PORT ANGELES — A temporary fix is in the works for the Blue Mountain Transfer Station after a fire destroyed it earlier this month.
Clallam County commissioners Tuesday directed staff to find a construction trailer to serve as a short-term replacement for a business office that burned along with a roof that covered two large garbage and recycling containers on the evening of Nov. 10.
The replacement is expected to be finished in two to three months.
The transfer station on Blue Mountain Road about a mile south of U.S. Highway 101 is owned by Clallam County and operated by Waste Connections under a contract with the city of Port Angeles.
County Public Works Administrative Director Bob Martin said the facility receives about 1,200 tons of garbage and 700 tons of recyclables per year. It has processed about 18,000 transactions this year alone.
“It gets a lot of use, a lot of traffic, and I think it does save a lot of people time and travel costs,” Martin said.
The nearest waste-disposal facility for East Clallam County residents now is the Port Angeles Regional Transfer Station on the west side of the city.
The three commissioners would not even discuss the possibility of closing the Blue Mountain Transfer Station for good.
They all agreed with Martin’s recommendation to pursue a temporary fix.
“It would be real good to keep the level of public inconvenience down as low as we possibly can and work as fast as we can to get the site up and running,” Commissioner Jim McEntire said.
Martin estimated it would take two to three months to set up a temporary facility because Waste Connections needs to replace computers and scales that were destroyed or badly damaged in the fire.
He added that it would take six to eight months to replace the transfer station altogether.
Clallam County Fire District No. 3 is investigating the cause of the fire.
It took about two hours for 20 firefighters from Clallam County Fire District Nos. 3 and 2 to extinguish the blaze and mop up the hot spots.
All that remains of the facility is concrete padding and metal structural elements, Martin said.
The gutted business office needs to be inspected for asbestos and demolished, and the roof that covered the containers needs to be replaced, Martin said.
The transfer station at 1469 Blue Mountain Road had been open Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“I was hoping we could maybe have a temporary Saturday-only process, well-signed and advertised,” Commissioner Mike Doherty said.
“It’s a good greenhouse gas thing to save all that mileage into Port Angeles and back, let alone just the convenience for people of keeping up their tradition of being able to go to that site, even if it’s very limited.”
Commissioner Mike Chapman agreed, saying: “The full priority is moving ahead to get some service.”
Where to take trash now
While the Blue Mountain facility is closed, county residents can take their trash and recyclables to the Port Angeles Transfer Station at 3501 W. 18th St. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
In the public comment portion of Tuesday’s business meeting, county resident Ken Reandeau urged commissioners to consider a “very industrial rebuild” of the Blue Mountain Transfer Station with concrete, steel and firebreaks between the garbage and recycling containers.
“I assume we’ll look at that,” Chapman told Reandeau.
“Bob [Martin] will look at that through the process, but obviously the first order of business is reopening it as quickly as we can. Also, I think the insurance policy will kind of dictate it in the budget.”
An insurance adjuster was scheduled to be on site today.
County Administrator Jim Jones said another work session would be scheduled after the investigations are complete.
Doherty and McEntire participated in Tuesday’s work session and business meeting by speakerphone because they were attending a Washington State Association of Counties conference in Vancouver.
McEntire sits on the board of the association, and Doherty sits on its legislative steering committee.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
