County to condemn sewer sites
Published 11:57 am Friday, February 22, 2008
King County knows that many people living along Route 9 don’t want the $1.3 billion Brightwater sewage treatment plant built at the preferred site there.
But it’s trying to be a good neighbor anyway.
On April 23, King County Executive Ron Sims sent an ordinance to the Metro King County Council seeking to condemn the two Brightwater sites. The preferred site is Route 9 at 228th Street SE, but another possibility is the Unocal property in Edmonds. King County has the authority to condemn property in Snohomish County for this particular project.
The council could look at the ordinance as early as next week.
The ordinance is needed so King County can start buying land for the Brightwater plant. That process will begin near the Route 9 site in the next few months, a news release from Sims’ office says.
Gary Larson, a spokesman for Sims, said King County is making the move for a couple of reasons. One is to help property owners at the Route 9 site.
“We’ve gotten some calls from the people out there” wanting to know what’s going to happen with their lives, Larson said. “This will reduce their uncertainty.”
If Sims changes his mind and decides this fall that Brightwater will be built in Edmonds, King County would sell the Route 9 land it buys.
“There’s valuable property out there,” Larson said.
By condemning the land, property owners also would qualify for federal tax breaks.
Another reason to start obtaining land is to keep the project on schedule. The Route 9 site includes land from many property owners. If the Edmonds site near the waterfront eventually is picked, there would be fewer landowners to deal with.
If the Metropolitan King County Council votes to initiate condemnation proceedings, that would ensure rights of entry so the county’s wastewater treatment division can gather information for permitting and design.
About 63 percent of the wastewater for Brightwater would come from south Snohomish County, with the rest from King County.
King County has operated plants in Seattle and Renton for 40 years, but they will reach capacity by 2010, when Brightwater is set to open, officials contend.
The ordinance includes only the two treatment plant sites. Condemnation would be used as a last resort if negotiations fail. King County will buy property based on fair market value and offer relocation benefits to businesses and tenants.
Steve Powell is an editor for The Herald in Everett.
