CARLSBORG — Sides in a controversial plan to build sewer lines and treatment in Carlsborg will have some real numbers to support their arguments by late summer or early fall, Clallam County Public Utility District General Manager Doug Nass said.
“First and foremost, despite some claims about what this project may or may not cost residents, businesses and governmental agencies, the fact is that nobody has an answer to this yet,” Nass wrote in a one-page letter to affected property owners Friday.
“There are no firm assessment dollar figures at this time, and any such numbers suggested by those in favor of or against the project are
purely speculative.”
Clallam County and the Clallam County PUD are partners in the proposal to build a Class A sewer and wastewater treatment plant in the unincorporated township west of Sequim. The PUD would operate the sewer if the county goes through with building it.
Preliminary estimates put the cost of the project between $15 million and $17 million.
Both entities approved a special benefits study in 2010 to determine how much each parcel owner would pay. A preliminary assessment for a proposed local utility district, which has not been finalized, is central to the ongoing special benefits study.
“Once we have the firm figures, we will present these in a public workshop, most likely in September or October,” Nass wrote in a project status letter.
Clallam County, too, will hold public meetings to discuss the results of the study before any final decision is made.
The county’s main reasons for building a sewer are two-fold.
One, it needs a sewer for the Carlsborg Urban Growth Area, or UGA, to comply with state law. Businesses cannot expand until the 11-year-old UGA is found to be compliant with the 1991 Growth Management Act.
Furthermore, public heath officials say existing septic systems are contributing to nitrate pollution in the porous aquifers of the Dungeness Valley.
But the long-debated project has been met with considerable opposition, especially in recent years.
Opponents say the sewer will be too expensive, and that it could force long-time Carlsborg residents out of their homes.
Opponents such as Bryan Frazier, director of the grass-roots Citizens for the Preservation of Carlsborg, have criticized the county for not providing documentation of nitrate pollution from existing on-site septic systems.
Last December, the citizens group submitted more than 170 signatures of residents opposed to the sewer, many of whom would like to see the UGA abolished altogether in favor of rural zoning.
Opponents have expressed concerns over sewer hookup fees, monthly charges, liens and the expense of disabling their $20,000 to $25,000 functioning septic systems.
Clallam County has already committed $4 million to the sewer project, which was approved for a $10 million state loan. The 0.5-percent-interest Public Works Trust Fund loan would be paid back over 30 years by residents and businesses that use the sewer.
County and PUD commissioners passed resolutions of intent to form a local utility district in March 2010.
The PUD received a non-biding advisory petition in support of the project from a required 10 percent of property owners within the UGA in September 2010.
The petition, which was disputed by some opponents, kept the PUD involved in the project.
Nass emphasized said the PUD would hold a formation hearing before the commissioners vote to form a local utility district.
Nass the said PUD is involved because the county approached it several years ago with a proposal to develop a sewer plan for Carlsborg.
“The PUD agreed to participate in that effort, in the interests of ensuring reliable and efficient wastewater treatment in Carlsborg and protecting the areas’s water supply, goals that are consistent with the PUD’s mission,” Nass wrote.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.