PORT ANGELES – The Clallam County Sheriff’s office is taking over efforts to clean up a junk yard between Port Angeles and Sequim.
Midway Metals, south of Highway 101 near Barr Road, has been the source of controversy for years. The county’s Community Development Department and state Department of Ecology have been trying to get the site cleaned up. They’ve been unsuccessful in getting the property owner to oblige.
Now the case has been turned over to Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict’s office.
“That is a Department of Ecology tier 1 hazardous waste site. It is considered the most hazardous waste site in Clallam County, and I believe it’s in like the top 50 in the state of Washington. It is not in compliance with anything,” said Benedict.
Benedict expects movement on this will happen soon. He says there are no valid permits for any of the activity that has been happening at the site.
“None of the permits that are required, do they have. Iin addition, this is something that I learned last week, it appears that they have encroached anywhere from 10 to 50 feet with the storage of all the solid waste onto the neighbors parcel to the east. That parcel is for sale right now, and I’m going to guess that the soil underneath that is going to be contaminated,” according to Benedict.
Benedict wants to hear from anyone who may have dropped off appliances, such as refrigerators at the site.
Benedict said, “I am very interested to hear from anyone who has dropped off an appliance, particularly refrigerators on that site. Nobody’s going to get into any trouble for calling me. But there is a protocol that, for example a refrigerator, must go through prior to going to either a landfill or being recycled and I know that protocol is not being done at the site. They may claim that it is, but it isn’t that could be a violation.”
Benedict says call 360-417-2464.