County helps obtain $2.8 million no-interest loan for Vashon wastewater treatment facilities

2004 Archived News

King County Executive Ron Sims announced today that the county's work with the Vashon Sewer District to secure funds to finance wastewater facilities on the island has led to a no-interest 20-year loan for $2,832,852.

King County advanced the funds to the sewer district for the cost of building wastewater facilities at Beulah Park/Cove and Bunker Trail on the island. This state Department of Ecology loan refinances 78 percent of the remaining balance owed to King County with no interest.

"This is great news for public health and ratepayers," Sims said. "Our partnership with the Vashon Sewer District and Department of Ecology in obtaining this loan will reduce long-term costs for our customers while protecting water quality."

King County assumed ownership and operation of the Vashon Treatment Plant in November 1999. The sewer district owns and operates local systems that collect sewage and convey it to the treatment plant and the new county treatment system at Beulah Park Cove.

Bunker Trail and Beulah Park/Cove were identified as health hazard areas in 1988. The county's Wastewater Treatment Division worked with the sewer district to build and finance new wastewater facilities that transfer wastewater from Bunker Trail to the treatment plant and to treat wastewater on-site at Beulah Park/Cove. These facilities were finished in October 2001, and the areas are no longer health hazards.

"This new loan will reduce the financial burden on users in the Beulah Park/Cove and Bunker Trail communities," said King County Councilmember Dow Constantine, who represents Vashon Island and has been working on the sewer rate problem for more than two years. With the new loan, the sewer district can pay off most of its obligation to the county for the cost of the new local facilities.

"This loan is one of several efforts by the county to reduce the financial burden on citizens in Beulah Park/Cove and Bunker Trail due to the cost of new wastewater facilities," Constantine said. "At our request, U.S. Senator Patty Murray has secured over $400,000 in federal funds to assist these communities, and the King County Council will consider my ordinance to reduce the interest rate on the balance of King County's loan to the sewer district."

Dave Nunnallee of the state Department of Ecology said: "We are pleased to be able to participate in the Vashon Health Hazard Areas projects by providing funding for a portion of the costs. These projects rated highly in our annual ranking process because of the serious health issues that existed before the facilities were constructed. Raw sewage had been discharging onto the beaches at both the Bunker Trail and the Cove/Beulah Park communities and into a local stream at Cove/Beulah Park. Those problems have been eliminated by these important projects.

"The residents of Vashon Island can be proud of the improvements they have made," Nunnallee said, "and we are proud to be part of the process."

The King County Wastewater Treatment Utility protects public health and water quality by serving 18 cities, 15 sewer districts and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. The regional public utility has been preventing water pollution for nearly 40 years.