HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Introduction 4.14.261
Chapter 1
Introduction
Role and Purpose
Local governments are required to develop comprehensive solid waste management plans (SWMP).
These plans serve as guiding documents for local governments' solid waste programs, including
detailing all existing solid waste handling facilities within a county and long-range estimates for needed
future solid waste facilities. These plans must also provide information on waste reduction, reuse, and
recycling programs.
Jefferson County Public Works (Public Works) is the agency responsible for developing and
maintaining the Jefferson County SWMP and for delivering the solid waste and moderate risk waste
services described within. Requirements for local solid waste planning are found in RCW Chapter
70A.205.040 through 70A.205.075 and RCW Chapter 70A.205.110 and 70A.205.115.
Local governments are also required to plan for reducing small-volume hazardous materials and waste,
or moderate risk waste. These plans are known as local hazardous waste management plans and have
separate requirements from local comprehensive solid waste management plans. Requirements for
moderate risk waste planning are found in RCW Chapter 70A.300.350 and Chapter 70A.224.020.
By the provisions of RCW 70A.300, Cities and Counties may combine solid waste and moderate risk
waste plans as Jefferson County has opted to do.
By the provisions of RCW 70A.205.040, Cities may “enter into an agreement with the county pursuant
to which the city shall participate in preparing a joint city-county plan for solid waste management”, as
the City of Port Townsend has opted to do.
Relationship to Other Plans
This SWMP functions within a framework of the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan and the State
Solid and Hazardous Waste Plan.
Plan Development
By the provisions of RCW 70A.205.110 (3), “Each county shall establish a local solid waste advisory
committee to assist in the development of programs and policies concerning solid waste handling and
disposal and to review and comment upon proposed rules, policies, or ordinances prior to their
adoption. Such committees shall consist of a minimum of nine members and shall represent a balance
of interests including, but not limited to, citizens, public interest groups, business, the waste
management industry, agriculture, and local elected public officials.”
RCW 70A.205.110 (3) also requires that SWMP’s must be “prepared with the active assistance and
participation of a local solid waste advisory committee.”
The Jefferson County Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) has been an integral part of
developing this SWMP and is composed of broad and balanced interests as described in RCW
70A.205.110 (3). SWAC and Public Works began discussing a new framework for the SWMP at
regular SWAC meetings in 2025 and Department of Ecology (Ecology) staff presented an overview of
the planning process and plan requirements at a regular SWAC meeting on January 22, 2026. Public
Works began collaborating with the SWAC on the SWMP update at a regular SWAC meeting on April
23, 2026.
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All SWAC meetings are open to the public, duly noticed in the paper of record (Port Townsend and
Jefferson County Leader), and follow Open Public Meetings Act requirements per Resolution No. 50-
22: Appendix A: OPMA Guidelines for Jefferson County Boards, Commissions & Committees,
adopted by the Board of County Commissioners on October 24, 2022. A table of the public meetings
convened for this SWMP update is found in Appendix __.
The process of updating and adopting this SWMP consists of the following steps:
• development and review of draft chapters for comment by the SWAC and County staff
• compiling revised draft chapters into a complete draft for review and comment by the SWAC and
County staff
• development of a SEPA checklist for the draft SWMP
• determination of cost and rate impacts using the Cost Assessment Questionnaire provided by the
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC)
• review of the Preliminary Draft SWMP by the public, Ecology and UTC
• incorporation of public, UTC, and Ecology comments to produce the Final Draft SWMP
• review of the revised Final Draft SWMP by SWAC and Ecology
• adoption of the Final Draft by the City of Port Townsend and Jefferson County
• submittal of the Final SWMP with resolutions of adoption to Ecology for final approval
• final approval by Ecology
Plan Maintenance
The update of this plan was delayed until the process for identifying an alternate site for a new transfer
was completed in early 2026 because of the implications to the SWMP. A description of the rationale
and planning for a replacement transfer station is found in Chapter 3 – Profit: Economic Performance.
This SWMP is a guide for planning and decision making and is intended to be a “working” or “living”
document. It must be adaptable to a dynamic regulatory and business environment in order to remain
relevant and useful.
The Department of Ecology now hosts SWMP’s in a digital format which provides an opportunity to
make more frequent updates to this SWMP. For example, the Five-Year Capital Plan found in
Appendix __ will be updated annually and other SWMP revisions will be documented in the Plan
Update Log found in Appendix __.
Previous Solid Waste Management Plans
Public Works provides solid waste and moderate risk waste services as an Enterprise Fund, operating
like a private business. Enterprise Funds are self-supporting services such as utilities that recover costs
through user fees, rather than taxes. User fees must be used to deliver a specific service and must be
monitored and adjusted to maintain profitability.
Absent from previous SWMP’s are guidelines for fiscal management and for maintaining a balance
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between the financial health of the Enterprise Fund and levels of solid waste and moderate risk waste
service. Jefferson County’s service levels are comparable to or exceed those of King County’s,
however Jefferson County’s limited customer base provides a much smaller revenue line, and this has
significantly strained the Enterprise Fund’s financial stability. Both cash reserves and capital fund
balances have declined below the thresholds established by the Board of County Commissioners.
Triple Bottom Line
“Triple Bottom Line” is a term coined by John Elkinton in 1994 and defined by the Harvard Review
as, “a business concept that posits firms should commit to measuring their social and environmental
impact - in addition to their financial performance - rather than solely focusing on generating profit, or
the standard ‘bottom line’.” This concept is often referred to a People, Planet, Profit or “3P”.
It is helpful to model the SWMP after a triple bottom line business plan because the inclusion of the
Enterprise Fund’s financial health simply builds on previous SWMP’s focus on social and
environmental impacts, providing a manageable equilibrium between them as visualized in the diagram
below:
Seen in this arrangement, each area of performance influences the other. Revisions to any one of the
performance areas create feedback loops, as in this example:
Beginning in 2023, Public Works contracted with a local business for the provision of an employment
program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who provide various services at
the transfer station including litter control. This discretionary program improved the social
performance of the solid waste program and to a lesser extent its environmental performance while also
negatively impacting its economic performance because it increased operating costs.
To offset the negative impact on economic performance, the fee for garbage service must necessarily
be increased to create more revenue. Because this may produce an economic barrier for low-income
customers it could be measured as a reduction in the social performance of the program.
In order to improve the social performance of the solid waste program Public Works created a low-
income discount program modeled after King County’s program. This created a loss of revenue,
reducing the economic performance of the Enterprise Fund which in turn must be corrected with an
increase to the fee for garbage service for the other customers who provide the subsidy for the low-
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income discount.
The economic pressures that affect the equilibrium between People, Planet, and Profit can be
categorized as:
1. Operational Costs: vendor and contractor charges, fuel costs, labor costs, facility and
equipment replacement, etc.
2. Level of Service: types of services offered and access to them
3. Unfunded Mandates: legislative requirements for new or expanded services without dedicated
new funding
Increases to operational costs can be moderated to some degree. Cross training of staff can reduce
staffing levels and gain operational efficiencies that reduce costs. Competitive bidding and
procurement practices can also reduce costs. Operational costs are addressed in Chapter 3 – Profit:
Economic Performance.
Level of service is the area where Public Works has the greatest latitude in gaining cost reductions and
improving fund balances. Many of the services provided by Public Works are discretionary, as
opposed to mandated by statute, and create a substantial cost burden. Level of Service is addressed in
Chapter 4 – Planet: Environmental Performance.
Of these areas of financial impact, Public Works is most limited in managing those of unfunded
mandates. Public Works can communicate with legislators through organizations such as the
Washington Association of Counties or by requesting County Commissioner testimony at a bill’s
hearing or by submitting comments as part of the rule making process after a bill’s passage. Unfunded
mandates are addressed in Chapter 5 – People: Social Performance.
Guidance on achieving and maintaining an equilibrium between People, Planet, and Profit is addressed
in Chapter 6 – Equilibrium. The pictograph below provides a scale of values used in assessing
program development and delivery.
Less Favored More Favored
High Cost
Small Customer Group
Small Environmental Impact
Reinforces Consumer Habits
Delivered by County
Low Cost
Benefits All Residents
Large Environmental Impact
Changes Consumer Habits
Creates Partnerships
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Goals of the Solid Waste Management Plan
In addition to meeting the requirements of State law and other mandates, and consistent with triple bottom
line planning, the goals and objectives established by Jefferson County for this Solid Waste Management
Plan are:
1. provide a level of service for solid waste and moderate risk waste services that balances Profit,
People, and Planet
2. develop partnerships that promote a circular economy
3. encourage and promote the use of private industry to carry out the components of the solid waste
system