written comments to be attached to the committee’s report to the council.

Tentative plans call for the committee’s final recommendation to be presented to the County Council in a joint meeting that could be scheduled as early as Jan. 26. The council will hold public hearings and is expected to make its decision in the following several weeks.

The process of selecting a site began at the direction of the council in 2006. In its directive, the council cited inadequacies in the current facility and the desire to add services, such as composting and re-use programs that cannot be accommodated at the current transfer station and property the county now leases on Sutton Road.

Over the past two years, the county’s solid waste utility has spent more than a half-million dollars on studies and an environmental impact statement covering five potential sites for a new transfer station and resource recovery facility.

The full Solid Waste Advisory Committee’s unadopted draft recommendation is available online. CLICK HERE