Fire Mountain Farms

We have finalized an agreed order with Fire Mountain Farms, Inc., to apply biosolids at five sites in Lewis County.

This decision means Fire Mountain Farms may begin staging and land applying Class B biosolids to its Big Hanaford, Homestead, and Lincoln Creek sites as soon as spring 2021.

To begin land application to the remaining two locations, Burnt Ridge and Newaukum Prairie, the company must complete cleanup at the two sites, to deal with a mixed material that had been classified as hazardous waste.

All of these sites have been closed to biosolids Class B land application since 2016 when it was found that a material classified as hazardous waste had been mixed with biosolids. The decision means Fire Mountain Farms may begin staging and land applying Class B biosolids to its Big Hanaford, Homestead, and Lincoln Creek sites as soon as this spring. In order to begin land application to the remaining two locations, Burnt Ridge and Newaukum Prairie, the company must meet additional requirements to complete cleanup at the two sites. Biosolids long-term storage will be prohibited at all five sites at this time.

Documents

Final Agreed Order and Appendix A
Appendix B: State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS)
Response to comments received during the comment period

Cleanup activities at three Fire Mountain Farms sites

While cleanup activities at the Big Hanaford location are complete, portions of the Burnt Ridge, and Newaukum Prairie sites are still going through closure and cleanup activities related to the mixed material formerly classified as a hazardous waste being improperly stored at the locations.

After collecting data showing the mixed material did not contain chemicals at levels considered dangerous, Fire Mountain Farms and Emerald Kalama Chemical — the co-party responsible for the mixed material — filed petitions in 2018 to change its waste classification to solid waste. This is called delisting. After holding public comment periods, Ecology and the U.S. EPA approved the delisting petitions in April 2020 and Ecology finalized the closure plan in Aug. 2020. It outlines how the companies will remove and properly dispose of any wastewater, solids, and contaminated soil during the cleanup.

The delisted waste will be moved out of Lewis county to a permitted municipal solid waste landfill.

Fire Mountain Farms

Documents

Appendix C: Big Hanaford

Appendix D: Burnt Ridge

Appendix E: Homestead

Appendix F: Lincoln Creek

Appendix G: Newaukum Prairie

Cleanup activities at three Fire Mountain Farms sites