CedarGrove3 by Scott Frank

Arlington looks at fire services

Budget constraints have the city scrambling to fund emergency services without a tax increase. Page 2

Local impact of ACA

Rodz on 3rd

The health care reform bill passed Supreme Court scrutiny. What does it mean for locals? Page 4

Downtown Marysville Merchants sponsor the 1st annual car show on 3rd Street July 14. Page 8

Enjoy free movies, concerts

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The cities of Arlington and Marysville present free outdoor entertainment all summer in local parks. Page 11

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Arlington bustles with outdoor events The annual Street Fair and Fly-In attract locals and visitors to Arlington this week.

staff file photo

n Last year’s visitors to the annual Arlington Street Fair found artists and crafters offering one-of-a-kind pieces, as well as commercial vendors, informational displays and more. There’s free entertainment, art projects for kids and, according to weather forecasts, lots of sun on tap as well.

mic from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday in Legion Park, followed by the Arlington Idol contest at 7 p.m. Registration for the

karaoke-style competition starts at 6 p.m. On Saturday, the day starts with Zumba. Country

music by Knut Bell is fea tured from 2 to 3 p.m., and at 5:30 p.m. Silver Blue Gold performs the music of Bad

Marysville goes to the dogs July 14 By Beckye Randall Staff Writer/Editor This weekend Strawberry Fields for Rover and the ad jacent park will be filled with activities, contests, informa tive displays and fun—all aimed at man’s best friend. The 6th Annual Poocha palooza outdoor dog event, organized by Marysville Dog Owners Group (M-DOG), takes place Saturday, July 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Strawberry Fields Park, 6100152nd St. NE in Marysville. A $5 suggested donation to enter includes “wag bags” to the first 400 visitors, with all proceeds supporting the off-leash park maintained by M-DOG. “At Poochapalooza, it’s all about the dogs,” said Leslie Buell, M-DOG president and Poochapalooza founder. Poochapalooza will go high fashion again this year

Cedar Grove seeking eco exemption By Beckye Randall Staff Writer/Editor

By Beckye Randall Staff Writer/Editor The Arlington Fly-In is al ready in full swing (see page 10 for information), continu ing through the weekend, and the Arlington Street Fair opens for business tomor row. The Street Fair will oc cupy Olympic Avenue in historic downtown Arling ton with arts and crafts, up to 100 vendors, information and fun activities with local community groups, fair food and music, activities for kids and more. Presented by the Down town Arlington Business Association, the street fair is family-friendly fun that complements the Arling ton Fly-In, running three of the same days. A free shut tle runs from downtown to the airport throughout the weekend. Entertainment at the street fair includes an open

Real Life.

Vol. 5 No. 21 n JULY 12-JULY 25, 2012

www.northcountyoutlook.com

P.O. BOX 39 n MARYSVILLE, WA 98270

Real People.

staff file photo

n Grace Cole of Monroe and her Havanese pup Josie enjoyed social time with other dogs at last year’s Poochapalooza.

with the popular Fashions and Rescues Runway Show, mixing country charm with

urban chic. The show will feature adoptable dogs from six rescue groups modeling

the latest eye-catching fash ions live on the catwalk…Or is that dogwalk? At last year’s premier runway event, 16 dogs were adopted. The fashion show is free, but limited VIP tickets are available for $10 for spe cial catwalk seating, which also includes a “swag bag,” cupcakes, cake, refreshments and other treats. If you’re not into doggie fashion, Poochapalooza fea tures plenty of competitions, activities and demonstra tions to enable dogs to try their paws at something new. See and experience danc ing dogs, Flyball, wacky pet contests, doggy pie-eating contests, canine good citizen testing, nail clipping, scent demonstrations and live music. Additionally, more than four dozen pet-related See POOCH on page 9

Company. Cherry Cherry, a Neil Diamond tribute band, will perform from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The street fair runs July 13 through 15, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Cedar Grove Composting is requesting a waiver from the state’s Department of Ecology regarding limits on the amount of phosphorus it can discharge from its pro cessing plant on Smith Island into Steamboat Slough. In a permit application and accompanying techni cal memorandum received by the state agency June 5, Cedar Grove made the argument that the state’s benchmarks for phospho rus discharge, limited to 2.0 milligrams per liter (mg/L), applies to freshwater bodies like lakes, and not to rivers or marine waters. Its discharge point, argues Cedar Grove’s consultants Landau Associates, is “gen erally...into either brackish or salt water at higher tides, or into a fast-flowing mass of brackish or fresh water at lower tides, in which case mixing with saltwater at the edge of the tidal flats would occur within minutes.” Excess phosphorus in lakes and reservoirs can See WAIVER on page 3

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3 Local News Waiver: Phosphorus exceeds limit Solar project planned at AHS www.northcountyoutlook.com

Continued from page 1

Larry Altose, spokesper son for the Department of Ecology’s northwest region, noted, “Cedar Grove’s Ev erett facility has coverage under the state Industrial Stormwater General Permit. This is one of several types of general water quality per mits Ecology issues. General permits apply to large num bers of similar facilities. The permit sets ‘benchmarks’ for several pollutants. A facility that exceeds a benchmark must follow up with correc tive action. The general per mit requires a higher level of corrective action the more times per year that a facility

cause algae blooms which lead to decreased oxygen levels in the water and can be toxic to plants and animals. Phosphorus is found nat urally in yard waste like grass clippings, and in human and animal waste. According to the technical memorandum, concentra tions of phosphorus in Cedar Grove’s stormwater discharge has ranged from “undetect ed” to 6.3 mg/L, with a mean value of 2.6 mg/L. The waiver request notes that the com pany’s emissions are not “ex ceeding the benchmark by a wide margin.”

Meanwhile, in the air... By Christopher Andersson Staff Writer Cedar Grove Composting is also involved in a potential study that might investigate the source of odors around the Snohomish River Delta. Odor complaints have been directed at the compa ny since 2008, and they have been fined twice by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The compost company has been paying people to go door-to-door in Marys ville to gather support for the study, according to the Ever ett Herald. Marysville officials are worried that the study is only a stalling tactic. “We all know that two years is a long time to wait for a study to be done, and even after those two years, how long it takes the state to act on something, if they ever decide to. It could be three, four, five years, a decade. It may never happen,” said Jon Nehring, Marysville mayor, at a city council meeting. Cedar Grove officials say that there are other sources of the odors and that their reputations have been un fairly tainted. In a report to

the city of Everett, company officials wrote that due to weather problems and un foreseen circumstances in 2008, the plant did release a substantial odor. However, the report claims press and government attention from that incident has painted the public’s perception of all odors in the area. The report also notes that the plant had not re ceived complaints in the five years of operation be fore the summer of 2008. Marysville officials are open to a study, but want the study to focus on en forcement. “If Cedar Grove and state agencies are truly looking for a way to fix the odor problem, then we’ll come to an agreement and they’ll have their odor monitor ing program, but that hasn’t been the direction that they want the study to go,” said Nehring. Cedar Grove company spokesman Laird Harris says the company “will do their part” in correcting odors found to be attrib uted to them, reports The Herald.

P.O. Box 39 • Marysville, WA 98270 1331 State Ave. #B • Marysville, WA (360) 659-1100 • Fax (360) 658-7536 www.northcountyoutlook.com North County Outlook is published every other Thursday and mailed direct to households and businesses in Marysville, Arlington, Smokey Point, Tulalip and Quil Ceda Village. Letters to the editor, community news and story ideas may be e-mailed to editor@northcountyoutlook.com, or sent to the mailing address above. The Publisher reserves the right to edit material for content, grammar, taste, style or length, and all submitted items are published at the sole discretion of the Publisher. News Deadline: Monday noon before publication editor@northcountyoutlook.com

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Publisher and Editor . . . . . . . . . . Beckye Randall Staff Writers . . . . . . . .Sarah Arney, Brady Pierce, Christopher Andersson Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . Sue Stevenson Ad Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brenda Felder Ad Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Debbie Glidden Graphic Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carrie Harris Page Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . Beckye Randall Proofreading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anita Wuellner Printing and Direct Mail Services provided by Pacific Publishing

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exceeds a benchmark. A fa cility covered under a general permit can apply for a waiv er from a corrective action level, if they can satisfy Ecol ogy that the facility’s overall practices protect water qual ity. Ecology has 60 days to re ply to the application.” Cedar Grove’s application is for a waiver of Level 3 cor rective action. The company states that it has investigated a num ber of treatment options to reduce its phosphorus dis charge, but has determined the methods to be ineffective or too costly. “Exceeding a benchmark is a cause for concern,” said Altose, “which is why the fa cility must undertake correc tive actions.” A public comment period regarding Cedar Grove’s re quest is in effect through July 18. Written comments can be submitted to Washing ton Dept. of Ecology, Water Quality Program-Industrial Stormwater, P.O. Box 47696, Olympia, WA 98504-7696. The Department of Ecol ogy will rule on the waiver after the public comment pe riod ends.

July 12-July 25, 2012 North County Outlook

By Beckye Randall Staff Writer/Editor Arlington High School may soon begin producing a portion of its own energy with the planned installation of an 8 kilowatt solar array at John C. Larson Stadium. The installation is one of six projects under consider ation by Snohomish County P.U.D.’s Planet Power initia tive. Under the program, utility customers can make contributions to help fund alternative energy projects in the county. The Arlington site was chosen for its considerable visibility and learning op

portunities, according to the P.U.D.’s media relations department. In addition to the physical addition of so lar panels at the sports field, the project will include the development of an interac tive web page to share data with students, families and the public. An 8 kW solar panel sys tem can produce enough en ergy to power a typical resi dential home. Other 2012 Planet Power projects will be located at Darrington High School, Granite Falls High School, Park Place Middle School in Monroe, Sultan High School

Larsen signs on to ‘insource’ bill Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) is co-sponsor of legislation intended to bring jobs back to the United States by re warding companies that in source jobs and closing loop holes for outsourcers. The Bring Jobs Home Act (H.R. 5542) would cre ate a 20 percent tax credit for costs associated with moving a production line, trade or business back to the United States and would close loop holes that benefit companies

that outsource jobs. The Washington State La bor Council held a rally in support of the bill in Everett on Monday. “I stand with the work ers in Everett today who want to bring jobs home,” Larsen said. “I am support ing the Bring Jobs Home

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