10/09/08

Cedar Grove Compost responds to PSCAA citation

by Beckye Randall

After months of complaints by local residents and several citations from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Cedar Grove Composting submitted its initial response to authorities at the state agency on September 30.

Although the local company has not admitted its operation caused the air quality concerns that plagued Marysville this summer, Cedar Grove vice president Gerry Bartlett said the company has taken action to eliminate some of the likely odor sources at the Smith Island plant.

Cedar Grove Composting processes organic waste, including lawn trimmings and food scraps, and turns the material into compost that is used for gardening. The company receives waste materials from a variety of sources and blamed the foul smell that began in June to loads of material that had become anaerobic before being delivered for processing.

As the complaints rose and PSCAA inspectors began making regular visits to the facility, Cedar Grove officials called for closer inspections of incoming loads to check for material that had already begun to compost. The company may begin rejecting overripe loads from local cities and garbage haulers that are likely to cause odor problems.

Since the PSCAA cited the operation, Cedar Grove officials have also examined its grinding and storage processes. According to the company’s report, Cedar Grove has added a misting system to its grinding operation and is closely monitoring the tank that collects leachate, polluted water produced during the company’s normal processes.

The company has until the end of the year to submit a report to PSCAA outlining steps it plans to take to mitigate air quality issues.

Complaints about air quality from local residents have dropped since the end of July, with under a dozen odor complaints that may be linked to the north Everett facility logged through the end of September.

Residents can contact PSCAA by e-mail at inspection@pscleanair.org, or phone 1-800-552-3565.  

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