Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Whitman County Commissioners have approved a public hearing set for Dec. 21 for a potential code change, stemming from the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport realignment's wetlands reclamation project.
The change would allow topsoil or subsoil – clay, silt, sand and gravel – to be deposited on agricultural land with only an administrative conditional use review, as opposed to a permit.
Previously, transfer of dirt would fall under the rules for inert landfill – items such as asphalt, concrete and glass, which do not interact with the environment.
“What triggered this was Tom Kammerzell's wetland reclamation project,” said Alan Thomson, Whitman County planner.
During that process, natural topsoil and subsoil was deposited by permission on adjacent land. The project is being done along the South Fork of the Palouse River east of Colfax.
By the existing code, it would be considered an inert landfill.
With the proposed code change, however, the practice would just require an administrative conditional use review.
“It is quicker,” said Thomson.
The transfer of soil/subsoil would still need to be monitored by the county's environmental health department.
If the code change is ultimately approved by county commissioners, any transfer of inert materials would still require the inert landfill conditional use permit.
Thomson indicated that the planning department had previously discussed a change in the code.
“The Kammerzell project sparked us to get this done,” he said.
The hearing will be 11 a.m. Dec. 21 in the commissioner's chambers at the county courthouse.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)