Clark County reports $1.8M in draft grant offers, warns GMA compliance could block stormwater projects

Clark County Clean Water Division staff told the Clean Water Commission on Feb. 12 that four applications the division submitted to the Washington State Department of Ecology’s combined water-quality grant programs were recommended on Ecology’s draft offer list, together totaling roughly $1.8 million. Staff cautioned that stormwater facility offers are contingent on the county’s compliance with the Growth Management Act (GMA), and the county cannot sign funding agreements for those projects until compliance is resolved.

Devin, a Clean Water Division staff member, summarized the draft offers: two stormwater-facility retrofit projects on Northeast Highway 99 were recommended for funding (about $660,000 for the Northeast Hazel Plaza-to-Second Street retrofit and about $590,000 for a Lower Salmon Creek retrofit), a community-based public–private partnership (CBP3) program-development award of roughly $360,000, and a Cougar Creek enhancement phase 1 award of about $230,000. In total, the four draft recommendations sum to approximately $1.84 million. Staff said the final allocations depend on the state budget and legislative…