PORT TOWNSEND — The Port of Port Townsend has agreed to sponsor a feasibility study to determine the cost of a community wastewater treatment facility in Quilcene.
Port commissioners last week unanimously approved a resolution to administer the study, managing a $100,000 authorization from the Public Infrastructure Fund awarded in 2012 that has remained unused.
“I am overjoyed that the port is stepping in and allowing their staff to manage the contract for the wastewater management study,” said Linda Herzog of Quilcene, who has pushed for the project.
“I know of several property owners who are very eager for this.”
The port commissioners’ action last Wednesday removes a roadblock in place since the money was authorized by the Jefferson County commissioners.
Lacking was a formal request from an authorized government agency to commission the study, county Administrator Philip Morley said earlier this month.
Last month, none of the three qualified public agencies — the county, the port and the Jefferson County Public Utility District — was willing or was allowed to sponsor the study.
Since then, port officials studied state code and determined that the agency could sponsor the study.
The study will estimate the cost of building the system which Deputy Port Director Jim Pivarnik figures will be more than $1 million.
A funding source for construction is as yet undetermined, he said.
Pivarnik said the finished system would include new solid waste septic tanks for each business with the effluent flushed to a shared processing system.
The infrastructure would be constructed by the sponsoring agency while each user would be liable for their individual hookups.
There are more than 90 commercial properties along U.S. Highway 101 in Quilcene that are too small to host their own septic system and about 30 existing businesses that could benefit from a shared system, Herzog said.
“I know of five or six business owners who are very eager for a community wastewater system,” Herzog said.
“It will cost them money, because the hook-ups will have a price.”
This cost is necessary, Herzog said, because government agencies are not allowed to provide free services.
“We need to contact all of the property owners to determine if they want a system and how much they would pay,” Pivarnik said.
“We want to offer it to them at an affordable price.”
Once the study is complete, another agency would need to administer the construction project.
The port will issue a request for qualifications this week, hoping to attract firms that have completed similar studies.
“We are looking for people who have done this before,” Pivarnik said.
“A lot of firms might say ‘yeah, I can do this,’ but we are looking for people who can provide examples of their work.”
The four best applicants will be selected and be interviewed by Pivarnik and Herzog in November.
After the final selection, it will take about six weeks to finish the contract, Pivarnik said.
One possibility for funding the system’s construction would be for the business owners to petition the PUD for the creation of a local utility district that is configured to accommodate all the businesses that are committed to its support, Herzog said.
“We may not need to do a local utility district as there are agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture that may offer a grant or provide a low-interest loan,” Herzog said.
“We will need to find out what kind of grants and loans are available.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
