Sims confirms Highway 9 Brightwater plant site

Published 7:47 am Monday, February 25, 2008

Standing in a building that won’t be there in a few years, King County Executive Ron Sims announced Dec. 1 that the $1.4 billion Brightwater sewage treatment plant will be built on 114 acres along Highway 9, just north of Highway 522.

Sims named the site his preferred alternative more than a year ago. Monday, it became official.

The decision has many nearby residents concerned because it sits on top of the Cross Valley aquifer, which provides drinking water to more than 14,000 people.

Sims told a packed house inside the Bear Creek Grange Hall that Brightwater “will be a very good neighbor.” The hall sits on the plant’s proposed site. He promised that residents will be involved in the design process, and in developing a learning center that will provide education about water and the environment.

King County says it needs to build a third sewage treatment plant by 2010, when the two existing plants are expected to reach capacity.

On Monday, Sims showed conceptual drawings and models that feature a tree-lined Highway 9 with most of the plant’s major buildings on the south end of the landscape, nearest Highway 522.

“This site still has some industrial look to it,” Sims said after the event.

Sims also announced the pipeline will run underneath 195th Street in King County, through Kenmore and Lake Forest Park. The pipeline then moves north, along the county line, to Point Wells, where treated wastewater will be released into Puget Sound.

Sims said he chose that route because, “I made the decision that north King County have some responsibility, as well.”

The sewage plant is considered an essential public facility, meaning it provides services for people throughout the region, so it can’t be denied placement, although local groups and politicians are lining up their objections.

“This was all done without Snohomish County residents having a voice,” said Mark Sakura, a frustrated resident who vented at Sims during a minutes-long monologue on Monday.

Sims said that 60 percent of the wastewater that Brightwater will process will come from Snohomish County. “As a result of that, it’s being placed here.”

The process is one people are still looking to fight. The Washington Tea Party, an Edmonds-based group that was against siting Brightwater in their hometown, has vowed to continue the fight. And state Rep. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, said while he is pleased the plant didn’t end up in his town, the process is undemocratic.

“I agree that regional cooperation is important, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the people’s constitutional rights,” Shin said in a release.

One nearby resident who worked in favor of siting the plant on Highway 9 is Greg Stephens, president of the Little Bear Creek Protective Association. While many believe Brightwater will be a danger to the creek, which runs less than 200 yards from where the plant will be, Stephens said some of the $88 million in mitigation money from the project could serve the stream and salmon well.

“If we do it right, the salmon will still be here in 100 years,” Stephens said. “If we do nothing, it could be covered by asphalt.”

King County had already purchased about 35 acres before Monday’s announcement. Officials said they expect to pay $124 million to buy 114 acres for the plant property and portals along the pipeline route, clear the way and get permits.

The Highway 9 site was the most expensive option out of the six finalists that King County examined for the $1.35 billion treatment plant.

The cost for each parcel varies depending on what buildings are on the property or what building permits had already been secured by the owners.

The land that has already been purchased is mostly at the north end of the plant’s footprint. King County officials are not disclosing how much they are paying for the land, which has an assessed value of more than $6 million, according to Snohomish County Auditor’s Office documents.

King County is preparing relocation packages to pay companies for moving their operations to other areas. Those could include moving costs and hooking up utilities at the new location, True said.

The Stock Pot soup plant, which sits on about eight acres, is owned by a partnership that includes Lynnwood property owner Pat Echelbarger.

Stock Pot sits on land that has an assessed valued of more than $6 million. It will cost millions more to move the operation, said John Faulkner, a spokesman for Campbell’s Soup Co., which owns Stock Pot. Faulkner said.

Meanwhile, Snohomish County Council members are weighing their options on an appeal of King County’s final environmental impact statement.

“We certainly haven’t made any decision yet” to appeal, Council member Dave Gossett said.

Snohomish County has dozens of consultants and attorneys reviewing the final environmental documents. Stephen Dickson, who is managing the county’s Brightwater technical review, said King County has “been very responsive to the questions that we raised.”

Council chairman Gary Nelson said Snohomish County has already found eight areas in the environmental review that officials feel haven’t been studied enough.

Snohomish County, or anyone else interested in appealing the environmental review, must file a notice with King County by Monday. The actual appeal isn’t due until mid-January.

Victor Balta is a reporter with The Herald in Everett. Reporter Brian Kelly contributed to this story.