Some will pay to solve stormwater runoff problem

The questions are how to deal with stormwater runoff within Eastsound's proposed Urban Growth Area: Who shall pay, and how will it be addressed? At least one of the questions -- who shall pay -- will need to be answered before San Juan County submits its plan for Eastsound to the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board this fall.

Some of the money will all but certainly have to come from property owners if the the plan is to be in compliance with the state's Growth Management Act. "It's the only solution," said San Juan County Senior Planner Martin Blackman, who noted that a "fee structure" will need to be submitted to the Growth Board. He offered that opinion at a meeting of the Eastsound Planning Review Committee Aug. 4.

The amount of the fee has yet to be determined. Likewise, it remains to be seen if the fee will be imposed only on those who own property within the boundaries of Eastsound's Urban Growth Area, or whether it will be island-wide, district-wide, or even county-wide.

These decisions will have to be made by county commissioners, Blackman said, but they will first be discussed at a town meeting dealing with Eastsound's UGA boundaries Tuesday, Aug. 16, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the fire hall.

One thing is certain. It won't come cheap. A 2003 report by the San Juan County Department of Public Works projected a cost of $6.3 million. The county believes that most of the money can come from state grants which the county will be eligible to obtain, but only if Eastsound's UGA plan is determined to be in compliance with state mandates, and if a portion comes from local sources.

The Port of Orcas had hoped to solve a portion of Eastsound's stormwater runoff problem. The local agency submitted a grant proposal to San Juan County for $25,000. Had it been approved, the money would have been combined with pledges of funding from the port, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and a private party, according to Port Manager Bea von Tobel, who noted that port commissioners had tentatively scheduled a meeting for this week with Blackman and the Public Works Department to coordinate a strategy. That meeting has since been canceled.

Von Tobel speculated that the county's decision reflected a lack of commitment to solving the stormwater runoff problem. But county Commissioner Alan Lichter answered that it was rejected because the grant application did not meet the requirements of the so-called 2260 Fund, which is to promote economic development. "We were advised by the Prosecuting Attorney's office that we weren't eligible, and we accepted that," Lichter said.

While the funding issue will need to be addressed shortly, the method of dealing with stormwater runoff may have to wait. The county's proposal written in 2003 will likely be submitted to the Growth Board, because a plan will be needed if the UGA is to be in compliance with GMA.

But county Department of Public Works Director Jon Shannon and EPRC Chair Lisa Byers are hoping that the county's plan will never be implemented, because it recommends gathering the stormwater, then dumping it into the salt water. Both are hoping that a more environmentally friendly plan will be devised. Buyers is also suspicious of any attempts to dupe the Growth Board. "Somebody will sniff it out" if the county has no intention of implementing it, she said.

Byers called the 2003 plan "misguided," adding that it would make more sense to enable as much rain water was possible to go directly through the soil and into the aquifer, thus recharging the Eastsound aquifer, which may be at risk. Currently, much of that rain water goes into ditches along local roads.

Shannon believes that an environmentally friendly plan can be found. "We know the technology is out there," he said.

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