The comment period to file a response to the draft environmental impact statement for the Brightwater treatment plant ended Tuesday, Jan. 21. Or did it?
Apparently not for 17 individuals and three government entities who stepped up and requested extensions to the deadline. All were granted extensions until Feb. 5, making their total time to prepare a response 90 days. Those who adhered to the rules as published had 75 days to respond to the multi-volume review of possible environmental impacts of constructing a wastewater treatment plant.
Among those who requested and received extensions were the state Department of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“The state environmental policy act (SEPA) allows for the granting of extensions,” said Shirley Marroquin, supervisor of environmental planning and community relations for the King County Wastewater Division.
The act does not specify a method for replying parties to request an extension, only stating that extensions may be granted.
“We felt that we were trying to accommodate special needs,” Marroquin said. “Many people felt the document was long and complicated. Anyone who needed more time for any reason was given the extra time.”
Review of the submitted responses that met the deadline was scheduled to begin immediately. Those granted extensions will be reviewed at the end of the process.
Upon learning of the extension availability, Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson directed city staff to request an extension, which was granted.
Haakenson said he is concerned about a larger issue, an arrogance that has persisted throughout the Brightwater process.
“This is typical of how King County has acted,” he said. “Inconsistently.
“If they are going to grant an extension, they should grant it to everyone, not just to those who call and ask.”
For Snohomish County Council member Gary Nelson, whose district contains Edmonds, one of the two possible locations for the plant, this also served as yet another example of an ongoing breech of trust in the process. “This was not good,” he said. “It destroys cooperative feelings that we hoped would be there,”
By the close of the published deadline, approximately 400 responses had been received by King County.
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