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West Richland council adopts comprehensive sewer plan, adds chapter to municipal code
Summary
After a brief public hearing with no speakers, the council voted to adopt Ordinance 09-26, approving the city's February 2026 Comprehensive General Sewer Plan and adding Chapter 13.01 to the municipal code; the plan was reviewed by the Washington State Department of Ecology and described as a multiyear, 1,600-page document.
The West Richland City Council voted on May 19 to adopt Ordinance 09-26, approving the city's Comprehensive General Sewer Plan dated February 2026 and adding Chapter 13.01 to the West Richland Municipal Code.
Public Works Director Slade presented the staff report, noting the plan is a multiyear effort with roughly 1,600 pages of analysis and appendices. He told the council the plan documents existing treatment and conveyance systems, capacity and compliance analyses, anticipated facility needs, a capital improvement plan and a financial chapter. Slade said the Washington State Department of Ecology reviewed the plan, submitted comments in 2025, and the city addressed those comments in the current draft.
Mayor Fred Brink opened a public hearing on the plan at 6:36 PM and, finding no in-person or virtual commenters, closed the hearing a minute later. Councilmember Kate Moran moved to adopt Ordinance 09-26; the motion was seconded and the council approved the ordinance by voice vote. The council did not record individual roll-call votes in the meeting transcript; the chair announced the motion carried.
The ordinance incorporates the sewer plan by reference into the municipal code and, according to the staff presentation, is intended to guide capacity planning, treatment upgrades, collection-system maintenance and pretreatment requirements for industrial and commercial dischargers. Slade said Chapter 10 in the plan addresses pretreatment and federal limits (pH, BOD, TSS, loadings) to prevent discharges that could upset the city's treatment plant or cause permit violations to the Yakima River.
The council and staff described the plan as a living document that will be revisited with future comprehensive-plan updates. No amendments were proposed at the meeting. The council moved next to an executive session; officials said no action would follow that session.
Ordinance 09-26 was adopted at the May 19 meeting and will be incorporated into West Richland's municipal code as described in the staff report.
