DARRINGTON — The Sauk-Suiattle Tribe has registered its strongest concerns yet about a proposal to build a wood-burning power plant next to the Hampton Timber Mill.
The tribe has appealed a Snohomish County decision that the project does not need an environmental impact statement. That appeal now awaits a decision from county hearing examiner Robert Backstein, who heard arguments from both sides Wednesday.
The tribe’s appeal repeats environmental concerns some residents have voiced for months. They worry about the effect of the plant’s new smokestack and water use.
"The Darrington area’s environment is important to all of us, tribal and nontribal," said Jason Joseph, tribal chairman.
"It supports our lifestyle and attracts tourism dollars," he said. "But who will want to float the Sauk River if a new smokestack goes up right next to the bank? Who will want to come fishing here if we hurt the salmon?"
County officials announced on Jan. 7 that the new plant would not significantly hurt the environment.
The decision was based on consultations with state and federal agencies that regulate such plants, said Erik Olson, senior planner for the county’s planning and development services department.
The plant would burn wood waste to generate up to 25 megawatts of electricity, which would be sold to a public utility. It would also provide steam for the timber mill next door.
Officials at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the state Department of Ecology had previously confirmed that the wood-burning plant could be built without an extensive environmental review. They said any new air pollutants caused by the plant’s smokestack, if built correctly, could probably be offset by reducing the use of an oil-burning boiler at the adjacent mill.
The tribe’s appeal originally was based on concerns about how stabilizing the riverbank to protect the plant "might endanger some of the last healthy wild salmon runs in the region," according to a tribal statement. The appeal was later amended to include a variety of concerns about air and water quality.
"All humans were made from Mother Earth," said James Joseph, the tribe’s natural resources director. "Without those living things around us, we can’t exist. If the Darrington energy plant is constructed, we need to know the environmental damages that will be caused to all living things around it."
Olson said there is no plan to stabilize the bank, and that no construction would occur within 200 feet of the river. The project has gone through an environmental review, but not the rigorous environmental impact statement process.
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
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