Brightwater plant work delayed until mid-2006

By Christopher Schwarzen
Times Snohomish County bureau

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

The agreement, reached Friday, ends an appeal filed by the company's parent, Campbell Soup. Opening arguments in the appeal had been scheduled for this morning at the King County Hearing Examiner's Office.

Under the agreement, the county will delay construction of the $1.3 billion plant until July 1, 2006. The two parties also will spend the next 90 days negotiating terms of a move for the soup factory, located off Highway 9 in South Snohomish County, north of Woodinville.

Whether the agreement will involve any payment to StockPot is not known. King County has said it would be willing to reimburse the company for moving expenses.

Campbell said it did not want to continue operating a soup factory next to a sewage plant for fear of the possible stigma. The company filed an appeal against King County over the documentation it used to choose the site on 114 acres at the intersection of highways 9 and 522.

StockPot has been the source of more than 500 complaints to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency since the soup maker opened its plant in 1999. The company has made several attempts to reduce odors, particularly from the pungent French-onion soup.

Brightwater project manager Christie True said the new construction date is not too far from when officials had hoped to begin building the plant, although no date had been set.

Eight groups initially appealed the decision, but only one appeal remains. The Sno-King Environmental Alliance appealed, arguing the project's environmental-impact statement failed to adequately address the area's seismology.

True said project officials have no reason to believe they've insufficiently studied environmental hazards associated with operating a sewage plant at the site. Buildings would be constructed to code for earthquakes, and measures would be taken to reduce the potential for spills and odors.

The alliance's appeal will be heard by the King County Hearing Examiner's Office on July 14-15.

Some Snohomish County residents, many represented by the alliance, are angry that King County is planning to build a sewage-treatment plant in Snohomish County. The plant, when operational, will serve residents in north King and south Snohomish counties.

Christopher Schwarzen: 425-783-0577 or cschwarzen@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More local news headlines...