PORT ANGELES — Clallam County edged closer to building a Carlsborg wastewater treatment and reuse system Monday, signing its side of an agreement with the Clallam County Public Utility District.
They hope PUD commissioners will follow suit — and soon.
The county must provide water and sewer service to the unincorporated hamlet west of Sequim if it hopes to retain urban growth area status for Carlsborg.
As an urban growth area, Carlsborg can include commercial and light industrial zones that are prohibited in surrounding rural areas.
Pressed by urban sprawl opponent Futurewise — a nonprofit Seattle-based land-use watchdog — the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board has ruled Clallam County noncompliant for designating Carlsborg an urban growth area.
One reason: The area lacks a central sewer facility and relies on septic tanks, many of which are failing.
The hearings board has set an Oct. 23 deadline for the county to comply with its orders — far too soon to build a sewer system — but the board is likely to grant the county more time.