Stop Polluting Bellingham Now
The City of Bellingham is choosing to burn our money and risk our health. Why?
STOP POLLUTING BELLINGHAM: DENY PERMIT RO-52
A incinerator stack billows smoke filled with PFAS. Bellingham’s stacks are a fraction of the regulatory height—pumping PFAS and CO directly into city neighborhoods.The Issue with Bellingham’s Incinerators at Post Point
Overloaded, Outdated, and Operating Without Oversight
Old style of top loading incinerators with HPV (High-Priority Violator) status
Flagged by the EPA for violations against the Clean Air Act
Installed in 1972 to serve 41K B’hamsters, that same burner works OT to handle 91K people
Outdated and over capacity
It essentially works like a burn barrel with a giant torch on top to keep the smoke down. That’s what Bellingham has.
Carbon Monoxide, PFAS Forever Chemicals
MHF’s (Mulit-Hearth Furnaces) burn dirty when overloaded and create Carbon Monoxide directly floating into our city
CO suggests overfeeding the furnace
Stormwater sludge carries rubber tire dust, brake pad particles, PFAS, oils, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, endocrine-disrupting chemicals and more. Read more here.
A low-temp incinerator like Bellingham’s mean these don’t go away and instead make their way into our community in the air.
RO-52 Permit Dodges Shutdown with Paperwork
This permit is not the Air Operating Permit the facility needs.
Bellingham operates without an AOP; RO-52 permit is not designed to be a stand alone permit & must be denied.
Without this permit, the incinerator would have to shutdown, and it should.
RO-52 does not require compliance or all required operating permits
Or required best available air control technology including incorrectly locating the sensor.
RO-52 — A Dangerous Permit with No Enforcement
Ignores Environmental Regulations
RO-52 shields Post Point from mandatory shutdown for ongoing polluting
Does not resolve the missing AOP or SSMP
Omits BACT location, testing or enforcement
Should include air-modeling due to extraordinary short stacks at only 32 feet high, not a normal 60’ stack
Should include soil testing, SEPA, and air modeling
Avoids Compliance & Enforcement
City-hired lawyers are delaying pollution enforcement, prioritizing legal tactics over public protection
Despite clear violations and a Notice of Violation (NOV) received over a year ago, enforcement has stalled.
RO-52 further delays action, allowing ongoing pollution while residents foot the legal bill
These legal maneuvers have blocked accountability since the city failed to secure a proper Air Operating Permit in 2016.
Skirts Sensor Location & CO Monitoring
Sham Testing & Failures: CO sensors are placed after air dilution, invalidating results + recent scrubber failures exposed the public to pollution without warning
Toxic Pollution: Low-temp burning spreads PFAS and other toxins across Fairhaven, Bellingham & beyond
Climate Contradiction: The city burns 24 million cubic feet of gas annually for incineration—undermining Bellingham’s climate goals
Overloaded & Obsolete: The system is maxed out, can’t scale with population growth, and lacks the infrastructure or justification to keep burning
The alternatives are safer, less costly & readily available.
EPA prefers landfilling for sewage sludge. For the City of Bellingham it requires less investment, fewer emissions, and no natural gas. It’s safer for workers and neighborhoods. It’s
not a "dumping" plan but waste is treated & stabilized.
These alternatives include opportunities for regional solutions with redundancy, recycling lagoon solids for energy or reuse, transport options that reduce neighborhood exposure and thus create long-term health savings. This includes a digester with energy recovery for almost free.
This is our chance to build smarter. Redundant systems, regional cooperation, and cleaner processes can turn a toxic liability into a resilient future. Why wouldn’t we choose that?
You can download, share via link, and comment directly in the presentation here.
The presentation includes:
Background on the facility
The environmental danger
The health risks for people and the community
Information on RO-52 Permit
The costs and alternative cost-effective, environmentally preferred option
Resource links to explore yourself
Deny RO-52 for a safe, clean alternative for our waste.
Explore the map to see the proximity to the community and on local water.
We call on the City of Bellingham to halt investment in the outdated Post Point incinerator and explore safer, cleaner alternatives—before it’s too late.
Understanding the Issue & Solutions Through Photography
City’s Ash Pile & AshFills
The City of Bellingham owned incinerator’s that generated % of this ash fill. The ash is mixed with toxic medical waste AKA heavy metals. None of it is lined. Monitoring wells? Gone.Short Stacks Release CO into City
Should include air-modeling due to extraordinary short stacks only 32 feet high, not a normal 60’ stack.