September 3, 2002
Compost site riles Everson residents 
HEALTH: Unlicensed Mission Road operation prompts concerns about smells, water safety. 
Aubrey Cohen, The Bellingham Herald 

A smelly, unlicensed composting operation on Mission Road should have a permit from Whatcom County, a health official said Friday. 

"He is receiving a letter today telling him that we believe he is in violation and asking him to come in and explain why he is not," county Environmental Health Manager Don Vesper said Friday afternoon. 

Curt Meenderinck started the operation without a permit on Van Buren Road in May, drawing a violation notice from the county, Vesper said. Meenderinck then moved the operation to Indian trust land on Mission Road, between Pole and Central roads, in July. 

The composting operation, which mixes straw with chicken manure and other materials to make mushroom-growing substrate for an operation in British Columbia, could threaten local public water wells, Vesper said. 

Neighbors said the odor from the composting is unbearable. 

"I just can't stress enough how putrid it is," said Martin Rinehart of Mission Road. "Something of that magnitude of stench can't be good for you to inhale." 

"It is enough to make people gag and throw up," said Mabel Henderson of Plum Tree Drive. "I know that there are others in the area who have beastly headaches whenever this stuff comes wafting our way." 

Area residents have scheduled a meeting tonight to discuss the operation and pressure government officials to do something. 

The Nooksack Indian Tribe's lawyer said the tribe might assert jurisdiction over the land. Meenderinck could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. 

Jurisdiction murky 

The composting operation is on land the federal government holds in trust for three Nooksack tribal members. The land is not on the Nooksack Indian Reservation. 

"This is an extremely gray area," said Jerrie Simmons, the Nooksack Indian Tribe's lawyer. "What we know for sure is that the state and the county do not have jurisdiction." 

The Nooksack Tribe "more than likely has the authority to assert jurisdiction," Simmons said. She said the tribal council is studying proposed ordinances to assert jurisdiction and she hoped it would indicate if it wanted to do so "within the next few weeks." 

There are about 2,500 acres held in trust for individual Nooksack tribal members, Simmons said. 

A county lawyer disagreed with Simmons' claim that the county does not have jurisdiction, Vesper said. "We think we have jurisdiction and we're going to exert it." 

The county's letter told Meenderinck to come to a hearing on Thursday and explain why he thought he did not need a permit, Vesper said. If county officials disagree with the explanation, they could cite Meenderinck, Vesper said. 

If Meenderinck ignores the letter, county officials would explore other legal options, Vesper said. 

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs says it definitely has jurisdiction. 

Local BIA Superintendent Judith Joseph sent a letter to the operators of the composting operation earlier last month stating that leases for trust land are not valid without BIA approval and the BIA would not approve a lease at this time. 

"We have serious concerns about the environmental and potential health effects of the composting operation," Joseph wrote. 

She urged the operators to stop composting and remove composting materials voluntarily within 14 days, saying the BIA might be forced to take legal action otherwise. 

Vesper said he did not know of any further BIA action and has not been able to reach BIA officials last week. The Herald could not reach BIA officials Friday afternoon. 

Health concerns 

The composting operation is in a gravel pit, close to a water table, and could contaminate the water, Vesper said. He said the well field for a public water association is within a few hundred feet of the operation and a Nooksack tribal well also is nearby. 

Vesper said he also has heard there is a poorly built well on the site, increasing the possibility of ground-water contamination. 

The county sent an inspector to the site on Saturday, Vesper said. "We were told that we were trespassing and had to leave." 

Officials could see and smell the operation from off site, Vesper said. 

To get a county permit, Meenderinck would have to address several issues, including water protection and odors, Vesper said. "I don't think we'd be satisfied with the (odor) controls they have currently." 

For BIA approval of a lease, Meenderinck would have to, among other things, do environmental and biological assessments, Joseph wrote. 

Rinehart described the odor as "if you were to take 10 cows, stick them in a small grove of tress, let them bake for about a month, then cut them open and smell it." 

An older neighbor has to suck oxygen each time he smells the odor and another neighbor's daughter had an asthma attack after smelling the odor, Rinehart said. He also worried the smell could harm property values. 

"I can't crack my windows at night," Rinehart said. "I have to sleep sweating and dripping and being miserable." 

Reach Aubrey Cohen at aubrey. cohen@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2289.