The Metropolitan King County Council today approved a series of steps designed to prevent and reduce the odors that may be emitted from King County’s wastewater treatment facilities.

“Whichever communities surround these facilities should be able to breathe a little easier thanks to the implementation of this plan,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert, chair of the council’s Regional Water Quality Committee. “The plan concentrates on creating an odor prevention system that is the best in the country by using the technology available to prevent odors, not just control them.”

“In the past, wastewater treatment plants have not been the best of neighbors,” said Councilmember Jane Hague, a co-sponsor of the ordinance. “This legislation sets new standards and will make it easier on neighborhoods by implementing immediate changes to reduce the most offensive odors.”

The policies adopted by the Council set odor standards for both existing treatment plants and any new ones. It also directs the county’s response to odor problems at the miles of pipes and pump stations that convey wastewater. The plan calls for retrofitting both the South Treatment Plant in Renton and the West Point Facility in Seattle’s Discovery Park to reduce by more than 80 percent emissions that occasionally produce off-site odors. The policy directs that investments in odor prevention take place in stages with the first priority on efforts that would most reduce odors.

“We are not going to let your neighborhood smell like an outhouse,” said Utilities Committee chair Councilmember Julia Patterson. “We will make every effort to prevent odor omissions before they occur.”

The proposed Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Plant will include odor prevention facilities that represent the best in the country for facilities of similar size.

“This is an investment for both the present and the future,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, whose district includes the West Point facility. “The communities next to the South and West Point Plants will soon get relief from the odors they have had to live with. This plan also ensures that the residents who will have Brightwater as a neighbor will be able to breathe easier right from the start.”