Months from now, when the time is right for reviewing the impacts of a proposed metal shredder just northwest of Bellingham, city officials will join their peers in Whatcom County government in deciding how best to protect the surrounding environment.
The city council voted unanimously Monday evening, March 11, to co-lead the environmental investigation of ABC Recycling’s proposed project at 741 Marine Drive, even though the facility would be outside city limits.
Whatcom County has jurisdiction over the proposed industrial site but would welcome the help, county Planning Director Mark Personius said in an email.
The timeline for completing the review isn’t clear but likely is several months away. County planners are preparing to request a consultant to help review a project that could significantly impact air quality, stormwater, and noise and traffic levels in the Alderwood area.
The impacts also would be felt all the way to the Bellingham Shipping Terminal, as the processed metal would be trucked from Marine Drive to the waterfront for export.
These wide-ranging impacts were a good reason for the city to help lead the environmental review, city council member Dan Hammill said Monday.
“We’re right in the middle,” Hammill said. “So we need to have a seat at the table.”
City officials would not have a role in deciding final approval of the project. That will be up to the county council. At that point, city officials would be allowed to actively support or oppose the metal shredder, city council member Michael Lilliquist noted.
The controversial ABC Recycling proposal to start a car- and appliance-shredding operation on Marine Drive has met fierce opposition from some nearby residents angry about the various environmental impacts of the facility.
Council member Lisa Anderson said taking a leadership role in the environmental review was the best way to represent city residents’ interests.
“I think this is a really good step,” Anderson said. “It will allow us to sit down with multiple partners across the community [and] listen to their concerns.”
The more thorough type of environmental review called for in the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) is known as an environmental impact statement. This high-level review, if required, would outline all environmental effects that need to be studied, investigate those, and then come up with a range of possible options for the final project.
In comments before the vote, Mayor Kim Lund addressed the council’s decision to co-lead the review.
“We know that the impacts of this project are important to Bellingham,” she said. “Administration believes that co-leading the SEPA review for the proposed facility will give us a seat at the environmental-review table, where we can best represent the concerns of Bellingham residents.”
A company spokesman offered no objection.
“We take no issue with Bellingham coming in as the SEPA co-lead,” ABC Community Relations Manager Riley Sweeney said in an interview Monday. “We have every confidence we are building a state-of-the-art facility, and we look forward to demonstrating that through the permitting process.”
The Canadian-owned recycling firm applied for permits to operate the facility in October 2023 — one day before a county council hearing about a proposed moratorium on heavy industry in the area.
The 19.7-acre property is immediately north of a former cement plant. Commercial businesses are to the north, across Marine Drive. Residences are to the west, northeast and southeast.
Ralph Schwartz is CDN’s local government reporter; reach him at ralphschwartz@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 107.
