Clallam board approves $1M grant for Clallam Bay/Sekiu sewer project
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 4, 2026
PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County commissioners have approved an Opportunity Fund grant for the Clallam Bay/Sekiu sewer project.
Commissioners held a public hearing on Tuesday for the $1 million grant.
“Last week, the board approved the funding agreement for the Clallam Bay/Sekiu sewer pipe replacement, and that funding is a reimbursable funding program,” Utilities Program Manager Ron Garcelon said. “This short-term loan from the Opportunity Fund is working capital to pay those bills before we are reimbursed by that grant.”
In the past, working capital was provided by the general fund and it worked the same way with the reimbursable grant, he said.
“The project moves along, we get monthly billings from the contractor, we pay those bills and then the (Department of) Ecology grant reimburses those payments, and then at the end of the project, the money was returned to the general fund,” Garcelon said.
For this project, the Public Works Department went to the Opportunity Fund Board, which approved a short-term loan to provide the working capital for the project.
“It will work in the same way into the project. We will return the working capital loan to the Opportunity Fund,” Garcelon said.
The Opportunity Fund Advisory Board met Jan. 7 to consider the application from the Public Works Department, according to county documents. The loan from the Opportunity Fund will be at the Local Government Investment Pool rate and is to be repaid in 18 months.
Clallam County owns and operates two wastewater treatment plants and the two associated collection systems located in the Clallam Bay/Sekiu Urban Growth Area, according to county documents.
“This infrastructure was installed in 1977 and has been operating continuously ever since,” according to the documents. “The collection systems consist of gravity piping and seven pump stations that deliver sewage to the treatment plants.”
Last week, commissioners approved a funding package offered by the Department of Ecology Clean Water State Revolving Fund for $10,030,145. That includes more than $2.1 million in a Centennial grant, more than $4 million in forgivable principal and more than $3.8 million in a standard loan, according to county documents.
The project is to replace existing collection pipes in place. The county will replace 10,704 linear feet of sewer main, 33 manholes and 1,720 feet of side sewer connectors.
There were no comments during the public hearing before commissioners approved the Opportunity Fund loan.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
