Everett, Wash.
Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008

Clearing the air must be firm's top priority

 Complaints of nasty smells have poured in from Marysville, Everett and along Sunnyside Boulevard during the past few weeks. After much finger-pointing, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency revealed the rotten egg, sending Cedar Grove Composting a 30-day notice to find and change its sources of stink. Now it's up to the company to follow through.

The odor is not toxic or harmful, but clearly breaks the good-neighbor commandment that "Thou shalt not assault your neighbors' noses." As a valuable, eco-friendly business, Cedar Grove should respect its community and quickly find a solution. That means accounting for odor-inducing warm weather, shifting winds and its expanded operating hours. To do otherwise would be to flout good manners and, perhaps, the law.

So far, Cedar Grove's response has been to station an odor inspector, providing updates on odor sources and explaining its options. Yet company officials have also tried to foist fault onto nearby businesses, such as bark and manure plants. Those businesses may add to the bad air, but as a regional leader in composting, Cedar Grove should focus on fixing its own problems -- especially given the fact that the company's site near Renton has collected complaints and fines for years.

When residents complain of headaches, nausea and nuisance, excuses don't fly. Some of those neighbors have already approached attorneys, who are talking about lawsuits to limit or withdraw Cedar Grove's operating permits. Local cities have fielded numerous calls for a shut-down. If the company doesn't have much to show by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's deadline, such threats will no doubt become more serious.

In the past, other stinky, yet vital, facilities have found ways to coexist with the area's growing population. Everett's sewage-treatment plant moved key operations indoors and added aerators in 2006. In March, Kimberly-Clark paid more than $165,000 when the state stepped in over odors from a long-smoldering fire.

Consumers know that composting and recycling are cornerstones of good environmental stewardship. It would be sad to lose a service that turns would-be landfill fodder into a gardening product. That service just can't stink up large chunks of populated areas.

Cedar Grove is seeking to expand by adding a methane-collection operation that would generate electricity. It will be hard to support that plan until its current problems are solved. The odor plaguing the neighbors will be on everyone's minds -- until it's out of our noses.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA