Knowing that the state will ultimately pick up the tab, the Port of Everett agreed Tuesday to spend $650,000 on environmental and engineering studies aimed at speeding approval of a new pier for handling Boeing-bound cargo.
The money will be paid to Berger/ABAM of Federal Way, which is expected to complete its studies and prepare a draft environmental impact statement this spring.
About half the money will be spent on environmental studies, things such as studying the pier’s potential effects on the air, how much noise it will generate, whether there are potential archeological finds in the area, what things live there and potential railroad access.
The other half will go for engineering work to check the geology and the sediment, to coordinate permits, to secure legal advice and to coordinate public involvement.
The company was hired in September to help the port secure the necessary permits for the pier, which would be built just north of the Mukilteo waterfront. The pier would be equipped with a gantry crane that could handle large containers and place them on rail cars for the short trip to the Boeing Co.’s Everett assembly plant.
The pier could handle containers that are 35 feet wide, 35 feet tall and as long as 140 feet, allowing Boeing to have large sections of its airplanes built overseas and then shipped to Everett for final assembly.
To persuade the company to build the 7E7 here, the state offered to pay $15.5 million for the project. Boeing announced last month that it was going ahead with the 7E7 and would build it in Everett.
Port engineer John Klekotka noted that fact Tuesday in seeking approval of the Berger/ABAM payment, which was unanimously endorsed by the three commissioners with little comment.
"They should be done by April, Klekotka said of the draft environmental impact statement for the project, a document that must be completed and reviewed in public hearings before permits for the work can be issued.
"Then there’s the public comment period and the final (environmental document). Theoretically, it should be a fairly quick process," Klekotka added.
The pier has drawn criticism from some Mukilteo residents, who wanted a public beach in the area, and from the Tulalip Tribes, which expressed concern about its effect on the environment and fish habitat.
Mukilteo resident Scott Decker, an earlier critic, told commissioners Tuesday that he now believed the pier was necessary for Boeing. "I’m ready to move on," he said.
He urged the port to contribute to improving the railroad crossing in the area so that trains wouldn’t have to blow their horns repeatedly as they go by. "This will help preserve the quality of the community as it grows," he said.
Port and Tulalip tribal officials have also met regularly to address the tribes’ concerns.
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