Farmer Turns Tables With Lawsuit Challenging Proposed Intel Plant

For years, Kenny Braget has been wrangling with government officials and environmentalists over what he can and can’t do with his 400-acre farm in the Nisqually Delta.

He may finally get his day in court and, ironically, throw a monkey wrench into plans for a major manufacturing complex by Intel Corp. near his land.

For more than 20 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has tried to buy his land and include it in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.

But they’ve never been able to agree on a price. Braget says that’s because federal, state and county laws have restricted what he can do with his land, making it less valuable.

He ticks off the laws that have restricted his ability to sell his farm for anything more lucrative than farming: the federal Shoreline Management Act, the state Environmental Policy Act, the Nisqually River Management Act, the state Growth Management Act.

His father suffered a massive stroke in 1977, and Braget says the constant stress of government battles was to blame.

“This is how our government rewards people who work hard all their lives and try to stand up for their rights,” he said. “I had to be a bedpan jockey for 18 years, and that meant I couldn’t run the farm properly. I had to liquidate most of the stock.”

Now it’s Braget’s turn to point to the laws.

Two weeks ago, Braget filed a lawsuit seeking to delay construction of a computer assembly and research complex for Intel at DuPont until a comprehensive environmental impact statement is completed.

Braget’s attorney is using two of those laws - the Environmental Policy Act and the Growth Management Act - to argue that the Intel project shouldn’t be built until a thorough review of all potential threats to the environment is completed.

Intel has applied for a $22.6 million waiver on sales taxes for the complex. If approved, it would be the largest sales tax waiver the state has given to any company.

Jordan Dey, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Lowry, said the waiver would be worth it. He said the governor proposed the tax breaks to help Washington compete with neighboring states with lower sales taxes.

“The whole intent on the manufacturing tax incentive was to spur investment, and that’s obviously what we’ve seen with Intel’s … decision to move here,” Dey said.

The $250 million Intel complex is scheduled for groundbreaking next week. It is expected to employ 6,000 to 8,000 workers, with annual property taxes of about $2.5 million by the end of the decade.

But the company reportedly has told local and state officials that because of competitive pressures it would pull out of the deal if the project encountered lengthy delays.

And Braget’s lawsuit could cause such delays.

The lawsuit questions the legality of a decision - made by the city of DuPont and accepted by Pierce County and the state - to let Intel build while two environmental impact statements are being prepared on a new freeway exit at DuPont and the treatment of sewage generated by the new plant.

Braget’s attorney, Jeffrey Eustis, claims state laws were broken when DuPont agreed to let Intel proceed without knowing what the two environmental impact statements would say.