[Vision2020] Comment Period for Stateline Development Expires Thursday

[Mark Solomon]

Bill,

Hawkin's application says they are going to treat 
all wastewater on site and land apply on a hay 
field treated effluent.

Mark S.

At 6:38 PM -0800 2/15/06, bill bonte wrote:
>My question is:  What about the sewer?
>
>The nearest Washington treatment plant is in 
>Pullman.  The Moscow  plant is already at or 
>near capacity.  Moscow ratepayers are still 
>paying for the last upgrade.  Surely the Hawkins 
>Group is not  planning to connect across the 
>state line.  Is this possible, legal?
>
>Bill Bonte
>On Feb 15, 2006, at 2:56 PM, Area Man wrote:
>
>>If you have any public comment regarding the shopping center  development
>>just across the state line in Whitman County, the 14-day public  comment
>>period expires at 4 p.m. Thursday. Public comments can be submitted in
>>person to the Whitman County Planning Department, Att: Mark  Bordsen, at
>>the Public Service Building, 310 N. Main St., Colfax, or by mail to  P.O.
>>Box 430, Colfax, WA 99111. Written comments must be signed. Comments
>>will not be accepted by e-mail.
>>
>>Once the comment period expires, Whitman County Planning Director Mark
>>Bordsen will evaluate the comments and issue a final determination on
>>the environmental checklist. Members of the public then will have 10
>>days to appeal the final determination.
>>
>>This was gleaned from the following article in today's (Feb 15) Daily
>>News:
>>--------------------------------------------
>>Cities question effect of corridor growth; Pullman, Moscow to submit
>>opinions on highway shopping center
>>
>>By Michelle Dupler, Daily News staff writer
>>
>>A proposed shopping center development in the Pullman-Moscow Highway
>>corridor is bringing to a head long-standing questions about the  effects
>>of growth on water resources on the Palouse.
>>
>>The Hawkins Companies submitted an application to Whitman County in
>>January to build a shopping complex along the highway just west of the
>>Idaho state line. At 714,000 square feet, the development would be  seven
>>times as large as the Wheatland Mall in Pullman and about twice the  size
>>of the Palouse Mall in Moscow, Planning Director Pete Dickinson said.
>>
>>The Pullman City Council focused on the proposed development at its
>>Tuesday night meeting after it learned of the county's Feb. 1
>>preliminary approval of the developer's State Environmental Policy Act
>>checklist.
>>
>>The cities of Pullman and Moscow intend to submit comments about the
>>water source for the development and its submitted stormwater drainage
>>design. The cities also are concerned about how public services  such as
>>police and fire might be affected, since they might respond outside of
>>their jurisdictions in emergencies.
>>
>>Neither city has any official role in the SEPA process or any power to
>>make a decision about the project. However, like any member of the
>>public, the cities can comment on the project and ask the county to
>>address questions about the environmental issues.
>>
>>A key question is whether the developers will draw water from the
>>shallow Wanapum aquifer or the deeper Grand Ronde aquifer. The  developer
>>plans to use on-site wells as a water source, rather than extending
>>public utilities either from Pullman or Moscow, Whitman County  Engineer
>>Mark Storey said in a telephone interview today.
>>
>>Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney confirmed today the developer has not
>>approached Moscow about providing water or sewer service.
>>
>>The water should come from the Wanapum aquifer to minimize impacts on
>>the two cities' water supplies, Pullman Public Works Director Mark
>>Workman said at Tuesday's council meeting. The city of Pullman  draws its
>>entire water supply from the Grand Ronde aquifer. Moscow gets about 70
>>percent of its water from the Grand Ronde and 30 percent from the
>>Wanapum, Workman said.
>>
>>The Wanapum aquifer is recharged from surface water, Larry Kirkland  said
>>in a telephone interview today. Kirkland is the technical advisor and
>>hydrologist for the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee, a coalition  formed
>>to monitor water issues on the Palouse.
>>
>>The Grand Ronde gets some recharge, but the mechanism is unclear,
>>Kirkland said.
>>
>>There may be some misunderstanding about how the proposed shopping
>>center will use water, Storey said.
>>
>>"Part of the issue is people assuming the applicant is looking for  a new
>>water right," Storey said. "New water rights have not been released in
>>Whitman County in years and years."
>>
>>The Hawkins Companies plans to transfer an existing water right to the
>>shopping center, Storey said. But they have not said which aquifer  that
>>water right might come from. If they transfer a water right from the
>>Wanapum aquifer, that water right would continue to be pumped from the
>>Wanapum. The same is true for a water right from the Grand Ronde,  Storey
>>said.
>>
>>The developer could not be reached for comment.
>>
>>Workman also raised questions about the developer's design for
>>stormwater drainage, suggesting the swales outlined in the  environmental
>>checklist will be ineffective because water does not percolate down
>>through the soils on the Palouse. Instead, water sits in the ground or
>>runs off into streams. That would be Paradise Creek in the case of  this
>>development.
>>
>>The county is addressing stormwater drainage with the Hawkins  Companies,
>>asking it to submit a design in line with the standards contained  in the
>>Eastern Washington Storm Water Manual. This manual, recently published
>>by the Washington State Department of Ecology, demands a stricter
>>standard, Storey said.
>>
>>Also, the developer will incorporate detention ponds into its  stormwater
>>system, allowing water to slowly be released into the natural  drainage.
>>Storey plans to consult with Workman about the developer's stormwater
>>design as the project moves forward. "We want to make this match what
>>the city of Pullman is doing as closely as possible," he said.
>>
>>A 14-day public comment period expires at 4 p.m. Thursday. Public
>>comments can be submitted in person to the Whitman County Planning
>>Department, Att: Mark Bordsen, at the Public Service Building, 310 N.
>>Main St., Colfax, or by mail to P.O. Box 430, Colfax, WA 99111.  Written
>>comments must be signed. Comments will not be accepted by e-mail.
>>
>>Once the comment period expires, Whitman County Planning Director Mark
>>Bordsen will evaluate the comments and issue a final determination on
>>the environmental checklist. Members of the public then will have 10
>>days to appeal the final determination.
>>
>>The council also:
>>- elected Councilman Bill Paul as Mayor Pro Tempore and Councilman
>>Francis Benjamin as alternate Mayor Pro Tempore;
>>- adopted a resolution declaring the city's intent to limit traffic on
>>Pine Street between East Main Street and Northeast Olsen Street to  make
>>way for the Pine Street Mall as part of the Downtown Riverwalk  project;
>>- accepted a donation of about $4,000 from Verizon Northwest to fund
>>public access to the Internet at the Neill Public Library.
>>
>>_____________________________________________________
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>>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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