December 2, 2011 in City

State, county officials open sewage plant

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Bruce Rawls, director of utilities for the county,
(Full-size photo)(All photos)

Superlatives flowed Thursday in a valve-turning ceremony to open Spokane County’s new $173 million sewage treatment plant.

“Today the river gets cleaner,” said Grant Pfeifer, regional Department of Ecology director.

Other speakers hailed the 20-acre complex at 1004 N. Freya St. as world-class, best in North America, maybe best on the planet, a shining example, a gift to the community.

Sierra Club spokesman John Osborn had another name for the facility: “A new source of pollution for the Spokane River.”

Osborn said in a news release that the Sierra Club, which has filed a federal lawsuit to block new discharges into the Spokane River, now is calling for federal and state investigations into “illegal use of public funds.”

Use of federal and state money for the plant “doesn’t pass the smell test,” he said in the release.

The plant itself was odor-free. All the treatment processes are enclosed.

“Feel free to take pictures, and feel free to put them in your Christmas cards,” County Commission Chairman Al French said. “It’s our gift to the community.”

French, who joined the commission in January, credited Commissioners Todd Mielke and Mark Richard for “courage” in pushing ahead with the project while still negotiating a thicket of regulatory issues.

French said building the plant while construction costs are low allowed commissioners to reduce sewer rates for next year. Construction, which began in June 2009, is about $1 million under budget.

On Tuesday, commissioners voted to cancel scheduled rate increases and cut rates instead. Instead of rising $1.79 a month, the residential charge will drop 63 cents – from $45.04 a month to $44.41.

Spokane Valley residents will have to pay a $1.10-a-month surcharge to offset aquifer protection fees diverted by the city government.

Still, Richard and former Spokane Valley City Councilman Dick Denenny said Valley residents – the new plant’s primary customers – will benefit by avoiding a construction moratorium as capacity diminishes at the city of Spokane plant.

“This is a flagship project, one we should be very, very proud of,” said Mielke, who was the commission’s point man on the project.

He credited local conservation groups, including Spokane Riverkeeper, for constructive criticism that “made this project better all along the way.”

Most of all, Mielke credited county Utilities Director Bruce Rawls, who will have devoted about a third of his career to the treatment plant when he retires next spring.

“He has really been the glue that has kept this project together,” Mielke said.

Rawls declined to make a speech but displayed a beaker of sparkling, clear water the plant produced earlier in the morning. (Yes, he admitted, the plant was already running when dignitaries turned the ceremonial valve.)

More than 99.9 percent of the algae-feeding phosphorus had been removed from the water in the beaker, officials said.

Also, they said, 80 percent more cancer-causing PCBs were removed than if the water had been treated at the Spokane plant.

County water reclamation manager Dave Moss told commissioners Tuesday that he is confident the new facility will meet summertime ammonia standards before they take effect on June 1.

That risk belongs to the CH2M Hill engineering firm, which has a contract to design, build and operate the plant.

Five comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  polistra on December 02 at 5:06 a.m.

  Bill the whole thing to Comrade Osborn. Put him in jail for life as soon as he misses the first million-dollar monthly payment. Better, just put him in jail for life anyway.

  Save the endangered human species from the invasive Sierra Club!

• 

  D Statler on December 02 at 9:04 a.m.

  Great job with our new facility. I am pleased to announce to the inhabitants below Spokane’s treatment facility that the County is stepping up to reduce the overflow problems. Now I am off to get a second job to help pay for my sewer bill. :^)

• 

  ManleyPointer on December 02 at 9:17 a.m.

  So the Sierra Club ISN’T going after the new plant because it is ineffective or harmful; they don’t like the way it was FINANCED?!?

  Whatever.

• 

  reservedparking on December 02 at 11:01 a.m.

  An where, Mr. Osborn, do you propose our sewage should go to as an alternative?

  Get real. Poop happens.

• 

  CougarGold on December 02 at 4:20 p.m.

  This statement:

  “Sierra Club spokesman John Osborn had another name for the facility: “A new source of pollution for the Spokane River.”

  Utterly ridiculous and devoid of logic. What has changed from before? Easy; waste that previously seeped into the groundwater through 35,000 septic systems or was sent to the City’s Riverside plant is now being treated at what arguably is the most technologically advanced treatment facility in the country if not the world. How is that a bad thing? The waste water was making its way to the river before with older technology or with no treament at all, not to mention making its way into our sole-source aquifer.

  It’s quite telling that all other environmental interests participated in the collaborative effort that made this plant possible, including the River Keeper and the Lands Council among others and that they continue to act in the collaboration going forward relative to the Toxic Task Group. The only ones who elected to not participate and would rather act as obstructionists are John Osborn and Rachel Pascal-Osborn. Their actions are stuck in a 70’s environmental quagmire where they seem to feel that all environmental issues are to be only dealt with in the courts.

  You know what? Times have changed and even most business interests are now run by people who recognize and appreciate the need for a cleaner and more sustainable environment. Ironically, it used to be the environmental community claiming that the business community was stuck in their old ways. Now, at least in the case of the Osborn’s, it is they who are stuck in their old ways. They really need to join the 21st century and use their knowledge and experience in a constructive rather than obstructive manner.

  Stated as a business interest, this is my river and my aquifer too. It is incumbent on us to take the strides necessary to assure we have a plan going forward that cleans and stabilizes our water sources and surrounding environment. The business community and municipal interests have stepped up and supported this excellent new facility. The DOE has facilitated the process rather than penalize the community in the development of this new facility. Yesterday, the river got cleaner and a great stride was taken toward making our surrounding environment better for us all. This is an accomplishment to be celebrated. The Osborns would rather pout.