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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-08 Brian Myers November 7, 2024 Subject: Opposition Comments for Timber Creek Recycling MDA H-2024-0032 Dear Meridian City Council Members, am a resident of the Pinnacle Subdivision near the intersection of Locust Grove and Lake Hazel in Meridian, Idaho.This subdivision is less than a mile north of the Timber Creek Recycling Center at 7695 S Locust Grove Road. I urge the City Council to reject any modifications to the current development agreement. I understand the importance of recycling in the community, but this isn't an issue on the merits of recycling.This is about the location of this recycling center in a residential zoned district and these recycling activities are causing a public nuisance to nearby residents. During the prior City Council meeting in September 2024, most of the nearby residents who spoke or submitted written testimony complained of the foul odors emitting from Timber Creek Recycling. Many residents discussed how these odors are affecting their quality of life and creating a public nuisance. In the Modified Development Agreement(MDA) proposed by Timber Creek Recycling, Section 6.8.1 states recycling activities"shall not constitute a nuisance". Section 6.9.5 further states"Timber Creek shall not keep the Recycling Property and all associated grounds in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance as defined in Meridian City Code 4-2-1" MCC 4-2-1 defines a public nuisance as,"anything which unreasonably injures or offends the health or senses; obstructs the free passage, comfortable enjoyment, or customary use of public or private property; or creates an actual or potential safety, health, or fire hazard." I urge the Council Members to ask yourselves as you read and listen to public comments if Timber Creek is a public nuisance to nearby residents. If the testimony of residents isn't enough to convince the City Council members that Timber Creek Recycling is creating a public nuisance, I'd also like to reference a Central District Health Complaint Investigation Report that was received in April 2023.As part of the follow up on this complaint, CDH documents in January 2024 the City of Meridian plans to issue a nuisance violation against Timber Creek Recycling. I've attached a copy of that complaint to this letter.According to testimony during the prior City Council meeting on 9/17/24, it was mentioned that CDH also deemed Timber Creek as a public nuisance around July 2023. What is causing this awful odor from Timber Creek Recycling is the Waste Activated Sludge commonly referred to as WAS.Timber Creek Recycling referred to this as"Cheese WAS"in what I believe is an attempt to mislead the Council on the true nature of this substance.According to documents submitted under the Agency Comments, Lori Badigian (Senior Environmental Health Specialist with CDH) and her colleagues at CDH and DEQ believe this to be industrial waste.Valerie Greear(Water Quality Engineering Manager at DEQ) states,"It is most definitely industrial waste. It's not even from the food production process, its from the wastewater treatment process"She goes on to say in another email when referring to the WAS,"it's a sludge produced from our wastewater rules call(ed)a non-municipal wastewater treatment or disposal facility"and references IPDES code 58.01.16.401. Timber Creek referred to this WAS substance as an agricultural product, but CDH and DEQ experts believe this to be an industrial product.This is a very important distinction since Matthew Beeter (Solid Waste Program Manager at DEQ)states the operating agreement between Timber Creek Recycling and Meridian,"does not allow acceptance and composting of industrial waste, only food waste". If this truly is industrial waste,Timber Creek would lose their agricultural exemption and be in violation of their current operating agreement.This is probably what Timber Creek referred to as a "grey area in the operations plan"when discussing this at the September 2024 City Council meeting. I don't believe the Council should be willing to modify this development agreement until they know Timber Creek Recycling is not in violation of the operating agreement with CDH and DEQ. My suggestion to the City Council members would be for DEQ and CDH to complete their investigation to make a determination if this WAS product is in fact industrial waste or agricultural waste. I'd like to request a report directly from DEQ and/or CDH with their findings. If this is in fact industrial waste, I'd like to know if this affects Timber Creek's agricultural exemption and/or if they are in violation of their current operating agreement. Per my understanding of the operating agreement, if this WAS is industrial waste it is not allowed by the current agreement and Timber Creek would have 30 days to remove ALL WAS from the Meridian location, not 2 years as they are proposing in their Transition Plan.This is a crucial piece of evidence that the nearby residents should have the right to know, and something the City Council should know before deciding to reject or approve the modified development agreement from Timber Creek Recycling. I believe Timber Creek Recycling should support this idea as they claim to want to be in compliance with DEQ and CDH. Councilman Cavener made a great point in the September 2024 meeting when he asked Timbercreek if this 3-year extension would just lead to a request in 2.5-3 years to go before the Council again asking for yet another extension or modification.This is my biggest fear as a nearby resident. I don't know if Timber Creek Recycling can be trusted to actually leave in 3 years or if an excuse will come up and they look to extend that 3 years to 6 year or 10 years.The reason for my mistrust is highlighted below by some of the statements Timber Creek Recycling representatives have made: • Mr. Murgoitio stated to the City Council on 9/17/24 that,"we (Timber Creek) have not had an odor compliant that resulted in a violation". In Lori Badigian's email submitted under agency comments,when referencing Mr. Murgoitio's answer, she states,"this is not accurate as the facility was found in violation in Spring 2023 which prompted processing changes".Then in August 2024, CDH received another odor complaint. CDH requested a list of incoming materials for the previous 90 days and found Timber Creek to be in violation of the Operations Plan.A warning letter was issued on 9/16/24 and the corrections were to be made by 9/30/24.Also, as mentioned earlier the City of Meridian filed a nuisance violation as a result of an odor complaint in January 2024.Why did Mr. Murgoitio conceal these incidents when asked directly by Councilman Cavener? • Mr. Murgoitio further stated there was a"technicality of the term we call the material"when asked about other violations not relating to odor. I believe this was a reference to WAS which CDH and DEQ classify as industrial waste.Timber Creek was not approved to receive industrial waste. So what is the technicality here?Timber Creek is technically taking materials they are not approved to receive?That seems like an attempt by Mr. Murgoitio to downplay the significance of taking WAS,which is not approved in the Operating Agreement. • Timber Creek claims they are looking for a"runway"or"exit plan". I believe they have had a runway or exit plan for years.When the original agreement was signed in 2016,they were aware of the need to move operations within 30 days of a Certificate of Occupancy within 1,000 feet of the site. In 2019 when the agreement was amended,they were still aware of the need to move operations when a Certificate of Occupancy occurred. Even in 2023, Timber Creek Recycling provided CDH and DEQ a similar transition timeline stating the WAS would be transitioned from Meridian to Nampa by December 2025. Less than a year later, they are claiming it will take until December 2026 to transition all the WAS from Meridian to Nampa. Can we really trust their timelines or planning? • Timber Creek stated they aren't looking to expand operations in Meridian but rather are Looking to exit.Yet, in the modified development agreement that was originally proposed, they wanted the specific list of approved materials that could be received to be removed completely(allowing for all materials approved by CDH and DEQ)and they wanted the 56- truckload limit to be removed.Allowing for more truckloads and more materials to the Meridian site doesn't sound like actions that would be taken by a company looking to wind things down and eventually move.Those are obvious actions to ramp up business. I suspect the request to remove the approved materials list was to remove the restriction on the WAS which has been causing them issues with DEQ and CDH. • In Section 2.0 of the Odor Control Plan for Timber Creek Recycling, it states odorous activities,"will be avoided in the late afternoon and before weekends and holidays when neighbors are more likelyto be outside".According to the Timber Creek Recycling Call/Complaint Log,Timber Creek directly received 14 odor complaints over 3 months between April 26, 2023 and July 24, 2023. Of those 14 complaints, 9 of them were in the evenings. 3 of the complaints were on Friday evening and 1 of them was on Saturday. In a separate complaint, a CDH employee was attempting to enjoy a Sunday morning at Discovery Park(approximately 1 mile Northeast of Timber Creek facilities)when she smelled something"like dead animal carcasses with a mix of rotten cheese".The smell from Timber Creek Recycling made her young son gag.That leads me to draw one of two conclusions. Either the odor is so bad that when activities are stopped in the early afternoon,the odor lingers for hours late into the night and the following day. Or Timber Creek Recycling is engaging in these odorous activities later than stated in the Odor Control Plan. Either way, it is affecting the neighbors'quality of life and peaceful enjoyment of their residence. In summary,for the reasons outlined above showing that Timber Creek Recycling is creating a public nuisance for nearby residents, accepting WAS and violating their current Operating Agreement, and numerous deceitful comments to the Meridian City Council and the public, I implore the City Council to reject the modified development agreement presented by Timber Creek Recycling. I do understand the importance of recycling and the service this provides to the overall community however I don't believe it should result in the detriment of nearby residents.This area in Southern Meridian is growing fast and the complaints will continue to come as others move in. Nearby home builders believe this will have a negative impact on their business, many of which have spent tens of millions of dollars to purchase and develop the land in Southern Meridian.This could even cause potential new homeowners to find other cities to live in and could have a negative tax impact on the City of Meridian. It will certainly hurt property tax valuations in the area for current homeowners. Thank you for your time in reading this letter.This is a big decision for the City Council and I wanted to do my best to summarize the information so you can make a clear and informed decision. Sincerely, Brian Myers Pinnacle Subdivision Resident Attached: Central Health District Complaint Investigation Report 4/23/23 Timber Creek Recycling Call/Complaint Log—For calls or emails not documented on a complaint form CENTRAL '•• DISTRICT COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION REPORT HEALTH Complaint# Date Received l _2�_ Establishment or Parcel# Received by i County Jurisdiction Assigned to EHS ro ram , \ �� Program s\ omplaint Type Complaint Received By: ❑ Phone ❑ In Person ❑ By Letter ❑ City/County EFOther Complaint Name: 7�srv.,� cy-ye—y-- " J�jt Phone Complaint Address: Lp A E — Casm� City_ Legal Description: 1/4 1/4 Section Township Range Lot Block Subdivision COMPLAINANT Last Name First Name Street City State Zip Home Phone Z (2'l Work Phone OWNERSHIP INFORMATION OWNER( ) Last Name First Name AGENT( } Street City State Zip TENANT( Local Phone Out of Area Phone _ COMPLAINT aA INVESTIGATION & ACTION TAKEN RESOLVED ❑ YES ❑ NO ❑VIA Phone LIOn-Site-1 EHS Sionati,ra nA,-c ACT EHS DATE TT IT Notes All de � . ,X�N" i�imc chi v�a. �uY� �Cvrw�. Js�•-t.. w��, , Lcz N Timber Creek Recycling Call/Complaint Log-For calls or email not documented on a complaint form DATE COMPLAINANT NUMBER ADDRESS TIME REPORTED DETAILS Wednesday,April 26,2023 Kathleen Britt 253-230-6750 8250 s Jardine 9:10 PM Smells is of rotting feminine products for last 2 hours Wednesday,April 26,2023 Troy Allen 208-794-7131 9:11 PM Smells like dead animals Wednesday,April 26,2023 Diane 208-850-5793 Bryker 10:13 PM Terrible odor every Spring,Summer and Fait Thursday,April 27,2023 Kimberly Edgar 208-484-5461 12:34 PM Smell last night from Timber Creek unbearable Thursday,April 27,2023 Todd Edgar 208-869-7712 1/2 mile away 9:53 AM Discustingrotten smell every day getting worse&worse Friday,April 28,2023 Kathleen Britt 253-230-6750 8250 S Jardine 12:06 AM Smell woke them up Friday,May 5,2023 Kathleen Britt 8:53 PM Smells bad Saturday,May 6,2023 Kathleen Britt 5:42 PM Smelts bad Horrible smelt started a little after 5:00 pm gets worse as evening Monday,May 8,2023 Debbie Allen 208-861-7914 6:01 PM goes on Unbelievatbe tonight-has been out of town for 3 weeks wants to Friday,May 26,2023 Kathleen Britt 8:37 PM know plan to fix odor Heard back from City of Meridian Todd Koehler-they don't Wednesday,May 31,2023 Kathleen Britt consider it a nuisance because its AG Friday,July 21,2023 Debbie Allen 2:30 PM Smells like death Monday,July 24,2023 Debbie Allen 9:00 PM Still smells Monday,July 24,2023 Gina Russell Smelt is terrible Drove by site and smell was foul.Found uncovered WAS material in Wednesday,April 17,2024 Lori Badigian CDH 12:30 PM windrows Back to horrific odors in the evenings.Starts around 8:00 or when Wednesday,September 4,2024 Debbie Allen 8:45 PM weather starts to coot Wednesday,October 16,2024 Troy Allen 112:30 PM Smelt from Timber Creek the last couple of days has been terrible