Grimm's wants to change their Metro license.
Grimm’s Fuel in Tualatin is trying to eliminate the requirement to keep 12 inches of bio-cover on their active compost piles. The bio-cover contains microbes that consume odor compounds before they are released into the air, and this has been reducing odors the past few years, but now Grimm's wants to replace the bio-cover with active compost to increase production capacity. Grimm's composting license is up for renewal, and they have requested that Metro change the license conditions to allow this. If approved, this change will increase offsite odor impacts on the surrounding community.
- The City of Tualatin is opposed to this change.
- Grimm's already violated the bio-cover requirement.
- Now is your turn to speak up.
- Read the proposal documents to learn more.
- Submit your Public Comments to Metro before the 5pm deadline January 31, 2024.
- Feel free to use the sample public comments below.
Dear Metro:
We are impacted by the composting operation at Grimm’s Fuel and we insist that Metro maintain the existing requirement of 12-inches of bio-cover on all sides of the compost piles. The license requirement is reasonable, feasible, and necessary for the following reasons:
- Short distance between the compost piles and nearby residential areas
- The large radius of current odor impacts
- An expected increase in Grimm’s future composting volume
- The bio-cover is currently working and it is effective
- Green Mountain Technologies recommended a minimum of 12-inches of bio-cover
Current odor impacts exceed one mile in distance, which is more than 4 times Metro’s standard quarter-mile radius for mailing public notice postcards. The bio-cover is currently reducing the frequency, severity, and duration of odor impacts on the surrounding community. We are not interested in going backwards or enduring any increase in odor.
Jeff Grim, the owner of Grimm’s Fuel, stated at the Metro info session on December 5th, that they are only using about 50% of total system capacity in February. That means that even with the current regulations in place, February odor impacts could double.
Reducing the oxygen monitoring requirement from daily to weekly is reasonable, as long as the new license includes a provision that if the oxygen level dips below normal, monitoring should go back to daily until the cause of the dip is isolated and resolved.
The current complaint-driven operational model is flawed, due to a number of factors, including the technical difficulties with an odor reporting form that does not always work, combined with the disclaimers, technical hurdles, and warnings that Metro staff has added to this form, each of which would result in a decrease in the number of complaints submitted.
Rather than using odor complaints to monitor air quality, a more scientific approach is needed. We are asking Metro to install automated air quality monitoring equipment at the fence line and hire an independent air quality consultant to perform an air quality and odor survey over a period of at least 12 months to take into account all atmospheric conditions. We have a right to know what is in the air that we are breathing. The health impacts of living downwind from this facility have never been studied, and it is time to address this issue.
Metro has an obligation to protect the public from both current and future impacts. The bio-cover is necessary, it is currently working, and it’s removal would be negligent and unjustified.
Thank you for your consideration.