County Commissioners receive Bruce Transfer Station update

The Adams County Commissioners received an update on operations at the Bruce Transfer Station, located outside of Othello, on Aug. 13.

Public Works Director Todd O’Brien said the transfer station resumed accepting residential solid waste on Aug. 9 following a fire on Aug. 5.

He added the department is working with insurance agents and a fire investigator to determine the source and cause of the fire.

O’Brien explained some of the recycled refrigerators caught on fire at the transfer station on Aug. 11 around 3 p.m. He is unsure where the fire started and crews contacted the Othello Fire Department to extinguish the blaze. He added the majority of the debris from the previous incident was removed from the transer station prior to the secondary fire.

O’Brien explained there are recycled appliances containing parts can ignite, including plastic and wooden frames.

He said the tipping floor on the transfer station was cleaned after Public Works crews and contractors transported solid waste out of the facility.

O’Brien is gathering prices from contractors to transport metal from the transfer station. Public Works is also seeking a way to remove the remaining cardboard at the facility.

In action items, the commissioners authorized Chairman John Marshall to sign a quick claim deed and retail estate excise tax supplemental statement for a parcel of property near Wahl Road and Interstate 90. The deed transfers ownership of the property from the original owners, Goodfellow Brothers Inc., to Adams County.

O’Brien explained the property is near the Wahl Road underpass on Highway 10, and the Washington State Department of Transportation interstate right-of-way fence.

In other solid waste updates, O’Brien said the City of Othello signed an interlocal agreement on Aug. 7 to particiapte in the county Solid Waste Management Plan. He noted the 10-year duration of the agreement will remain the same for Othello as it does for the other municipalities.

O’Brien added he will bring a copy of the interlocal agreement for the commissioners to sign. Once the commissioners have signed the document, he will send the plan to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

In maintenance updates, O’Brien noted Public Works will finish seal-coat work county roads and intersections. He said the department scaled down the crew and should finish the work by the end of the week.