Since 2002, residents of the Port Hadlock-Irondale area have waited for a public sewer system to support their designated Urban Growth Area. Seven years later, Jefferson County adopted the Port Hadlock UGA Sewer Facility Plan. 

But nearly 10 years after that plan was adopted, a sewer system still doesn’t exist.

“If you go back in the papers, you can probably find me saying that we would get a shovel in the ground in 2010, which is one of the lessons that I’ve learned over my time as a commissioner,” Chair David Sullivan said. “Because things change.”

Without a public sewer system, urban densities and urban zoning that allows commercial development and multi-family housing are not allowed under the Growth Management Act, limiting the area to “transitional rural zoning.” 

So, what has been the holdup? The answer to that is complicated. But it boils down to two major things: timing and funding. 

“We had the plan that was approved, and I thought we would be able to go get our Congressman at the time, but they did away with the (funding) earmarks,” Sullivan said. “Still, we kept working on it. But we didn’t have the property yet, and we weren’t shovel-ready when the first stimulus package that (former President Barack) Obama put together came out. We were ready when the second stimulus package was prepared, but Republicans shot that down.”

Today, the issue is lack of funding. 

“It’s just too big of a lift right now because the people in the area really can’t afford it,” Sullivan said. 

Still, plans are in the works to examine possible alternative methods, Sullivan said. 

“There is a possibility that we could do one of these package treatment plans that’s less expensive and put in these types of lines that are less expensive, and we have our consultants looking at that and seeing if that’s feasible,” he said. 

Commissioner candidates Jon Cooke and Greg Brotherton hope to bring a set of fresh eyes to the issue, and how it can affect the entirety of Jefferson County’s economic development.  

Q: Does Port Hadlock/Irondale need a public sewer system? 

Brotherton: “Yes. There is no place in Jefferson County right now that has available subsidized housing. And that’s just not acceptable. If you have a housing voucher, you just can’t go anywhere. … The lack of it is a real impediment to that dense growth that we do need, and that’s the place to put it.

“I’m in favor of making it easier to build everywhere, and I think while we work on this, I’ve already been petitioning the county about low-water septic alternatives, and I’d love to work with environmental health on addressing the state about gray water disposal and not always treating that gray water like black water. 

“I think that we could find other solutions for some of these areas while we’re working on the funds for the sewer.”

Cooke: “The Port Hadlock Sewer Project has been ‘shovel ready’ for far too long. The sewer system is the stranglehold on any significant growth in our county. Jefferson County needs to have a diversity of business sizes and types to attract jobs and economic viability. The Port Hadlock area is the logical place for this smart growth to start.

“Businesses are limited to 20,000 square feet (QFC is at its limit), and that square footage will not attract the businesses we need in the area. The land where these businesses will be setting will increase the land value of that property. When the value of the land increases, then the property taxes on that property will increase – which helps with our county’s revenue problem.”

Q: If you become a county commissioner, how do you plan to address the sewer issue? 

Brotherton: “The challenge is getting buy-in from the residents, getting state and federal money, and coming up with a design that is appropriately scaled for what we can do. 

“What we’re doing now is appropriate, I think, which is rescaling the project, using the new MBR (membrane bioreactor) technology, reducing the scope to just the core.

“They’re moving to a pressurized system instead of a gravity system, which is a lot less ditching, so that brought the cost down, but it will increase maintenance costs down the road. 

“We always want to work on increasing revenue and reducing expenses at the county. I want to work on those, and I have some ideas on how to do that. That’s not going to solve this problem, though. We’re going to need to have partnership.”

Cooke: “We need to have smart growth, and that begins with the Port Hadlock sewer. As commissioner, I will investigate the Local Improvement District (a tax on landowners in the district) option further, stay informed on the best system to go forward, and seek help from state and federal sources. I feel the sewer system is an investment the whole county will benefit from, and we should all find a way to help get this goal accomplished.”

Q: Do you think there is pushback to this plan from the community? 

Brotherton: “A dialogue with the public is important. … The criteria for qualifying for some of these grants is rigid and restrictive, and it involves getting buy-in from the residents. If there’s only going to be 100 people hooking up to it, it’s not going to pencil out. We really need to get out there and get as much engagement and as much interest from residents, as well as from businesses there.”

Cooke: “I feel the people of the county see the need to have this system installed for the future of our county’s economy. … I think a lot of the resistance is the area residents will be stuck with a large increase in their utility bills. This is a real concern when looking at other sewer systems that have been installed in other counties. We need to find a way to get this done without over-burdening the residents of Port Hadlock/Irondale.”