A neutral court will decide whether Snohomish County has a say in where the controversial Brightwater sewage treatment plant will be built, a Snohomish County judge said Thursday.
Superior Court Judge George Bowden granted a King County request to move legal action pertaining to Brightwater to Thurston County, where many state issues are resolved.
The decision came in connection with an appeal filed by Snohomish County late in December seeking review of a ruling by the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board.
The board ordered the county to rewrite its ordinance allowing hearing examiners to have a say in approval or setting of conditions for essential public services such as sewage treatment plants, jails and schools, which are often hard to site.
The board was created under the 1990 Growth Management Act, a law designed to control growth and prevent urban sprawl.
In response to a King County petition, the board ruled in December that Snohomish County had to change its ordinance by Wednesday, something that could only be done now with an emergency ordinance, said Millie Judge, a deputy prosecutor.
King County argued that the Snohomish County process would harm its ability to build the $1.35 billion treatment facility, now planned for south Snohomish County along Highway 9 north of Highway 522.
The first order of business will be to secure a court-ordered stay of next week’s deadline to delay the effective date of the board’s order, Judge said Thursday. Patrick Mullaney, a lawyer who argued on Thursday for King County, said he believes his client will oppose a stay.
Judge said she expects the entire legal process to take less than 90 days.
Gov. Gary Locke could impose sanctions if Snohomish County does not comply with the board’s ruling, Judge said. Sanctions could include withholding some state funds from the county, she said.
The Brightwater facility has been a hot-button political issue, with citizen activists and politicians opposing construction of the plant in Snohomish County. A site in Edmonds also was on the table until the final choice of the Highway 9 site.
Citizen activist Corinne Hensley, who was in court Thursday, said she was disappointed that she and others will have to travel to Thurston County for the judicial proceedings on Snohomish County’s appeal.
That was one of the arguments Judge used Thursday to Bowden. She also said that the Snohomish County bench has developed an expertise on growth-management issues, and the venue was proper.
Bowden apparently was swayed by Mullaney’s argument.
He said Bowden should move the case to Thurston County to prevent the appearance of bias, and suggested local judges might not be impartial because of heated political climate.
Bowden said either Thurston or Snohomish county has jurisdiction over the case, but a neutral site would be better to ensure impartiality.
About 60 percent of the sewage treated at the Brightwater plant would come from Snohomish County communities. King County wants the plant in operation by 2010 when current Seattle and Renton facilities reach their capacity.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
