County Commissioners discuss apple maggot quarantine boundary change

The Adams County Board of Commissioners held a public meeting on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Adams County Courthouse to discuss the Apple Maggot Quarantine Emergency Boundary Modification with Mayor Ed Stephens of Sprague.

Stephens explained the purpose of the meeting is to discuss service with Wheatland Waste Systems to Adams County disposal sites to maintain low costs to the city.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) describes the apple maggot as an invasive insect pest native to eastern North America whose hosts include apples, crabapple and native hawthorn.

The insect can cause immense physical damage to fruit and affect market access for international shipments in locations outside of apple maggot free areas.

The WSDA has proposed to include the southeast portion of Lincoln County as a quarantine area for the apple maggot in attempt to prevent the pest from spreading to non-infested areas, secure access to international and interstate markets and protect the commercial tree fruit industry from the pest through the quarantine modification.

The emergency modification to the quarantined area boundary includes Sprague and Harrington because the maggot has been seen in these areas. Although only five insects have been captured, the Adams County Commissioners have concerns about the infestation spreading to Adams County, a non-quarantined area.

Due to the fact Adams County has apple crops located at the east portion of the county and is currently not inside the quarantined area, Chairman John Marshall expressed his concern for exposing their crops to the apple maggot infestation.

As the third largest crop in the county, Marshall said their main priority is to protect the high value fruit.

Marshall said he understands the county has a residential contract with Sprague allowing the city to use the Adams County disposal site for waste. He said more information would be needed for him to determine how the county’s apple crop would be affected.

During a meeting with the WSDA about the change in the boundary, they discussed requiring the county to acquire a special permit to haul Sprague’s garbage. Once at the transfer stations, the WSDA suggested extra precautions be taken by covering Sprague’s organic and municipal waste.

Public Works Director Todd O’Brien explained the WSDA has not made an official decision on the details of the special permits, but they currently have a proposed draft listing what the permit would entail.

The draft for obtaining the special permit would go into affect in January and states requirements for any individual collecting organic or municipal solid waste from inside a quarantined area and also at a location outside of the quarantined area.

These requirements could include covering municipal solid waste and performing tests, reports and inspections on the waste, said O’Brien.

With the boundary modification, Adams County would be required to obtain a special permit to continue to accept Sprague’s waste.

The trailers the county uses to haul waste only have an open net for coverage, which would require them to tarp the waste to avoid possible infestation, O’Brien explained.

O’Brien expressed his concern for the fact Adams County is not inside the quarantined area, allowing the crops to be susceptible to the infestation.

He informed the board Adams County and Lincoln County have an inter-local agreement. The agreement allows Adams County to transport Lincoln County’s waste in addition to local garbage.

Marshall said the WSDA stated the apple maggot infestation has spread from commercial crops to private, which could affect the residential waste from Sprague.

Because of this, he voiced the idea of residential and organic waste from Sprague be separated to avoid contamination be discussed with the WSDA as a precaution. He also suggested increasing the transportation fee from $70 to $75 or $80 to better cover the expenses.

O’Brien said this issue pertains to municipal solid waste because there is always a chance organic waste will contaminate the solid waste.

Stephens said he would discuss the possibility of placing a large dumpster in Sprague specifically for organic waste to be hauled to Barr-Tech Composting Facility to avoid mixing the wastes.

O’Brien questioned why Sprague could not dispose of the waste at the Lincoln County disposal facility. Stephens explained the quarantined area does not include the disposal site, which would require Lincoln County to obtain a special permit.

Lincoln County will most likely obtain the permit due to the fact they still have residents’ waste they are required to accept outside of the quarantined area, O’Brien said.

Stephens expressed his concern on the distance away the Lincoln County disposal site is compared to Wheatland or Adams County. He would like to maintain business with Wheatland Waste if possible, Stephens explained.

O’Brien suggested the Adams and Lincoln counties commissioners schedule a meeting to discuss options.