PROTECTING REDMOND'S STREAMS AND GROUNDWATER SUPPLY
Over the years, I have tried to participate in Redmond's planning and development
process by commenting on projects, especially those that affect the environment. I have
been concerned about water quality issues that affect our local streams and our
underground aquifer. The city of Redmond has 5 wells that have a 1.8 BILLION gallon
annual water right. Two wells are located at Anderson Park. One is near Redmond City
Hall. Another is along Avondale Road and the most productive, Well No. 5, is on the
corner between Target and Home Depot.
In 2003, I participated in the writing and adoption of the Wellhead Protection
Ordinance that was meant to keep our drinking water supply clean and safe from
contamination. I attended meetings, made comments on the proposed ordinance and
testified at the public hearing. The Wellhead Protection Ordinance prohibited the storage
of hazardous material and fluids near wells.
I was shocked in 2009 when I read that Costco would be building a warehouse on
the old Redmond Delta gravel pit along 188th Avenue NE south of Union Hill Road and
that it would have a HUGE gas station. READ MORE >>
Well No. 5 is located less than 2500
feet from the proposed Costco Gas Station where three 30,000-gallon underground fuel
tanks would hold 90,000 gallons of fuel. Gasoline would regularly be spilled on the
ground as people fill their tanks and tanker trucks would be constantly delivering supplies
of fuel. The project needed a Conditional Use Permit for the gas station and I went to
Redmond City Hall and read through all the studies and maps for the project.
I discovered traffic studies that Costco had submitted that showed that their
warehouses with gas stations had far more customers than the warehouses without the
stations - and Costco had to have a gas station or it would not build its warehouse in
Redmond. I also found an agreement that had been signed a year earlier that specifically
stated that the Costco site would have a gas station. Mayor John Marchione had signed
the agreement on behalf of the city on February 21, 2008 (Instrument #20080221001446
at kingcounty.gov)
At the Conditional Use Permit Hearing, I got up and argued that storing 90,000
gallons of gasoline on top of the water supply was prohibited by the Wellhead Protection
Ordinance and that the aquifer that provided water for the city could/would eventually be
contaminated by leaking gasoline. (And besides, it's just plain stupid to put gas tanks on
top of your wells!!!!) The City argued that the Director of the Public Works Department
had the discretion to ignore the Wellhead Protection Ordinance. The Hearing Examiner
agreed with the City and Costco got its permit. The economy got bad and the project was
mothballed.
This year, Costco revived its plan to build the Redmond warehouse and gas
station. It has already received its permit to discharge contaminated water into Evans
Creek. The salmon will be the first to drink the Costco gasoline, but over time, Redmond
residents will be drinking Costco gasoline too. Do we really want to trade clean water for
cheap gasoline, cheap booze, colossal chocolate cakes and $5-roaster-chickens?
The city of Redmond has a responsibility to protect the drinking water supply and
the salmon streams that run through the downtown. I hold the Mayor and the Redmond
Planning Department directly responsible for facilitating the gas station at Costco. During
the early permitting process the Planning Department should have required groundwater
and soil studies to determine the groundwater time-of-travel and the composition of the
underlying sediments. (The site contains a lot of fill and construction debris from the I-
90 Mercer Island project.)
Our current mayor is running on the platform of protecting the environment, so
maybe he should consider protecting the environment rather than just talking about it.
By Susan Wilkins
Over the years, I have tried to participate in Redmond's planning and development
process by commenting on projects, especially those that affect the environment. I have
been concerned about water quality issues that affect our local streams and our
underground aquifer. The city of Redmond has 5 wells that have a 1.8 BILLION gallon
annual water right. Two wells are located at Anderson Park. One is near Redmond City
Hall. Another is along Avondale Road and the most productive, Well No. 5, is on the
corner between Target and Home Depot.
In 2003, I participated in the writing and adoption of the Wellhead Protection
Ordinance that was meant to keep our drinking water supply clean and safe from
contamination. I attended meetings, made comments on the proposed ordinance and
testified at the public hearing. The Wellhead Protection Ordinance prohibited the storage
of hazardous material and fluids near wells.
I was shocked in 2009 when I read that Costco would be building a warehouse on
the old Redmond Delta gravel pit along 188th Avenue NE south of Union Hill Road and
that it would have a HUGE gas station. READ MORE >>
Well No. 5 is located less than 2500
feet from the proposed Costco Gas Station where three 30,000-gallon underground fuel
tanks would hold 90,000 gallons of fuel. Gasoline would regularly be spilled on the
ground as people fill their tanks and tanker trucks would be constantly delivering supplies
of fuel. The project needed a Conditional Use Permit for the gas station and I went to
Redmond City Hall and read through all the studies and maps for the project.
I discovered traffic studies that Costco had submitted that showed that their
warehouses with gas stations had far more customers than the warehouses without the
stations - and Costco had to have a gas station or it would not build its warehouse in
Redmond. I also found an agreement that had been signed a year earlier that specifically
stated that the Costco site would have a gas station. Mayor John Marchione had signed
the agreement on behalf of the city on February 21, 2008 (Instrument #20080221001446
at kingcounty.gov)
At the Conditional Use Permit Hearing, I got up and argued that storing 90,000
gallons of gasoline on top of the water supply was prohibited by the Wellhead Protection
Ordinance and that the aquifer that provided water for the city could/would eventually be
contaminated by leaking gasoline. (And besides, it's just plain stupid to put gas tanks on
top of your wells!!!!) The City argued that the Director of the Public Works Department
had the discretion to ignore the Wellhead Protection Ordinance. The Hearing Examiner
agreed with the City and Costco got its permit. The economy got bad and the project was
mothballed.
This year, Costco revived its plan to build the Redmond warehouse and gas
station. It has already received its permit to discharge contaminated water into Evans
Creek. The salmon will be the first to drink the Costco gasoline, but over time, Redmond
residents will be drinking Costco gasoline too. Do we really want to trade clean water for
cheap gasoline, cheap booze, colossal chocolate cakes and $5-roaster-chickens?
The city of Redmond has a responsibility to protect the drinking water supply and
the salmon streams that run through the downtown. I hold the Mayor and the Redmond
Planning Department directly responsible for facilitating the gas station at Costco. During
the early permitting process the Planning Department should have required groundwater
and soil studies to determine the groundwater time-of-travel and the composition of the
underlying sediments. (The site contains a lot of fill and construction debris from the I-
90 Mercer Island project.)
Our current mayor is running on the platform of protecting the environment, so
maybe he should consider protecting the environment rather than just talking about it.
By Susan Wilkins
Susan,
ReplyDeleteIf this was 1955, I would agree with you. But by your logic, we should ban and then remove every other existing gas station (not to mention the city's own fuel supply at the Maintenance and Operation Center) now sitting anywhere in the Sammamish Valley.
First, underground fuel tanks are all double-shelled; in the space between the inner and outer shells are placed sensitive leak detectors which are constantly monitored by time-tested and approved leak detection systems. Long story short, modern underground fuel tanks do not leak, and if they do, the leak never makes it into the ground. I have great confidence in this, as part of my job is overseeing the design and installation of fuel tanks and their associated monitoring systems for backup generators at government facilities.
Second, have you been to any of the other Costco gas stations in our area? They all have an attendant who is constantly walking around, checking the pumps (for credit card skimmers among other things) and making sure that if there are any gasoline spills, that they get cleaned up long before any gasoline gets washed into the stormwater system. And they also have all of the necessary items to deal with a small fuel spill right at each pump island.
Now compare that to all of the other self-service gasoline stations in Redmond which do not have an outdoor attendant monitoring for fuel spills and other potential problems, nor do they have the fuel spill cleanup materials readily on hand (in many cases).
You are entirely correct to be concerned about the protection of our surface water that recharges our local aquifers, but your concerns about one additional gas station that has much higher operational standards than all of our existing ones do, are entirely without merit.
And if you really want to worry yourself into a frenzy, come down to Renton at the intersection of SW 27th St. and Lind Ave. SW and take a gander at the Conoco-Phillips Fuel Farm, where millions of gallons of gasoline are stored before delivery to all of the stations in the greater Seattle area. It's right in the floodplain a few feet away from the Black River (with the Cedar River just to the west).
There is the tendency to put unlimited faith in technology to keep us safe from disasters, but when things go wrong we ask, “How did this happen?” Think of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear meltdown in Japan if you need an example of technology failing to prevent the destruction of the environment. More close to home, two summers ago, All Wood Recycling’s giant woodpile caught fire and killed 1600 fish along Evans Creek.
ReplyDeleteTo suggest that we should put our faith in double-shelled storage tanks or the highly paid ($12/hour) gas station attendants at Costco to safeguard our water supply is truly absurd. The tanks can store 90,000 gallons of gasoline, but how many millions of gallons of gas will Costco be pumping each year? Even if a fraction of a percent ends up in Evans Creek or in the groundwater, isn’t that contamination?
Yes, there are already gas station facilities and other chemical storage tanks in downtown Redmond that were there before the Wellhead Protection Ordinance was passed in 2003. The Wellhead Protection Ordinance included requirements that those existing facilities report the contents of their underground storage tanks and other toxic chemicals. In some cases, businesses chose to modify their chemical usage in response to the Wellhead Protection Ordinance. (The Arco station across from Chase Bank has since closed down as well as several drycleaners.)
We should be moving away from having threats to the water supply, not adding potential contamination – especially not the magnitude of the Costco mega-station. Building a giant gas station on top of our well is not a positive event for Redmond residents. Telling us that there are “safeguards” and “continuous monitoring” is no match for not having the gas station at all. And note that the gas station is there to entice customers into shopping at the Costco store – not to provide an essential public service for the community.
Thank you Susan and "Unknown" for this discussion on protecting Evans Creek and our drinking water. As usual, Susan your research and knowledge makes for a strong argument. The Costco in Redmond is just another example of the "push" from Redmond's rapid growth. Costco will bring more traffic and added threat to our environment. Thanks for sharing your views, research and facts on another stress we face from Redmond's rapid economic development. Susan, I just think you are a stand-out citizen to participate so passionately and with such depth in the public process. It's really sad the Administration doesn't listen or respond.
ReplyDelete"Unknown" sounds like he's a city employee.
There is not language in the current wellhead protection code that prohibits gas stations
ReplyDelete