A government agency dropped the ball in keeping track of a compost facility in Kingston, a Kitsap Daily News investigation reveals.

The weekslong investigation that included numerous public records requests shows a tipping building with biofilters at Olympic Organics was removed about 10 years ago without government approval. The apparatus was used to keep down odors. Also, in December of 2022, when new owners DTG took over, five new bays were constructed, again without government approval.

Steven Van Slyke, compliance director for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, would not say if Olympic Organics should have been fined or face other action due to the removal of the tipping building with biofilters or due to construction of the five bays.

“The Agency has no comments on this matter at this time. We are unable to speak to specific details regarding compliance measures the Agency is taking, or may take in the future, which are within our discretionary authority,” he says in an email.

Public records show that when Olympic Organics bought Emu Topsoils in 2014 the tipping building was no longer there. The Kitsap Public Health District noted that in an inspection and asked Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to follow up. It apparently never did. Nor does it look like PSCAA authorized its removal.

A tipping building was supposed to receive all the intake, a PSCAA document when the business first opened in 2008 says. That document was never updated or changed.

The tipping building with a 2,000 cfm biofilter and a 5,200 cfm biofilter would be used to control odors. All emissions were supposed to be captured and pass through it.

Steve Brown, program manager for Solid & Hazardous Waste of the KPHD, said he does not know if the building was there when Olympic Organics took over in 2014 when original owner Emu Topsoil went bankrupt. “What I do know from looking at the aerial imagery (Google Earth) is that sometime in 2013 or 2014 the tipping building stopped showing up in the images.”

However, KPHD did report during an inspection in September 2014 that the business “needs to discuss the removal of biofiltration units with PSCAA and the potential impact, if any, on its air operating permit.”

The letter continues to say Olympic Organics must get approval from PSCAA. “Olympic Organics will provide written correspondence from PSCAA to Health District authorizing discontinuing these features at the facility.”

Neither Olympic Organics or PSCAA did that, and while the KPHD noted there was no tipping building in later inspections it apparently didn’t follow up with PSCAA either.

PSCAA required the tipping building initially. But Van Slyke, the representative who signed that original agreement, would not answer questions about the building, or any others for that matter. Van Slyke would only say that agency has received no complaints about Olympic Organics since 2017. He said the 2008 PSCCA agreement has not been updated in all these years because it’s not required to be.

However, PSCAA did in fact know about the removal of the tipping building, at least by June 15, 2015. Robert Booher, a PSCAA representative, entered Olympic Organics and said he could detect no odors. He met with then-president Jeff West. They discussed the inspection form and changes since Olympic Organics purchased the facility.

“We proceeded to the composting area. Mr. West said they have removed the tipping building. He said any compostable waste (food waste, for example) is ground and mixed in with the other organics within 20 minutes of dumping.”

Booher noted a level 1 odor next to the compost piles. “They were covered, and Olympic has installed a new aeration system,” he wrote.

Records show Ronald and Gloria Phillips of Emu Topsoils were allowed to sell real property during bankruptcy proceedings in Kitsap County Superior Court June 27, 2014.

In a PSCAA inspection in May of 2012 the inspector noted the “tipping building was functional” but the owners said since all “material brought in is processed immediately it’s rarely used.”

As for the five new bays, DTG in its operational plan in December told KPHD it was going to have the new bins. Brown said there was no legal reason to tell neighbors or to get a permit because the addition was not going to lead to an increase in intake above the already permitted amount.

However, regulations say, “It is unlawful to replace or substantially alter control equipment installed at an existing source.”

The PSCAA website clearly states, “A permit is required of any new or modified air pollution source prior to construction or making modifications that affect air contaminants emitted. The permit is obtained through the Notice of Construction program.”

Between owners, PSCAA notes that the facility was closed so there were no inspections in February or October of 2013.

New process

Brown said an acceptable replacement for a tipping building, state law says, is feedstocks are placed on impervious pads that “prevent contamination of soil or groundwater,” which is what the facility uses now instead. Olympic Organics uses the static aerated pile method. It involves the use of blowers and forced air to maintain aeration. The air blowers are located at the bottom of the piles and are not visible from above.

Their Operations Plan states: “The minimum 12-inch thick biofilter cover is a critical component of the compost technology. This biofilter, once placed over the newly mixed feedstock materials, serves three main purposes:

■ Acts as an insulative blanket to ensure all materials reach desired temperatures for pathogen reduction and weed seed destruction;

■ Digests odor-causing compounds before being emitted to open air, and;

■ Helps to maintain the desired moisture content within the pile by reducing evaporation, as well as protecting the underlying materials from saturation due to rainfall.”

Complaints

One year West was late paying the $6,900 registration fee, and it was also cited for failing to test its tipping building in May of 2012. But most complaints are about odor.

In 2018, neighbor Mark Grindrod told PSCAA said the composting odor was worse at night and early morning. We are “unable to keep windows open due to foul odor looming outside.”

In 2017, neighbor Gabrielle Ritter filed a complaint to PSCAA saying, “The smell is so bad we cannot go outside or open our windows at night.” She lived across the road from Olympic Organics. “It’s ruining our property value,” she said.

A couple of nearby businesses have had few problems with Olympic Organics.

Logan Hammon, owner of Logan Development Inc., noted that compost can be stinky. He did say birds can be terrible at certain times of the year as they pick apart everything, which could be attributed to Olympic Organics bringing in food waste.

“As far as I know, we’ve never had issues with them,” said Kevin Bevelhimer, transfer system program manager for Kitsap Public Works, which runs the Hansville Recycling & Garbage Facility. “There’s an odor that comes off composting facilities that many people find discouraging. I’ve never heard of any complaints about them.”