The City of Kirkland is standing firm against King County's latest decision on the Northeast Recycling and Transfer Station (NERTS) project, having lodged a Notice of Appeal against the environmental and siting conclusions laid out in the County's Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In the fray of legal documentation and appeal deadlines, the city's primary concern hinges on the chosen site for NERTS—Alternative 1B, which Kirkland argues, wasn't subjected to a sufficiently rigorous environmental impact analysis.
Last week, Mayor Curtis voiced the city's discontent with the timing of the county's announcement—mere days before a critical appeal deadline, according to a statement on the City of Kirkland's website. The appeal cites "inadequate analysis of transportation impacts" and "hazardous waste risks," among other concerns, as critical areas where the EIS falls short. Kirkland's preference leans toward site 1A, argued as the least environmentally impactful option, yet, the city is not opposed to Alternative 1B—if it comes with appropriate mitigation measures.
Breakdowns in the process also pepper the city's gripe list, pointing to "procedural errors in the issuance of the FEIS and addendum and the siting decision," per the same statement obtained by the City of Kirkland's website. Kirkland's officials are pushing for a high-quality, state-of-the-art facility that resolves potential negative impacts on the surrounding community, includes advanced recycling, and repurposes the budget from land acquisition costs towards more robust mitigation efforts.
The appeal's resolution could stretch beyond the standard 90-day window, during which the city expects to maintain a vigilant stance. Among their demands, the City is advocating for "comprehensive odor and bird controls" and the establishment of new community spaces, an indication of the City's commitment to a robust mitigation framework. In addition to these amenity upgrades, the City of Kirkland is also keeping a keen eye on financial reassurances, expecting that funds allocated for property acquisition, redirected towards mitigation, will appease the community's concerns about the potential impacts of NERTS construction and operations.
