On Monday, June 2, 2025, the Area Council held its Regular Monthly Meeting at the Maple Valley Fire Station and via Zoom. Major topics discussed were: (1) Cedar Hills Regional Landfill; (2) Proposed Lakeside Industries Asphalt Facility; and (3) Reserve Silica.
Cedar Hills Regional Landfill
On Wednesday, May 28, the King County (KC) Department of Natural Resources & Parks, Solid Waste Division (SWD) held its semiannual Cedar Hills Regional Landfill (CHRLF) Community Meeting at the Maple Hills Elementary School to provide an update—please see: Presentation (https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/solid-waste/facilities/CHRL-community-presentation-2025-05-28.pdf).
Janet Dobrowolski, a member of the Area Council’s Environment Committee and its longtime Focal on the CHRLF, described what was discussed at the KC meeting, as well as future planning.
There are three ongoing construction projects. Work recently began to put a final closure cover on Area 8 and to begin excavation of Area 9. Bids are out to fill out of Areas 5 and 6. Offices are being moved from the south to north onsite as Area 9 work begins, with some offices already having been moved to a SWD facility in Renton.
Planned future construction includes: (1) Once excavation is complete and a liner installed, Area 9 will be ready to receive waste in 2029 and (2) covers for the leachate lagoons are planned, but are encountering an extended permitting process because of their location within the buffer.
Operation updates included: (1) Deconstruction plans on the east side of the property are in development; (2) Area 9 construction begins this month with the deconstruction of the existing shop facility and fuel island; and (3) a second Byers Odor Control System mobile unit will be added for use around the landfill.
Construction of 50 vertical gas capture wells around the landfill ,(to replace failing and broken horizontal capture wells) has been delayed until next Spring. New State Methane regulations resulted in a need to re-engineer a tighter placement of these wells. The Bio Energy Washington (BEW) plant, which has been shut down for nearly 2 years, recently was in operation for 2 weeks to ensure functionality. The lawsuit between BEW and CHRLF over contractual and Arsenic issues resulted in a settlement where CHRLF potentially may purchase the BEW plant. The landfill gas has been flared during the BEW shutdown.
As Area 9 is eventually filled, a large portion will overlay Areas 6 and 7. Because of a lawsuit in 2000, the height of Areas 5, 6, and 7 will be limited to 788 ft. This will include any part of Area 9 that sits on top of these areas. The rest of Area 9 can have trash up to 825 ft.
Top-filling of Areas 5 and 6 will start sometime next year. These areas had temporary covers and were used to stockpile dirt in an effort to compact the trash and cause more settling to plan for further filling back up to 788 ft. Odor mitigation is part of the bid process, because scraping off existing dirt will cause substantial odor emissions.
A new study of long-term disposal options once the landfill is full in 2040 (???) has been completed. Five alternatives were evaluated: Waste Export by Rail (WEBR), Mass Burn (Waste to Energy), Pyrolysis, Refuse Derived Fuel, and Gasification. This study, once again, has determined the only viable options are WEBR and WTE due to the large volumes involved, as the other options cannot handle the quantity of waste generated.
Not much was discussed about WEBR. KC has resisted WEBR in the past, even though it was the “cheapest” to implement, possibly because it would not produce the revenues to KC as the landfill does and KC would lose control of pricing, because it would be handled by a third party.
It appears KC believes WTE is not “safe” due to perceived pollution and air quality issues; however, KC seems to not have the latest information on the efficiencies of emissions capture that have been developed, making WTE more safer. Members of the Public suggested that if KC is worried about the size and expense of air scrubbers needed for one large plant, it could build several smaller plants around the county—possibly in the place of transfer stations. KC said that is something it could look at.
The full Report will be available to the Public later this Summer, as well as a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Report later this year. The alternatives will be presented in the 2026 KC SWD”s Comprehensive Plan in 2026. As of now, an expansion of the CHRLF is not supposed to be an option as KC says there is no more space, but that has been stated before.
Dr. Richard Honour * spoke about the toxicity of the landfill gas and that the cost to human health and the environment outweighs any perceived benefit KC receives by continuing to landfill. He stated the current way the entire waste stream from KC is handled, including the solid waste, wastewater treatment, and sewage sludge, is “toxic” and there are too many chemicals being released into the environment through the current “treatment” methods—something needs to be dramatically changed to make it safer for human health.
•Dr. Honour is a graduate of the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, CA. His professional work focuses on Environmental Toxicology, Infectious Diseases and Cancer. Dr. Honour works to abolish the Land Disposal of Toxic Sewage Sludge from Washington State’s Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) in rangelands, farmlands and forests that drain to Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean, and which adversely impact the greater Salish Sea.
Proposed Lakeside Asphalt Facility
Save the Cedar River President, Bob Baker, provided an update on the move of the Lakeside Industries (LI’s) Asphalt Facility from the City of Covington to the Rural Area along SR-169 (~188th block) directly across from the Cedar River.
The Area Council has followed this proposed project for many years. This process first started in 2013 with OakPointe’s proposed Master-Planned Development following its purchase of the site of LIs’ “existing” Asphalt Facility in the City of Covington. On December 4, 2017, the Area Council held its Monthly Meeting with invited guests—Lakeside Industries President, Mike Lee, and Environmental and Land-Use Director, Karen Deal, as well as the King County Department of Permitting and Environmental Review, Product Line Manager – Commercial, Ty Peterson—who spoke to and answered questions from the Area Council and a standing-room-only crowd of attendees from the Public.
Lakeside formally submitted permit applications back in October 2018. In April 2022 the King County Department of Local Services–Permitting Division approved LI’s Development and Shoreline permit applications. Please see Public Notice (https://kingcounty.gov/depts/local-services/permits/public-notices.aspx).
Mr. Baker provided a brief update. LI is required to do several things before it can move its facility. They include adding an acceleration/deceleration lane on SR-169 to allow its trucks ingress and egress to and from the property, but the State Department of Transportation has not approved the design yet. Also, the property has a history of contamination from past uses and King County is requiring full cleanup before LI can move its facility. There apparently is no agreed-to timetable for when either of these requirements will be met.
For detailed information, please see the Area Council’s Asphalt Facility webpage (gmvuac.org/asphalt-facility/).
Reserve Silica
On Wednesday, May 7, the State Dept. of Ecology (DOE) held a Public Meeting on its “Agreed Order” for the Reserve Silica site in Ravensdale, a historical mining area where coal and sandstone have been mined from a tilted bedrock formation south of Ravensdale Lake and Ravensdale Creek.
Two surface mining pits were reclaimed with cement kiln dust (CKD) and mining spoils between 1979 and 1988 under the permitting authorities of two King County agencies (currently known as King County Department of Local Services and Public Health – Seattle & King County). CKD is a waste product from cement processing, which reacts with water to form calcium hydroxide significantly increasing the pH to create caustic water, which has seeped from the site since the 1980s.
Reserve Silica Corporation and Holcim (US) Inc. entered into an Agreed Order under the State’s Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) in December 2019, which requires the companies to complete a: Remedial Investigation (RI), Feasibility Study, and Preliminary Draft Cleanup Action Plan.
The Draft Remedial Investigation Report (https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/cleanupsearch/document/154265) its figures and appendices are available to download separately on the View Documents link (https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/cleanupsearch/site/4728#site-documents) under Technical Reports.
The draft RI delineates the extent of contamination defined as the areas where the concentrations of the contaminants of concern exceed preliminary cleanup standards. These included antimony, arsenic, lead, vanadium, and pH. Groundwater contamination extends from the active seepage area and is found in the high permeability recessional outwash when high pH water discharges to the Infiltration Ponds. Surface water contamination is limited to the seepage collection ditch, the South Pond, and the Infiltration Ponds—all of which discharge only to groundwater. Soil contamination exists in the seepage area and historical drainage areas, while sediment contamination exists in the South Pond and Infiltration Ponds.
The draft RI remedial action recommendations include:
•Evaluate and recommend actions to: (1) reduce, eliminate, and/or capture and treat high pH seepage water from; (2) reduce the flow of groundwater into; and (3) reduce infiltration through the cover for the Lower Disposal Area sand mining pit; and to address ecological or human health risks posed by the contaminants of concern present in the groundwater, surface water, soil, and sediment at concentrations exceeding the cleanup, levels.
•Evaluate and recommend potential improvements to the existing treatment system, to ensure the treatment system is reliable and sustainable and meets State discharge standards.
•Propose a groundwater monitoring program that is capable of detecting releases of contamination and confirms the natural attenuation of contamination.
DOE will finalize the RI Report sometime this Summer. The potentially liable persons will prepare a Draft Feasibility Study Report and Preliminary Draft Cleanup Action Plan based on the conclusions and recommendations in the Final RI Report. DOE will host a Public Comment period and a Public Meeting for the Draft Feasibility Study Report and Draft Cleanup Action Plan before finalizing the documents. All documents will be posted on the Area Council’s Reserve Silica webpage (gmvuac.org/reserve-silica/).
Next Area Council Meeting
The next Area Council monthly meeting will be held Monday, July 7, 2025 from 7 – 9:30 PM at the Maple Valley Fire Station at 22225 SE 231st St (across from the KC Sheriff’s Precinct).
Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month (except for Holidays, when they are held on the second Monday). All meeting announcements, agendas, and Zoom information are posted on the Area Council’s Website (www.gmvuac.org) and local NextDoor platforms. You can also find us on our FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/GMVUAC/). Each meeting begins with an open Public Comment period where anyone can voice concerns, comments, etc.
Area Council Membership
Your Area Council, founded in 1978, is one of the longest continuously active local councils. It serves as an all-volunteer, locally recognized advisory body to King County on behalf of all rural unincorporated area residents living in the Tahoma School District (TSD). The Area Council, in “working to keep the Rural Area rural,” collaborates regionally with other King County Rural Area organizations through both the Joint Rural Team and its Joint Transportation Initiative.
The twelve-seat Area Council has four open seats. If you have an interest in joining, please send an e-mail to: GMVUAC (info@gmvuac.org) or attend (either in-person or virtually) a monthly meeting and express your interest. To be eligible to join the Area Council as a Member you need to live within the TSD.
Residents, even those not living within the TSD, are eligible to become Associate Members who can serve (including as Chair or Vice-Chair) on any Area Council Committee: Environment, Growth Management, Transportation, Public Relations, or Train Show. For information on each of these committees please see the Area Council’s website and use the drop-down menu under Committees.
All Monthly Meeting Summary Articles can be found on our Home page in the 2025/2024 GMVUAC Monthly Meeting Articles box or by using the drop-down menu under Correspondence.
