BLYN — The Jamestown S’Klallam tribe plans to spend $8.3 million to install some 6.5 miles of pipe to connect with the city of Sequim wastewater treatment plant in preparation for future expansion.
The move is one that Sequim city officials have sought since completing a $13 million expansion of its water reclamation facility off Schmuck Road near Washington Harbor in 2010 in hopes of serving the region outside city limits.
The tribe’s investment will be $2.3 million less than the projected cost of building an on-site wastewater system, according to a tribal press release issued last week and posted on the Sequim city website.
No time line is in place for the work, according to Annette Nesse, chief operating officer for the tribe.
“We have made the decision to partner with the city of Sequim,” Nesse said Friday.
“We don’t have a formal agreement with them at this point. It’s still in the planning stages.
“We’re ready to proceed to the next step as far as working with city of Sequim in planning for the connection,” she said.
City Manager Steve Burkett could not be reached for comment this weekend.
However, the tribe’s news release quotes him as saying, “We are very excited about this new opportunity to work in partnership with the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe and utilize the capacity of our wastewater treatment plant to provide service to the region.
“This agreement will benefit members of the tribe, city residents, and have a positive impact on the environment”
The tribe made the decision last fall but did not announce it publicly until Friday, Nesse said.
Right now, the tribe based in Blyn has the tribal facilities and the Longhouse Market & Deli on one small membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment system and the 7 Cedars Casino next door to the Longhouse on another, Nesse said.
“The tribe has plans to expand the resort at some point,” and so will need greater capacity, she said, without going into greater detail.
“This will put all of them on the same system.”
The tribe has planned for years to eventually build a hotel near 7 Cedars Casino.
Last fall, Jerry Allen, chief executive officer of 7 Cedars Resort and Casino, said it was still in the plans but that no date had been set to begin it.
He could not be reached for comment this weekend.
The tribe has considered the project since 2005, when Clallam County commissioners approved extension of sewer lines both east and west of Sequim.
In 2011, the tribe undertook a long-term comprehensive study, its Utility Master Plan, to determine whether to replace tribal septic systems with an on-site wastewater facility or to connect to Sequim’s existing utility.
“In the short and long run,” Nesse said, “this plan is more cost-effective and better for the environment.
“Connecting to the sewer system allows the tribe to move waste disposal away from the Sequim Bay ecosystem and its precious resources.”
Pumping wastewater away from Sequim Bay to the Sequim facility supports the tribe’s efforts to reduce harmful nutrients in marine waters, the press release said.
The decision is part of a comprehensive plan to protect treaty rights, the release said, citing also the tribe’s 2006 restoration of Jimmycomelately and Dean creeks in Blyn and work on south Sequim Bay habitat restoration.
“This tribal goal translates to the shared benefit of environmental protection for the entire Clallam County community,” the press release said.
In 2010, the Sequim City Council unanimously called for staff to study sewer service prospects beyond the city limits, where septic systems are in use.
City Public Works Director Paul Haines said then that the city was using only half the capacity of the sewage plant, which can treat 1.6 million gallons of wastewater a day.
In November, the inking of a 30-year interlocal agreement between Clallam County and the city of Sequim secured wastewater treatment for the unincorporated hamlet of Carlsborg west of Sequim.
The city will link its sewage treatment system to Carlsborg’s commercial core on U.S. Highway 101 and along Carlsborg Road to the north.
The expansion to the east to Blyn also will expand past the city limits as well as beyond the bounds of the Urban Growth Area.
The state Growth Management Act prohibits any connections to the system along the route. Other properties between Sequim and the tribal properties will not be allowed to join in.
“This seems like a well-considered decision,” the press release quotes Bob Martin, county public works administrative director, as saying.
“In my opinion, regionalization of Sequim’s wastewater facilities will have long term benefits for all jurisdictions.”
The tribe will meet with its consulting engineering firm Parametrix of Seattle and then with city officials, Neese said.
