King County issues a draft environmental impact statement for proposed development at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill

September 16, 2020

Summary

King County Solid Waste Division issued a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) to analyze proposed future development at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. A 45-day comment period from Sept. 16 to Oct. 30 will enable the public to review and comment on the proposal.

Story

The public is invited to review and comment on an environmental review of proposed future development that would add waste disposal capacity at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill in Maple Valley. 

King County’s Solid Waste Division issued a draft environmental impact statement for the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill 2020 Site Development and Facility Relocation Plan on Sept. 16, 2020, which initiates a 45-day comment period to enable the public to review and submit formal comments on the proposal. The County will host an online open house on the project website for the duration of the comment period to provide community members an opportunity to learn about the proposal, and submit comments.  

The Draft EIS evaluates three action alternatives, plus a no-action alternative, to develop an area on the southeast portion of the landfill that currently hosts office space, maintenance facilities and equipment storage into a new cell for landfilling garbage. The Draft EIS also evaluates the options to move these support facilities to a new permanent location to make room for the new landfill cell. The proposed locations are within either the north or south buffer zones at the landfill, or on a County-owned property next to the Renton Transfer Station in Renton.

Developing a new cell for landfilling garbage, and landfilling on the top of other areas of the landfill, could add between nine and 18 years of operation at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. The Comprehensive Plan was approved by the King County Council and the Washington State Department of Ecology in 2019. 

The draft EIS and appendices are available for review electronically on the project website at  www.kingcounty.gov/cedar-hills-development. Due to Covid-19, King County libraries are not currently accepting documents. To request a paper copy of the Draft EIS, please contact the Solid Waste Division at 206-477-4466 or 711 TTY Relay. 

The Division will consider all comments received during the comment period for consideration in the Final EIS. Comments may be submitted via email to CedarHillsPlanEIS@kingcounty.gov. Comments sent by mail should be addressed to King County Solid Waste Division, 201 S. Jackson Street, Suite 701, Seattle, WA 98104-3855, Attn: Kinyan Lui, Project Manager. 

The Solid Waste Division has arranged for a court reporter to take oral comments via Skype on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, from 5 to 7 p.m. To reserve a 5-minute speaking slot and arrange interpreter services or other accommodations for people with disabilities, please call the Solid Waste Division at 206-477-4466 or 711 TTY by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020.