City agrees to wetlands penalty

The city of Seattle has agreed to create or improve more than three acres of wetlands as penance for illegally filling wetlands during construction of a new training center for firefighters and utility workers.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cited the city in May 2005 for destroying a half-acre of wetlands and portions of Hamm Creek while building Seattle's $34 million Joint Training Facility. The corps' action halted work on parts of the project, including construction needed to finish a "burn building" for training firefighters.

Although city officials initially disputed the existence of wetlands on the Southwest Seattle site and argued they did not need a corps permit, they have agreed to apply for a permit as part of the settlement agreement announced Monday, corps spokeswoman Patricia Graesser said.

Brenda Bauer, director of the city's Fleets and Facilities Department, said she did not immediately know what the wetland work would cost.

However, the City Council and Mayor Greg Nickels, who had been briefed on settlement negotiations, agreed to add more than $6 million to the project budget this year in anticipation of rising project expenses, according to city budget documents. The project's price, estimated at $26.5 million a few years ago, has now risen to nearly $34 million.

The wetland destruction was exposed by John Beal, a tenacious environmental activist who complained to the Corps of Engineers after being brushed off by Seattle officials. Beal, who died last June after a heart attack, had worked for years to restore Hamm Creek, a blighted urban tributary of the Duwamish River.

Under the settlement, the city agreed to create and enhance more than 1 acre of wetlands at the training facility site and 2.4 acres along a nearby section of the lower Duwamish River.

Located on a 13-acre parcel that was once a gravel quarry, the Joint Training Facility was funded largely by a $167 million fire-station and emergency-preparedness levy.

Bauer said that despite the project's difficulties, the facility is now more than 95 percent completed. City workers have used it to practice high-rise rescues and working safely in trenches.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com