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	Oct. 22, 2004 Sims supports Carnation sewer plan; Fosters well-planned growth King County Executive Ron Sims today approved the City of Carnation's comprehensive sewer plan, which calls for the city to contract with the county to build, operate, and maintain a sewage treatment plant for Carnation's current 2,100 residents, 700 homes, and businesses that employ 600 people. At Carnation's request, King County and the city entered into an agreement in 2003 for new treatment facilities so the city could build a needed new sewage treatment system to support new construction. Currently, construction permits are difficult to obtain because of health and environmental concerns over leaking septic systems. Carnation expects an additional 1,800 residents, 600 homes, and 2,200 employees by 2030 and must have a sewage system capable of meeting their needs. "The plan will serve as the roadmap for Carnation's leaders as they make decisions to support the needs of schools, businesses and residents now and in the future," said Sims. "Having this sewer plan and analyzing the community's sewage treatment needs will help protect the local economy, people's health and the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers." Since Carnation is an urban growth area and also in an active floodplain, Sims said, the new plant will also enable the city to manage wastewater impacts of its growth by meeting environmental protection standards for the area. As called for in Carnation's plan, King County is further evaluating the potential for cost-effective water conservation alternatives in plans for the new facilities. King County will share its findings with Carnation so the city can decide on additional water conservation measures using the best information available. Under the agreement between the city and county, the capital, operating and maintenance costs of the proposed collection system and treatment plant will be paid by Carnation residents through monthly sewer bills. Carnation and King County are exploring ways to reduce the monthly bills. Possible alternatives including paying sewer connection charges upfront instead of financing them over time and finding grant funding for either the proposed collection system or the treatment plant. The city's sewer plan has been reviewed by the county and state, and the city has prepared a determination of nonsignificance for the plan under the State Environmental Protection Act. This sewer plan will now go to the King County Council for approval, and the Carnation City Council is expected to adopt the final version of the plan after County Council action. For more information about the Carnation Wastewater Treatment Facility, visit the project Web site, at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/carnation/. King County's Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and the environment by serving 18 cities, 15 sewer districts and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. The regional utility operated by King County has been protecting water quality and cleaning wastewater for more than 40 years. Updated: Oct. 22, 2004 Executive's home Executive's news Executive's site map | E-mail the Executive King County | Executive | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details.