Opinion: Government landfill rules apparently fail to deter violators

Some people — and many of the politicians they support — love to talk about overregulation and the need for “limited government.”

We have too many rules, they complain. And all these laws stifle business, hamper law enforcement, and prevent everyone from pursuing happiness.

However, if you live near the Caton landfill, you might have a slightly different opinion.

Despite the Yakima Health District’s decision in June 2023 not to renew Caton’s operating permit, landfill operations continue as usual, in apparent violation of health and safety regulations at the landfill site outside of Naches.

For decades, the landfill served as a limited-use landfill, primarily receiving construction and demolition waste from across Washington state, Oregon and British Columbia.

But recent events in Caton — including a fire in the winter of 2022 that belched flames and smoke for weeks — have caught the attention of health district officials.

So when it came time to renew the landfill’s operating permit, the health district cited several reasons why a new permit was not issued:

Caton accepts waste that exceeds permitted use standards and emission permits.
It also exceeds the boundaries set by the State Environmental Policy and Special Property Use Act of 1997.
There is a lack of adequate safety and fire protection plans.

After the county health board denied his permit application, Caton appealed last fall to the state Pollution Control Hearings Commission, which agreed to hear the case in December of this year.

Meanwhile, the health district filed a motion in April seeking an injunction to keep the landfill closed until a hearing on Dec. 9. Caton immediately filed a stay, seeking to keep the landfill open, but the Pollution Control Hearings Board denied the stay on Aug. 2, citing the risks the landfill poses to the public and the environment.

A month later, the landfill is still operating at full capacity.

“Legally, we can continue operating until the hearing in December,” Caton owner Randy Caton told YH-R’s Questen Inghram.

It is unclear how Caton reached this conclusion, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that the case could drag on until a state trial date.

It also seems obvious that amid all the talk about overregulation, the practical truth is that local and state government agencies have little actual authority to enforce existing regulations.

“It’s unusual and, as the regulations say, it’s against the law,” said Shawn Magee, the health district’s environmental health director.

However, the health district can only issue or deny permits — it cannot impose fines or do anything else to enforce the rules it is required to follow.

Magee’s office must therefore seek support from other agencies.

“We are going through the legal process,” he said. “It takes time.”

It shouldn’t.

It’s not Magee’s fault that it has to rely on companies like Caton to play by the rules and do what they can to comply. It’s also not a sign that we have too much regulation.

No, the problem seems to be the lack of some consequences for violators.

You would think that everyone would accept sensible regulations designed to keep our air and water clean, but it is clear that this is not always the case.

In any case, it is difficult to see how regulations restrict economic activity or suppress anything.

Especially if no one can maintain them.

Editorials in the Yakima Herald-Republic reflect the collective opinions of the newspaper’s local editorial board.