Protesters’ plea: Don’t flush Thrasher’s Corner
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, September 5, 2001
By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
BOTHELL — Dulane Crist never had occasion to don a rubber toilet mask she was given years ago.
Until Wednesday, when she slipped it over her head, stood on the corner of 208th Street SE and the Bothell-Everett Highway, and brandished a protest sign.
Crist joined 15 other protesters who oppose the construction of a 25-acre wastewater treatment plant at Thrasher’s Corner. Drivers honked and waved their support during the morning and evening rush-hour protest.
"I’ve had this mask for 10 years, and suddenly it occurred to me what I had it for," Crist said.
Thrasher’s Corner is one of six sites being considered for the future home of Brightwater, King County’s third wastewater treatment plant.
Four of the six sites are in or near Bothell. Two other sites in Snohomish County are located in Woodway and Edmonds.
Next week, King County Executive Ron Sims is expected to cut anywhere from two to four sites from the list.
The remaining sites will undergo extensive environmental impact studies. The exact date for Sims’ announcement has not been made.
The project, approved by the King County Executive Council in 1999, is scheduled for completion in 2010, the point at which the current King County sewer system is expected to reach capacity.
Upon completion, the $850 million treatment plant will serve north King and south Snohomish counties, including Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace and Bothell.
Sims will make the final site selection in 2003.
Crist, along with 7,500 people who’ve signed a petition of protest — which has been forwarded to Sims — say that Thrasher’s Corner, a 144-acre site, should have never come under consideration.
It’s the only site that would displace homeowners — 14 of them, said Doris Smith, whose home would be demolished to make way for the sewage plant.
Construction would also destroy salmon and wildlife habitat, Smith added.
"There’s 144 acres, but 100 of those acres are wetlands."
Christina Morrissey, who made dozens of protest signs, said the wetlands are considered such a sensitive environmental area that residents living next to them can’t even get a building permit to put up a garden shed.
"Now King County wants to build a 25-acre sewage plant the size of Alderwood Mall? If people and businesses have to follow the rules, so does government," Morrissey said.
Members of the Thrasher’s Corner Preservation Association, a 100-member group, say they are prepared to escalate the fight if Thrasher’s Corner isn’t dropped from the list.
"We have people ready to lie down in front of construction equipment," Morrissey added.
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.
The Thrasher’s Corner Preservation Association meets Thursday night from 7 to 9 at the Bothell Library, 18215 98th Ave. NE.
The public is welcome.
